<p>With the amount of research I did with my older kids I thought I knew most of the colleges in the PNW but I just found out about The College of Idaho. Does anyone know anything about this school's reputation?</p>
<p>I did some consulting work for them years ago, so my information may not be up-to-date.</p>
<p>College of Idaho is in Caldwell, Idaho, which anyplace outside of Idaho (or North Dakota, or Wyoming) would be considered a small city (maybe 35-40,000 people) – in Idaho that makes it one of the seven largest cities. It is also the county seat. Nice town, easy drive from Boise. (Another nice town.) Nampa (which hardly anyone has ever heard of outside of Idaho) is a slightly bigger town between Caldwell and Boise. That part of the state is relatively flat, but the mountains are not too far a drive, and they’re amazing.</p>
<p>So there’s something to understand about Idaho: it is a really insular state. You see the same people on the boards of many different public and private organizations. And, the College of Idaho is really important to those folks. They back it, they financially support it, and they hire kids out of there. HP, Albertsons, Boise-Cascade, J.R. Simplot (think potatoes for McDonalds),Potlatch… – you’ll find executives from these companies involved with everything in the state, including CofI. </p>
<p>The school is private and small, but the facilities were lovely. Lots of faculty/student interaction. When I was doing the project there, most of the kids seemed outdoorsy (which pretty much goes without saying in Idaho) and fairly conservative. (More in the independent and keep-the-government-out-of-my-life kind of conservatism rather than socially conservative.) </p>
<p>Wiki (for what it is worth) has this to say about their results:
30% of students are from out of state. International students comprise 10% of the student body. There are 25 states and 80 countries represented at the college. The college maintains a 72% graduation rate. The average class size is 16 students. There is a 9 to 1 student to faculty ratio. 96% of faculty have their terminal degree. The college of has a graduate school acceptance rate of 86%, medical school acceptance rate of 73%, and law school acceptance rate of 87%. Minority students make up 16% of the student body. The average financial aid package is $16,000. 80% of freshman students move on to their sophomore year. The college accepts 59% of applications. 55% of students live on campus. 30% of students are athletes. The male/female ratio is 40:60</p>
<p>Until 2007 the name was Alberston College of Idaho, which may explain the lack of information under the current name.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.collegeofidaho.edu/[/url]”>http://www.collegeofidaho.edu/</a></p>
<p>Thanks so much for the input arabrab. I think when I take my kid to see Boise State we may swing in to see C of I as well. We are from a tiny town too. Our population is under 10K so it won’t seem small to him. He is outdoorsy so will like that aspect as well. </p>
<p>dragonlady, well that makes sense now. I couldn’t believe that in all of my searching I hadn’t encountered it before.</p>
<p>Anyone else??</p>
<p>We received a postcard from them this week (one of many, many communications in the past year) with the note that their total enrollment is now just over a record 1,000 students. They have a reputation for good merit aid.</p>