My son is painstakingly deciding between Luther College in Decorah, Iowa as well as St. Olaf College, Loyola University in Chicago, UW Eau Claire, and UM-Twin Cities or UM-Duluth. He was accepted into the honors programs at Loyola and Duluth but Eau Claire was full by the time he applied. He would like to study history with possible secondary education to teach or attend law school. Choir ensembles and theater options are a big factor. Unfortunately, price is also now a driving decision maker since St. Olaf didn’t come through with the merit we had anticipated. Could anyone speak about a current Luther student’s experience? We notice enrollment is declining at Luther and likely why they are offering such a generous merit package. We haven’t visited Luther but hope to in the 11th hour this month. Thanks for any insights.
Our family went through a similar situation two years ago. My son was deciding between Luther, St. Olaf, and Sewanee. If money did not matter, we would have sent him to St. Olaf–but the cost was twice what it was to send him to Luther and we felt that while St. Olaf was worth a little more money, it wasn’t worth what the difference in cost would be to us. St.O also had earlier deadlines for auditions, etc., and our son didn’t start considering the college until after those dates had passed.
I don’t know why the enrollment is declining at Luther. I suspect it is because it is very isolated and hard to get to if you don’t live in the area. We live in the Chicago suburbs and there is no choice except to drive–no airport, no trains, no buses. At breaks, there are shuttles to Chicago, Madison, Rockford, and I think the Twin Cities.
Also, and this is just a personal opinion–I don’t think the college has put enough effort into a clear message in its marketing. The college has so much to offer and is tons better than it appears online and in its publications. It is a soft-spoken type of place, and I think that kind of holds it back. On the other hand, my son felt very comfortable that the school didn’t make a big deal out of itself like some other places had.
So visit for yourself and see what you think. The choirs at Luther are amazing and there are some very appealing history classes offered every semester, so your son will love those aspects.
Here are the pros and cons of what my son has experienced (he is on the shy side, so keep that in mind):
Pros:
- Professors and classes have been fantastic–small classes with very committed professors. He has especially liked the anthropology, archaeology, and classics classes. Even though our son felt like he was “in the middle of nowhere” his freshman year, he returned because he really liked his professors/classes.
- Students are friendly and down-to-earth.
- His music instructors are absolutely excellent (this is important to him even though he is not majoring in music.)
- There is nature nearby–a river to go canoeing on, places to hike and cross-country ski.
- Great concerts on campus.
- Lovely rural campus in rolling hills/river valley
- Decorah has a really nice downtown
- Great study abroad opportunities, especially for January term
Cons:
- Too much stress on Norwegian heritage (I think this is charming, but my son does not).
- Too many kids playing video games
- Downhill ski hills are too far away.
- The food needs improvement, especially for vegetarians
- I think the library could be improved to be a cozy hangout spot, but my son comes to its defense.
- It has been hard to find other students who are very adventurous and up for camping in winter, long hikes, etc. (We think this is because our son is shy about meeting new people and hangs out with his freshman year floor mates who don’t have the same outdoor interests.)
Most importantly, my husband and I think our son is getting an excellent education, and we are grateful that we can afford it. We see ideas spinning and forming in his mind–and that’s what we wanted. It’s not as “fancy” as St. Olaf, but we have been completely satisfied with it. We told our son that if he ever makes millions, he needs to donate back so that Luther can get a new library and more lecture series and art exhibits.
Sorry this is so long but this was a hard decision for us 2 years ago, and I want to give back to the community that helped us.
Thank you! I actually read all the responses to your previous thread picking between your three schools. Your insights are very helpful. My son is very outgoing but doesn’t know a soul at Luther vs thirty or so kids at St. Olaf. My big issue with Olaf was the lack of transparency in their merit/service awards. Some of his closest friends with similar GPA and ACT scores received double our merit. My son received a small theater scholarship at Olaf but that ties him to being in shows and might conflict with choir. I’ve been very impressed with Luther’s programming offers-Paida seminar and the Boundary Waters pre-orientation program definitely sparked interest for us. Good to know about the music program. We met the Norsemen director who was genuinely passionate about his choir and Luther. I also agree that I’d be more wiling to give back to the less pretentious school. While we know St. Olaf is a fabulous school, I can’t see the value being over $20,000 difference a year in cost, especially with our son considering law school. I’ll keep you posted on where he decides.
Wow–that’s a lot of kids from one high school going to the same college. Here in Illinois, not many people know about either Luther or St. Olaf, and my son’s friends all went to large universities. I think he was the first from his high school to go to Luther. But most of our family is in Wisconsin, and my son had one cousin who went to St. Olaf and two who went to Luther–all between 10-12 years ago. There was some fun competition while he was selecting which one to go to. When the cousins went to school, the colleges were more comparable in cost, so everyone was shocked at the difference now.
I wish you lots of luck in your decision and hope that everyone stays sane this month. If you visit Decorah, remember it is not that beautiful in April. It is usually lush and green OR snowy. I’d recommend the Country Inn and Suites for a room, coffee at Impact Coffee, lunch at the Angry Pickle, and dinner at the Rubaiyat (make a reservation). Everyone there loves Mabe’s PIzza; it’s good but I can only eat so much pizza. Also visit Dunnings Springs.
BTW, my son loved the Boundary Waters pre-orientation trip.
LoveAlwaysWins - I have a son completing his 2nd year at St Olaf and another son who has just decided to attend Luther. I affectionately call Luther “St Olaf South” as they are, in my opinion, virtually the same look/feel/vibe. Both small schools, both highly residential (very few students live off campus), Luther has “Paideia” and St Olaf has their “Great Conversation”, both very good music/theater schools, both about the same enrollment, both Lutheran/Norweigan based.
Oldest son was a 4.0 and 34 ACT kid with multiple AP classes and College in the Schools (CIS) classes. He received their 2nd largest merit scholarship and competed for and received their largest merit scholarship which was $24,000 per year. We do not qualify for any need based aid and he does not qualify for any work study. He likes St Olaf very much but does not participate in any music or theater - he competes with the college swim team. Room + Board + Tuition + Fees is now over $56,430 per year - this does not include books. But for the large merit scholarship, he would not be at St Olaf.
Second oldest son is a 3.65 and 33 ACT kid again with multiple AP and CIS classes. He did not apply to St Olaf as he was looking for Nursing + Swimming and St Olaf does not have a Nursing program. He applied and was accepted to St Johns in St Cloud, St Thomas in St Paul, Gustavus, Eau Claire, Luther, etc. I was very pleasantly surprised at the amount of merit he received as, on paper, he did not have the stats of our older son. Luther really stepped up and got their merit scholarship high enough that it was within a few thousand of Eau Claire plus he was one of a few that received direct admission into the Nursing program at Luther - that is a HUGE factor!! Tuition + Room + Board + Fees is $51,750 for 2018-19 not including books.
Had a long discussion over scholars visit day with the admin folks at Luther and one topic was their declining enrollment. Private schools in MN/WI/IA are about 3-4 years into a slight decline and I don’t believe any of the non-Ivy schools are immune. State school enrollment is up, private school enrollment is down. Why? Simple economics. Not all students are going to get the big merit scholarship and not all students are going to get a big need based scholarship. This leaves them in a tough spot where they can attend a private school and shell out $40k per year (or more) for their undergraduate degree or attend a state school for half of that. More students are opting for the state schools - simple as that. This is not a Luther specific issue - all of the private schools we looked at in the midwest are experiencing this to some degree.
Eau Claire is just over $16k for Room + Board + Tuition + Books. Probably not as academically rigorous, certainly bigger (about 10,000 undergrads), totally different feel to the school, larger class sizes, etc. You have a much better chance of remaining “hidden” at Eau Claire if you want to. But, for a $20k+ difference in price? I know we looked VERY hard at Eau Claire for son #2 as their Nursing program is also very good. But, like most schools, you compete for a spot in Nursing after year #1 and you need VERY good stats in college (like a 3.75 GPA or better) to be one of the 40-48 that they select out of the 150+ that apply. Honors filled up quickly, but may open up as students make their final college choice. Yes, it gives you $1000 per year but it also has additional requirements tied to being in Honors - so be sure you are clear as to what is offered. We met with the Honors program staff at Eau Claire and came away very disappointed (again, our opinion). Plus, look at their 4 year grad rates…much lower than Luther or St Olaf. So, you have the real cost of a potential 5th year plus the opportunity cost of not being employed for that 5th year.
Some of your other options (U of M - Twin Cities, U of M - Duluth) are bigger still. That is not appealing for a lot of kids and you have a good chance of being lost in the shuffle.
Good luck and ping me here if you have more questions!
You can’t go wrong with Luther for nursing–excellent LAC and nursing education–and there is some type of off-campus training at Mayo. My niece did this and has had a very fulfilling nursing career so far. Best of luck to your son.
Ranger619: I appreciate your insights into the different programs at Olaf vs. Luther and even Eau Claire, which still in my opinion is great alternative to the LACs due to its strong music/theater programs. My son unfortunately did not get either of the top merit tiers at St. Olaf even though his stats are similar to your son who is currently attending there. He did some theater $ at St. Olaf but a much more generous offer from Luther. Much I have come to understand depends on who applies and who St. Olaf really wants on campus that year in terms of merit distribution- isn’t always equal even with equal stats. We still haven’t had a chance to visit Luther- recent April blizzard kept us away this past weekend but we will try in the next few weeks before May 1. I do think the size difference between Olaf (3,040) vs. Luther (2,014) is significant and I think the rigor at Olaf is stronger than Luther. I do like the Paideia program idea. I’ll keep you posted on his final decision which honestly might come later in June and we will put deposit down at more than one school as we figure out the best plan.
OP, which school will your son be attending?