First Post. 
My S was accepted EA. No final decision yet–still waiting for aid packages but it is a front runner at this juncture.
Congrats to your son! The Lawrence forum doesn’t get a lot of traffic, sadly. My D applied RD after initially ruling it out due to the trimester schedule. She never visited but thinks she’d really love it. If she is accepted we will probably visit, unless she gets accepted by one of her top choices. What does your son like about Lawrence?
Thank you! That’s interesting that your D isn’t thrilled about the trimester schedule because that’s actually one thing my S loves–in his mind I think he sees it as the next best thing to Colorado College’s one course at a time. He just seems to do better when deadlines are in 4 days as opposed to 4 weeks. 3 classes at a time instead of 4 or 5 means fewer teachers/syllabi to juggle.
Aside from that, he’s in a somewhat unique position in that he’s obsessed with classical music and plays piano, but he’s never been in band and hasn’t done much formal training. That said, he’s dying to take some classes in theory and composition. Lawrence has a pretty unusual set up in that they have a rather large, distinguished composition/theory faculty (considering the size of the school) and they allow non-majors to take music courses. I think they probably take them in a different section than the conservatory students but still–having access to the same faculty could be pretty sweet. The conservatory there is very down to earth.
On our tour this past summer, Lawrence was probably my favorite. Colorado College was nice but toney and I was less impressed with the facilities at Earlham. I’ve just been so impressed with the correspondence from Lawrence–whoever they have doing their copywriting is a genius–always so smart, but warm and sometimes funny. Beyond that, nearly everyone I’ve interacted with there has gone above and beyond the call of duty to be helpful. My S was truly touched when he got a handwritten note last week from his admissions rep and she mentioned the restaurant where he works–it’s a popular trendy place and naturally she travels to the area for school visits, etc. Little things like that go a long way.
We both love the idea of the seminar weekends at the Bjorklunden retreat property, and the students at Lawrence have made some of the most entertaining videos. There’s a whole series where one of the guys is channeling Napoleon Dynamite. All that combined with what looks like genuinely top notch academics. We’ll see!
Thanks for your reply! The reason my daughter doesn’t like the trimester system is because she has a small, close-knit group of wonderful friends at home, and she would be sad to have different winter and spring vacations from the rest of them. All of her friends will be attending schools with traditional semester systems.
She and I have also noticed the wonderful tone and all correspondence from Lawrence. It is always smart and funny, and as you said, warm. She will be participating in the phone cast this Thursday night.
My daughter is also a somewhat “casual” musician. She has played viola for about 9 years and does have some training, but she put it aside the middle of her junior year due to academic pressures. She’d like to pick it up again once she has the time. She loves to sing, just started playing the ukulele, and enjoys writing songs with it. The musical opportunities for non-conservatory students at Lawrence are very attractive to her. She likes everything she has seen about the school in videos and online. She was surprised by Bjorklunden, thought it was kind of “weird” at first but after watching some videos, decided it was the coolest thing ever.
To tell the truth, her dad and I sort of pushed her to send an application to Lawrence because she didn’t have enough “likely” schools on her list. Again, her only reason for not applying was the calendar. Now that she’s actually sent in the application, I think that has become less important to her. She is still waiting to hear back from her top choice, to which she applied ED2, but if she doesn’t wind up there I think Lawrence has moved up the list to become quite the contender. It really seems like a fantastic place.
Hey! Son just got accepted too, also EA, with a nice scholarship. It certainly has moved up the list. I just read their catalogue and am very impressed. He and his dad will visit on President’s Day (not a holiday for LU). It’s his first acceptance and was sort of a safety but now I keep hearing such good things about it. Also impressed with correspondence and the personal attention (older sister went to NYU, so it’s a nice difference). I’m jealous I won’t see on this trip – of course I found the adorable B&B right off of campus. Trimester is interesting, wouldn’t have been my first choice for him but it’ll be his decision. Appleton ranked 3rd safest midwestern metro area!
Congrats to your S @annwexler! How exciting! We are still awaiting a verdict in need-based aid and last I checked the notification date is TOMORROW! If the pkg is good, S will hopefully visit during the lux event on Feb. 23rd. Circle back with your student’s decision! Good luck.
Our daughter too has Lawrence rising on her list. She visited the school on her own this fall. She is a swimmer and singer, so that it is a good match. She already has some good choices, but awaiting for a few others in March. We learned of the school through family friends, whose daughter chose it over a number of highly regarded schools. Our friend’s child loves it. We will see what happens.
My son was accepted EA. Lawrence was highly recommended to us by a family friend. Another friend’s daughter attends and has been very happy. We plan to visit as a family over Spring break and are also signed up for a LUX event. Overall, it looks to be a good fit.
My daughter was just accepted RD on Friday! The merit scholarship was actually more than expected, so now we will need to reevaluate her options.
Our daughter applied EA and now Lawrence is rising tot the top. Other choices include: Occidental, Macalester, Connecticut College and Redlands. She visited this past fall and loved it. She and my husband will attend an admit day in a few weeks. It sounds like a great fit.
Any news here? Ironically enough, after I started this thread, it seemed almost absolutely certain that my son would attend Earlham! Then he did overnights at both schools and just couldn’t shake the gut-feeling that Lawrence was the place for him. He put down his deposit 2 weeks ago. Good luck to those of you who are watching the clock and trying not to beg, bribe or threaten. Hey, there are still nearly 39 hours left! I’m sure to some of our dear teens, this seems like plenty…