<p>Got S2's college list from his GC the other day. She suggests he look at Lake Forest. The other schools he is looking at are Beloit, Earlham, and Kenyon. He is interested in Asian Studies, especially Japanese. He is bright, very motivated in classes he likes, less so in those he does not, has an ACT of 28 SAT of 1980 and GPA of about 3.4 at a challenging small private school. Will be NM Commended, I expect.</p>
<p>Has some quirkiness about him and would not be happy with a big prep scene or frats.</p>
<p>I don't know anyone who has attended Lake Forest. Anyone out there with knowledge of the school?</p>
<p>I do not know much about it, other than Lake Forest is supposed to be generous with $ and is located in a rich suburban location. Should you be willing to look east Clark may be a very good match school. We toured Clark and our tour guide was majoring in Asian studies and was very very happy there. It is a small school with smaller classes-just sounds like a good fit.</p>
<p>I did review your drive-through report, and say thanks for that. It didn't really register on me until just now as S2 has now said he wants to visit. Sounds like a lovely place. Are academics good? They say on their website that they are considered a Best Buy and that they are in PR's top 10% of college where students are happy with financial aid. That is a good start!</p>
<p>Thanks! Our posts overlapped. Thanks for your suggestion about Clark. Would you be willing to post where it is located? Counselor suggested Lewis and Clark, but we had not thought of Clark College. One of S2's quirks is that it is hard to give him suggestions, but if I get an opening, I will do it!</p>
<p>I figured that we overlapped. My son wants business so these schools are out for us, but I liked Clark. The neighborhood is not my favorite though, so if you are from the midwest, I would certainly read up before making the trek. I do think from your description of S2 that Clark might be an exciting school to check out.</p>
<p>momofthree, does your S have previous experience in Japanese? If so, you might want to look carefully at the availability of Japanese classe and "testing out" procedures so that your S won't have to start from the beginning or wait a semster or two to start courses because of scheduling. Just a suggestion.</p>
<p>Momofthree, my daughter and I are visiting Lake Forest on July 11th, so I'll be posting a trip report shortly after that date. It's not a school that is very high on my daughter's list because of its rep (deserved or undeserved?) as a college version of prep school with an under-motivated student body. But we're going to check it out, because it appears they do utilize Chicago as a classroom quite frequently...and their merit aid is impressive. I don't know how much of a feel we'll actually get during the summer, but I'll keep you in mind as we attend the Open House.</p>
<p>A 2004 grad from S's prior school went to Lake Forest and hated it. It felt too small and preppy to him. He is transferring to U of Texas. Everyone is different, of course. My personal opinion is that there are better choices out there in the same selectivity range.</p>
<p>If it works out in his schedule, S will take Japanese next year at the local LAC. (The issue is when the 101 course is taught . . .we are three minutes away from campus, but it still has to fit in.) I hope that will help him decide if he interest is real or a passing fancy. He is an excellent writer, and likes all forms of literature, so that would be a good choice if the Japanese doesn't work. Right now I am just glad to have something specific to help narrow the college choices down, every college has English literature . . .:) </p>
<p>Doddsdad, thanks for the link to Curmudgeon's post. I missed it previously! It is very descriptive and helpful. (Thanks to you too, Cur, and hope the DD is less miserable today!)</p>
<p>Mezzomom, I will be grateful for your thinking of us while you are on your visit. I think you will get there before we can, and I will appreciate hearing your report. I think DH will take S sometime, but I am not sure when. They are trying to see if it will work to fly to Chicago, rent a car to Beloit, back to Lake Forest, down to Earlham, stop at Dayton to visit family, and finally over to Kenyon before coming back home to Tennessee. I don't know how workable this will be, and I will be happy to get advice from others.</p>
<p>Momofwildchild, sure sounds like a bad fit for the guy you know. I hope S will be able to pick up on the vibes during the summer, as he is truly not preppy. I am somewhat concerned about the summer-time excursions, but I guess it would also work for him to fly to visit schools later if he is accepted/still interested.</p>
<p>momofthree, I don't know if you are aware, but Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio has a terrific East Asian Studies (especially Japanese) program and the admissions stats closely fit your sons. Also a midwest school with a pretty but small campus. Great study abroad programs in EA Studies. Wittenberg is less than an hour's drive from Dayton!</p>
<p>D's dear friend who had way worse stats was waitlisted at Lake Forest, pending his first semester grades. (Brilliant, unmotivated kid who puts forth tremendous effort for things he loves, and little to none for something he HAS to do.) They improved dramatically, and he was accepted. He visited and loved the campus - beautiful. They worried about FA, and it came through with all they needed. He loves the Chicago area, and can't wait to go. They treated him well during the process, and were upfront with him. Anytime he called, they talked to him. They were very amenable to working with him. As to what it's actually like once you are really there, I don't know, but I know I will be hearing from him and will let you know as the fall progresses.</p>
<p>I have not visited the campus but have studied this school from a distance encouraging my daughter to put it on her list (She chose UCDavis instead.) We found their friendly, accessible and knowledgeable staff wonderful. The FA was good, but lost to instate tuition, local grants, location and reputation of Davis. Our concerns were dorms, which do not seem very prevalent on their web sites, and a subsurface feeling regarding the partying to studying ratio, but I can't put my finger on why I think that. I will be recommending other students consider this school as it is generous and accessible. I think in a few years with the right direction it will move up a tier. Good Luck.</p>
<p>No reason not to visit Wake Forest. Mezzomom has it pegged pretty well, though the administration is trying to break out of its slacker preppy rep. It's likely that he will like either Earlham/Beloit or Lake Forest, but not all of them. Kenyon sort of splits the difference, adding some very high-powered verbal types in their English, Theatre, History depts.</p>
<p>I appreciate your thoughts, all! It will be interesting to see how S2 does react to these places, and I hope he will be able to discriminate among them from a summer visit. He really does not want to do school time visits do to EC's but I think he will rethink that if the matter is more confusing than clarifying from the summer visits. </p>
<p>Thanks for your counsel. I'll happily report impressions 2nd hand after he gets back, as DH will be doing the tours with him!</p>