I have just discovered this forum and I am posting my first message. I apologize if I’m not in the right section
I’m a future undergraduate international student and have received several offers of admission.
I’m admitted to St John’s MN, Augustana IL, Luther College, Truman State,
I’m waiting for Elizabethtown college, St Michael’s VT, Bryant
I was rejected from Clark, Drew, St Olaf
I’m interested in Economics or Business
I’m a B+ student
I have a high-level soccer player so playing matters to me
Luther and Truman are giving me the best offers and the two soccer coaches want me absolutely on their team
I don’t have the possibility to travel to visit because I live abroad.
So I need information about academics, environment, the campus, the dorms, the students, career services
I’m really interested in Truman because it is academically strong but my parents want me to go to a Mainstream Christian College because they think I’ll be better supported. Is it true?
Thank you in advance for your help and advice in choosing a university.
Here is a good tool to use to compare the financial offers. http://www.finaid.org/calculators/awardletter.phtml Don’t forget to include travel expenses and money for winter clothing if you are coming from a warmer country! The weather is different. Luther is farther north and the winter is a bit longer, colder, and snowier. Truman State is hotter in the summers. Check your transportation options. How difficult will it be for you to reach each of these locations?
Is any of your aid tied to participation in your sport? What would happen to that money if you are injured and become unable to play? What have the coaches told you about the amount of time you will need to be at practice and for games? Would you need to take fewer classes during soccer season? How would that affect your ability to graduate in four years?
Luther College in Decorah, Iowa is affiliated with the ELCA branch of the Lutheran church in the US. This is the most liberal of the Lutheran bodies. Most of the students are Lutheran and from the midwest. Many of the faculty members are also Lutheran. So yes, there is a Lutheran sensibility to the place, but it isn’t necessarily overwhelming. For more details and information about student groups for other religions, start here: http://www.luther.edu/ministries/
If hanging out with Lutherans is critical to your decision-making, Check out the Lutheran Student Fellowship at Truman State U. http://lsf.truman.edu/ This group does not have a specific affiliation with any of the Lutheran bodies, but does have a close working relationship with a local LCMS congregation. The LCMS is more conservative than the ELCA. There also are other student groups for other religions: http://csi.truman.edu/studentorgs/student-organizations-list/?filter=Religious
For academic strength, both Luther and Truman State are good. You have nothing to worry about with either of them along that line. Truman State is larger, and may offer more options for your major. Check the course catalogues on both websites and the graduation requirements for your major to make good comparisons. Also check the academic calendars. Luther has a 4-1-4 plan with a short January term. Many students take advantage of special programs during the January term.
You should communicate directly with the Career office on both campuses. What sorts of jobs have their international students found after graduation? For most majors, international students who have F1 student visas can work in the US for one year after they graduate (OPD) to get practical experience.
Luther is smaller, so it is harder for a student to fall through the cracks there. I can understand your parents preferring it right now. However, Truman State is not a huge institution. In either case, you will have a coach and team there to help look out for you. Both of these are excellent options!
I am familiar with both Luther and Augustana–they are both small, supportive colleges with strong academics and opportunities to do internships. They are officially Lutheran but there are students of many faiths at both schools; all are welcome. Whether one attends chapel and is religiously observant or not, all are accepted. Augustana has a Swedish heritage and Luther a Norwegian one, so there are some Scandinavian traditions at both.
Augustana is in the Quad Cities–a beautiful campus with lots of trees and historic buildings. If you want a small-medium city nearby, you would be comfortable there. Luther is on a hill, in a lovely rural area (looks like where the hobbits live in Lord of the Rings) with a river that goes through campus. However, it is isolated and far from any cities. The town is charming, yet small. If you like nature, you would enjoy the atmosphere. There are lots of bike trails and parks nearby. You would fly into Minneapolis and then have a 2 1/2 hour drive to the college. At Augustana, you could probably fly into Chicago and then take a small flight to the Quad Cities.
At either place, you would form close bonds with the other soccer players, I’m sure. Both schools are welcoming and friendly, have great orchestras, excellent ice cream parlors nearby, and very cold winters.
Augustana is on the quarter system and Luther on the 4-1-4 system.
I don’t know much about Truman State, but I’ve heard very positive things about its academics.
I forgot to add that, at Luther, many of the students are from smaller towns in Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. There are also many from the Minneapolis area and some from Chicago and the suburbs.
Augustana has a very high percentage of students from the Chicago suburbs. There may be more internships in Chicago vs. Minneapolis for the Luther students.
I don’t know the percentage of international students at each school, but I’m sure both colleges would love to have you to give other students a broader perspective of the world.
Many thanks for your precious advice. I’m not Lutheran. I’m Catholic and I’ve done all my schooling in Catholic
schools. My mother is Catholic and my father is Protestant. We attend both Catholic and Protestant churches.
I live in France. Which location (Kirksville ou Decorah) has the best transportation options for me?
Truman Business School is AACSB accredited an it’s look like they have a strong business program. Luher College don’t have the AACSB accreditation. Is this important for a future job search?
Truman is a DII school. the soccer program is likely to be more intensive. They gave me an amount of academic scholarship of $6000 a year and $1000 of soccer scholarship. My scholarship is renewable after completion of the first two semesters with a 3.25 institutional GPA and participating in 60 hours of service per semester to the university. And the Coach promised me he will raise my soccer scholarship to $2000 next year.
Luther is a DIII school and do not offer athletic scholarship. They provide me an academic and diversity enrichment scholarship and financial aid support ($3,000 on-campus student work - about 12-hours per week while classes are in session) to make it possible for me to afford approximately $15,000 for the first year. My financial aid award will be renewed each year as long as I remain enrolled full-time and are making satisfactory academic progress (a C average or higher).
It may be a bit easier to get to Kirksville. It is about 20 minutes by car from La Plata, MO where there is an Amtrak rail station with daily service to Chicago. You also should ask the coaches about this. They will have good ideas about how to get to their institutions.
AACSB accreditation probably doesn’t matter because you are an international student. What matters for you is if the career center can help you find a job for your OPT period. Not every college or university is good at that, and many international students find themselves returning home as soon as they graduate.
Do your potential employers in France care about AACSB or not? If they do care, then you need to study at a place that is accredited. If they don’t care, then you can study wherever you feel like.
Many US schools offer assistance to international students in various ways. Many assign a “host” family who volunteers to provide occasional transportation, meals, etc. Can you check to see if the schools you’re considering offer support to internationals?