<p>My middle son, a high school senior, has always been extremely interested in the University of Denver, a school not often discussed here. He visited DU last January and loved it, and has applied EA. He has his mandatory Ammi Hyde interview coming up soon, and he is nervous. Any one with any experience or insight?</p>
<p>I can't speak specifically to DU, since my D goes to CU-Boulder. But after living here over 21 years and having friends'/acquaintances' children who have attended DU, I know that most of them absolutely love it. I've been on the campus a few times for my S's lacrosse camps, and it seems very nice. The academics are top notch, everyone loves Pioneer hockey, and the campus is centrally located in Denver so it's easy to get around the city. There are lots of opportunities to intern with large businesses all throughout the Denver region.</p>
<p>Best of luck to your son!!</p>
<p>Here's a great article about the Hyde Interview by Jay Matthews of the Washington Post: <a href="http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4196/is_20040201/ai_n10946622%5B/url%5D">http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4196/is_20040201/ai_n10946622</a></p>
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Excerpt:</p>
<p>Milena Zilo cried when the rejection letter arrived from the University of Denver -- then she decided that school officials did not know enough about her and drove 12 miles from her home to tell them that. John Dolan, then the vice chancellor for enrollment, was away from his office, so she grabbed a brochure with his picture on it and went looking for him.</p>
<p>Zilo and Dolan had no way of knowing it at the time, but their awkward and emotional first meeting in April 2001 helped spur the private school to make personal interviews a required part of its application process.</p>
<p>DU, as the university calls itself, is in the midst of a 27-city series of 5,000 interviews -- an approach rivaled by only a few U.S. undergraduate institutions -- to see whether personal contact can improve what has become for many applicants a mysterious and angst- ridden ordeal.</p>
<p>"We want to give every kid an opportunity to give us his own voice and go beyond just test scores and GPA," said Michael L. Griffin, the assistant vice chancellor for enrollment.</p>
<p>Dolan recalled that when Zilo found him on campus and told him, in the accent of her native Albania, that he had made a big mistake, he said the usual polite things: It was not a reflection on her, and there were only a little more than 900 spaces in the freshman class. But when she persisted, he took her back to his office and listened.</p>
<p>She showed him a scrapbook of glowing recommendation letters, awards and other signs of achievement. She explained that attending the university had been her goal since she arrived in the United States with her family four years earlier. Dolan told her to wait, stepped out to confer with his staff and came back to inform her she was right. They had made a mistake and would not only admit her but also offer her a scholarship.</p>
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Early reviews from students have been good. Katherine Walsh, a freshman, said she was "very nervous that I would be caught off- guard or something" when she walked in for her interview a year ago in Seattle. But, she said, "it made me think that DU did care to learn about what type of people they were going to accept, which shows they really do care about students."
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<p>Go Pioneers!</p>
<p>Thank you both for your responses. My son really likes everything about DU and is looking forward to his interview this weekend. My husband and I were much more impressed than we thought we would be when we visited last year. It's a school that doesn't seem to get much attention which is surprising. My impression was that DU would get a lot more attention if it were located in the east. In addition to it having the programs he is interested in, DU is a great size (big enough but not too big--there are so few schools in the 3,000-7,000 middle size category) and it is in a great city. Here's hoping!</p>
<p>Please post back after the interview. My youngest is interested in applying next year. We really like the school from everything we have heard and read and are looking forward to visiting. Good luck to your son.</p>
<p>It's on my kid's list as well. So let's hear.</p>
<p>Well, as a long-term Denverite, I can tell you that it's not a school that attracts many top-tier local students. I've heard the term 'dumb rich kids' school' bandied about more than once. Top local kids go out of state, to Colorado College, Boulder or School of Mines. Top kids who choose DU are usually those who have been offered major financial aid to attend. DU does have some respected grad programs, a good music program, and their law/business grad schools are also said to be good. I know many kids "love" the school. But that doesn't mean it's worth the money compared to many other similarly priced colleges.</p>
<p>katliamom-</p>
<p>I think that is a true feeling of many people across the country about their "local college." (The grass is always greener...)</p>
<p>One of the biggest lessons I learned on cc was that fit was of primary importance. I feel bad when some HS student has so many top schools in their list of places to apply, and yet these schools are so different from one another. That tells me that the student either does not have a clear idea of what he/she is looking for or believes that attending anything other than a top-ranked USNWR school is useless.</p>
<p>Or both.</p>
<p>For example, you might not know this:</p>
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The Wall Street Journal/Harris Interactive 2006 survey of corporate recruiters has named DU’s Daniels College of Business as one of the world’s top schools for producing graduates with high ethical standards.</p>
<p>Daniels took the No. 4 position following Yale, Brigham Young and Dartmouth. This is the third consecutive year that Daniels has been ranked in the Wall Street Journal survey.</p>
<p>The rankings, which measure how appealing schools are to MBA recruiters, were compiled from 3,267 recruiters’ ratings of schools they’d recently dealt with. Recruiters commended Daniels’ students for high integrity, teamwork ability and work ethic.</p>
<p>Daniels is distinctive because it has a business ethics and legal studies department and requires students to take a values-based leadership course.</p>
<p>The Wall Street Journal/Harris Interactive report is the only business-school ranking based solely on feedback from corporate recruiters. The report lists the top national, regional and international business schools.</p>
<p>The Wall Street Journal also moved Daniels up one position to No. 8 on the list of the top 47 North American regional business schools. The school was also ranked among the top 10 in several other categories: No. 3 in the technology industry, No. 6 for academic excellence in accounting, No. 7 in the financial-services industry and No. 9 for academic excellence in information technology.
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<p>digmedia:</p>
<p>Well, I think katliamom was a bit blunt, but I don't think she missed the mark by too much. I know a young lady who had straight As in high school, but neglected to take the toughest courses. As a result, DU, which was her safety school, became the place she matriculated by default. Her words to me about DU were, "I was hoping for something more elevated than high school. My high school classes were much tougher."</p>
<p>She transferred after the first year to a top LAC.</p>
<p>Now, this is not to say that everyone will have the same experience. But I do think it's important information for someone who wants and expects to work hard in the classroom.</p>
<p>digmedia, I did know about Daniels - I mentioned in my post about the respected law/business/music programs at DU. </p>
<p>I was referring to, spefically, undergraduate education. My observations are based on not just who goes to DU, but on how it is perceived by people who teach there. DH, an academic, worked at DU, was tenured professor at CU, and has many friends at both. </p>
<p>But I agree about 'fit.' My own daughter is at a private university with a reputation probably similar to DU's. But we went into that decision with our eyes wide open - it was a good 'fit' for my D. I only wanted OP to go into her decision with her eyes open too - given the tuition, it's best to be fully informed -- the pluses and the minuses -- of each given school.</p>
<p>My D applied early action to DU and received notification of her admission early in January. She was not particularly nervous about the interview, as she is fairly used to public speaking. She did mention that the interview was with a panel, rather than with one interviewer and she liked that more than she did her one on one interview with another school. Don't know yet if she will choose DU, but it is high on her list. They have a lot of great programs for her, such as the Pioneer Leadership Program, great Study Abroad opportunities and a 4+1 option to get a BA/MA in her are of interest. I have also been impressed with how communicative and helpful the Admissions office has been during the application process.</p>
<p>Updating--</p>
<p>My son enjoyed his panel interview and was accepted EA as well. While DU was a safety for him, he really likes it and feels that elusive "fit" that we are all looking for.</p>
<p>My take on DU is that is is perhaps a great school for late bloomers and that the package that comes out at graduation doesn't necessarily look like the raw material that arrived a few years earlier. A lot of "value added" -- not a bad thing! </p>
<p>We met a lot of kids who were very engaged in their academics and their programs, although like every where else they liked to have at least their share of fun too. I think a lot of the kids there are smart and ambitious, just not classically intellectual. The kids looking at DU are not lokking at Yale or Swarthmore, which is fine.</p>
<p>My son is very interested in Daniels and also in their public policy program and right now DU is in contention for the top spot on his list (so far , he is 6/6 for acceptances, which we did not expect), probably tied with Indiana --obviously the Kelley business school is excellent, but so is their public policy program (SPEA). He is going to Indiana this weekend, and will visit DU again in March.</p>
<p>"The kids looking at DU are not lokking at Yale or Swarthmore, which is fine."</p>
<p>DU has things, like international business, double majors in music and music business, etc. that Yale and Swarthmore simply don't have.</p>
<p>DU remains on my d's list, not top, but well up there. We hope to visit soon.</p>
<p>When I was teaching, a college counselor came to speak to my classes one day. During the class, he mentioned the "super-selective colleges: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, DU..."</p>
<p>I had to suppress my giggles. DU, obviously, is nowhere near that tier of schools. I've heard it bandied about that it's a selective school, but the public (I also live in the Denver area) perceives it far differently. Terrific students that stay in-state go to CU-Boulder, and not just because of finances. I find it hard to believe that it's so selective when the very population it tries to draw from disagrees.</p>
<p>However, I will concur that some of it's grad programs are excellent. Business and IR are the ones I've heard mentioned.</p>
<p>This may not be a factor for everyone, but Princeton Review has this school on its list for schools with "Little Race/Class Interaction" based on responses to the question,
"Do different types of students (black/white, rich/poor) interact frequently and easily?"</p>
<p>Mini--</p>
<p>My son seems to be on the same wavelength as your daughter. One of the things he likes about DU is that the public policy major REQUIRES a second major in addition, and that he could do his second major in Daniels.</p>
<p>But Indiana's public policy program is excellent also. He'll learn more about it tomorrow. </p>
<p>And more about Denver at Pioneer Days in March. Is you daughter going? I'd love to meet you there if you are!</p>
<p>boysx3 - Help prepare your son by doing a quick mock interview. How's his handshake and greeting? How's his eye contact with each person in the room? Have him lean forward in his chair during the interview. Have him try out a couple questions he would have to the interviewer that would demonstrate that he has really researched DU and its offerings. I have done mock interviews with both my sons for both universities and employers and they really work.</p>
<p>"And more about Denver at Pioneer Days in March. Is you daughter going? I'd love to meet you there if you are!"</p>
<p>Sadly, it is right in the middle of gymnastics season, so it doesn't seem possible. (We had planned a visit in November, before my wife became ill.) </p>
<p>My d. would be an international accounting major, with heavy emphasis on languages. Whether she can qualify for their gymnastics team (meaning, we can afford it) is still up in the air.</p>