<p>Anyone really familiar with these schools? We know many who attend St. Olaf but none at the others. Trying to compare "the campus vibe" at each. D2 thinks these will make the initial consideration list but wants more info. Do kids stay on campus on the weekends? Can't have a car at St. Olaf...does that work? Any and all info appreciated!</p>
<p>re: St Olaf
Northfield transit buses run the kids downtown or out to Target if you need to go. The downtown is maybe a twenty minute stroll away, mostly through residental neighborhoods.
My impression is that the campus weekend social life is pretty good. They often have bands down from Minneapolis that have a local indie reputation.</p>
<p>Both St. Olaf and Luther are very popular at our local high school, although both my children ruled out small midwest LAC's at the start, so I haven't personally investigated them and can't speak to the campus vibe but to the types of students attending. I know next to nothing about Augustana.</p>
<p>From here, both schools attract very bright students who have taken primarily Honors and AP loads but that are not the quirky, highly intellectual type. Both St. Olaf and Luther are known for their music programs--Luther in particular has wide student body involvement in its musical groups, beyond that St. Olaf tends to attract those who are more science-oriented and Luther more humanities-oriented. None of the students from here come home very often from either place, and frequently younger siblings follow their older siblings to those schools, so apparently experiences have been positive. The only negative I have heard about Luther is from a mother who said it was absolutely the best place for her older son, but perhaps they should have cast a wider net for her second son because he is passionate about social justice issues and she thought they could have found a school with a higher proportion of like-minded students.</p>
<p>I'm assuming you know about the geographic environment of St. Olaf given your post; Luther is in one of the prettiest areas of Iowa IMO--a pretty town with Norwegian roots in a hilly and wooded terrain--but not as close to a major city as St. Olaf. </p>
<p>Three of D's friends are probably going to attend St. Olaf next year--all strong students, one a dancer, one an instrumental musician, one an athlete. I only know of one student from here who has attended Augustana, but he was a 34 ACT, 4.0 student interested in science (also not quirky); his younger sister will be attending Luther next year (which reminds me that Luther has been very generous with merit money to students from here; I haven't heard so much about that at St. Olaf.)</p>