My daughter is trying to decide between these three colleges. We visited all three and were able to take tours although Denison and Rollins were able to show us more, spend more time knowledgeably answering questions and showing us around. We both expected St Olaf to be the front runner before visiting. Dennison and Rollins seem to be pulling ahead. She loved the students at Rollins and Denison. Rollins is certainly a beautiful campus with many opportunities to be a part of community service, sustainability and get involved with social justice groups as she has in high school. Denison has the beautiful facilities for her interests in theater and St Olaf has their choir and quiet, gorgeous hillside. I have to say we were the most comfortable at Denison and Rollins. Maybe a bit more at Denison. My concerns are that students were scarce at Rollins and I wonder if there is less involvement somehow, and Denison has a reputation as a drinking school of the past. Is Denison still a campus of college students with not enough to do in a small town? St Olaf students were super enthusiastic about their school but we just couldn’t experience as much of the heart of the reasons to go there. Daughter is used to having great relationships with teachers and find support and friends in a close knit community. We are hoping to broaden opportunities and wonder if it’s just better to go with a Rollins or if Denison kids are as focused academically? Or if the seemingly serious St Olaf campus might be the way to go. Anyone have opinions?
What is she planning on studying?
I’m afraid I have a bit of a reputation of being a Denison booster, so my apologies for being a broken record. My Denison student graduated May '20, and had an incredible experience. Before we visited the first time, I was rather dismissive, because I was relying on its reputation from my college days. Once we stepped foot on campus, I could see it was a diverse community which was connected and engaged. My kid had a challenging, but supportive, academic experience – he was pushed hard but his professors knew him well, and cared about him. The arts are fantastic – my kid was interested in continuing both his studio art and instrument, and the resources, facilities and faculty are impressive. There is lots to do on campus, I would not hesitate to recommend Denison!
My S19 is a satisfied sophomore at Denison. Our experience has been that it is definitely not still a campus of kids with not enough to do in a small town. Students tend to be multi-focused - academics and sports, academics and art, etc. - but the academics are serious and high-quality. Even with the pandemic interfering at some level with more than half of his time at Denison, our son has formed close relationships with professors in several different departments, and he has developed a terrific, diverse circle of friends. There is a strong focus on the idea of the school as a community, and everyone seems to take this seriously. I’ve been impressed by the way that various faculty and administration members have reached out to my son with opportunities and ideas, as a result of which he’s explored new areas academically and he also feels really tightly knit into the community (among other things, he’s a tour guide, so maybe you met him!) Granville is also a great resource. Although it is small, it has most of what students need for daily life, and they are up and down the hill all the time. Newark/Heath is a larger town area just 15 minutes away, with a Target, etc., and the kids get over there sometimes as well. Columbus is also close, but I think my son has only been there once or twice in two years. He’s generally content between the campus and the village.
She is a writer who loves history and has taken many advanced history classes. She has performed in musicals and been a dancer. She is ready to truly explore the more techy and science loving side of herself but also wants to be able to continue her theater and dance interests. She isn’t an athlete … one of her history teachers recently described her as scholarly. She is a mix of a kid who needs a real liberal arts school.
Even my daughter is planning on History.
I wrote before that my son had been drawn into different academic areas at Denison. One of those areas is history. He’s always had a personal interest but didn’t study much in school, as he was in an IB program and focused on psychology rather than history. In any event, the history department at Denison is terrific, with professors who are doing serious research and bringing those research interests into the classroom. I recommend your daughter take a look at the course offerings and the faculty. My son’s not a STEM guy, but he does have both theatre and dance interests and has found those departments to be very welcoming, and, of course, the Eisner Center is a phenomenal facility. Your daughter might also be interested in the Summer Scholars program.
Based on your description of your daughter, I’d say Denison or St Olaf would work best. Rollins isn’t very “scholarly” (the students are smart but preprofessional and the partying is now a bigger problem than at Denison).
St Olaf will be stronger for choir and Denison for political science. Both are strong in the Humanities and in helping students find careers based on these majors. St Olaf also has the “conversations” (American conversation, Great Conversation, etc) that students can apply to once they’ve been admitted. Between these two, there’s no wrong choice 
Hi, I was wondering where your daughter ended up. My daughter is still waiting to hear from several schools but we are taking her to visit Denison and Rollins in April. I see so many positives in both schools. It’s going to be a tough decision for her.