<p>No. It was probably my alma mater (Wisconsin)!! I loved my school but when almost all of your campus is from Wisconsin, which is mostly made up of small towns with a few exceptions, you do end up with a rather homogenous group of people. I madly loved my part of that homogenous group of people, but once in med school and residency really enjoyed a more diverse bunch of colleagues.</p>
<p>^^ It was Lawrence. It just wasnāt for her. I thought it seemed wonderful!</p>
<p>Oh, yes. I lived in a town just south where the people thought Appleton was the big city! So you can imagineā¦ Great school, yes, butā¦!</p>
<p>Loved Lawrence. Actually, seemed to have a very high presence of internationals. Best FA offer S2 received, also. Not to be, however.</p>
<p>Itās kind of a mix of Wisconsinites, internationals, and a few savvy out of staters.</p>
<p>Jaylynn, our daughter went to Ripon College in Ripon, WI. Itās south of Appleton, right? We are from California, so having her go off to a teeny college in a teeny town in WI was sort of scary, we had no idea what the midwest was like. She loved the place!</p>
<p>Yes-- people in Ripon thought OUR little town was the big city, haha. Iām glad she loved it. Itās a cute little place.One great restaurant (I hope itās still there), supposedly the birthplace of the Republican party, and onetime college town for Harrison Ford, right? Those are Riponās claims to fame! :D</p>
<p>DS liked both Lawrence and Ripon but each came off for a stupid reason (Lawrence girls werenāt attractive enough and Ripon had a a grammar error in a few personal emails from students). I personally thought Appleton was the kind of college town that I could easily call home.</p>
<p>^^^ maybe thatās really why DS didnāt like it but was just too polite to say :D</p>
<p>Thereās a 10 year difference between our D and our S, she graduated HS in 2000, he was the HS class of 2010. She is very bright, but with some learning disabilities, so Riponās small size and very supportive atmosphere was good for her. To be honest, we knew far less about the college search process when she was looking than we did when it was Sās turn. She found Ripon at a college fair in San Francisco, at that time they were actively courting Cal students. She was given so much merit aid and music scholarship money that we really just paid for room and board, thankfully, it was a good place for her. Sometimes I feel guilty that she didnāt see as many options as S did, for instance, she never even visited Lawrence until she went with her brother on a tour, she was very impressed and the music department would have been wonderful for her. Oh well, you canāt go back.</p>
<p>bopambo: I really believe in destiny. She ended up at the right place.</p>
<p>mythmom, youāre right, thanks. And regret is probably the worldās most useless activity.</p>
<p>Iām adding schools based on this list. Lawrence sounds great for our twins, except that they donāt have DSās major or DDās sport. The size, location, town, etc. are all perfect for them. Maybe they will add those two things between now and September :D.</p>
<p>Maybe. But really-- the town is really. Small. I mean, not tiny. But not really a college town, imo, except for the few blocks right around campus.</p>
<p>laurendogādid your step-D just look at the two California schools? Chapman is pretty nifty for another one in Southern California. It is a medium sized, private, regional university. They give out great non-need based merit aid, too. It is located in Orange (about 10 minutes from Disneyland).</p>
<p>momsings, I remember that you were looking at theater programs, do I also remember that your S decided on Chapman? What persuaded him?</p>
<p>bopamboāthis was my sonās top school from our first visit spring break of junior year. He liked the size of the programāmedium, from our perspective. He also thought it was great that everyone starts as a BA and then end of freshman year gets to decide whether to stay as a BA or audition for the BFA film acting or BFA acting programs. He liked the fact that it is an up and coming program that is starting to really be recognized at the New York competitions, as well as their strong ties to Shakespeare Orange County. S also found the idea of working with the students at the Dodge film school an interesting option as he has only stage experience, not film. I think he felt there was alot of exciting and challenging opportunities. Another thing he likes about Chapman in general is their interim programāduring the long winter interim the theatre department has two trips available, one to London and one to Greece. There are also study abroad options for theatre too. Another thingāhe was impressed with the faculty who are not only professors at the school but who are all working professionals in the field.</p>
<p>momsings, sounds like an amazing program for the kid whoās committed to acting!</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone for all of your CA suggestions for Step-D. Unfortunately (or fortunately for our ācollege visit budgetā - ha) we are limited to looking at schools that offer a 4 year Accredited Undergraduate Athletic Training degree. The Accreditation is a big deal because without it, it is extremely difficult to enter the work force. I present to you, the list of CA school with accredited programs 
[url=<a href=āhttp://www.caate.net/imis15/CAATE/Accredited_Programs/Core/directory.aspx?hkey=b91f27b1-2a93-4ed1-b1e6-55cc82ac0fc3]Directory[/urlā>http://www.caate.net/imis15/CAATE/Accredited_Programs/Core/directory.aspx?hkey=b91f27b1-2a93-4ed1-b1e6-55cc82ac0fc3]Directory[/url</a>]</p>
<p>My 2 cents about Lawrence. Where I grew up, it does have a certain ācacheā to it. A friend of mine decided she really wanted to be part of that āLawrenceā alumni group and therefore she went there. Decided to major in Chinese and Asian Studies. Due to the size of Lawrence, she ended up having the same Chinese teacher all 4 years! She had a succession of roommates whom were from very rural (nearly amish) communities in WI and that was very hard for her to adjust to. Every story from her (and remember she was trying to spin this in a positive way) was worse than the last. She did graduate with a HUGE amount of debt and probably a lot of regret. </p>
<p>For those whom embrace small-town America and want to major in something like, English or Math, itās probably just fine. For anyone from an actual city, whom has an academic interest thatās not very common, I would definitely think long and hard.</p>
<p>DD14 didnāt like UCONNā¦Villanova didnāt impress her eitherā¦</p>