<p>I visited St. Olaf recently, and really enjoyed the feeling of community and overall friendly atmosphere of the college.</p>
<p>However, many factors discourage me from applying (here comes a run-on):</p>
<p>I feel that, while I may receive a good education at Olaf, a degree from this school might not look as impressive on a job application as one from another college where I could, for example, get the same or better education, perhaps at a lower price, with more recognition/stock. (Not that I need a name-brand school... but one that looks more competitive, perhaps. I am pretty confident I could get into St. Olaf, and I have always looked at more competitive schools.)</p>
<p>I also visited Carleton, another school which I am considering. The atmosphere here was less friendly and more discretionary, if that makes sense; it seemed more as if St. Olaf was trying to sell themselves while Carleton's stuffy attitude was that they got to choose us, we didn't have to choose them. (Does that make sense? Nothing against Carls; I am considering this school nevertheless :). It's not that I minded the atmosphere here so much; I just want to look at schools that might be similar to St. Olaf in atmosphere.)</p>
<p>I was just wondering if anyone has visited schools with great, friendly atmospheres--similar to St. Olaf--and want to share. I don't need to be told, "Oh, St. Olaf is great. Don't worry about the cost, just do what feels right; there's aid. It's a great school, you'll get a good education, blahblahblah." I already know these things. I am just looking for schools with similar atmospheres. Thanks!!</p>
<p>My son (Natl Merit) toured 5 colleges this spring. Beloit was a very friendly surprise, as were St Olaf and Grinnell. Macalester was ambivalent both ways. Carleton refused to schedule an interview that week (our only school vacation week) and I found their admissions contact to be not particularly friendly as well. It came back as the only “no”.</p>
<p>I have also considered the dilemma that you discuss about St Olaf “stature”, and have concluded it is more than offset by the way that they care and make a point of working with the students to help them to develop as people, as opposed to just filling out their roster, stuffing the classrooms, and taking your money. I believe it is a very under-rated school. But don’t tell anyone until after May 2011.</p>
<p>Having worked in academia for a number of years, I am always amused yet frustrated by people caught up on an institution’s reputation. People in academia have a very different perception of reputation than the general public. Over time, you meet people from the most reputable institutions of higher learning that leave you completely underwhelmed both with them as people and with their education. On the other hand, you meet people from institutions that you have never heard of that blow their peers out of the water. People in academia know that great educations are to be had from all corners of the earth, and great people along with them. If St. Olaf doesn’t strike you as being the right place for you, then keep looking, because there are so many great options out there. On the other hand, search the St. Olaf news site for their recent article on the incoming class of 2014. They attract an incredibly talented student body (more “competitive” all the time, if you will), give a lot of merit aid (i.e. good luck finding as good of an education for less money) and have a vision for helping students achieve balance and success in their adult lives. Their combination of features could be found in parts at many different schools we looked into, but the compilation of all the attributes we valued were only found together at St. Olaf for us.</p>