<p>There seem to be a lot of nice-seeming LACs in Ohio, for example:</p>
<p>-The College of Wooster.
-Denison
-Hiram
-Wittenberg
-Kenyon
etc.</p>
<p>How do these compare to one another? What makes each distinctive? Which would you perhaps consider applying to, which not, and why? What is your favorite college in Ohio?</p>
<p>Oberlin - great music conservatory, top LAC (I mean top 10 in the country), has a reputation for drug usage (I didn't visit or apply, so take my opinion with about 1 pound of salt).</p>
<p>Ohio Wesleyan is another good one. Cederville is good if you want a Christian school.</p>
<p>Blah - I just wrote a whole post that vanished.</p>
<p>I will add, as a biased Denison alum, that the campus is beautiful....its not what you'd think of when contemplating flat Ohio topography.....rolling hills & fairly quaint town (named after the New England town of Granville, Mass), bubble school.</p>
<p>Another Ohio LAC, a little less selective, is Ohio Wesleyan.</p>
<p>thats bizarre weenie, I was just reading your post (& adding more on Denison), but it dissappeared when I refreshed.....wasn't controversial at all.</p>
<p>My son attends Denison and had he gone to Kenyon he would have been the 4th generation there. We also looked at Oberlin.</p>
<p>My son really likes Denison and has had a very good experience academically there. It’s a personal place – you will know your profs and feel mentored. Like most LACs it’s easy to participate in extra-curriculars too. The campus is LOVELY in a really sweet little town outside Columbus. Kids are required to live on campus all 4 years (Kenyon too). There are pluses and minuses to that I guess. I think Denison is best known for economics, political science and environmental studies. </p>
<p>Kenyon also has a very pretty campus, but it’s really in the middle of nowhere. Very strong academically. More of a Greek scene than Denison. I think Kenyon is particularly well known for their English/creative writing majors and perhaps drama. It is a slightly smaller school than Denison.</p>
<p>I thought Oberlin had a pretty campus, but I don’t think everyone agrees with me on that. My son didn’t like the “vibe” at Oberlin and it wasn’t a great fit for him in other ways. It has a very strong reputation both academically and musically.</p>
<p>I think Wooster is similar to Denison in many ways. (Also they give numerous good merit scholarships like Denison.)</p>
<p>Hope that helps.</p>
<p>I know - what the heck happened there? I must have done something screwy.</p>
<p>Oberlin and Kenyon would be the LACs with national reputations (rank more like 25-30, not top 10)--Oberlin more known for music & Kenyon for English. The others listed would have good regional reputations. Wittenberg offers generous merit scholarships and was strong in Biology and English (2 areas we were particularly looking at). Several Biology faculty are from Duke so there is a strong emphasis on Marine Biology and opportunities to go to the Duke Marine Lab, both for a semester away and as a field trip for Marine courses taught at Wittenberg. The school is also known for its East Asian Studies program. Premed acceptances have traditionally been good as well.</p>
<p>I can't believe that no one mentioned Miami of Ohio,which is akin to a state supported LAC.</p>
<p>Basically, people's comments gravitate towards the so-called "Ohio 5". They even formed a consortium in 1994 because they are more similar to one another than to any other LAC in Ohio: Oberlin, Kenyon, Ohio Wesleyan, Denison and Wooster. </p>
<p>It will be interesting to see how people see them and how they differ from one another?</p>
<p>Miami is a great school (and a really pretty campus/college town) but it isn't a liberal arts college and it is significantly larger than the schools mentioned here. (14,300 undergrads) Gee there are some great schools in Ohio!</p>
<p>It may be large,but it is considered a liberal arts type of college by those outside of Ohio.</p>
<p>Isn't it considered to be in Florida by those outside of Ohio?</p>
<p>Oops, couldn't resist!</p>
<p>Wouldn't Kenyon, Denison, and Oberlin be much more academically competitive than Ohio Wesleyan, or College of Wooster?</p>
<p>Academically competitive in what sense? To get in or once you are there?</p>
<p>To get in.</p>
<p>You are right. All else equal, in terms of entrance selectivity it is probably, Oberlin, Kenyon, Denison/Ohio Wesleyan and then Wooster. In terms of academic competition once you are already in, I am not sure. Kenyon has a pretty strong English/Humanities program. Oberlin is competitive in the humanities. OWU's pre-med and chemistry programs is notoriously hard...not sure about Wooster.</p>
<p>ohio wesleyan is easier to get into than wooster.</p>
<p>Really? 10 years ago maybe that was case. Maybe. Princeton Review stats from 2007 and 2006. Wooster's last year's admission rate was 90% and this year's is 80%. Compare this to 63% and 54% for Ohio Wesleyan from last year and this year. I noticed that their ACT, SAT average, top 10% are also in OWU's favor. Very oddly (odd because some of the downward trend in the admission stats for LACs is demographic), Wooster's admission stats have been slipping slowly but surely in the past 5 years. I'd be surprised if this doesn't catch up with it in the rankings.</p>