<p>akapiratequeen: S and I went on a midwestern college tour for spring break last week and saw Michigan and Kenyon, among others. He seems to have a bias against schools that (in his opinion) push the “college experience” over academics. He had Chicago and Oberlin in his top tier, Northwestern and Kenyon in his middle tier, and Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State in his bottom tier.</p>
<p>Michigan was “too big.” That feeling was compounded when the tour guide went off-script and talked about her large class sizes … in his potential major. It’s a large university in a large college town setting.</p>
<p>Kenyon feels like it’s “in the middle of nowhere” but is only about an hour from Columbus. It looks and feels like what I think most folks imagine when they think of a rural LAC. I think S could see himself there, but wasn’t especially excited at the prospect.</p>
<p>I haven’t taken the tour at UT, but am in Austin on business from time-to-time and have visited the campus on several occasions. It’s on S’s “too big” list, but different from Michigan in that it’s in a somewhat larger city with all the good and bad that entails.</p>
<p>Reading back over that, it’s probably not too helpful. Any specific questions?</p>
<p>Steve–which schools did he like? We’re looking at Kenyon because my brother lives in Columbus so we will be nearby over spring break…seemed like a good way to check it out. What is your s interested in? Good point about Michigan and Austin being big–although not sure she’d like really small, either.</p>
<p>For those of you considering the University of Michigan, but who also have concerns about it being too big, do consider the U of M Residential College:</p>
<p>Regarding post 2255 and the Robins “guy” at U or Richmond - If I’m not mistaken, the Robins guy is a part of the old AH Robins Pharmaceutical Company of the Dalkon Shield problems/lawsuits of many years ago. I think the company went bankrupt, so no more buildings for U of R bearing that name.</p>
<p>placido, I’m not sure if this is your oldest kid, but many colleges have a dominant benefactor whose name is on several buildings. (At Lafayette, for example, it’s Kirby). Why is this a problem for you?</p>
<p>One very cool thing that my son got to see at Tulane’s admin building was a painting of his 3x grandfather, who was one of the founders. (I don’t think it had any sway on his admissions or scholarship award, though - while he had good grades, he had to submit his info twice to get his scholarship increased a little!) But every time he sees the name “Gibson Hall” he knows he is related to THAT Gibson… ;)</p>
<p>Regarding Dogwood:Post 2268 :University of Richmond</p>
<p>Mr Robins donated $50 million in 1969 to the University. Adjusting for inflation, the $50 million gift would be worth $293 million in today’s dollars.</p>
<p>“Mr. Robins gave more than $100 million to the university. A 1969 gift of $50 million is still among the 20 largest gifts to any university.”</p>
<p>“The Gift”—the family’s largely unrestricted donation of $40 million along with a $10 million challenge grant in 1969. No other living benefactor at the time had made as large a contribution to an American university. Adjusting for inflation, the $50 million gift would be worth $293 million in today’s dollars."</p>
<p>After the Robins gift, alumni and other supporters met the challenge grant and kept going. By 1980, they had matched the entire $50 million. More campaigns followed—often with Robins family members leading the way—and the University’s endowment grew to $1.57 billion as of Sept. 30, 2009. Endowment income provides about 30 percent of the University’s annual operating budget, the equivalent of $17,900 per full-time student each year.</p>
<p>That’s why his name is on all those facilities and there is a statue of him on the campus.</p>
I know my East Coast bias is showing, but I had to smile when I read this.</p>
<p>My daughter went to a summer program at Kenyon and liked it very much, but it’s probably not going to be on her list–just because it’s both small and remote.</p>
<p>^^ My sons had rural schools on their lists. S2 is at a school in a city. I am so happy about that. He had to see a medical specialist 3 times during his first semester and it would have been such a pain if he had attended a school in a remote location without having a car.</p>
<p>akapiratequeen: I tried to quote your question, but apparently I don’t have the hang of this yet. Anyway …</p>
<p>He’s interested in psychology. Philosophy has recently gone from a minor to a double major. He liked Chicago best … the whole “life of the mind” thing. Oberlin was either second or tied for first depending on his mood. He admitted last night at dinner that his evaluation of Kenyon might have been biased by his having seen it on their spring break with no students around. If you’re in the neighborhood, check it out–every kid is different and it’s all about the fit.</p>
<p>Your D’s a skater, right? Are there decent ice facilities in Austin?</p>
<p>Thanks, Steve! There is ice in Austin, though not sure about the University. She does ice dancing and that is actually pretty active in Texas. </p>
<p>Re: Chicago, I figured I’d wait for her SATs before taking her there–for some reason it’s even harder than the Ivies for kids from our NJ high school to get in to!</p>
<p>That’s closer to a large city (and you’d be surprised how large Columbus is) compared to, oh, say, Amherst, Williams, Bowdoin for starters! Somehow rural NEngland is always classified as different from rural midwest! I do agree there is a different look and feel between the two.</p>
<p>Oh I know. Believe me, I grew up on the East Coast! I was thoroughly convinced there was nothing between Boston/NY/Phila/Balt/DC and LA, except maybe some mountains! It’s all relative - which is why it’s quite amusing. I hear people talk about Buffalo, Syracuse and Rochester (and their universities respectively) and I think - man, those are cities off the beaten path.</p>
<p>Of all the schools we visited, Kenyon felt out in the middle of nowhere primarily because of its immediate surroundings and not its proximity to a city. This was the one school that my kids rejected out of hand simply because of this. It really had a dreary feel, we all thought. I know this is different than the typical Kenyon is so beautiful appearance post! My son also didn’t like Kenyon because he felt the campus looked too “churchlike” but that’s his own particular bias.</p>
<p>A number of the midwestern schools were actually our favorites, so that wasn’t the issue.</p>