<p>My son is looking at colleges in the midwest including Beloit. He is a very clean cut mainstream kind of kid - not hippy or preppy, not religious, not interested in fraternities. Politics lean leftward but not at all an activist. We are wondering if Beloit might be too 'hippy' for him? Other colleges we're considering are Lawrence, College of Wooster, and Ohio Wesleyan.</p>
<p>Thoughts?</p>
<p>Maybe it should go on a diet! I think it’s “hippie” when talking about people!</p>
<p>Yep, you’re right!</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry. Let him choose his school. Kids need to branch out at this stage. He will take these next four years in stride, balanced against his previous seventeen years, and emerge with a new perspective. . .yes, they are still far from mature, but these years are for him to look for him to expand. Beloit is not a school to sneeze at, a great reputation and great academics. Trust him.</p>
<p>This is when visiting during the school year, maybe a weekend night there can give a student an idea of what the atmosphere is like. There are many excellent schools that just are not the right flavor for some kids. My oldest did not like Vassar. All three wanted a school that was not predominantly female, or with a female history. They came to that conclusion from visiting a number of former all women colleges. They had no feeling one way or the other about this until they visited. There are some schools that are “too hippy” for some kids’ comforts as well. I know kids who felt that way about Bard, after they felt the curriculum, opportunities and other features were just what they wanted. One of my sons did not like schools with a heavy Greek presence. It was a surprise when one of them really liked the Catholic schools. Some like the big sports team schools; others do not. </p>
<p>So have him visit and get a feel for the schools.</p>
<p>Neither hippy nor hippie as far as we observed during visits! Have your S take a look at the first year initiatives offerings - that says more about Beloit than anything else. All the schools you mentioned are great, including Beloit.</p>
<p>He should visit and see. He might also consider Kalamazoo, which gets a lot of the same applicants as Beloit. My son and I visited both Beloit and Kalamazoo-- I felt that K was less arty, less hippieish than Beloit. But your son sounds like he would be a good fit for either school. The other schools you mention also sound like reasonable schools for him to look at.</p>
<p>If you’re traveling to Ohio Wesleyan…why not check out Denison? A more conservative student body than Beloit, I would say, but still a good variety of students and academics.</p>
<p>My daughter just finished her first year at Beloit. She also applied to Lawrence and the College of Wooster, and visited all three before making a final decision. They’re all great schools, but she felt most at home at Beloit. She does have an artsy flair about her, but nothing extreme. Her friends at Beloit seem to run the gamut in terms of their interests and personalities. I think your son would fit in without any problem, but if possible, he should visit to experience that elusive “feel” that varies from campus to campus.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the replies. Unfortunately, we are visiting in the summer since we live far away so he won’t be able to get the feel of the student population. He isn’t an artsy type and plans to major in one of the sciences. All three schools (Beloit, Lawrence, and Wooster) are strong in the sciences.</p>
<p>Definitely check out Kalamazoo, then. Strong in the sciences, not as arty as Beloit or Lawrence. More of a nerdy school. No frats (though the “fraternities” at Beloit don’t seem to be like fraternities at other schools).</p>
<p>Can your son visit a Colleges That Change Lives fair? My son felt that he got something of a feel for some schools at a CTCL fair. He eliminated Lawrence from his list on the basis that the CTCL representative made it seem too arty. (YMMV. I thought Lawrence would’ve been a good choice for him, but he was the one who was picking.)</p>
<p>Do you mean too <em>hippie</em>?</p>
<p>Thanks, I’ll check into Kalamazoo and into the CTCL fair. We do have the book and have discovered some great schools through that.</p>
<p>I posted this in another forum where you made this thread, but I wanted to make sure you saw it:</p>
<p>Beloit is not “hippy” more then it is quirky. I met a huge range of people on my 2 overnights to Beloit and found Jocks, Preps, Nerds, Geeks, Hippies and everything in between. You would have to try hard NOT to fit in at Beloit. It has its share of artsy students, but I met so many people who were not artsy it would be impossible to make that as a generality.</p>
<p>He should definitely visit with students on campus though. I did summer visits to many colleges too and they were pointless compared to how much going during the school year helped.</p>
<p>Well put SmallColleges - my D was on the lookout for anything “too…” during her overnight and really liked that the students at Beloit represented all the basic “types” with many in between. </p>
<p>Besides excellent Wooster, Kalamazoo, etc. suggestions, I have heard really great things about Earlham as well.</p>
<p>If your S is interested in the sciences, then definitely take a look at Kalamazoo which is only a couple of hours drive from Beloit. Very strong programs and state-of-the-art facilities: [Facilities:</a> Biology - Kalamazoo College](<a href=“http://www.kzoo.edu/biology/facilities.html]Facilities:”>http://www.kzoo.edu/biology/facilities.html)</p>
<p>My S is finishing up his junior year at K. He’s also a clean cut mainstream guy as are most of his college buddies, not the least bit hippie, nerdy, artsy, etc., and he’s had an excellent experience.</p>
<p>He also might like Wittenberg in Ohio or Lake Forest outside of Chicago…both schools have fabulous merit money and solid academics</p>
<p>Sorry to quibble, but Kalamazoo is not a couple hours drive from Beloit.</p>
<p>^^Well, better scratch it off the list then! Where I’m from in the Midwest, anything under a 1/2-day’s drive qualifies as the generic couple of hours. Whatever!</p>
<p>How far is Kalamazoo from Beloit, by car? Three hours? Three and a half? My son will be at K, and his best friend will be at Beloit. We figured they could meet up in Chicago.</p>
<p>(Go figure, two California boys ending up so close together in the Midwest. They didn’t plan it that way-- best friend hoped to end up in the East and Fang Jr for the longest time was expecting to go to Beloit. But then Fang Jr visited K and loved it, and best friend was not accepted at the six or seven Eastern LACs he applied to.)</p>