A parent's impression of Fresno State University

Of the seven college tours I've done in the past two years with my kids, my least favorite was the one at Fresno State University.

But don't take that too harshly. Fresno State wasn't terrible, or anything like that, just ordinary. And there were a couple issues on the day we visited that weren't really the school's fault.

For one, there was the heat. It was around 95 on the afternoon we visited the campus, the kind of temperature that will suck the cheerfulness out of almost anyone and make the most eager prospective college students want to run away to the nearest air-conditioned room.

Then there was the odd group from Bakersfield College. My son and I arrived early for our campus tour because we planned ahead, knew when it started and didn't want to miss it. Every college tour I've been on has started almost exactly on time, and I  had every reason to believe this one would be the same.

But in this case we were kept waiting in a nearly empty meeting room for 10 minutes. Eventually a representative told us we were waiting for a group of transfer students from Bakersfield College to arrive.

The group finally arrived and the tour began. Throughout the tour, the Bakersfield College giggled and laughed among themselves, sometimes even when the guide was talking. Then, halfway through the tour, the Bakersfield group announced they had to leave. I was left puzzled by a group of transfer students who had come a long way for a seemingly important visit, but arrived late, didn't seem to take it seriously, and left early.

Fresno State can't be blamed for that group's behavior but they might work a bit on training and preparing their tour guides. The young woman who led our tour was very nice, but she wasn't nearly as enthusiastic or as well-informed as our guides elsewhere.

Fresno State is probably a fine school for many people, but the only thing we saw on the tour that struck me as particularly special was the Recharge Zone.

In the basement of the student union building was a storefront featuring a darkened interior, the "Recharge Zone" sign outside and two large round spheres inside.  What are they?  Napping pods. Yes -- make a reservation, pay a fee and climb inside for a nap.

That sounded like a really nice option on a hot day in Fresno.