Anyone else considering these Denison and Skidmore? My DD hasn’t had a chance to visit, so some real world perspective of pros and cons would be really helpful. She’s also excited about Bard. She’s wants a creative writing/dance double major and is very social justice minded.
Denison: well funded, heavily integrated programs, internships in Columbus, dedicated staff (con: greek system, “Ohio?”)
Skidmore: nice town and skiing near by, strong programs (con: boy/girl ratio, arts/sports divide)
I only know about Denison, so I’ll share that. The part of Ohio that Dension is in is my personal favorite part of the state. When you’re in Granville, you feel like you’re in New England. The side of Columbus it’s on is probably my favorite part of town. There’s an area called Easton which is a beautiful shopping/dining district that’s constantly expanding, and that’s probably 30 minutes from campus. The airport is not too far from there, but a little closer to campus, like 25 minutes. I don’t believe Greek life is too big there, like 25%, so your student shouldn’t have an issue with that, but I’ll differ to @Midwestmomofboys since her kid went there and she knows a lot more than I do about the school as a whole.
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I agree with @ohioansenior2021, Central Ohio and especially Granville, where Denison is, is lovely. The area is rolling hills, and the village of Granville – founded by MA abolitionists in the early 1800s – looks like it belongs in New England, with clapboard homes and a small “business section” mostly local “mom and pop” shops. Within walking distance, there is everything a student needs – village coffee shop, pizza, pub, asian, plus Chase bank, CVS and a grocery store. The village is very safe, has excellent public schools, and has become a very desirable place to live, with an easy commute to Columbus. Another plus is, Granville is easy to get to – it is just off a state highway – so unlike some Ohio schools, you aren’t wandering through 2 lane roads for a long time to get there.
Newark and Heath (two adjoining towns) are 10 minutes from Granville and have Target
etc. Easton is about 25 min the other direction, towards Columbus, and has a well-heeled pedestrian mall, the kind that has streets running through it, with restaurants, hotels, and Costco. Columbus airport is about 25 min from campus, and an easy in-and-out airport, the kind of place you pull and meet someone without stress (I hate picking up family at O’Hare . . . )
Arts at Denison are big – between the Bryant Art Center (a 1900s gymnasium converted into a 3 story studio art building) and newly built Eisner Center for performing arts – there is so much happening. Denison kids are generally active across a range of activities and usually don’t fit a single “type” – my kid was a 4 year athlete, artist and musician, a 1st year mentor, involved in the design thinking lab, and not in greek life. My kid was friends with a lot, if not mostly, non-athletes (apart from his teammates from his same year).
Some people think of Denison as it was 20-30 years ago, and it really bears no resemblance to that. Another parent of a female, not interested in greek life, has chimed in that it is irrelevant to her daughter’s experience and has not been an issue at all.
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We visited both Denison and Skidmore during my daughters college search process. She is now in her sophomore year at Denison (pre-med major) and couldn’t be happier with her school choice. She decided against applying to Skidmore because it wasn’t near enough to a major city. She took a lot of great LACs off her list because they “were to rural”. However, that location might be a selling point for others.
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