the trip to admitted student open house is this weekend. during your visits to admitted student open house, what were your impressions? anything we should be certain to do/see to help make the final decision?
I am going to the 04/12 to 04/13 admitted student event. Would appreciate comments from anyone who is going this weekend. It is coming down to the wire with Beloit, Lawrence, and Centre.
My wife and I attended the February open house with our daughter when it was freezing. We thought the bitter cold would be tough for her after 8 years in California, but we all had an excellent time and I am happy to report that she has recently committed to Beloit over Lawrence, Dickinson, Lewis and Clark and a few others that were originally higher on her list. All the financial aid packages were close enough that it wasn’t a deciding factor. She was so excited about Beloit that she even committed before receiving a decision from Skidmore which was her original top choice.
I was impressed with the organization of the Open House. It was longer than most which allowed for a nice, unhurried pace and the chance to meet a lot of people informally. There were good activities to occupy the parents too. Our daughter met her host before dinner Sunday, and we didn’t see her again until lunch the next day.
Beloit is a small campus, and some of the competitors have more impressive facilities but we all felt Beloit had good, functional facilities (especially considering its small size) and the best on-campus atmosphere. D had the best overnight experience she had on any other visits, and visited 2 interesting classes. Students and faculty were friendly, and also very interesting, creative people. The curriculum is extremely flexible with strong advising which is a good fit for our daughter’s creative interests.
@CAtransplantdad: ditto. We were on campus that same cold weekend. My D hasn’t officially committed yet, but she will next weekend when our Spring Break starts. She was ready to commit after her visit to Lawrence and before she heard from Macalester (admitted). However, since we didn’t have all the financial paperwork from any of her schools (other than merit aid awards), we encouraged her to wait since it was only a matter of a few weeks. So far, we have all been impressed that Beloit gets it right every time. Everyone from the President down to the mail room manager (whom we actually spoke with) is so nice.
My d and I were also at the February event. Ditto to what the others said about the weekend. It was cold, but my d was unfazed. She liked the kids she met, including her host (a creative writing major–my d’s intended major). She had time to visit only one class, but was able to talk with creative writing faculty twice. Faculty and staff are all very friendly, and the event was well-organized. My d is waiting to hear from two more schools tomorrow, but as of now, she’s narrowed it down to Beloit or Grinnell. Beloit has been one of her favorites since we first visited nearly two years ago, and the visit weekend lived up to her initial impressions.
Great information! Thanks to all of you for posting.
To those considering Beloit and Lawrence, what did you like better about Beloit?
Warm and cozy vs more distant and aloof, semester vs quarter, extensive support services vs not so much, ease of transportation, proximity to Chicago area relatives (only a slight bonus as Appleton is not that much further in the grand scheme of things). Oh, and price: D earned an additional scholarship at Beloit that makes it the most affordable school aside from our CSUs.
Thank you 1518mom. You have touched on a few things I have considered but I appreciate you reinforcing my thoughts.
I have gotten the impression that Beloit is more nuturing.
We were happy with the visit and overall impressed. Everyone, including the president, was very, very nice. The students were very friendly. The class was great. The dorms and some of the infrastructure seemed a bit worn. It didn’t wow enough that he has decided beloit, without hesitation, is his next destination. Still needs a bit more time to let things settle (which is good, but I would love a decision). Still waiting on a few schools and have trips planned in the next 5 weeks to hendrix, kalamazoo, and earlham. Give us strength. Good luck to everyone else on this fun and stressful process. The comments, so far, will be helpful for future students/families…
We attended this past weekend with D. She liked the students and felt she fit in well. She loved the improv event and we saw posters advertising other student activities she thought sounded like fun. (A trip to Chicago to see The Book of Mormon, for one) The professors were approachable. The dining hall had lots of appetizing vegetarian options. I particularly noticed the wide variety of fashion choices the students made, a few guys in skirts and capes, students in preppy and punk styles and plenty of kids in jeans and sweats. Looks like almost anyone would feel comfortable here. It was a beautiful snowy day but I would have preferred warmer weather at the end of March. She seemed unfazed by the cold. This is one of her top choices now.
Thank you tigerfish and slacbound.
Slackbound, I have heard several people describe Beloit as rough around the edges or a bit worn. You mentioned the dorms in particular. Anything else of note?
What is the administration saying about the timeline for the new student complex?
Accordng to one of the development people at a reception last week, the “Powerhouse” won’t be open until 2018 at the earliest.
It’s fair to call the facilities worn around the edges; their funds are clearly spent elsewhere. But we love the people. When we went to the admitted student event in February, we joined our daughter for lunch and all the kids at the table struck up conversation with us and the other parents. That, too, made an impression.
Thank you for the information, AllisonMP. I still would like to know what the comment “worn around the edges” applies to and what to look for.
The buildings are not in disrepair. The grounds are not manicured to the level of some of the better-endowed schools that we’ve been, but they are neat and well-tended. (And all the snow gets shoveled!) It is not a ramshackle place. I did notice, for instance, on one of our visits, that the carpet on the stairs down into the dining hall was worn in a way it would never be at some schools. Maybe there are dings on the stairway walls-- that level of worn. The area around the administrative offices look the same they probably did in the 80s-- serviceable, not a showplace.
Does that help?
That helps a lot AllisonMP. Thank you.
I loved Puget Sound. Beautiful campus and well attended. The folks there openly admit they put money into campus/buildings and less into scholarships. I could tell. That’s why I am not going there.
I would say the opposite is true of Beloit. They clearly have enrollment reasons for giving a ton of merit aid, but as a group, from the president on down, they seem very sincere in their purpose, and I tend to agree with their priorities.
Taken as a whole, Beloit is a lovely, traditional campus. The new student center will be a big, big plus, and it’s too bad the Class of 2019 might not get to use it, but.
Enjoy your visit!
Thank you for all of your advice, AllisonMP. I plan to write a detailed comparison between Beloit and Lawrence when I return in a couple of weeks. My decision will be made as well.
I’ll be curious to read that, @crawljumper11. My daughter really enjoyed her overnight at Lawrence, but it was in the summer, and the campus was otherwise empty.