It’s always kind of puzzled me why there aren’t more small LACs that try to get investment to upgrade the towns. Maybe many do and we just don’t hear about it. In Tennessee, Sewanee (where D has decided to attend) has come up with a strategic plan that focuses on helping the town become more appealing to prospective and current students. In Ohio I think both Wooster and Denison could benefit from this, but that’s just my opinion. Others may think the towns are just fine as they are.
We haven’t visited Knox in Galesburg yet, but I’ve read that a Knox student actually initiated a renovation of part of the downtown area, so it would appeal more to both students and potential tourists. Looking at Google maps, Galesburg does seem to have a bit more than the average small town of that size.
I do think there are plenty of kids who hail from small towns or bedroom communities who may not think it’s a big deal what the town offers… But for kids like mine, who are used to living in a (walkable) suburb of a major city with a lot to offer, the town can be a deal-breaker. I can only imagine what truly urban kids from NYC or Chicago think of some of the smaller college towns. However, I can also see where some of them may see it as a welcome respite from crowds and noise.
Very true. My D has lived in the suburbs all of her life and she can’t wait to start at Sewanee, which is about as rural as it gets. It did take a few visits, including an overnight with students, for her to be sure that it was the place for her. What finally sealed the deal for her was participation in an upper level 3-hour bio field studies class that included a hike on the mountain.
“What about Southern Illinois University at Carbondale? It’s a public university that’s about the same size as Illinois Wesleyan.”
?? SIU-C has about 16,000 students; IWU about 2000.
I agree that Ohio University is quite a hidden gem for liberal arts. Everyone lives on campus for two years, so it feels quite small, like a private school. If your daughter gets into the honors tutorial program, that offers some cool privileges. The town is charming and the surrounding hills are beautiful.
Thanks, @Hanna. I’m liking everything I hear about OU so far.
Re: IWU - she visited the school recently and probably will apply.
However - I’m seeking safeties for her, as well as a public safety.
I personally would like to see her at IWU or another LAC. However, IWU is not a safety for her. SIU-C would be, although Illinois State may be a better option for her, as she really liked Bloomington/Normal.
Oh, I just realized @gandalf78 said Illinois Wesleyan! I really think they meant Illinois State! I assumed that, anyway.
Miami of OH is very preppy and Greek. I know lots of students there. Great school but does not sound to me like what she wants.
Valparaiso is known for liberal arts. Have her read recent statements from the administration on social issues before she dismisses it as too conservative.
@ Posts #23 and #25: Yes, I meant Illinois State. Sorry for the confusion!
Well, @BeeDAre, I also hear that OU is a big party school. But that’s not an easy thing to quantify in comparison with these other midsize state schools.
Yeah, the “party school” thing… We actually have personal experience with trying to direct a kid to a school with a lower reputation for partying.
And it backfired.
My stepdaughter, 13 years D’s senior, wanted to apply to UW-Madison. At the time, Madison was infamous for being a huge party school. Stepdaughter was a hardcore partier in high school, which drove us all nuts, of course. And of course, my husband and his ex balked at her going to Madison for this reason. So she applied to U of Iowa and they were fine with that. If Iowa had a party rep, it was lower-key than Madison’s.
So, she went to Iowa. And found her people there and partied. And became addicted to cocaine (as well as other really stupid, life-changing/game-changing things she now regrets).
She is, thank goodness, clean and healthy now. But my point is, a kid tending toward partying is going to find fellow partiers, no matter the school - esp. a big state school. However, I’m certain if she’d gone to a small LAC, she’d have found her party people there, as well. She wanted to party, and it was gonna happen, no matter where…
(If she’d been my bio kid, I’d have kept her at home, but she wasn’t, and even now, I’m not sure that would’ve helped at all…)
My own D is not a “partier”. She and her friends get together and play Wii, make cookies, and make crafts… She has had a drink before, in Europe and at home, and we talk openly with her about drinking responsibly, about pot, (and sex) and my stepdaughter was recently here and had some candid conversations with D about her own past experiences. She also doesn’t have the same reasons to rebel that her older sister did… That’s a whole other, and longer, story.
We’re aware of OU’s rep. I suggested the school to D, anyway, because I think she’d really like the other aspects of the school. And, again, I think college partiers are at any given college, and these kids are going to seek each other out - just as I’m sure there must be kids at OU who are NOT interested in getting wasted every weekend and enjoy more low-key fun.
Having been to a “party school” myself, Indiana U, I also know the wild party factor can be avoided and ignored at bigger schools.
If anything, my concern would be that the party factor would annoy D, if it got huge enough (i.e., OU’s infamous Halloween party) - but she’s also not a stick-in-the mud, and if things like that are just once or twice a year, it’ll be more tolerable. I know, at IU-B, our party rep was largely founded on Little 500, a single annual event.
OU’s party reputation is reportedly due to 2 events, the Halloween Party you mentioned and Palmerfest. The thing that makes OU perhaps somewhat different compared to other “party schools” is that it is not dominated by fraternities and sororities. Only about 8-10% of OU’s students belong to one. That is much lower than say Miami University or IU. I never attended OU so I could be entirely off base but I think that would mean the parties are more likely to take place in public on Court St. (there are a good number of bars there) than behind the walls of unsupervised fraternity houses.
So, kids who aren’t into drunken public fests would be wise to avoid Court Street during Halloween and Palmerfest? Or, at least, could visit for a little while, then retreat to their dorms or other places on campus during that time?
That was our strategy, anyway, during Little 500, and during a couple of basketball championships, which, for reasons I still can’t understand, seems to incite drunken rioting and destruction - only by a few, really, but man, is it a big effect.
As others have said, OU is a good school, but a lot of alcohol. I know probably 20+ people who went there (recently) and they all drank heavily while there, but most of them were able to maintain a good GPA. Miami U has great academics, mainly liberal arts and business. It has the largest OOS population of OH publics because of the well-known business school and more private school feel. It’s quite preppy Nd more conservative (Paul Ryan is an alum) but I know very liberal kids who have been happy there. Large merit is easier to come by at Miami than OU- what are your price limits?
She might be able to get big merit at OWU with her ACT score, not sure about the GPA. Is her school pretty competitive?
I really don’t know how competitive her high school is. Part of the GPA is from her having struggled with AP Physics and Calculus this year - but some of it was her not working up to her ability at the beginning of junior year, honestly.
I anticipate her grades being better senior year, because she’s done with the really hard calculus and physics, which, apparently, are not her forte. (She has historically performed well in math and science, and this is why she was placed in AP Calc and Physics to begin with). But, of course, senior year is a little too late… I feel we need to go by her grades NOW.
Like I said earlier in this post, she’s ruled out Miami because of the social rep.
My own research indicates she would probably be admitted into OWU, but I hear that’s Greek heavy, too, although it being a smaller school, it may be different. I like their academic options, though, and it’s worth her taking a look if she decides she wants a smaller school. I like Wooster, as well. That one may be iffier as for admittance.
I guess our price limit is up to 25k for tuition alone. Maybe 30, but there needs to be a very compelling reason to spend that much, especially with her being happy to attend a second-tier or regional public.
And yeah, I drank some in college, myself - I think it’s all about time management. 
The ones who don’t figure out that there’s a time and place for it, and the time for it needs to be controlled and managed, are the ones who won’t do well academically.
Your daughter might like Ohio Wesleyan if she wants to walk to a cute town with multiple restaurants a block away from her front door. I was very impressed with the school when my D and I visited last summer and they were very generous with financial aid, in fact, after she was accepted, it was increased without our asking. There seemed to be a lot of money for supporting internships (residences in DC and NYC!) and international travel and we had the best student tour guide there. However, my daughter decided not to attend after visiting this spring and learning that the program she wanted (Japanese) was being cut and her overnight visit with students was a bit awkward, very different from the overnight she had at Earlham, which she loved.
^^“I like Wooster, as well. That one may be iffier as for admittance.”
OP, my daughter looked very seriously at Wooster, and her best friend is starting there in the fall. They have a reputation for accepting B students and providing a rigorous, quality education. My D loved the campus. (She ended up choosing Sewanee, in part because of her sport, but Wooster was a very close second.) She loved the senior year research projects that she heard about.
My D, with stats very close to your daughter’s, applied RD to Wooster the first week of October. She had her admittance, with a very generous merit scholarship, by Thanksgiving. I’ll be forever grateful to Wooster for taking the pressure off for Dec-Jan-Feb-March in the application cycle.
One thing to consider: As Kenyon has gotten substantially more difficult to get into the past 3 or 4 years, I think Wooster and Denison are seeing more applications as safeties to Kenyon. IMO it is important to demonstrate interest by visiting campus (and doing an overnight if possible), and to apply on the early side.
^^^“I really don’t know how competitive her high school is.”
OP, if you haven’t done so already, ask your D’s GC for a copy of the school profile sheet that they will send to colleges along with her transcript. This will show you exactly what admissions sees when they receive your D’s transcript, and it shows them how she stands in relation to everyone else in her class. I was really surprised by how much information is included on that sheet. (Most schools update these over the summer, so you may receive a copy of last year’s.)
Thanks for that tip! ^ Yes, we are making sure to visit all of the small LACs to “demonstrate interest”, in case that’s needed… And, of course, to see the campus, town, talk to an adcom, if possible, and it gives us an idea of the drive there, as well!
My feeling is she should also do another visit if she applies and is accepted. The bigger state schools are easier to get a feel for during summer when more students are still around - the small ones seem to be not so much. That was our experience recently at IL State and IL Wesleyan. The first still had plenty of students milling about campus and town… IL Welseyan’s campus was empty and quiet, though.
And I am very happy to hear that she may have a good chance of being accepted to Wooster, if she applies. Their majors and courses are almost perfectly aligned with her interests. As are OWU’s, if I remember…