<p>I am trying to figure my final list out now, at the last minute (due to my school's counseling bureaucracy) and I have some earlham questions.</p>
<p>Mainly, I'm wondering whether the campus feels lively...if there's stuff to do...events, visiting speakers, etc. I'm especially into music, so I wonder whether there is a good bit of live music to be seen at earlham, considering it's remote location. Are there bands on campus? Do they play? (I'm not necessarily asking for famous groups to come by).</p>
<p>Also, do people go off campus at all....to the nearest cities? And are those cities (cleveland, etc.) actual cities? (this coming from a city person) How's Richmond--suburban, full of chains or what?</p>
<p>I guess I've gotten the impression that Earlham is a really serious school, which I like--I really want other students to be interested in their classes--but I haven't heard much about other aspects of life. </p>
<p>If anyone knows enough to compare it to Beloit, that would be great.</p>
<p>I took my senior D for a visit last month--she liked the students she met and liked the courses on which she sat in--but from what I saw, you would attend Earlham IN SPITE OF the town of Richmond. It is a very poor city, and the restaurant scene is so sparse that I was advised to eat at a cafeteria as being the best place in town. The campus itself is very attractive, and it is 45 minutes from Dayton, 1 1/2 hours from each of Cincinnati and Indianapolis. That means that most of the time, you are stuck in Richmond. It seemed there were a lot of oncampus activities, though. Sorry but I don't know anything about Beloit.</p>
<p>My S and I visited Earlham and Beloit last year. Both colleges are in small towns that did not impress us. That said, both colleges were very vibrant, intellectually stimulating. My S attended two classes at Earlham and loved them. The students and professors were interesting and very engaged. Beloit is similar, although the student body is perhaps not as far out as Earlham's. Earlham is a quaker college, which adds to the strong community feeling on campus. Ny S is interested in music, and we spoke to a music prof at Earlham. S thought that both Earlham and Beloit had good music opps. There lots of activities at both colleges, and the students we met seemed to be quite happy. There is a premium put on independent thought and interactive discussion at both schools. Both are serious colleges, but I would say that the students are less driven by grades and more from an interest in learning for learning sake. As a freshmen, you would probably not be traveling much to bigger cities, but both colleges are reasonably close to bigger cities. Beloit is about an hour and one half from Chicago and also close to Madison and Milwaukee. As dg5052 noted, Earlham is reasonably close to Indianapolis and Cincinnati. But if you want real access to a big city on a frequent basis, neither school will appeal to you. Both schools do make an effort to bring speakers and music onto the campus. By the way if you are interested in them, go visit them and apply as early as possible. Both have early response options, so the earlier you apply the better your chances.</p>
<p>I might be able to shed some light -- I graduated from Beloit and my brother graduated from Earlham. Both schools have a similar vibe and tend to attract the same type of students. I now live near Earlham and spend a fair amount of time on Earlham's campus (what can I say, I feel comfortable in that environment), so my information may be more up to date regarding Earlham than Beloit.</p>
<p>Richmond and Beloit are comparable as cities -- and that is not a compliment to either city. Beloit has a small frat presence, while Earlham does not. Earlham has more course requirements than Beloit. Beloit is in the midst of a major building and fund raising campaign, which I guess can be either good or bad. As far as I know, Earlham does not have anything major concerning building or disrupting the campus in the foreseeable future.</p>
<p>While no two schools are exactly alike, I really think that the majority of students at Beloit would be happy at Earlham, and that the majority of Earlham students would be happy at Beloit. Both schools tend to attract a mix of high achievers and eclectic free spirits. Teaching, by and large, is very good at both schools. Beloit probably has more of a drinking culture than Earlham (after all, Beloit is in Wisconsin), but drinking is not uncommon at Earlham. </p>
<p>I think Markr's impressions are pretty accurate. For me, the two advantages Beloit had over Earlham was: 1) that Beloit was not in Indiana (as you may have guessed, I am from Indiana and currently reside in the Hoosier state); and 2) Madison was an hour away by bus.</p>