<p>What do you know about this college? What do you think of it?</p>
<p>Is it a good school, academically?</p>
<p>What's the social life like? Is it dominated by frats?</p>
<p>What are the students like?</p>
<p>What's the town like?</p>
<p>How is their financial aid?</p>
<p>Psychgirl:</p>
<p>My son will be a junior at Denison this fall, and he is very happy there. His classes have always been small, interactive, and he knows his profs. His fellow students are generally strong students. Denison has no frat/sorority houses anymore. They got rid of them several years ago. Kids can still belong to frats and sororities however, although they certainly do not seem to dominate the social scene. </p>
<p>My son would probably tell you that there are a mix of kids on campus. I think they all "look" pretty ordinary (it is Ohio after all!) but he would tell you there are preppies, jocks, nerds, etc. I think (like many schools) where you choose to live and what extra-curriculars you do can impact what kinds of kids you end up hanging around with.</p>
<p>Did you know that students live on campus all 4 years? You're not allowed to move off campus. My son hates the cafeterias, so that is a bit of a problem for him. Chances are good he'll get one of the lovely, on campus apartments as a senior.</p>
<p>The town is small and really lovely. It is like a New England postcard. There are all the necessary things in town (a drugstore, banks, grocery store, a couple of restaurants and cafes, etc.) but it is not a "college town." They have all these laws there where no one can open up a chain restaurant or anything like that. The bigger town is Newark, it's close by (but you need a car to get there) and it has all the big stores like Target, chain hotels, and restaurants. There is an AMAZING outdoor shopping mall about 1/2 hour away called Easton Center. I can't even describe it. Denison has a bus that goes there a couple times on the weekend. Also, Columbus is about 40 minutes away. Denison has a free coach bus that runs back and forth to the airport MANY times at the beginning and end of all breaks.</p>
<p>Denison has historically given out very good academic (merit) scholarships. They have gotten more competitive in the past couple of years, but if you have good stats they will not disappoint. I don't know much about their financial aid, as we've never qualified for any. </p>
<p>My son was chosen to be a "Young Scholar" this summer - which means he is one of about 150 (?) kids doing paid research on campus. It has been a really great opportunity, and one I do not believe he would have had anywhere else. </p>
<p>Any thing else I can answer for you?</p>
<p>Thanks for the very helpful answer! </p>
<p>When you say the classes are small, how many students are in them? 10? 20? 30? </p>
<p>Did your son find the classes to be challenging and a lot of work, or were they pretty easy? How hard or easy is it to get As?</p>
<p>Do the different types students mix at all, or are there clearly defined groups of jocks, nerds, etc? Is it a cliquish school?</p>
<p>What doesn't your son like about the cafeteria? Is the food bad, or aren't there enough choices, or what?</p>
<p>That "Young Scholar" thing sounds great! What does it take to get into that? Is it in all subjects, or only certain ones?</p>
<p>I believe that at one point he told me his largest class had 18 kids in it. I think he finds the work plenty challenging (and he came from an excellent high school). He does know kids who have left because of poor academic performance. I think it's pretty hard to get A's - but I am not thoroughly familiar with his transcript - I just know he still has his scholarship (which, I believe, requires a 3.3 or 3.2 to maintain) and that he is on Dean's List.</p>
<p>Denison is a small school - I think mixing is pretty inevitable - but like all schools kids do tend to self segregate to some extent. I think it depends a lot on how open you are to making friends, being outgoing, and getting involved! (True at all schools!)</p>
<p>My son hates the food. I know other kids who are fine with it. My son is a bit of a foodie - he likes to cook and he likes fine food. Most (all?) of the dorms have full kitchens and I know he sometimes cooks there.</p>
<p>As I understand it, he got into the Young Scholar program because he happened to be doing some kind of election polling with the professor whose grant he works under. While they were talking the prof asked him if he'd be interested. As in all of life, connections are good! There are academic requirements to be in it - but they are not terribly high (3.3 maybe?). He is doing a political science project, and apparently it will be published. He also had to do some kind of public presentation about it. Beyond that I don't know much about it. </p>
<p>Hope that helps.</p>