From reading this board, we found lots of people who were wonderfully surprised by St. Lawrence. As my junior is not a great standardized test taker but has a strong gpa in a rigorous curriculum, I was thrilled to discover another test optional school with a great soccer program.
As a result, we planned on visiting with our junior over his spring break in a few weeks. As it came time to map our route and make hotel reservations, we second guessed ourselves, thinking St Lawrence is perhaps a colder, more winter sports-y version of Hamilton and Colgate. As a soccer player and musician, my son seems mainstream as compared to crunchy granola types, and crunchy granola as compared to mainstream preppy. He gravitates towards the “interesting” kids, the less conventional, but not the super-out there kids (sorry I cannot explain it more specifically, just going from high school groups and cliques).
He has visited, and really likes, Kenyon and Grinnell (we live in the midwest). Any thoughts or advice about St L? Our son very much wants to play D3 soccer, and St L is such a strong program, I am skeptical he could be a recruit there. He has had interest from D3 schools, but they do not consistently place at the high end of the rankings like St. L. All advice appreciated, thank you.
Hi Midwestmomofboys… I’'m a southwestmomofboys:) My #4 boy is at St Lawrence and my last #5 boy will be attending Kenyon in August. St L is NOT a more sport-y version of Colgate and Hamilton. It is cold, but has a lot of sunny days. My S is a So Cal beach boy and has had no problem with the weather or the out of the way location… in fact he loves it. My S sounds similar to your S. He is very mainstream but is an outdoorsy type. He has definitely found his crowd at SLU. He is very involved with the outdoor club and is also an EMT on campus. There is so much to do there it is ridiculous… and the music scene is AMAZING!!! If your S loves music he will thrive. I think your S should apply My S applied, but his #1 was Colorado College. He was denied so after he got accepted to SLU he went out for accepted students days and fell madly passionately in love with the place… sent in his deposit right then and there. It is a magical place and I would be hard pressed to find any negatives so far from our family. The school is stunning, the food is excellent, the dorms are unbelievable and the academics are very, very good. My S has had dinners at his professors house, and gone on trips with them. The hockey team is like other schools football teams… everyone goes to the games and it is a lot of fun… even for a non-sport type kid like mine. I would say it is a very accepting place and you can be yourself… there are all kinds of kids. I think Kenyon is similar in that regard… more mainstream but unpretentious, smart, genuinely nice kids.
@5boys Thank you so much! That is really helpful, and I am thrilled your son is having a great experience at St L. We will keep it on our list for upcoming spring break! He is looking for a community where you can be yourself, and not be pigeon-holed (since he is both an athlete and a musician). From everything I have read, it seems like a real gem of a school, we look forward to visiting!
I’m happy the help… Look up the Java Barn in regard to music scene on campus… there is some sort of band almost every weekend. They also have tons of open Mic’s and student musicians…
Oh, and one of the reasons both of my boys picked their schools is because they didn’t want to be pigeon holed into a certain type I student… everyone does everything at both schools… One of my sons friends is a football playing poet … Love it!
My opinion is that you should visit St. Lawrence. In some ways it is more out-of-the-way to visit than to attend. Once there, you should find it to be a beautiful, interesting school, at least equal to your expectations.
I am uncertain what you mean regarding your comparison of St. Lawrence with Hamilton and Colgate. Do you mean your son would be a fine fit at Hamilton or Colgate, therefore making a farther trip to Saint Lawrence superfluous? Or do you mean your son would be a poor fit at Hamilton or Colgate, and therefore also a likely poor fit at St. Lawrence? (Btw, Hamilton and Colgate are different enough from each other that I think your perceptions of one should not necessarily apply to the other.)
What I was trying to express was that, my kid is not looking at Hamilton or Colgate, partly because he doesn’t need more reaches, but also because they are fairly preppy schools with substantial greek life. I know, of course, there are lots of kids who do not fit that description. So if St L is most like Hamilton and Colgate, but with more winter sports because of its location even further north, it is probably not a good match school to go visit.
He is a kid who seems entirely typical – athlete, good student, respectful. But he prefers to stay out of the center of things, his friends are more interested in music and politics than perfecting their resume for college apps. He really likes Grinnell and Kenyon which I interpret to mean as he likes open minded communities with a range of kinds of people, without a single, dominant type of kid. He doesn’t want too flakey or too middle of the road. Hope that explains it better.
The greek life is almost nonexistent at St L. … so that alone is a big difference between Hamilton/Colgate. There are some preppy kids at SLU… don’t get me wrong, but there is a huge range of kids there, and it is a very open-minded, inclusive community that embraces a wide range of differences. My S visited Colgate and Hamilton and found ST L to be very different… not good against bad… just a better fit for him. I think St L leans more towards Kenyon and Grinnell than Hamilton/Colgate.
I have been following this thread with interest. My son was accepted at St. Lawrence, which has been at the top of his list after we went for a visit. We went on a cold, arctic Saturday in January and I was a bit apprehensive about the weather (even though we are from outside Buffalo, the temperature was 10 to 15 degrees colder in Canton!). We were all pleasantly surprised by how much we enjoyed our time on campus, which had a sort of ski-lodge feel (at least that time of year). It was quite lively despite the weather – at 8 a.m. there was a large group of students trekking across the quad carrying skis, and everyone seemed pretty much oblivious to the temperature and snow. The student who gave us the tour did a fantastic job. He was a great kid who seemed to have taken advantage of many of the opportunities the school has to offer – housing with the outdoor club, studying abroad, etc. It’s a nice feeling as a parent to find a place where you think your kid is going to feel comfortable. My husband and I didn’t speak a word for fear of influencing our son one way or another, but we weren’t surprised when he told us how much he liked it. He is a laid-back, introverted and athletic kid who likes the outdoors and is very ready to be done with high school. I can see how he would find the atmosphere at SL to be appealing.
FYI, my son was also accepted at Colgate. Compared to SL, Colgate has a more country club feel (according to husband), and he isn’t sure our son would feel as relaxed there (though I haven’t visited personally). We did visit Gettysburg and Dickinson and those schools didn’t seem as low-key as SL. Notably, our son received a very large scholarship from SL and nothing from Colgate, so unless we win the lottery that will probably seal the deal! In short, I recommend a visit.
Love your post NYwhiz… I assure you your S will not be disappointed at SLU… it is all that and more…and I cam totally see the kids trekking across campus with their skis. I think the cold weather and somewhat remote surroundings brings the student body together in a great way. They totally embrace the cold there. I think your depiction of the school seeming " comfortable" is right on… it is a very cozy place. Didn’t you just die when you saw the student center that looks like the most amazing mountain lodge… with all the rocking chars… and the piano. it is just unbelievable…
To all posters: I’ve recommended St. Lawrence to a relative, so obviously I think highly of the college.
@Midwestmomofboys: I appreciated your reply. Your son seems to be looking for a school that is not oppressively uniform. I concur completely that that’s a great priority. I will be interested to see what you post after your trip.
I’m also interested, though, in the consensus thus far on this thread that Hamilton and Colgate are alike in their social atmosphere and that Saint Lawrence is fundamentally different. (But I do value the first-hand accounts, the most helpful aspect of the forum in my opinion.)
Hamilton, for example, has admission without consideration of ability to pay, no residential frats, a pedagogically-integrated D3 sports program, and is often described online as intellectual, but laid-back and friendly. This is not to say Hamilton is exactly socially unlike Colgate, or like SLU as it has been depicted here; but only that each of these colleges has their own points of emphasis, producing also, perhaps, some surprises for those who look for them.
I have heard that Hamilton actually has both your preppy/sporty types and hipster/artsy types (that both kinds of kids would fit in), which sounds similar to what I’m reading about St. Lawrence.
For what it is worth – I had never checked back in after our visit. St L was last on our trip, and for a number of reasons, just didn’t get the attention it deserved. A few glitches meant that we didn’t meet with the folks on campus we expected to, and the weather was truly, awful (gloppy wet snow in April). We left thinking, well that one is off the list.
As time passed, my son and I both came to think that perhaps it didn’t get a fair shake. Apart from the weather, there was a lot that was good about the school, it just didn’t resonate when we were all tired and grumpy. So, my son suggested we find a time to visit again, this summer, and I agree.
As a parent, I am a little relieved that a test optional academic match might still be on the list . . .