Small Colleges in the Midwest

Parent Cafe
1

<p>We are about to start visiting small colleges in the midwest as our older child is looking for the best place. Does anyone have recommendations in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Iowa in particular?</p>

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<p>Illinois: These are all privates, which have small student population. Listed in no particular order</p>

<p>Knox College <a href=“http://www.knox.edu/[/url]”>http://www.knox.edu/&lt;/a&gt;
Illinois Wesleyan U. <a href=“http://www.iwu.edu/[/url]”>http://www.iwu.edu/&lt;/a&gt;
Elmhurst College <a href=“http://public.elmhurst.edu/[/url]”>http://public.elmhurst.edu/&lt;/a&gt;
Lake Forest <a href=“http://www.lakeforest.edu/[/url]”>http://www.lakeforest.edu/&lt;/a&gt;
Shimer College <a href=“http://www.shimer.edu/[/url]”>http://www.shimer.edu/&lt;/a&gt;
Wheaton College <a href=“http://www.wheaton.edu/[/url]”>http://www.wheaton.edu/&lt;/a&gt;
University of Chicago <a href=“http://www.uchicago.edu/[/url]”>http://www.uchicago.edu/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I would say Knox College, Illinois Wesleyan, Shimer College, and U of C are tops compared to the other private colleges. Each has its own strength & weaknesses, and each attracts different kinds of students. </p>

<p>The smallest state schools in Illinois are Eastern Illinois University (approx. 12,500 students) and Western Illinois University (approx. 11,400).</p>

3

<p>Lawrence in Appleton.
Carthage in Kenosha.</p>

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<p>There’s also Northwestern in Evanston - great location, might be too large for your kid, but the campus is really pretty and it’s close to Chicago if you’re checking out area schools. You might also want to check out Loyola - their lakeshore campus is very nice and they’re generous with merit aid from what I’ve heard.</p>

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<p>What are you looking for? What are the stats? Size, etc.? Liberal arts versus larger schools?</p>

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<p>Illinois: Augustana, Bradley, Eureka, Illinois College, Millikin, Monmouth, North Central, Quincy.
Iowa: Grinnell, St. Ambrose
Wisconsin: Beloit, Marquette
Indiana: Butler, Depauw, Valparasio</p>

7

<p>You didn’t ask about Minnesota but it has three of the best LACs in Carleton, Macalester, and St. Olaf. Also Gustavaus Adolphus, St. John’s/St. Ben’s.</p>

<p>Wisconsin: Beloit, Lawrence U
Illinois: Knox, Illinois Wesleyan, Augustana
Iowa: Grinnell, Luther
Indiana: Earlham, DePauw, Wabash</p>

8

<p>Don’t forget Coe in Iowa and Ripon in Wisconsin. Great range of selectivity on this thread.</p>

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<p>The private colleges and universities in Iowa offer special tours during Iowa College Week every August. I can’t find the dates for this year, but the full list of participating colleges and universities is at [Think</a> Independently: Iowa private colleges, universities, schools](<a href=“http://www.thinkindependently.com/asp/school_profiles/default.asp]Think”>http://www.thinkindependently.com/asp/school_profiles/default.asp)
And, of course you can visit these places any time!</p>

<p>Two of my sisters graduated from Luther, and one attended Iowa Wesleyan before graduating from Ashford U ( <a href=“http://www.ashford.edu%5B/url%5D”>www.ashford.edu</a> ) in Clinton, Iowa. Ashford (formerly College of Mt. St. Clare) used to be a Catholic college run by Franciscan Sisters, but now is independent.</p>

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<p>Kalamazoo, a few hours north of the Indiana border, in Michigan.</p>

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<p>Northwestern, Loyola, and Marquette all have well over 5,000 undergrads – not sure if that qualifies as “small” for the OP.
I second Augustana, Illinois Wesleyan, Lawrence, and Ripon. There’s also St. Norbert’s outside Green Bay and Beloit. Definitely St. Olaf in Minnesota (in the same small town as Carleton.)
In Ohio, there are many – Denison, Ohio Wesleyan, Kenyon, College of Wooster.
OP, what level of selectivity are you looking for?</p>

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<p>Let me put in another vote for Minnesota. And, Southwest Airlines just started flying here 2 days ago, so there is an airfare war going on. No better time to visit Minnesota!</p>

<p>OK, maybe there is a better time… like when the snow is gone, around mid-May with luck.</p>

13

<p>I would add Cornell College in Iowa: I love their byline - We’re not in Ithaca
[Cornell</a> College](<a href=“http://www.cornellcollege.edu/]Cornell”>http://www.cornellcollege.edu/)</p>

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<p>Another vote for checking out Kalamazoo. True, it’s in Michigan, but it’s in Western Michigan, near Gary and only two hours from Chicago. It’s a little unknown gem.</p>

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<p>You can find information on a lot of the schools mentioned on the Colleges That Change Lives web site. Many cc’ers (including myself) are huge fans.</p>

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<p>Look at the state listings in college guides for names. There aren’t that many per state, unlike the east coast so you won’t be swamped with names. Your child’s stats matter- some colleges have students with average stats, others with good ones. ACT scores tend to be listed, except in Indiana. None of the schools in Wisconsin are in the same league as UW-Madison, including the towns they are located in, as well as academics, although some are close.</p>

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<p>Actually, it’s less than that—Kalamazoo is about 45 miles from the Indiana state line, less than and hour’s drive. So if proximity to Indiana is important to you, Kalamazoo might be your place. Usually goes the other way, though—people ask how far some town in Indiana is from Michigan.</p>

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<p>Anderson U in Anderson, IN
A little outside your zone: Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI</p>

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<p>Iowa - …Drake and Grinnell</p>

<p>Illinois - …Univ. of Chicago </p>

<p>Indiana - …Valparaiso</p>

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<p>Fang Jr was also looking at small LACs in the Midwest. Here are our impressions of several:</p>

<p>Carleton: The top LAC in the Midwest. Admissions officer told a group of parents that “Carleton students idle on high,” which kind of scared me off because Fang Jr. doesn’t. Carls (grads) are famously loyal and devoted to one another. In a suburb an hour away from Minneapolis/St. Paul, up on a hill. Pleasant campus a walking distance from pleasant main street. Students are liberal and a bit scruffy (and, I thought, tall). It’s multiethnic. Just across town is St. Olaf.</p>

<p>St. Olaf: We didn’t tour, but drove through the campus. It looked like they were holding the World Blondness Championship there. Students are reputed to be more conservative and religious than crosstown neighbor Carleton students, but I’m been reliably informed that irreligious students would feel perfectly comfortable there. Great choirs.</p>

<p>Macalester: Right smack in the middle of a busy residential neighborhood of St. Paul, with a busy street running through campus. This is definitely a college in the city. Very political, very very liberal. The food in the cafeteria is fantastic. International emphasis. Kofi Annan went there.</p>

<p>Beloit: Prettily located on a bluff above a river, in a town that has seen better days but still has life in it. Everyone here, students, faculty, staff, is amazingly friendly. Prides itself on flexible, personal, interdisciplinary education. Professors work closely with students. Has an anthropology museum on campus; students can work there, and anthro department is excellent. Students are artsy.</p>

<p>Grinnell: In the middle of nowhere. If you go there, you’d better like cornfields and flatness, because there’s nothing in Grinnell but Grinnell College. Due to generous contributor and Warren Buffett directing their investments, sloshing with money (even though like all other colleges, they’ve lost a packet). Lots of new buildings put up recently. Great for writing.</p>

<p>Kalamazoo: Wonderful little gem. Less arty than Beloit, less selective than Carleton. Big emphasis on study abroad, internships, capstone project (=senior thesis). Almost all (85%) of students study abroad. Kalamazoo runs its own study abroad programs, and has done so for decades. Lots of academic structure: distribution requirements plus requirements to attend a number of the many campus-wide forums (performances, lectures, presentations) available each week. Alums have told me that employers not in Michigan have never heard of Kalamazoo, but grad schools all over the country know how well it prepares students for further academic study.</p>

<p>Except for St. Olaf, which we didn’t tour and which I don’t know much about, all the above schools are classic liberal arts schools with strong academics. [And St. Olaf might be as well; I just don’t know much about it.] IIRC all have freshman seminars that emphasize writing skills. I am confident that Fang Jr would have gotten a strong education in history (or poli sci, or international relations) at any of them.</p>