<p>My son saw wittenberg and denison this past weekend, liked wittenberg because he had a full day there, met students, sat in on a mock class, ate lunch with students and connected. At Denison it was Saturday morning, the students were still asleep, he had a tour and info session and saw how beautiful the campus was but didn't hang out and connect with anyone because there wasn't enough time. He did the same thing at elon - we live in North Carolina. Elon and Wittenberg would be safeties for him and denison would be a match. Can anyone give us a feeling about these schools... party scene, the kids, general atmosphere which is hard to get just on a tour etc? He doesn't drink.. yet and doesn't mind a little preppy but not over the top preppy- just wants to wear jeans and t-shirts, wants to be with smart, interested kids, he's a democrat interested in politics and acapella singing, travel abroad. thanks!!</p>
<p>shelross - I agree that it's hard to get an idea of atmosphere from a tour. You may want to have your S do an overnight at each school.</p>
<p>A friend who overnighted at both Elon and Wake Forest felt that the Elon kids were much friendlier. Impressions are always subjective and based on such a limited time frame, of course.</p>
<p>DD1 attends Denison and loves it there. She doesn't drink, has found close friends, is involved in clubs, argues the merits of the candidates (when did she get political??). They have very good acapella groups (we heard the women's group sing an arrangement by a member from the men's group).</p>
<p>DS is a freshman at Denison and so far it has been great! It came down to 6 schools(UVM, Skidmore, URichmond, SUNY Geneseo, Hobart and Denison). Academically, DS finds it very stimulating with small classes and lots of class discussion. Definitely gets to know profs. Many smart and serious students. Even though he is more interested in the sciences, his favorite class is his first year seminar studying the Spanish Conquest. They started out looking at original documents (Cortez letters, diaries, ship records etc) and critically examined "how we know what we know" and is it accurate? Lots of great discussions. Even though he got a 5 on AP Bio, he still is required to take the "intro" Bio for science majors because they go beyond learning the text and have to research various topics and question in depth using many different forms of research. His group had to research Greg Lemond's Mitochondrial Myopathy and relate to their study on cellular energetics. They are learning how to be critical life long learners.</p>
<p>Socially, he finds the campus to offer diversity and balance. He joined both the Republican and Democratic Club and kids get together formally and informally to watch the Debates and have respectful discussions. DS is not a drinker, and doesn't find this a problem. Of course, there are kids that drink in excess, but he says you can do your own thing and still have fun. Coming from Vermont, he is not preppy; very Tshirt and jeans sort and this fits in with most. Frats are not that big a deal. DS says he doesn't think he will join, but has other friends who probably will. There are no Frat houses and everyone live in dorms and are in mixed groups of friends rather than clustered by Frat Bros. He has been to plays and know kids in the acapella groups.</p>
<p>I'd also second that your son probably needs to spend more time at a school he's seriously considering. This can wait until the spring when all acceptances/rejections/merit aid offers are in. We narrowed it down to the top two when my DS was a senior and he did consecutive overnights in early April. It allowed a very direct comparison and he came away with a clear preference. (I just have a feeling that most posters here will have a--surprise!--strong preference for wherever their kids are. These are all very good schools where your son can be successful. It will likely come down to the intangibles that he can judge by spending more time at them.)</p>
<p>I'm going to take D2 to see Denison in the spring, so these comments are very helpful. I may be PMing some of you if it stays on the list.</p>
<p>Denison grad here -- as is H. He took D to see the school in her college search and was VERY impressed with the changes they've made and how the school has expanded programatically. D ended up elsewhere because she wanted to be in a city, but I thought it would have been a great fit for her. the current administration seems very impressive.</p>
<p>vtmt, are you cutting and pasting that reply (or am I getting senile in my old age); seems I've seen it a couple times before?</p>
<p>I've only visited Denison, but thought the campus beautiful, kids nice, smart, a bit preppy. I hope DD considers it; it just looks ideal for her. We were kind of ignored at the Admis office, but hadn't set up an appointment, so no big deal.</p>
<p>DN just spent an overnight at Wake, and thought everyone was wonderfully nice, FWIW.</p>
<p>I agree wholeheartedly about needing to visit. As I stated earlier, DD1 loves it at Denison. DD2 has visited and overnighted and for some reason detests it! On the other hand she has Kenyon on her short list for application this year while DD1 hated that! At times it's hard to believe they're from the same gene pool. :)</p>
<p>No, I didn't cut and paste that reply, though I guess I am guilty of repeating my same opinion posted else where. Sorry...</p>
<p>Well (at least on that ground) I am comforted that I have avoided senility one more day.</p>
<p>Love the enthusiasm for DU</p>
<p>MSUdad -- What is a "DN"? Is that a typo or a new endearment for our kids that I don't know about?</p>
<p>My darling niece</p>
<p>Thanks for all those who responded on Denison, can anyone tell me anything about the other 3 on son's list and/or a comparison of them? Thanks!!1</p>
<p>MSUdad -- OHH!! Got it. I didn't think of that.</p>