Ok, it’s that time of year where the final acceptances are rolling in and students are starting to make their decisions. Time for another installment of — The Ones that Got Away.
I’ll start off:
As some of you may remember, my D25 was unsure whether she wanted to go to college at all. She planned a gap year living at home while working a job and taking some classes at Normandale Community College. But then in mid August she changed her mind, decided she was going to try “regular college” after all, applied to UW-Stout, was admitted and off she went! It has turned out way better than we had hoped, but that leaves me with the following:
Normandale. What a gem of a CC: quality classes, devoted professors, interesting and diverse student body, great ties to local employers, well kept facilities. Even walking trails and a Japanese garden! I would have been very proud to have a Normandale sticker on the back window of my car, and I still feel a little wistful whenever I happen to drive by the campus.
Augsburg. Another college with devoted faculty and diverse students. This one in the midst of an interesting, slightly gritty, part of Minneapolis. Part of a consortium with other schools in the Twin Cities, so you can take classes at Macalester, Hamline, St. Kate’s or St. Thomas. The vibe would have fit her in a lot of ways and her department of study has a lot of good profs.
Gustavus Adolphus. Some people think that St. Olaf is the quintessential upper Midwest liberal arts college, but they are wrong; it’s actually Gustavus. Don’t get me wrong, I have lots of respect and love for St. Olaf, but I might just love Gustavus a little more. The education is strong across fields, the professors are devoted, the alumni network is strong, and the campus is gorgeous. To get there you drive through some of MN’s most beautiful farmland with rolling hills and rivers, past The Jolly Green Giant, and there you arrive in about the cutest town ever. My daughter’s area of study is a particular strength there. If she were at all interested in LACs (sadly she wasn’t) this place might have been heaven.