Just toured and my DS really liked it. Anyone have recent experience? It keeps rising in the rankings and I hear good things. The endowment is small, but the campus is well kept and beautiful.
Interested in keeping this thread alive for advice and have the same questions as original poster.
We’re having a really hard decision knowing how small is too small? Pros & Cons I guess.
Thanks.
Our son toured the campus during the fall and got in EA. He really liked the campus vibe and it felt safe. He is interested in prehealth and from what he has researched, Lake Forest has a good STEM / prehealth program. The college gave him a generous merit scholarship $34,000 a year x 4 years.
WalletHub recently placed Lake Forest 133rd nationally in a ranking that includes liberal arts colleges and universities together.
Thanks for your comments. They are very helpful.
My daughter has also been accepted EA to Lake Forest, similar to your son.
We are international, so deciding from the other side of the world.
We have learnt so much in this process, but I also feel like I know nothing about how to make the final decision.
Is this to confirm that it is rising in the rankings?
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I don’t know much about the college but I grew up in Lake Forest and it a very safe, beautiful town. The college is located between the downtown and Lake Michigan. A lot of old money and gorgeous old mansions. You can take the train down into the city of Chicago easily. It’s about a 60 minute ride, maybe faster if it isn’t running all of the stops.
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You might be able to ask Lake Forest Admission to put your child in contact with an international student already at Lake Forest to get a more detailed view/opinion from someone with similar background.
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I’m on the west coast so only heard about the college or met alums a few times. But each was a happy story; stories speak of a good school and profs who connect well with students
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The post was intended to be generally supportive of Lake Forest.
I don’t know if you are still considering LFC, but I will share what I know about Lake Forest. I live in a suburb near Lake Forest, but don’t know a lot about Lake Forest College’s academics and student life, etc. I have been on campus numerous times for my children’s hockey games. Many local hockey clubs use LFC’s hockey rink. LFC’s athletic building is new and modern.
I don’t know any HS peers of my children who attended LFC. Most likely it’s because most of our town’s HS students prefer to go to schools farther away from their homes - many prefer OOS colleges and big 10s like UIUC, UW-Madison, UM-Ann Arbor, UT-Austin, OSU, etc. The only person I know who attended LFC is one of the teachers at our local HS. I think he came from Canada and met his wife at LFC and decided to stay in the area. He is a good teacher; our local and nearby suburban HS teachers are respected and are paid well.
LFC campus is small, but beautiful. Its location is in East LF area and close to Lake Michigan, as mentioned in one of the previous posts. For folks not familiar with the Great Lakes, Lake Michigan is huge and beautiful. Lake Forest beach is well kept, like many of the public beaches along Lake Michigan in the northern suburbs. Given that many of these public beaches have parking restrictions for non LF citizens, it’s mostly locals that use the beach.
I really don’t know much about the LFC’s rankings, academics, etc. I was surprised by the diverse student population data though, which was nice to learn. I presume most students live on campus all 4 years? Nearby housing is not geared towards apartments, if I recall. They are mostly very well appointed homes along a picturesque winding road, that does not have sidewalks.
It’s understandable that students who receive larger merit aids have to weigh pros and cons of going to LFC vs other options that may not off aid. It’s not a stem oriented school, but I am sure many will receive a fine liberal arts education. Two of my children chose their respective schools because of the larger merit aids and opportunities for their specific majors. No one college is perfect.
Here are things I do know about Lake Forest, the community:
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It is an incredibly safe bedroom community - a very wealthy northern suburb of Chicago.
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It has a cute downtown, walking distance from LFC, but it’s small. Students can find a Starbucks, Walgreens, Einstein bagel shop, but not any national chains like Chipotle, McD’s, Potbellies, etc.
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There is a very posh Target further north of town, There are more national food chains on the west and north side of LF. To get there, students will need a car or friends who have cars.
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The LF general population is not very diverse - economically or ethnically - but highly educated and generally friendly and nice.
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There is a very good hospital, one of the Northwestern U Medical satellites, in the western side of LF. There is another good option in Highland Park, which is just south of LF and is accessible via Metro train station.
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Chicago is easily accessible on the Metra train; the station is walking distance from LFC. The ride is about 1 hour to Chicago; it’s a safe and much cleaner train ride than the CTA. There are many suburbs along the way to Chicago with its own train stations and each has its unique character, shops, and restaurants. Evanston, home of Northwestern U, is one of the larger suburbs along the line and is more vibrant and energetic than LF. Once in Chicago, students can easily access the CTA train or bus to explore the various neighborhoods of Chicago. There’s just so much to do in Chicago!
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For students who have to fly into Chicago, O’Hare is more convenient than Midway, in my opinion. Once there, students will have to travel via taxi or uber, or friends with cars to get to LFC. The drive without traffic is about 30 minutes or can much take longer during rush hour. Generally traffic heading north (towards LF) is better than heading east towards Chicago or south towards other suburbs.
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For internship opportunities, based on my children’s experience at their respective schools, most college students tend to land one, esp their first internship, in their locale or region. Therefore, LFC students may find opportunities in Chicago, given its size and the variety of industries. Larger companies like Abbott Labs and Abbvie are in LF and Walgreens’ headquarter is in Deerfield, just SW of LF. I recommend asking LFC’s admissions about opportunities.
Good luck with your decisions.
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Thank you so much for responding. We are going to visit in April. The school has excellent outreach & this makes me want to make the effort to visit. It will ultimately be my child’s decision & the size might be a negative for him but currently I have a good feeling about it.
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I will push back on one thing that @cag60093 said (excellent overview), that Lake Forest College isn’t STEM oriented.
If your child is interested in a health profession (doctor, nurse, PT, OT, pharmacy, etc) - it has excellent resources. They recently built a huge new science center, have a ton of articulated agreements with grad schools in the surrounding areas and are extremely strong in neuroscience/biology/environmental.
We went to an open house with one of our children (we are in the Chicagoland area) and were incredibly impressed by the school’s offering in pre-health offerings and advising. Biology, BCBM and Neuroscience seem to be their strongest STEM offerings.
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Thank you for that important update. My student “thinks” he wants some form of STEM & maybe he does but he’s undecided enough that I am willing to look at strong liberal arts. But - it would be nice to have strong sciences too. He’s in the category of “could do be anything if he knew what it was.” I like the small school aspect for him.
Did your child apply? Or too close to home?
They did apply…and it was too close to home. 
Extremely impressive school, and if it was on either coast - it would have been a true contender.
Has a lot of school spirit; sports are a big deal on campus.
The two big areas they concentrated on during the open house were the Biology/Neuroscience majors and the Economics major they offer. STEM is available is desired…and they seemed to have a ton of resources with internships/fellowships/summer jobs in Chicago, etc.
Awww. I asked that question because we have a few schools here that are out of the running because well … they’re here.
I’m sure your student has some great options though!
Yup. And it didn’t matter how much merit money was offered. Lake Forest is generous with merit; my child was offered $34k/yr.
As a parent that must be tough to give up. They do seem more generous than other schools. I looked up the financial rating awhile back & IIRC it was good. I worry about that with the smaller schools because of the essential discounting that they have to do.
I think it is a bit of a hidden gem. Reasonably priced, great location, good sports and solid academics. 
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