<p>Whistle Pig and Esquette, thanks for sharing! My daughter is trying to decide between some really nice options, including Denison, and any/all information is very welcome.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
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<p>So how might a B student with an SAT score of 1800/2400 do at a school like Denison, if admitted? Would it be too much of a stretch, and not the right balance?</p>
<p>Great question, northeastmom. Wish I could answer with more authority, but of course there is so much more to it than GPA and SAT score. What I will say is that if the GPA reflects a challenging hs courseload (some AP/honors classes, esp ones that reward good writing skills, all college prep courses – not woodshop and history of rock and roll – don’t laugh those are courses some of our local kids are taking right now) and a challenging EC load (and this could be virtually anything, from sports to publications to music to a job), and the student has the self-discipline to handle the transition to college life (i.e., reliably preps for and goes to class, doesn’t procrastinate too much, consults profs, finds helpful study friends, etc), then I expect DU will be challenging but not overwhelming. </p>
<p>It seems like some of my son’s friends may have fit this academic profile coming into DU. Most have done okay. Although some don’t have the GPA they would like, they are not at any academic risk and are clearly loving the DU experience.</p>
<p>Good question w/ lots of variables, imo. Let me quickly note …I don’t know! </p>
<p>The key variable? study skills AND habits. If they are good, that’s a plus anywhere. Calculus is calculus. Chem chem. And …are they willing, able and inclined to take advantage of the possibilities (study skills lab, writing help, computer lab, profs) IF/AS they might be needed. The SAT thing would tell me they have the potential to do the work @ a DU, w/o becoming a library hermit. Conversely, if they attempt to slide thru in the same fashion a 2250/2400 might …could be toast-time.</p>
<p>2nd major issue: Major. Physics might be a whole different game than history.</p>
<p>3rd issue: Not overloading w/ activities until she assesses her abilities vs. the expectations of the academic campus.</p>
<p>I’m inclined to say, pending the reality of above, with cautious concern and fear in her heart as she might matriculate as motivation, such a student could do quite well. The real issue would be admission and FA. Not her potential for finishing successfully, imo.</p>
<p>Esquette, and Whistle Pig, thanks for your responses.</p>
<p>In some ways, I think the kid that has the hard work ethic in terms of study skills and knows that they will have to work hard might actually be better off in the first semester or two. My son is one of “those” test takers. ACT, SAT whatever…bring it on. This put him “in the money” for Denison while his B+ grades edged him out of a few top 10 schools that were first choices. Somewhat chastened he still brought a lack of really good study skills with him to his first semester at DU. i think he was a little surprised by the grade results in a few of his classes. After all, he had never ended up with a C in a high school class before. He’s a great writer and has excellent reading comprehension but really didn’t know how to STUDY for subjects that were difficult. Our goal for our son is that he keep all of his Founders Scholarship for all 4 years. (My understanding is that if after the 3rd semester, the student has below a 3.0 GPA they lose some of it…:(</p>
<p>Now, one of my best friends has a daughter who didn’t get near the board scores but has the best work ethic ever. All through HS, she knew how to put the time in and do it effectively while still balancing her p/t job and activities. I think that college was far less of an adjustment for her</p>
<p>Seconded, NEValu! Our DU son is reliably independent and mature in his work ethic, but not always the A+ test-taker, while our W&L son has always been “that guy” who reliably aces tests. Results: DU boy raced out of the college starting gate; W&L boy had some stumbles out of the gate, but after adjusting has been now consistently “in the money.” Just a difference in personalities – nothing we couldn’t predict, but nothing we could do about it either. It’s up to them – and isn’t learning consequences a big part of any college education?</p>
<p>I think Denison calculates GPA for scholarship renewal at the end of sophomore year (unless it has changed now), so basically scholarship is guaranteed for first 2 years. This is one of the reasons my son attends DU, because knowing his personality, he will most likely lose his scholarship at the end of freshman year! For most school, you lose the scholarship after one year. </p>
<p>He enjoyed the tremendous freedom during his freshman year, no time management skill. Also, I bet he thought that a small school in the midwest, how difficult can it be? Ha, surprised! One does have to work hard to earn the grade, he found out the hard way the first year. He would have lost his scholarship if not for Denison’s 2 year policy. Boy, did he “wake up” real quick, because if he loses his scholarship, he is coming home to the State U., that’s our rule since we could not afford the tuition at DU w/o the scholarship or the next lower amount. Well, guess what, he managed a 3.6 the first semester of sophomore year, we couldn’t believe it, and he has done okay since then. He is a junior. So, I think your son will be okay. First year is a tough adjustment for a lot of kids. </p>
<p>I gather your son is a freshmen, are the electives (GE requirement courses) giving him trouble? Or is he attempting hard classes the first year? What major is he in? My son does very well in his major, but he is all over the places with electives since he is not as interested in them.</p>
<p>My son loves Denison, he enjoys his classes, though getting A or A-'s is not easy for him, but he tries. Loves the professors, has great friends. He is home for spring break and has been telling me a couple of his professors will be on leave next year, and he hopes they come back in the spring for his graduation! He is feeling sad. How can that be? He did not even miss me after we dropped him off freshman year!</p>
<p>Good luck to your son, he will do well, they all mature, just that some take a little longer!</p>
<p>So good to hear your experiences NEValu and Hopeful820! </p>
<p>Our DU sophomore is home on break too. Spent yesterday going to see his friends on the lacrosse team play in Annapolis. Spent today writing a paper for his major class. In between text messages and emails from DU friends. Is now wondering if he might leave to go back on Sat…He may be here with us, but it’s nice to see how much he’s also very much still there!</p>
<p>I’ll pile on in this one too. Ours wants to head back on Sat also. I growl …we like having her home. But…as Esquette indicates, what a great blessing having a child so happy in her environment that she’s dying to shed the old for the newer. While not all have that kind of enthusiasm, I remember those days, realizing my circle and “home” was elsewhere but my old haunts, homies and house. We should be thankful, I spose that they’re growing up and out so nicely. Lots of folks have lots of horror stories that don’t get shared much on CC. And I concur again …it’s good that many of her pals come from very different scenarios than ours, helping her to flap and spread her wings in a big and diverse world. We’ve done what we can to implant our ideas and ideals. We hope those help her to discern and develop the many great aspects of DU and beyond. In any case, it’s hard to imagine a better launching pad for ours …and confident watching her that there could have been many.</p>
<p>And that’s the key component in all of this. Beyond some specifics, if we’ve done our jobs, they’ll do theirs in any number of environments. We’re just grateful to those who’ve enabled such a win-win scenario for ours. God is good, and he sent us some angels to help move us along the way.</p>
<p>btw, one disparate but DU thought …Denison is big …but not demanding…on travel abroad experiences AND even addresses FA in that process. There is a campus officer who has specific responsiblities. I know Esquette’s lad is taking advantage of this …and ours was all set w/ a very individualized program of study related to the need for science study AND doing so in English while still allowing for a “foreign” experience. It would have been terrific. However, coincidentally her advisor (and registrar) alerted her to the possibility of graduating a full year early pending a few tweaks in her schedule. She’s really ready to get on to professional grad school and she jumped on that, thus voiding what would have been a great experience, we’re sure. So …just another reality check on something one reads about and wonders about the reality of such.</p>
<p>Lastly, in her program …DU has a specific 3-2 affiliate agreement. While none to DU’s knowledge had taken advantage of that slight advantage, when we called the institution …Wash U/St Lou Med School (not an MD program)…in attempts to get a reality check, the admin/faculty member there was effervescing about DU, noting they know the place well and they’ve been really anxious to have some of the Big Red in their program. While all on the come, she was really, amazingly transparent and encouraging …and gleaned some valued perspective about how that highly recognized institution viewed Denison. It was encouraging and affirming.</p>
<p>Wow – such great news Whistle Pig! Go Big Red Piglet!</p>
<p>Chiming in here on some personal experiences with study abroad, internships, career networking, for those interested in those topics. </p>
<p>Son went to DU with an interest in sports media. From his first week, he has been able to pursue that, in both expected (newspaper) and unexpected (sports info/broadcasting – paid no less!) ways. Had an article he wrote for sports info published on natl website this Jan - that was exciting.</p>
<p>He’s going abroad in his communications major, and DU made the application/registration process transparent and successful. </p>
<p>This summer, he’s doing an internship with a local start-up sports media group and has applied to DU for an internship stipend (again, a process that DU made transparent and – let’s hope – successful). He’s staying local so he can still make the “big bucks” in his lucrative summer job after finishing the internship before the busiest part of the beach season. </p>
<p>Next summer, he’s set his sights on the big prize – an ESPN or comparable sports media internship – and has been highly encouraged to do so by his DU mentors. It is our understanding that DU has an impressive presence in sports media, extending well beyond the current pres of ESPN/ABC sports.</p>
<p>Wonderful stories of impending success from all you folks. Hopefully DD1 gets her stuff together so she has a soft landing when she graduates in 1.25 years. Like others mentioned here she is home on spring break calling and IMing her friends (I guess an entire week away is too long?). I pushed for her to go on a study abroad trip last summer but she wasn’t interested(??). I guess it’s all part of the journey.</p>
<p>To Erin’s Dad, your daughter is a junior, right? I also tried to encourage my son to study abroad, he was not interested. He is not a real adventurous kid, at times I think he is just plain lazy if you ask me. Not aggressive in anything, too laid back. He has applied to a few internships, mostly unpaid, no high hopes. He did not have any luck last summer, ended up working in the same summer job he held before. For those parents whose sons/daughters already landed an internship, congrats!</p>
<p>My son is getting a little bored at home this week, I can tell. I don’t think the dorms open this Saturday, otherwise, he would want me to book his flight for Saturday. Every winter break, I would ask him: "do you want to go back on Sat. or Sunday (dorms reopen Sat. right before 2nd semester begins), his response is “ASAP”! Oh, freshman year spring break, he was stuck in Columbus airport for 2 nights! They canceled the flight after he got to the airport Friday night, and he could not get a flight until Sunday night! </p>
<p>Just a side note, one year a Denison student named Erin called for Denison Annual Fund, I believe she is a Communications major, could it be your daughter? :)</p>
<p>My DU freshman son, (working harder to hang on to the full valued Founder’s Scholarship) is a cinema major. One of the things that did draw him to DU and continues to be a huge plus is that he got to jump right in to classes in his major. Most state U’s with film programs make you wait till sophomore year and require a separate admission at that time. Some of the other LACs do that as well. Meanwhile,he already has 2 production classes and and a film studies class in his first year BTW, those production classes are the ones that are requiring the biggest time committment and the most “push” for the grade. Apparently getting an A in those is akin to miraculous. (His other challenge is foreign language; an area that barely gets lip service in our rural school system.)
Anyway, this ability to be accepted and active in your major right from the start is something we really appreciate about DU. He also looks forward to participating in both study abroad and internship opportunities available to him through DU.</p>
<p>It is great that your son is already taking a few courses in his major in his freshman year, all the A’s will come, trust me, he sounds like a wonderful diligent student. My son was not as lucky in his freshmen year, he couldn’t attend the June O Orientation, and was the last one to do the phone registration, by that time, he couldn’t get into any of the courses he wanted. He was quite discouraged.</p>
<p>The only one drawback about DU, in my opinion, is the limited availability and variety of courses offered. However, he enjoys the small class size. </p>
<p>To other parents, have you guys thought of the “hotel” situation during graduation weekend? Though it is more than a year away, I am so worried that we won’t be able to get a hotel reservation! We have always stayed in the Courtyard Marriott every year we drop him off in August and pick him up in May. Denison is 500 miles away. I heard that the moment the calendar opens up, all the rooms are gone in minutes! Any tips?</p>
<p>Anticipating the crunch, we’ve got our reservations for D’s graduation in 2013, at the local B&B where we like to stay. Paranoia.</p>
<p>Hey everyone! I’m an international student and I received my acceptance letter from DU last week! The school is one of my top choices (though I’m still waiting to hear from a few more colleges) now that I’ve been offered a financial aid package of about $32500 per year (the highest any international student can receive)! I too happen to be a Founders Scholar.</p>
<p>Could current students/parents tell me a bit more about the school? It would be great if you could share some personal experiences.
I’m particularly interested in the cinema, theatre, communication and English programs. How are these majors at DU?</p>
<p>Hey Desert.Mirage …congrats and WELL DONE! You’ve hit a home run in the big leagues! Tell your parents they should be very proud.</p>
<p>Briefly …the majors you mention are among the strongest, most popular. Denison has a number of well-recognized, highly accomplished success stories in various functions and industries employing their cinematic, dramatic, communication and language/literary talents nurtured @ Denison. You’ll not go wrong in any of these fields, I’m told, although my student is not a major or minor in any of these. Perhaps others will give you more specifics.</p>
<p>As for DU generally …just read thru the threads on the DU forum and you should glean a rich variety of in-depth perspectives. No need to revisit those. </p>
<p>If you have specific questions, ask away. There are a bunch of Denison families and perspectives engaged in this site.</p>
<p>What are your other schools being considered?</p>
<p>Again, mucho congratulations!</p>
<p>Separate note to Zetesis: You’re wise to get those reservations in early. We’ve missed the Fraley boat too many times.</p>
<p>Yikes we don’t have our reservations for 2012 yet! Same challenge at W&L but most hotels won’t take reservations more than a year in advance, so my husband actually started dialing at midnight one year ahead to book those rooms for – dare I say this – this May (I’m having a really hard time conceptualizing it being all done!)</p>
<p>Congrats Desert.Mirage – there’s lots of “gold” in the prior threads, so read those first then ask anything. My son is a comm major and loves it! Also started right into that major from his first semester, like NEValu’s son.</p>
<p>@ Desert.Mirage …hey congratulations! Did DU meet your full need?</p>