I was recently admitted to Gustavus Adolphus and I am looking for some information about it. Does it have a good academics? Whats the community like? What is the reputation? Academically what would compare this school to?
“Academically, what would compare to this school?”
By standardized scoring alone, and not accounting for Gustavus Adolphus’ test optional policy, these are two school that would be similar:
University of California-San Diego
University of Colorado-Boulder
We visited today. If only Gustavus were located in Florida or New Orleans, my D, who is tired of Minnesota winters, might choose it. Academically, I’m not sure what compares. It is a small (2400 students) liberal arts college. I felt that I could compare it to other small LAC’s that take from the spectrum of kids from really accomplished to diamond in the rough.
One of my kids went to College of Wooster, and there were things about Gustavus that reminded me of Wooster. It is what you make of it, I think. They offer a ton of academic support, as do all of the small liberal arts colleges my D is considering. They have a student writing center, tutors, a great library staff that helps track down resources, readily available professors that are interested in getting to know their students, etc.
They have an optional three crowns curriculum that allows those who choose it to take a set of classes together that build on each other. I would assume that it facilitates discussions, and is community building. Our admissions person said that typically humanities majors are attracted to the program, but it is possible, though a bit more difficult because of time commitments and schedules, for science oriented students to take it.
A student recently won a fullbright to study in Turkey. Saw that by picking up and reading “The Gustavian Weekly” in the admissions office.
I found it a nice looking campus. Kind of windy. It sits on the top of a hill. Views of the surrounding area are great from up there. Our tour guide was the best one we’ve had, I would say. Although, really, we have not had a bad tour guide at any of the schools D has visited this cycle.
Music and theatre are, I think, strong programs there, with lots of opportunities to participate. And they have a Japanese major. These are all things my D is interested in, so don’t know a lot about other programs. Campus was very tidy, and there are a couple of brand new buildings on campus.
The town it is in is very small – not a lot to do there. It is about an hour drive to Minneapolis.
It felt very open and safe.
There is a 125 acre aboretum next to campus. Didn’t have time to visit that, but may check that out on a future trip.