Congrats! DD is in as well with $25k scholarship!
@laliaM congratulations!
@TytoAlba congrats!
tbh I wasn’t sure if it would be weird to post specifics or not, but I got a $20k scholarship. 
Congratulations!!
Does anyone know if we get a tentitive financial aid package with the letter? I sent in my financial aid stuff a while back, but the status update makes it seem like it won’t be included. 
After seeing the posts on this thread she couldn’t contain herself and checked the portal. She got in! Generous scholarship. She can’t stop smiling!
Son admitted as well, great merit package. Now just waiting on one more EA at Kalamazoo, and decision time!
Congrats to all accepted, a wonderful place!
Did you guys get this on the portal? D wants to wait for letter in the mail…her parents are impatient to know!
@booajo My student’s acceptance was on portal, with a status update and link to click. We haven’t received mail today, so don’t know how quickly the mailed version will arrive.
Big envelope arrived today!
Here, too!
Hello everyone! I am a current student at Lawrence, and I just wanted to wish all the newly admitted students congratulations I hope you end up at the perfect school for you!
I just wanted to comment on a couple of things I saw in this thread since it seems they are common questions about Lawrence. First of all, I really love the town of Appleton. It definitely has more going on than many small towns where liberal arts colleges are frequently located (I applied to several of these other colleges as well, and the town was one of the ultimate deciding factors for me.) This past term, I attended a couple of shows at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center, only a ten minute walk from my dorm, and I ate out/went to coffee shops to do homework/browsed in the shops fairly frequently. My favorite restaurant is hands-down Cozzy Corner, a funky soul-food joint, which you must try if you’re in the area! There is also a wonderful Farmer’s Market that is literally right outside my dorm during the fall and something like a five minute walk the rest of the year (it migrates inside a shopping center on College Ave when the weather gets cold.) There are also two museums right by campus (an art museum and a cute local history museum), and a shuttle to the mall and grocery store that runs every day, I believe.
I believe someone commented on the meal plan. In my experience, the number of meal swipes is more than enough. I rarely eat breakfast, just because I value my sleep before class (hehe), but when I do, I typically just eat some yogurt in my dorm room anyway. That is partially the location of my dorm as well, though- I live in Ormsby, which is conveniently located right by all the academic buildings, but it is slightly farther from food. I wouldn’t trade it, though, because I like being only two minutes from all my classes! Also, you have “culinary cash” included in your meal plan, which you can use to eat at the campus cafe or the convenience store between mealtimes. It all averages out. Even people I know that do eat breakfast at the cafeteria haven’t seemed to have problems.
Also, there is plenty of overlap between the con and the college. I myself am in the college, but I sing in a choir through the conservatory. We have three incredibly high-caliber choirs, two of which are audition (though open to both college and con students) and one of which is open to everyone (non-audition). Choir has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my Lawrence career thus far.
Finally, I noticed that several of the folks on this thread got great merit packages (congratulations!!!) I have to say, Lawrence’s merit package was another deciding factor for me in coming to Lawrence, and it was the same for many, many other students that I know. Lawrence has done an amazing job expanding its scholarship fund in the last few years. I have lost count of the number of people I’ve met that have said stuff like, “Yeah, I got into Yale, but it seemed too competitive and I didn’t want to be in debt for the rest of my life.” I think there’s really something to be said for that. I myself got into several more “prestigious” schools, all East Coast, but they were all more expensive and had a more intense atmosphere than I liked. Lawrence students work hard, but in a very supportive way. Of course, that’s nothing against Yale, but different people have different priorities
Anyways, best of luck in your college searches! I hope to see you all next fall
@ninaw999 I don’t know if you can answer this or not, but …
how is the substance free situation at Lawrence? I have a DD who will barely be 17 as a freshman and is not into drinking and partying. She worries this is “all college kids seem to do.”
How do kids get to the football games since it isn’t walkable? Do kids even go? Is there any type of school sports spirit?
How is the class situation in terms of getting into classes you need? I’ve heard from other students at LACs that there is constantly a problem with not having enough seats for classes you want, and registration stress because there simply aren’t enough sections offered.
On weekends are kids staying on campus or are there a lot of kids who head home?
Are there plenty of nerdy SMART kids?
Any idea if there is an orchestra for kids who aren’t in the Conservatory but want to keep playing strings for fun?
How safe is the campus? Is it well lit at night? Are there security that patrol? Don’t want to sound neurotic but this is a parental worry.
Thanks!
Great questions, thanks for asking!
@TytoAlba I can answer some of your questions as the parent of a current Lawrence student and maybe ninaw999 can weigh in from the perspective of a student. My daughter has several friends who are substance free and there seems to be no stigma to choosing to not drink. My D says the drinking culture is fairly tame from her perspective and though there is certainly drinking at parties there are students who attend the parties and don’t drink and there is no pressure to drink and there seems to be a fair number of activities available on an ongoing basis that don’t involve drinking. Though there are a fair number of students attending LU who are from Wisconsin and close enough to go home some weekends there does not seem to be a mass exodus every weekend. I think most students stay on campus on the weekends. My D has some friends who live in WI and go home occasionally, but not the majority of weekends. My D is a smart nerdy kid and has definitely found many other students with similar interests, she has lots of friends. I think there are many students who would fit that description. I don’t think there is a separate orchestra for noncon students. Non music major students are welcome in the Orchestra by audition. The orchestra rehearsal schedule is fairly demanding, rehearsing 3x per week. There is a shuttle from campus to the football stadium that runs when there is a game. We took it over to a game when we were visiting and it was very convenient. LU just finished a new football stadium this fall and there were plenty of students at the game and lots of people from town who attend the games. My D is part of a campus group that is working to increase student attendance at athletic and conservatory events. They are trying to get athletes to attend conservatory events and conservatory students to attend athletic events. That being said, I think there is some frustration among some of the students that there is not more attendance at athletic events by the students. My D has spoken quite a bit about the security on campus and there seems to be a strong presence for a small campus, she feels that the campus is very safe and has not expressed any concerns about safety. It is very well lit at night. My D has not had any trouble so far, she’s a sophomore, getting any of the classes that she is interested in. She has done a fair amount of last minute rearranging of her schedule and has still been able to get those classes at the last minute. I think she has also been able to get into some classes where she was on the wait list.
Hope this helps, Lawrence is a great school, my D is very happy there.
Thank you @cellomom2 !!!
My daughter plays the cello, coincidentally! I’m not sure she wants a rigorous rehearsal schedule. We’ll have to check on that.
What does your daughter major in? My DD is interested in biology and genetics and wondering if the research prospects are strong. Opportunity,wise. I know Lawrence is strong in physics, but any idea on other science areas?
She does scholastic quiz bowl and is hoping to do that at school as well.
One slightly odd question, but she wondered if the women’s dorm showers were private? One school dorm had “gang” showers, literally ten shower heads along a wall and nothing between them except a flimsy shower curtain. It sounds petty but it was not optimal in her eyes.
Lastly, what are THE hot topics on campus right now? I read the Lawrentian online and was wondering what students are talking about a lot maybe offline? Any big changes coming that maybe the administration might not be sharing with prospective students?
Thank you!!
Hello TytoAlba,
I would agree with cellomom2’s comments on the substance presence at Lawrence. It exists, yes (primarily in the form of alcohol- I don’t believe drug use is very common, though I wouldn’t know), but there is definitely no stigma if you don’t drink, and there are plenty of students who don’t. On a typical weekend, there may be a party where you can drink (or not- I have lots of friends who are purely interested in dancing!), but there are also movies shown in the campus cinema, in addition to the occasional concert or dorm game night. There are plenty of alternatives to drinking. There is even a substance-free dorm (Kohler Hall).
The football stadium isn’t directly on campus, but it IS walkable- around ten minutes. It’s quite a nice walk, actually, over the river If that isn’t your thing, there is a shuttle you can take. I will say, I’m not particularly into sports, and I haven’t attended any sporting events. From my perspective, the student athletes at LU are driven by a love of their sport, but sports aren’t all-consuming like at many big state schools. School spirit exists, but it’s relatively low-key. Of course, if you’re in a more athletic crowd, that might be different. There are also several club sports that are very inclusive of kids who are more interested in having fun (crew, frisbee, and women’s hockey come to mind- I know people involved in each of these).
I haven’t had any trouble registering for classes. There sometimes is a waiting list for big intro classes, which your daughter would likely only run into her first year (depending on what she’s interested in studying), but as long as she’s prepared with her classes before registration begins, she shouldn’t have a problem. I know two girls who were waitlisted for the intro econ class, but got off the waitlist the first week. Most of the issues I’ve heard about with registration were the result of students not being prepared.
Almost everyone stays on campus on the weekend, and I can’t comment on orchestra, sorry! I would say smart nerdy kids are basically Lawrentians in a nutshell
The campus is INCREDIBLY safe at night, and the security staff are well loved by the campus community (the main security guard, Kevin, is literally one of the nicest people I’ve ever met). They really care about keeping everyone safe, more than about getting people in trouble, and, as such, I think LU students are more inclined to seek help if they need it. It’s a very good atmosphere to have. We also have blue light phones around campus.
Biology is VERY strong at Lawrence! It’s a very rigorous program, but we have awesome facilities and teachers. I don’t study bio myself, but I have a good friend who does. I don’t know about research opportunities as extracurricular activities (if that’s what you were wondering about), but I know all the students in the intro class are required to complete a research project, where they do real lab work.
I don’t think we have any showers like that…the niceness of bathrooms varies by dorm building, but I think a fairly typical setup is several showers next to each other, separated by a wall (though not a full floor-to-ceiling wall- still, it’s pretty private), with a curtain in front. Some bathrooms have showers with doors. It just depends.
Everyone is currently on break right now (we go back on Monday), so I’m not totally sure what the hot topics are, but I know this past term there has been more dialogue on campus with both students and administration on making Lawrence more inclusive to students of color.
I am happy to answer more questions!