<p>I'm waffling on which to select for my safety. Disregard finances (merit aid works out--barely--for all three). Which do you think is the most fiscally stable in these times? Which would be most intellectually challenging?</p>
<p>Don’t know much about any besides Kalamazoo College. It’s a nice school, and was considering it myself but recently had to remove it due to my own standards ( have been going to the same school with my cousin since K grade., and would actually… eventhough there will be tons of other students, finally end that repeating process… and basically college is the last opportunity) I have in looking for a university to attend.</p>
<p>According to the Fiske Guide, Kalamazoo is very feminist…? So I wouldn’t go there. Though judging by ur name, I’d assume ur a girl, so if that’s your thing…</p>
<p>I recently visited Beloit. The campus is nice, as you would expect in any good LAC, although not quite as manicured as some schools we’ve visited. Beloit has a new science building that is extremely impressive - looks like mega resources are going toward building up the science departments. Apparently the anthropology department is also quite strong, and Beloit hosts a Middlebury-like summer language program.</p>
<p>I’ve heard that Beloit, like other schools, is facing tough economic times, and that Beloit has even had to lay off some employees (though no faculty, I think). Sorry I can’t be more specific. I’ve also heard some people say that Beloit has been much more transparent than most LACs regarding its financial situation, so I don’t think there’s any reason to believe that Beloit is hurting any more than the other two schools you’ve mentioned. </p>
<p>As to intellectually challenging, Beloit, although not as selective as Carleton and Grinnell, seems to be aspiring to the same standards of academic rigor as these two standard bearers for midwest LACs. “Aspiring” being the operative word. Beloit might not be there yet, but at least it is setting a worthy goal, IMO.</p>
<p>One thing for certain: the people in Beloit’s admissions office were hands down the most candid, friendly, and informative of any of the ten or so LACs we have visited. </p>
<p>Not to hijack your thread, but I’d also be interested in hearing feedback as to Lawrence University.</p>
<p>Good luck, and let us know what you find out!</p>
<p>Wow all 3 of these including Lawrence are schools my daughter is beginning to look at. Love any info. Didn’t even think of financial stability before. More worried about being challenging and ability to enjoy theater and music.</p>
<p>By the way not totally manicured is okay with us greenies.</p>
<p>I really like Lawrence, too, but had to eliminate it because it wasn’t a good academic fit (no CS major, and CS-Math involved a LOT of math).</p>
<p>What is CS major?</p>
<p>Computer Science.</p>
<p>Duh - guess my age is showing.</p>
<p>for intellectual safeties also consider earlham and wooster.</p>
<p>^ Unfortunately, Earlham’s curriculum is not a fit for me and I didn’t like Wooster’s “vibe” when I visited. But thank you for the suggestions!</p>
<p>All three are good schools - if they all use the common app - why not apply to all 3 as safeties. In the end choice is a great thing. I can only speak about Beloit as I am very familiar with the campus and area.
Fiscal stability - Beloit was early in the process of being open about budget cuts. Many other colleges have followed suit - I would suggest doing a search for a specific college in google news to find more. Founded in the 1840s Beloit survived 3 major wars, the Great Depression and the more recent recession of the early 1980s - it will survive this as well. I feel certain that holds true for Knox and Kalamazoo and other small established LACs also. The science center is amazing and the new president, a former dean of Carleton, will no doubt add draw and stability.
Manicured lawns - a good way to save $ (if this is what they are doing) would be to not mow as often. Also much better for the environment. I am strongly opposed to manicured lawns myself - huge waste of resources all around.
Intellectually - the First Year Initiative offerings and the opportunity to connect during orientation through academics was one of the big reasons my D chose Beloit, she shuddered at some of the camping bonding experiences (just her).
(I don’t know much about Lawrence except that their music program is really strong.)
Best of luck!</p>
<p>^ I can’t afford to pay all 3 application fees, on top of the 10 other schools I’m applying to.</p>
<p>I know all four of these schools well. Our older son applied to them all and is at Kalamazoo now. Our younger son has visited Lawrence and Beloit and likely will apply to both as his LAC choices. All are exceptional colleges. Each has a very attractive campus although they are all quite different in character. Lawrence and Kalamazoo are in medium sized cities, Beloit and Knox in very small cities, and that difference may be meaningful to you. All but Knox have some very impressive newer academic buildings, student unions or both. </p>
<p>I would be very hesitant to credit any random comments you get here as to the “financial stability” of each of these schools. But it’s certainly a fair question, and at least worth an e-mail to the admissions offices. </p>
<p>The intellectual quality of any school is likewise difficult to capture. I can tell you that my son has found K very stimulating and demanding, but the student body is into it and there seems to be a shared commitment to it, which makes it easier for everyone. Expect a lot of writing there. Lawrence has a very intellectual “feel” to it as well, based on our visits and conversations, and the graduates I know from Lawrence have told me that also. (Although Lawrence, like Oberlin, has a great music conservatory, the Liberal Arts college – which enrolls about 2/3 of the students – is also excellent.) Beloit has staked out a reputation as a bit “freer,” and its student body reflects that, but I think you need only look at its grad school placements to see that it doesn’t hold a back seat intellectually. Its new President joined it from Carleton, and I would expect he’ll nudge it in that direction.</p>
<p>I truly believe you could not pick wrong here. Any of these colleges will give you a wonderful education. All of them are imbued with midwestern friendliness and are unpretentious. The only reason they are “safeties” is because they are in Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan. Put them in New Hampshire or Pennsylvania or Connecticut and they’d be as selective as the usual suspects on the east coast, which are vastly more expensive.</p>
<p>Keilexandra, I’m curious about your comment about Lawrence and CS. My younger son who is in the same class as you (a rising hs senior) also wants to study CS and even sat in on a class at LU during his visit. He seems quite satisfied by the opportunities there. There may be different emphases that I’m not aware of.</p>
<p>^ Thank you for the detailed comparison! My notes on CS at LU: 1.5 profs (1 permanent prof, 1 adjunct/visiting/math+CS joint prof), 15-course CS-math major with emphasis on math, 10-course CS minor. Since I want to take CS as a secondary major and I don’t particularly like math (although I’m all right at it, skill-wise), it’s not a good academic fit.</p>
<p>Do you have any photographs from your visits? I’m suspicious of official “virtual tour” photos, and I’m too far away to visit pre-acceptance.</p>
<p>Sorry Kellexandra for my thoughtless suggestion to apply to all 3 - I was trying to avoid sounding too biased in favor of Beloit! Also I had forgotten which of the schools on my D’s long list was free with the Common App.</p>
<p>A few more factors in my D’s decision making process: obviously enough classes in her academic interest areas, academically rigorous, diversity in ‘thinking types,’ % of students OOS (she didn’t want a school with a real regional feel), overseas opportunities, and merit money available. </p>
<p>Milwdad - an excellent analysis - I really enjoy reading your posts!</p>
<p>Once you see it, you wanna go to Knox if you are library fetish like I am.</p>
<p>I applied to Beloit and Knox and nearly applied to Lawrence and Kalamazoo. I chose Beloit in the end.</p>
<p>The first thing that I noticed at Beloit (i did two overnights and one visit) was the people. It is the nicest, most diverse and most fun students body of every midwest school i visited (I went to pretty much every top LAC in the midwest). Everyone that saw my prospie folder came up and introduced themselves, asked if I had questions, needed help finding a building or what I was interested in doing. There were jocks and nerds and everything in between, but there were no real cliques, everyone was excepted and there was no judgemental-ness or pretentiousness on campus. You would have to work hard NOT to fit in. It only is about 50% midwestern student body which means that many students come from all over the US. And 12% international (a rarity for the typical midwestern LAC). Additionally everyone loves what they study. Whether a perfect student or one that has more difficulty learning, everyone is excited in his or her chosen field. Academically, it is pretty rigorous with probably 3-5 hours of homework each night. It is not a place of low standards. Professors strive to help everyone learn and go out of their way to answer questions and help students. It is very intellectual and not pre-professional (ranks in as one of the top 20 LACs in PhD production). Most students do not declare a major till sophomore year. The campus is very pretty and modeled after the New England LAC campus. It is full of trees and open grassy areas. There is a brand new LEED Certified state of the art science facility. The dorms are nothing special but are kept up and are definitely not dumps. Overall, Beloit is a great bargain that turns both high achievers and mediocre students into life long learners.</p>
<p>Knox was also a nice school, however the student body was not as diverse and it didn’t have the same vibe as Beloit. It has many nice features but dorms seem really run down (and kind of scary).</p>
<p>As Loren Pope noted in his book, neither Beloit nor Kalmazoo are particularly selective with regard to admissions, but both are quite excellent at educating undergraduates. So if selectivity is an important part of the equation for you, then you’re off on the wrong foot to begin with.</p>