<p>I need help deciding where to go!
I've narrowed it down to Luther College, IA, Drake University, IA, and Creighton University, NE. </p>
<p>I live in St. Paul, MN and my major is undecided, but I am leaning toward social work or psychology or sociology. I have a 3.8 GPA unweighted, 33 ACT, am in the top 10 percent of my class blah blah blah. </p>
<p>My biggest concern is where would be the best fit for me. I visited all three and liked Luther and Creighton best, especially the vibe I got from Luther, and I like that Luther is the shortest driving distance, but I am wondering if I am selling myself short by going to Luther. Will I be missing out on the urban college experience?</p>
<p>Luther gave me a $16k scholarship, Drake $13k, and Creighton $14k, but I could be getting a National Alumni scholarship from Drake, or a three-quarter tuition Presidential scholarship from Creighton, which would influence my decision. </p>
<p>What are your thoughts on these three schools?</p>
<p>They are all fine schools. I think you should wait until you get the full financial packages from the schools. I don’t know if you are applying for financial aid, but if so, you will want to be cautious about student loans, because social work is not usually a high-paying field.</p>
<p>As for the schools themselves, I know people who have gone to Luther and Creighton, and have lived in Des Moines near the Drake campus. I too like Luther’s “vibe” but of course it is located in a small town. Omaha and Des Moines are not large cities, but I think you’ll find that they have almost everything that Minneapolis and St. Paul do. Feel free to PM me if I can be of further help.</p>
<p>I’m a biased Luther grad[:-)] who has visited there often in the past few years. There is nothing that compares with the vibe at Luther, so do not discount the value of that! They are known to be VERY generous with financial aid, so DO wait until you have gotten your full package, not just your “courting” money. It is true that Decorah is a smaller town, but it is one of those places that offers the security, safety, and space to immerse yourself in the gifts and academics and friendships of college, without the (expensive) distractions of an urban setting. If you need “hype” it will not be for you, but probably in your adult life you will have far more chances to live in settings like Des Moines or the Twin Cities, rather than gems like Decorah. I miss Luther to this very day, more than 30 years later. And students I know there now (I just got off the phone with one) just treasure the place. And I arrived as a fresh(wo)man sight unseen, from the east coast suburbs. Talk about change! It was great!</p>
<p>I just checked the range of standardized scores for those places, and they look quite comparable (if you are worried about “selling yourself short”). I presume you know this. Luther’s scores may be a slot lower here or there because they are committed to giving those with less advantages, a chance at what should be accessible to all–another great reason to go there. You will find many students who are achieving at your commendable level, and you will be challenged as you should be, in college. </p>
<p>Try to visit one or all of these places again, overnight if possible–that should give you a sense of what feels right.</p>
<p>My son considered Luther and Drake, too. He was trying for a National Alumni Scholarship but didn’t get it, and no wonder when there were a few hundred kids vying for a handful of scholarships. But the event gets kids to visit campus and hopefully like it. He didn’t connect with it and we crossed it off our list because of the cost versus not loving it enough to justify it. He didn’t end up actually applying to Luther but I did check into it quite a bit and thought it would be an appealing place. At the time, anyway, their highest merit scholarship only covered about half the cost of attendance, so that might have had a hand in his decision. Definitely worth considering if you can afford it!</p>
<p>I don’t know anything about Creighton.</p>
<p>Speaking of some Iowa schools, have you visited Wartburg (awesome facilities) or Buena Vista? I liked them a lot on campus visits. Also Cornell College (but haven’t been there personally). They have the block system.</p>
<p>Thank you all for the advice! It’s good to hear that people like Luther, and I’m doing a shadow day there in a couple days. Hopefully experiencing a day there will tell me if it is the right choice for me, and I’m actually hoping it is, and then I can just make a decision and be done. </p>
<p>I understand that Creighton is considered the best academically, which I like, but lately I’ve been feeling uncertain that it is the right fit. I’ve been doing some major thinking and researching about all three schools. I’ve pretty much decided not to go to Drake, and I ended up not competing for their National Alumni Scholarship, so I’m hoping I made the right decision on that. I’m still waiting to hear about the Creighton Presidential Scholarship, which would be amazing to get, but sort of unlikely.</p>
<p>And no, I didn’t look at Wartburg or some of the other small Iowa colleges, the only other colleges I applied to were Lawrence and Beloit, but I’ve pretty much decided not to go to either of those. I guess I could’ve given myself more options, but I’m thinking Luther will work out for me…</p>
<p>Let us know how the shadow day goes at Luther. I bet you will get a good idea of if it is the right fit by doing that. Good plan.</p>
<p>May I ask, on that 16k scholarship you already got from Luther, was that an automatic merit scholarship? Do they have a higher one you can compete for or do they just notify you of one with your admission and no chance to try for more? I wonder if that is the “courting money” mentioned by radimom or if there could be more good news later when things are finalized. I know students can get music scholarships too so keep that in mind, but I have no idea if you are into that or not, but thought I’d mention it just in case you would qualify for some more money that way. I hope you liked your shadow day. I know it’s a pretty campus but of course a lot will be buried in the snow right now :)</p>
<p>I have a cousin that lives in Nebraska. Creighton is a very regional school at most, but primarily just thought well of in Nebraska. Creighton’s undergraduate program is not even nationally ranked by USNews. My friend told me a girl from his high school was accepted with a 20 on her ACT because she did a lot of public service work and had a high GPA. The best school in Nebraska is the University of Nebraska at Lincoln which is ranked nationally. Creighton is severely over priced and is in the poor downtown area with a lot of homeless people, and crime. The school is definitely sinking as less people are showing interest. They have an 82% acceptance rate. With an ACT score as high as yours, you have much better options than those schools. I’ve never heard of Luther. Drake is a little bit better than Creighton. Out of these 3, Drake hands down. If money is not a concern, look into some high ranked schools. I hope this helps.</p>
<p>I, too, went to Creighton, and I know graduates from Drake and Luther. In general, they are all quality insitutions. In choosing a school I think it is valuable to consider two things: first, the kind of college experience you want; and second, the job/career you want after college is over. I think visiting each school and speaking with current students will give you an idea of the experience/atmosphere/vibe/etc. I know Creighton has put a lot of money into its campus expansion, and the city of Omaha has helped by building the Qwest Center and a new baseball stadium near the university. [As a side note, you should completely disregard Texan123’s advice/insight. Creighton IS consistently ranked #1 in the Midwest by USNWR in the category of “Master’s Universities,” which is a category determined by degrees conferred. Drake is ranked #3 in the same category, and Luther is #89 as an LAC–although, your individual needs and not a magazine ranking should matter more when making your decision. Also, I worked for Public Safety for two years and I can tell you the campus is VERY safe and secure. Further, Creighton is receiving more applications than ever before, and their high acceptance rate should be paired with the high quality of students who usually apply.] Concerning life after college, I think you should contact the departments at Creighton/Drake/Luther and ask what graduate schools/careers/etc. recent graduates have pursued. I went to law school at IOWA with Drake and Luther graduates, and they were all extremely bright and friendly. Most of my friends at Creighton went on to top/very good graduate schools or started careers in their chosen fields. Yes, many of them remained in the Midwest, but that is because most of them want to stay there. Currently, I am getting a Ph.D. at Northwestern, and I couldn’t be happier with my Creighton experience. In the end, it has to be a right fit for you. Good Luck!</p>
<p>My point is Drake is in Des Moines, which makes the whole difference. becuse if I were you, I really think a capital weights a lot in a state like Iowa.
I visited Drake, had contact with Luther for quite a long time(AO there are so nice, with very generous scholarships), never learned about Creighton. So generally speaking, i know neither of them for long enough to give you a very conclusive idea. But…get to know Iowa, it’s different from other states.
Anyway good luck with ya</p>
<p>I have looked at both Creighton and Drake, and my decision eventually came down between the two. As of right now I have sided with Drake, mainly because it will be cheaper for me to go there and I live in Omaha Nebraska right now and feel it is important to get away for a true college experience.
I liked Creighton, but my concerns were that it was religiously influenced. A couple of reviews I read stated most of the students are Catholic and sometimes close-minded. Also Creighton seemed to put a lot of academic pressure on the students. Also Creighton seemed very strict about curfews and such. Creighton had a little bit of a nicer campus but I’m not sure if it worth the extra 5k a year. Also I didn’t like that Creighton had a lot of Core classes you had to take. Drake seemed much more flexible with classes and allowed me to start classes involving my major right away, while Creighton flat out told me my first year would probably be like another year of high school classes. Creighton also requires theology credits to graduate.
Tell me your thoughts though because I still really do like Creighton but I have reservations and the extra money it would cost to attend isn’t so great either.</p>