Q: what would you say is the political culture of Denison? To be upfront, I’m a progressive activist/quite liberal, and I know Denison has/had the reputation of being for the kids of wealthy conservatives at one point in time (read it in one of those college guide books). I’d rather not go somewhere where I feel I have to silence myself or have no opportunities to be politically active. I never thought I’d be seriously considering Dension, but they gave me a hefty merit scholarship and have a sizable film program, so it’s essentially down to Dension and another LAC which is “higher ranked” but doesnt offer as strong of a film program.
On another note, I’ve heard the campus is quite preppy. While I have no problem with this (I for one love a good dose of taylor swift and reality television every once in a while), I’ve never quite ~fit in~ with the preppy kids at my high school and want to know what kind of social life I’d be getting myself into.
@phoria That stereotype is way outdated haha. Denison overall is a quite liberal (though more moderate than Oberlin or Kenyon) and pretty politically active. If anything, you’d feel more out of place being really conservative, though there was an active Denison Republicans group when I was on campus. I’d also consider the preppy stereotype to be outdated. Denison has won awards in recent years for being one of the best private schools in the country for enrolling a mix of wealthy/middle class/lower income students. There are preppy students, but there are a lot of non-preppy students, as well. Long story short: Denison has changed rapidly over the past 10-15 years and a lot of the guide books and even college review websites have yet to catch up. I’d definitely do an overnight visit if you have the chance to see if it’s a good fit for you!