We did a trip where we toured Macalester and St. Olaf. Did Macalester first, so the campus didn’t suffer by comparison. Where Macalester wowed us (really wowed my kid) was in the class he sat in on. Man, he loved it. He loved it so much that we continued to talk about the topics that were raised in that class for the remainder of that day. That visit made it obvious that the intellectual experience he could get there was next level. (He ultimately choose to go to an LAC in New England, mostly due to his desire to be able to ski and hike, but Macalester feels a bit like 'the one that got away".)
We saw Carleton and St Olaf one day in early summer, and saw Macalester by itself at a later time. (We live in southeast, but have families in northern MN. That’a where we spend our summer)
My spouse’s family is typical nordic Minnesotans (I am not). Most of them still live in their farms. Anyway, given all that, I thought St Olaf was going to be easy win for my son. Lots of connections to being a part of Norwegians & familiar with ELCA, and even other MIAC schools (I went less selective ECLA/MIAC school, which my son will refuse to attend. )
Well, he loved Carleton. He wished it was in more of urban setting, but even ended up playing a pick up soccer game with students. At St Olaf, it only took him 5 minutes - it was over. He felt it was not inviting. Some of charming features to most of you guys describe, we could feel like visiting some relatives house with lots of past aggressiveness.
No decision yet in our household, but among 3, Mac won. Let’s see where Mac stands among other contenders.
Well, at least my two kids both talk about how much they enjoy walking around their campus. One regularly sends text-message photos of buildings “in a special light” or fog or rain or snow or with a blooming tree, or with fall leaves, or lit up at night in an interesting way … As he said one winter break “I can’t believe I get to live in such a beautiful place for a few years.”
Kid no. 2 is more enamored with the natural setting of her college, and does not send building pics, but does send lots of landscapes (X in fall! X in winter!! etc.)
Given all of the stresses of college, if what they see when walking to class uplifts the spirit, then I’m all for it.
(And to add: what uplifts the spirit will vary greatly from student to student.)
In Minnesota, the insides matter a lot more than the outsides for quite a bit of the year.
Or do they?
A lot of spaces at St. Olaf seemed to capitalize on natural light. For those who have never experienced SAD (seasonal depressive disorder), it’s a real thing. Every little bit of light helps.
It’s less than a mile walk from St. Olaf to town through the neighborhood. It’s easy and safe. (My son does it regularly to head over to Carleton). If walking isn’t your thing they offer regular bus service every hour to town/Target/ movies. So far, my son is OK being carless.
St Olaf is gorgeous. My kid liked the Carleton vibe more, but wow St. Olaf grads in MN do great after college. And the campus is so lovely.
Updates on Denison and Kenyon upcoming but I can say that both made favorable impressions on the kids.
That said …I find myself wondering: are Kenyon students happy? The recent reviews on a different website that starts with N are slightly concerning.
For what it’s worth, I think that any crowd-sourced website tends to over emphasize particular types of voices … I took N (and CC!!) with heavy grains of salt - as in, useful for particular types of information, but in general terms, more entertainment? Or suggestive?
But - given that, it is still interesting to look at trends …
My sense of those reviews is Kenyon students are happy when Kenyon is a good choice for them!
I do think Kenyon sometimes gets kids who are looking for a “prestigious” college, and it has that reputation in certain circles. But particularly when they pay a lot for that perceived prestige, they may eventually realize that is not really going to do all that much for them per se. Not that Kenyon is bad at placing people, but it isn’t uniquely good at it either. I think a lot of their value is more in the educational experience, which some kids love, but some of the prestige-oriented kids may not really see as all that important.
I also think some kids don’t always quite understand what it means to be in a relatively isolated rural area. For some, Kenyon’s very pretty campus and that sort of setting is going to be idyllic, but for some other people it will eventually play out its charm. It also often, as in the case with Kenyon, has implications for how social life is structured, including the role of Greek Life. Again, fine for some, not for others.
I gather from the comments there is also a feeling the administration has been cracking down on bigger parties in a bad way. Also complaints about housing and sometimes dining. I think these are again the sorts of complaints you might see come and go about various colleges, but certainly you might look into them a bit more if Kenyon is otherwise a strong contender.
While I’m sure there are those who aren’t (as there would be at any school), I don’t trust N too much for this kind of thing, and I’m sure it matters quite a bit what your son is looking for in terms of experience/priorities. If you want to start finding some CC parents with specific experience at the school, send me a pm so I can share a few usernames with you - I know a few who have very happy students there now. That said, my own D23 did the summer writing program there after which it dropped down on her list (she still applied, though) because she didn’t feel the location/setting worked for her (I have do doubt she would have found her people there, though).
My daughter (a senior) and her friends have been very happy at Kenyon. I can give you more feedback through PM.
I will say that of the “model” dorm rooms that we’ve seen on tours, Kenyon’s was distinctly underwhelming. Makes you wonder what the ones that they aren’t showing are like. I also gleaned from a student newspaper that the administration is changing a long-standing policy that grants groups of dorm rooms to frats/sororities in order to give other campus groups equal opportunity – and this is obviously not popular with the Greek groups that will now get fewer rooms together.
In Oberlin now. Picturesque drive and the town packs quite a punch for its size. I think this school might be everyone’s favorite so far. Really looking forward to writing up my impressions later but we have a bunch of shops to visit, a master class to drop in on, and a comedy show (Second City!) this evening…so it will have to wait.
(Side note: I think maybe my subconscious expectations of Minnesota were higher than my expectations of Ohio? Either way, Ohio is really over-delivering.)
ETA: there are five restaurants we want to try and we only get two meals here. Which is a good problem to have.
So many great schools in Ohio. We crossed them all off due to gloomy grey skies. I know my D25 would not thrive in constant grey, but Oberlin would be a great fit for her otherwise. Excited to read your review!
Can’t wait to hear. Oberlin is a school that I want to have D consider by Ohio is still a little scary.
OMG - I wish I had saved my New Englander spouse’s texts from the same tour you just did – in summer. Blown away by the schools, the views, and the people.
I vote for the Feve!
Seconded - probably too late, but the Feve never disappoints