Thank you so much, Skyhawk123. That is all very valuable information that I can share with her. She really does want riding to be a part of her college experience, so we will have to take that into consideration for sure. Thank you again for your wonderful post!
Well… I can’t elaborate much more than Skyhawk, but my S absolutely loves everything about his SLU experience so far. He is on the outdoorsy side and is also the assistant director of the EMT’s on campus which is a pretty involved job, and is a volunteer fireman/EMT for Canton Fire and Rescue so hasn’t really had too much time for the drinking scene… other than picking drunk kids up late at night and making sure they are ok. He would say there is definitely drinking going on… especially with the freshman, but there is absolutely no pressure to drink if you don’t want to. It is an extremely active student body… everyone does tons of stuff at one time. He loves spending his weekends in the Dacks or on Whiteface mt… when he isn’t busy with his insane pre-med schedule. I LOVED the food when we visited him last year… especially the Sunday brunch… OMG!
Anyway… don’t let their acceptance rate fool you… lots of smart, serious students because of SLU’s very generous merit aid. He has had amazing professors and just got chosen by his Philosophy Prof’s to do an Honors thesis next year. I would say he has taken advantage of everything SLU has to offer. He has lived in one of the Theme houses since sophomore year and really enjoyed the close knit friends he has made there… they are similar to frat houses though in a lot of ways… just more inclusive. I spent a weekend there last year and I was amazed at how friendly and nice all the kids were… they were happy to have me hang out in the backyard of their house listening to music and drinking warm beer… haha… then walking with a bunch of them to to Spring concert… which was great. The music scene is really good there as well. My S’s younger brother came with me on the visit as well, and he remarked that. " This must be where all the nice girls in high school went"…lol… anyway great, great college
I have one kid at SLU and another at a similar LAC. I had the same concerns, especially for my daughter. To be sure there are plenty of opportunities for kids to go over the top with partying. But on the other hand I have found that some of the “parties” both kids have gone to have been very positive. Some are theme parties. Some are formals. It comes down to why you send your kid to an “elite” LAC. Yes the class size, the profs, facilities, etc all are part of it. But it is also about the exposure to kids from other backgrounds. They get those intangibles through social settings when they are blowing off steam from some pretty rigorous course work. Not every party entails 10 kegs and lots of grain alcohol. There is plenty to worry about with social scene but on the contrary, one of the reasons we send our kids away to such institutions, rather than locking them in their rooms and home schooling them,
is so that they will get out and see the world, get a different perspective on life and hopefully develop the skills to stand on their own two feet and make the right decisions based on their own moral compass. For our family, SLU has exceeded expectations in that regard and was well worth the price. Good luck in your college search. It is a roller coaster of emotions…enjoy the ride.
I know I am late to the comments on this thread, but want to echo my son’s experience at SLU. He just graduated and my H and I spent the weekend there with a bunch of other families. My son is also an outdoorsy, natural kind of guy. As a high school student, SLU for him was a reach, but they must have needed another Eagle Scout on campus for all those nice girls. His SATs were also what got him in, but his HS grades were below SLU’s average. My son is more of a evening party animal, but his roommate and best friend was studious and not a partier at all. Two girls from our town were also at SLU, and they definitely were not party types, except maybe once or twice a semester. For the people that like to party, they do, and for the ones that don’t, they still have plenty of other options.
My son lived in a theme house, which allowed him to hang out with others with similar interests. It was co-Ed, so it was like he had brothers and sisters when we met the seniors at graduation time.
There is a small group of sororities and fraternities, but compared to the big10 school I attended, the Greek scene was tiny.
But SLU is much more than that for what it offers students. My son went to Vienna and Jamaica, paid by SLU, except airfare; post college he is going to Colorado for a training internship, partially paid for by SLU. My son loved the healthy food on campus (thank you to the Dana food service team). Organic salad bar? I want to go to SLU. He could also get food on his meal card at the Pub, but he quickly learned that pub food used up his meal plan too quickly. Most importantly, he had the best major advisor he could get. We met his advisor and other professors at graduation, and thanked them personally for guiding our son towards internships, TA jobs, and summer jobs tied to his field. My son was not a Summa Cum Laude, but the attention and support he received made it seem like he was top of his class.
I never could have thought up a school like SLU, but am so glad that my son found it and now can proudly say he is a SLU alum.
Thank you SnowfakeVT for your answer. Never too late- she’s still a junior so we have some more time left for any advice. SLU is still her top choice after all our other college visits, so we will go back in the fall when it is not frigid to get another look around. Glad to hear that it seems like you can be as you are and there are options for everyone. Travel abroad is very important to her, so another plus for the school!
I have a daughter at St Lawrence and my husband is an alum. There is a very active outdoors scene at SLU so if your daughter does not party make sure she likes to spend some time outdoors. The student body is enthusiastic and friendly while the administration works hard to keep the activities flowing. The alumni network is incredible!
Thank you! Heading up next weekend for a tour and interview.
Let us know your impressions. SLU really likes students that want to understand the bigger world through travel abroad opportunities.
We had a great weekend visiting and my daughter is very taken with the school. Her interview went really well and the tour guide was able to give a lot of insight even though I know they have a somewhat canned itinerary and speech to stick with. The huge “pub cookie” they gave her at the end of the tour didn’t hurt. Both the admissions interviewer and tour guide sent her a personalized letter (handwritten) afterwards and included handouts on the particular topics she was interested in such as study abroad and community service. She even bought a t shirt which she has never done at any other campus visit so I know her interest is high. She likes the area a lot and they seem to be strong in humanities which is the direction she wants to go with her studies. The 5 hour drive is not ideal, but it is manageable. She would have a car there. So, she’s applying to 5 schools but I definitely think St. Lawrence is one of the top 2. Thanks everybody for your comments and feel free to keep them coming.
My son is a sophomore and not a partier. In his freshman year, he didn’t like the parties, but did not feel pressure to drink. Other kids were fine with it. Also, some teams, at least, have a dry season. No partying. He’s got friends that do and don’t party.
Thank you! Good to hear!