<p>I’m probably applying to Beloit, and have a few questions:</p>
<p>1)I read in the Fiske Guide that classics are not a high point at Beloit. Does anyone know if this is true? Also, any opinions on other language classes or linguistics classes (if they have any)?</p>
<p>2) The rep who visited my school said Beloit the town isn’t suburbia and isn’t full of strip malls…but looking at maps, and knowing that it is not too far from Chicago and Madison, that seems kind of hard to believe. I’m from a city in the SF Bay area, though, so things are different here.
Anyway, I guess my question is: does the area feel like the country or like suburbs (or, I guess, like a city)? Is it rural? Nature centric or not?</p>
<p>It's small town America. Beloit is 90 miles from Chicago so you can get an urban feel with a short drive, but don't expect it in your daily routine. Be prepared for the winter as Dec-Mar will be very cold. I can't think of anything in the Bay area that is similar to Beloit.</p>
<p>beloit is NOT a suburb at all and there is not a mall. the only mall that is here is closed down, haha. most people at the college go to walmart for everyday kind of stuff, and then rockford or jainsville for shopping. the town for the most part is made up of low income people. the scenery is pretty i guess, but the feel of the town isnt "nice". lots of cat calling at gas stations by men who hang around and blast rap music out of their cars. this is not a normal college town. it is in the middle of no where, but the ppl of the town i suppose give it soemwhat of an urban feel while still being very small town. it is really common when you go to walmart to see lots of young girls with like 3 babies. i hear cop sirens almost every night. i wouldnt say beloit is rough like harlem is rough, but it is NOT a "quaint college town". </p>
<p>and really, when you are here you are in a bubble. if you have a car or make friends that have cars going to chicago and madison isn't hard but it is not close. we went to chicago for a class trip at the beginning of the semester and during rush hour it took 3 hours to get back. it takes about 1 hr 20 mins to get from O'Hare to beloit. chicago and beloit are very seperate. before i came here i thought it would be easier to get to chicago with out a car and that ppl would go to chicago more, but it doesnt seem like they do. it is only my first semester here though. </p>
<p>sorry if i seem really negative. the size and location are really getting to me. i am from a big city. if you are from a big city too, just make sure you are prepared to be in the middle of nowhere with your daily activities and weekend night socializing being centered around things on campus. </p>
<p>hope this helped you. if you have any other questions please feel free to message me. beloit does have some really great things to offer, but the location is very noticable if you like the city. just something to think about. </p>
<p>My daughter is a sophomore at Beloit, and we're from San Diego. I think she would second everything Mandela has said. The city of Beloit (and it is technically a city, not a small town) is definitely NOT the reason to come to Beloit College. My daughter heads up to Madison with her friends on a regular basis and that's between a 25-40 minute drive, depending on who is driving. She is always busy between studying, school work, extracurriculars and campus events, but she does feel the campus bubble effect at times. There are also definitely parts of Beloit (the city) that you wouldn't want to venture out into alone after dark, but, that is true of most anywhere these days. So, I guess the best way to describe Beloit is a combination of the best AND worst of both a small town and an urban area. My daughter, however, feels her experiences at the college are worth the less than picturesque location and she's adapted to the cold winters as well.</p>
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I read in the Fiske Guide that classics are not a high point at Beloit. Does anyone know if this is true? Also, any opinions on other language classes or linguistics classes (if they have any)?
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<p>When I interviewed, I asked the admissions counselor the exact same thing. It's a small dept so if you don't get along with the professors, that can be tough, but the options are there. I specifically was interested in Latin and I've heard that the professor was good, but hard. From what I gauged, he wasn't life changing or anything like that, but people liked him well enough. I couldn't tell you much more, but keep in mind that there are a lot of cross-listed professors. I remember that there were only a few specific classics profs but there were others at the college who had backgrounds in classics. </p>
<p>When I visited Beloit, I sat in on a Chinese I class and I thought it was really good. I talked to a student outside of class afterwards and she told me that it was a really low-key lesson because the prof was expecting prospies, but it was an all-around solid lesson. I was told that Chinese and Russian are good departments, but I can't really remember which ones weren't as strong.</p>
<p>I'm also from the SF Bay Area (close to Berkeley, originally from Oak). It isn't like the Bay Area at all, but honestly, what is? It was at first hard to adjust to a place smaller than home with less things to do, but the college campus makes up for the lack of things to do, and it’s just great to experience something new for four years. It’s great to appreciate a different way of life in a small city. I like the city of Beloit. There isn’t much to do, but it has it’s own charm. As far as classics go, I have a friend in Classics and they love it. I think they just added on a Medieval studies minor, and they have Egyptology, which is really rare at a small liberal arts college in the Midwest. Also, it’s pretty challenging. Most students who major go to Egypt, Greece or Ireland, Scotland, some go other places, but it’s almost a given that you should go abroad. You should contact the classics professor if you want to know more. He’s really friendly. Also they have this major project now, they are translating the Nürnberg Chronicles. I don’t know much about it, but it seems pretty cool. Language: We have a really good Russian, Chinese and Japanese programs. We even have a summer center for language studies. I’m in German, I’m not too keen on the German program…but many students do go to Germany and after the 200 level, the teacher is fantastic! I don’t know much about the other languages. Feel free to ask me questions.</p>