<p>I've read a bit about Lawrence and looked at its website. It looks great. The academics appear solid. The students seem diverse. The campus photos are pretty. The surrounding area of Appleton probably offers more than most towns where liberal arts colleges are located. But I've never met anyone who went there, applied there or even visited there. I don't live in the Midwest, but even so, I often meet people who went to Oberlin, Grinnell, Kenyon, Carleton, Macalester, Earlham etc. How does Lawrence compare to those? Or to Beloit (which is another Wisconsin college that looks pretty good but doesn't seem to attract many people who live near me)? </p>
My D started Lawrence as a freshman this fall and is loving it so far! We had not heard of it either until I heard about it on CC when we were looking for music schools for my S. By the time it came up he was too far into the process for it to be an option for him, but we investigated when my D was searching for a school. Between the 2 of them we have visited a lot of schools! Somewhere along in the process my D decided she liked LACs, but she really didn’t want to be in a super small rural town and so many of the LACs we looked at are in very small towns. We have visited Oberlin many times as my S has attended a music festival there in the summer so I suggested my daughter look into it. We had been there all of about 5 mins when my D stated " I hate it here!" Just too small and sleepy for her taste. The music conservatory at Lawrence was a big draw for my D, she wanted to keep playing her cello as a non music major and they are very open to having non music majors participate. She also wanted to run xc and track and that has been super positive for her so far, she loves being part of the team. They spend a lot of time together, eat meals together and socialize with each other and many of the kids on the team have become her core group of friends. The town of Appleton is a big plus as compared to other more rural LACs. The town itself has a population of about 70,000 in a metropolitan area of about 200,000. There are lots of great restaurants to explore including lots of ethnic food. The downtown area is contiguous to the school so there is lots to explore right within walking distance of the campus. There is a performing arts center right down college ave. so the students have access to touring shows as well as the great performances that are available right on campus because of the conservatory. There is also a farmers market on Saturdays in the summer and fall. I may have trouble putting this into words, but I love the tone/ atmosphere of the campus. Hands down the info session we attended at Lawrence was the best of all the schools we have visited. It was actually engaging and funny. We have sat through so many boring info sessions even at otherwise really great schools. There is a confident enthusiasm that permeates Lawrence. Everyone we have had contact with at Lawrence has been super helpful and friendly and just seems happy to be there. The feeling I have had when we’ve been there is that they don’t need to sell you on the school you just want to be a part of what they all have. Also, the food is great!
I can’t really make direct comparisons with the other schools on your list as the only one I’ve visited is Oberlin. My D wouldn’t consider the others because they were too rural for her taste. She is so happy at Lawrence, she loves her classes, is already on a first name basis with some of her professors, was able to do a small hands on research project in her first semester of bio, made friends in all her classes, has already joined some groups and identified a few others she is interested in. I don’t really know why it is not better known outside of its region because it has so much going for it, have puzzled over that myself but don’t really know the answer.
Hope this helps, sorry it got so long! I’ll be glad to answer any other questions you may have.
My daughter has been accepted EA to both Lawrence and Beloit with nice merit; we also visited (and she’s applying) to Grinnell. Applying to Mac but have not yet visited.
Lawrence and Beloit always seem to be ranked (for what that’s worth) together, and I’m sure their applicant pools overlap quite a bit. Lawrence is a little bit bigger, and I think the stats of the kids who are admitted are a little bit higher. They both have a little bit of a quirky-in-a-good-way vibe, but aren’t too off the wall.
Everything that @cellomom2 says about Lawrence rings true for us, though my D has only spent one night on the campus so far. As she alludes, the city of Appleton is definitely more appealing than the towns of either Beloit, WI or Grinnell, IA. I have heard people say that Lawrence would be impossible to get into if it were out east, and I think there’s some truth there. While Lawrence works to have a national student body, it still has a high percentage of kids from Wisconsin, and thus, I’d speculate, more alumni would stay in the midwest. My daughter is very high on it; a very personal acceptance letter made an impression on her, too. If the money works out, she could very well end up there.
Grinnell’s enormous endowment is evident in some of its facilities and definitely its programs and aid; it’s also more selective. We visited it right after Beloit-- all three were great visits-- and found the feel of them in the same general ballpark. The families at the Grinnell visit day were definitely doing a national LAC search while more of the people (but not all) at Beloit and Lawrence were from Wisconsin or Illinois-- some evidence of the influence of rankings, I think, and how that machine perpetuates itself.
Thanks for the helpful responses. Can you apply “early action” (meaning there’s no commitment to attend if you’re admitted) to Lawrence and Beloit? I didn’t know that. I don’t think that option is available for the other Midwest LACs discussed in this thread.
Both schools have early action, but, if you’re a senior now, you’ve missed those deadlines. Beloit even has EA 1 and EA 2. Beloit and Lawrence are my D’s top two choices right now (good merit at both). We are from SoCal. Even though I grew up in the Chicago area and knew the names of the schools and knew people who went to them, I didn’t know anything about the schools until we read the Colleges that Change Lives book. I would agree with AllisonMP that both schools have a similar feel and that Appleton is more appealing, though I think my D prefers Beloit for its compact and cozy feeling. I have to say that the people we met at Beloit, both admins and students, were the nicest people we’ve met anywhere: this is why my D says it’s the college for her. We are planning visits to both to help her finalize her choice (plus one or two others that she hasn’t visited if she’s admitted).
For us, getting to Beloit will be easier than getting to Lawrence (no changing planes at O’Hare). We also still have close relatives in the Chicago area that will be able to help D out with transportation and a place to stay for breaks that are too short to come all the way home.
And yes, I do think the extra step of travel involved to getting to Lawrence is part of why it has a lower profile. Beloit would be easier for us, too.
@AmazingBlue, FWIW, Earlham does also have EA1 and EA2, but the other schools do not.
Just thought I would mention that Lawrence is running busses to Chicago and the Twin Cities at Thanksgiving (end of term 1) and back to Lawrence after New Year’s for start of term 2. There are so many students from the Chicago area that it is not difficult to get a ride to O’Hare, if that’s a concern.
Good to know. I’d assumed it wouldn’t be hard for her to get a ride to Chicago (and then train or fly home from there). The long break simplifies the travel, too, since there’s no back and forth over Thanksgiving.
@MOMINWIS, thanks for the info on the buses. That would help so much with airfare costs. When LU has had Chicago-area bus-in tours, one of the bus stops is only about 2 miles from where my mom and sis live, so I’m hoping they use the same stops for end/beginning of term transportation.
Our kids’ midwestern high school feeds all of the LACs you mentioned, including Lawrence. Lawrence is a solid school. As someone mentioned above, it is an LAC that also has a conservatory, and non-music majors can play in the ensembles (that can be challenging at Oberlin, the other LAC with a conservatory). Lawrence is particularly strong in Physics, and my D2 also liked that they keep bees in the campus garden and she would be able to help with that if she went there. There is also a good Thai restaurant right near campus where we had lunch. Lawrence is a little less expensive than some of the other schools you mentioned, and also gives good merit aid. My kid didn’t end up attending, but we know students who have and really liked it.
Based on their e-mail communications, I wish my son could have applied to Lawrence. They had the loveliest tone and I had a strong sense of caring and great attitude from them. It was not strong enough in his area of interest and the location was an issue as well. If not for those two factors, he would have applied.
Our daughter will be a freshman at Lawrence next fall. We hadn’t heard of LU until we began the college search process, and then the name kept popping up. D knew she wanted a small, midwestern LAC. We visited Kenyon, Grinnell, Beloit, Lawrence, Oberlin, Macalester and Carleton, in that order. LU fell into the more “safe” (hate that term) school category, but once we visited, it soon became the school that all others were measured against.
Lawrence does a great campus tour–the campus was lovely and just the right size. The town seemed like the perfect college town–coffee shops, restaurants, cute stores, theater…what else could you ask for? All that, on top of the quality education!
D had good feelings about some of the other schools we visited (happy to go into more detail for anyone interested), but kept returning to Lawrence. Like AllisonMP said, which I think was said in Colleges that Change Lives: if Lawrence were on the east or west coast, and not in Wisconsin, it would be much harder to get in to!
@mommy22
I received an e-mail from a parent organizing bussing for the Twin Cities area. In the e-mail it mentioned a Twin Cities group on Facebook. I assume there is one for Chicago too. I also saw the bussing posted on the Lawrence website. I think it cost $20. I don’t see it there now, however. I would suggest checking Facebook.com/groups/LU and if this doesn’t work, check with Admissions.
The bus picked up the students at the O’Hare Tollway Oasis on the Illinois Tollway. I believe this is the first year that these buses were run? There has been a facebook group for parents of 2018 Lawrence students just for sharing information and such. I believe there is a similar group for 2017 parents also. The info about the buses was shared through this site, but may have also been shared in other ways.
Congratulations to your daughter mommy22, she’s made a great choice!
There is also a good Thai restaurant right near campus where we had lunch. Lawrence is a little less expensive than some of the other schools you mentioned, and also gives good merit aid. My kid didn’t end up attending, but we know students who have and really liked it.