Just to clarify, “naked week” is more of a holdover from the '60s/70s kind of body acceptance and positivity. It is non-sexual/anti-sexual.
I would also suggest that, in terms of partying – which will be present at any school – it is worthwhile to get a handle on how schools treats underage students caught drinking etc. Denison’s focus is on keeping kids safe, and has a “good samaritan” culture where, if students are worried about someone who may be in danger, the kids can get help from campus security and the wellness center and not worry about being blamed for drinking themselves. Some schools take a more punitive approach, which drives drinking further underground. My kid did not party before college but we knew he would at least experiment with drinking eventually.
Comparing my kid’s experience at Denison to other kids we know at a wide range of LACs, from Amherst to Earlham, there is drinking and partying everywhere and there wasn’t more, or less, at Denison as compared to those. There is lots to do for those who aren’t interested in big campus parties, and greek life is not really a big deal if you aren’t interested in it.
As best I recall, maybe 50 kids out of 2200 participate in the “naked run.” The rest of it is pretty much workshops on body positivity and eating disorders. Everyone knows when the daytime naked run happens and is advised to be indoors if the idea of their classmates streaking by would make them uncomfortable. Filming and cameras are completely banned. Lots of larger body types participate as a way to respond to a culture of body shaming and students use body paint as well.
My D21 was accepted to Denison as well, but with merit that is less than we had hoped. It will be cheaper for her to attend both Case Western and Wooster, actually all but one (URichmond) of her other acceptances are cheaper.
She is a national merit finalist and received less than a current freshman at Denison we know who plays baseball and majors in partying. That told us us what we needed to know.
It’s unfortunate because she really liked Denison.
My daughter is considering Wooster as well, our impressions and situation are the same as yours. We are visiting both Wooster and Denison in March, though.
Sounds like classic yield protection - they think she is using Denison as a safety but would rain money on her if she comes because they would love to have her.
They know we are full pay. They maybe think $20k would sway us if she doesn’t get into some RD favorites. That’s also why they aren’t asking kids to take WL spots until early April. That way, kids can see what else comes in first. D has more merit money at three other schools and Denison was on the list really as a back up since she applied everywhere TO and we did not know what to expect.
I still think it’s not a bad move on Denison’s part. They will end up with only kids taking WL spots who are serious about attending.
No D3 school can give athletes more financial aid or merit aid based on the sport. They cannot even use athletic contribution as part of the metric for assessing campus contribution.
A few years ago, the categories of merit were $16/20/24k. When my son was a high school senior, there were also a few full tuition merit awards, though as I’ve written before, we met those kids at admitted student days, and they were choosing between full pay at Stanford and full-tuition merit at Denison. $24k was the highest merit award most admitted students might expect to receive. I haven’t heard of full tuition merit awards in the past few years, so I don’t know if those are still offered.
Just got off an the phone from an appointment with financial aid. We were surprised to see that our award was 5k merit and 36k grant (ie less merit than we might have hoped but a large grant which we didn’t think we had applied for!). They told us that it’s all the same for internationals and they don’t require more financial information from us and that the grant will actually go up in subsequent years to cover tuition increases. That makes Denison by far the best financial option for us.
@wren I respect your views on this and you should absolutely make decisions that are right for your family, but not everyone is concerned about nudity per se. I would be much more concerned about peer pressure to drink excessively or at atmosphere if sexual harassment than nudity (though I am sure that running down the street naked is the last thing my daughter would ever do!). She might watch from the side lines with amusement though.
I could have written this. After loans, they came in about $2K over the EFC, but I agree on your position regarding loans. They are part of the family contribution in my opinion. We have not yet decided on our next step. We are also still waiting on a few schools that do not include loans in their offer.
Are grants on a yearly basis??? I got a beautiful hefty package that includes the $25000 Ohio scholarship, a Denison Grant and a small loan. The out of pocket expense looks to be perfect. But, could the grant fluctuate between the 4 years? The scholarship is for 4 years guaranteed, but the grant seems to be more wavy. Big downside if I have to stress about that.
I agree with @homerdog – telling WL folks upfront what they’ll be paying if accepted and making it clear that there’s no benefit to putting yourself on that list before you have all your RD decisions is pretty smart.
This allows WL students to make informed decisions about taking that WL spot (don’t do it if you have options you like better at that price) and it allows the school to have a,WL of students who are going to seriously consider an offer.
My daughter is in for next spring semester/waitlisted for fall with a hefty merit scholarship and generous grant. We really don’t know much about Denison and have a tour scheduled in a few weeks. She is very excited but waiting on a few other decisions (this was the first of her reach schools to notify).
Congratulations! My son is a sophomore at Denison and loves the school. He is a campus tour guide, so perhaps you will meet him when you visit. Your tag name suggests your daughter might be an athlete. If so, be sure to ask for a tour of the Mitchell Center. Denison is a great school all-around, but it is a really terrific place for student athletes. The facilities are wonderful, the training and conditioning support is first-rate, and the school really focuses on the student-athlete concept and how athletics can enrich the academic experience.
Thanks! My older daughter is the athlete (a senior at Haverford) and this one is very into art. Hoping to be able to see some of the art facilities while we are there but know that Covid might put a damper on things like that!
Bryant Art Center is fabulous facility, a gorgeous 3 story renovation/reconstruction of the 1900s gymnasium. We toured Bryant with the Chair of Studio Art when my kid was applying bc he was interested in continuing his fine art, and he did take fine arts classes when he was there. Faculty are incredible. We can’t say enough great things about the school!