Ripon College

 What impressed me most during my visit to tiny (just under 1000 students) Ripon College in Ripon, Wisconsin, was the faculty.  Beyond teaching students, they make connections in many others ways - by coaching club sports, mentoring students during internships and acting as career counselors.  There is a lack of pretension throughout the community that begins with the students and spreads all the way to the President, who teaches a class, has a weekly radio show and advises the lacrosse team.  Everyone seems to know everyone else and it is difficult for a student to fall through the cracks.  First year students are require to take a First Year Studies course which provides an introduction to the liberal arts.  Learning is kept as "hands-on" as possible and the Maymester, a three week short course period in May, provides an opportunity for off-campus exploration.  The faculty works hard to connect their liberal arts college to careers through internships and short course offerings.  Seniors are required to complete a capstone project in their major.

Ripon is 2 hours from Chicago and 1 1/2 hours from Milwaukee but most students stay put on the weekends.  The town of Ripon is not large and the college and student government put significant effort into organizing events and activities on campus.  Laser tag in the Library tonight anyone?  Inner tube water polo? Students are required to live on campus all four years.  Ripon has full-time coaches for each sports team and a thriving theatre program (Harrison Ford and Spencer Tracy are alums) open to all students.  Honestly, though, Ripon seems like a perfect place for a wholesome student who likes good, clean fun rather than a raucous party scene.  Approximately 12% of the student body is of color and 5% is international.

Ripon has a rolling admission process and students can apply after 9/15.  The college tries to meet 100% of student financial need and they have come close in recent years.  Most students are from Wisconsin and neighboring states (80%).

If you are looking for a college free of urban distractions, filled with friendly professors eager to help you reach your academic and career goals and want to surround yourself with the wholesomeness of the Midwest, be sure to check out Ripon.

Marquette University

I will admit that the first thing that came to my mind about Marquette University is that they seem to frequently be in the basketball playoffs and this year had a particularly successful men's team. There was much more to learn about the 8000 undergraduates on campus in Milwaukee, Wisconsin!

Johnston Hall, home of the Diederich College of Communication

Marquette is one of the twenty-eight Jesuit Catholic colleges in the US. Jesuit colleges are located in urban areas to facilitate a connection with diverse communities and to provide meaningful opportunities for students interested in social justice and community service.  A Jesuit education means asking students to ponder why they think the way they think.  The university has seven undergraduate colleges - Arts and Sciences, Business, Communications, Education, Engineering, Health Sciences and Nursing.  There is also a law and dental school for graduate students. When asked about the prevalence of religion on campus, our tour guide said that "religion on campus is proposed but not imposed." Students were enthused about their teachers and felt they had ready access to them.

Milwaukee is a moderately sized city with more going on that first meets the eye.  It is one of the cleanest cities I have ever seen.  Honestly, I kept looking for trash and could not find any. Marquette is located near the heart of the town and students seem to fit nicely into the landscape here, living off campus but nearby and obtaining part time employment and internships.  A mixture of old and new buildings, Marquette's grounds are a lovely combination of tree lined pathways with a major thoroughfare through campus.  A newer engineering building was fascinating.  It was built with as much of the mechanics and structural details exposed so students could learn from the building itself. 

The Admissions staff conceded that demonstrating your interested in Marquette is important. Most students are from Wisconsin and they are always interested in increasing their racial and geographic diversity.  It is important to note that the application deadline is early -  December 1st for everyone.  Notifications are sent starting in January.

Besides basketball players and Brewers fans, who might be interested in Marquette? If you want to get out of California for four years and experience a city in the heartland of America, you could not go wrong with the solid education and multiple majors afforded at Marquette.

Beloit College

Beloit College is located on the Wisconsin-Illinois border, exactly halfway between Seattle and Boston.  It is the oldest college in Wisconsin and its founders went on to found Carleton College in Minnesota and the Claremont Colleges in California (Pomona, Claremont McKenna, Pitzer, Scripps, Harvey Mudd).  Beloit is 75 miles from Chicago's O'Hare airport and 50 miles from Madison (University of Wisconsin - Madison is there), both of which are connected to Beloit by bus lines.

There is, of course, snow in Wisconsin in the winter.

 Why would someone come to Beloit?  Known for anthropology, creative writing and international studies, Beloit attracts creative, independent and open-minded students who tend to be quite political and environmentally conscious.  While definitely curious, some might even say the students are a little rebellious. Creative and artistic, they express themselves in various ways throughout campus - from the poetry garden to provocative sculpture.  The college encourages first year students to come "undeclared" and explore a variety of subjects and seminars. Although there is no core curriculum, a structured faculty advising program helps ensure that students take classes within five domains.  Writing is stressed across the curriculum, even in math and the sciences. Half of the students study abroad.

And...there is a spring too!

Everyone lives on campus in older traditional dorms with one central dining hall.  Community is strong here, both on and off campus.  Dinner is not served on campus on Sunday night and students fill the adjacent downtown, mingling with residents.

Surprisingly, only 17% of the 1300 students come from Wisconsin and rarely is there more than one student enrolled from the same high school. The Admissions Office strongly encourages interviews, believing that it helps them make sure Beloit is a match for the applicant.  They must be doing a effective job making that match because 92% of the freshmen return for a second year.  Beloit graduates move on to graduate schools in large numbers - within 10 years, 70% have earned an advanced degree.

If you are looking for a smaller, intimate environment where professors won't look at you oddly when you keep asking them "yes, but why?", Beloit might be a dream come true.

UC Santa Cruz

 

UCSC is a stunning campus high above the town of Santa Cruz and is so large that it is barely visible in it’s entirety from any point.  Both meadowland and deep redwood forests sprawl on the 6,088 acre sloped and naturally contoured site. It is one of the youngest UC schools.  Construction began in 1965 and the building code has limited campus construction to stay within 2/3 of adjacent redwood tree heights.  The effect is of college buildings respectfully distanced throughout a national park!  Our campus tour took almost two hours and we were surprised several times with substantial footbridges through tree filled canyons and long and peaceful walkways between dorms and colleges.  Because sight lines are entirely obscured with the gentle redwood giants, the architecture varies greatly from building to building and with pleasing effect.  

There is a tangible vitality on campus that most likely stems from UCSC’s hippie roots.  There was a political rally in full swing in front of the student center.   Environmental research opportunities are plentiful, a few of which are:  UCSC’s Cowell Beach research facility, alum Julie Packard takes a select number of interns each year at her famed Monterey Bay Aquarium she founded, and many research opportunities for research in nearby Monterey Bay .  There is great pride in UCSC’s banana slug school mascot, regarded by many as one of the best imaginable mascots ever!  The campus seems to present a small liberal arts type environment but also offer the richness of a large powerful institution.

There are ten residential dorms known as colleges.  Each college has a different theme and students select and apply to a specific college of their choice.  There are six eating halls with some colleges sharing eating facilities with a neighboring college.  All freshmen are required to live on campus and there is a freshman core course taken within each residential college.  This and the beautiful setting likely contributed to the easy social atmosphere everywhere we visited in our tour.

There was an error in UCSC fees cited in Princeton Review’s The Best 377 Colleges, 2013 Edition.   In the sidebar under the heading “Financial Facts”, they correctly quote in-state tuition of $13,417 and room and board of $14871 (actually UCSC’s website quotes $14861), but incorrectly quote additional fees of $13,538.  Do not be alarmed--this is an error by Princeton Review because the tuition they quote already includes fees as well.  So additional fees = $0!

This piece was contributed by the Larsen family - thank you!     

Lawrence University

What a hidden, if not a slightly remote, gem!  Lawrence University, located in Appleton, Wisconsin (a two hour drive north of Milwaukee), is everything a small liberal arts university should be.  First year students are introduced to college level reading, writing and analysis through a unique Freshmen Studies program where freshmen study the same material, participate in lectures by experts in the field, discuss topics in small groups and then adjorn to lunch where the conversation continues. Over 60% of the classes are honors tutorials or indivualized learning where a student identifies a topic of interest and finds a faculty member to teach it.  70% of Lawrence students take such a class and they rave about the opportunity to study a topic in depth. Seniors are required to complete a capstone project in their major.  Lawrence has a Conservatory of Music, and 25% of the students are majors there but classes, lessons and ensembles are open to the entire university.

One imagines that Wisconsin residents would comprise the majority of students but that is not the case - 70% are from outside Wisconsin and 10% are international students.  All students live on campus which creates a significant feeling of community that comes across when touring the campus.  Set along the banks of the Fox River, Lawrence is located at one end of downtown Appleton (called "The Little Apple" for good reason I was told).

Lawrence is test optional in admissions.  It attracts bright, self motivated students who want to take responsibility for their education and Lawrence helps them do just that.  Don't be fooled by Lawrence's statistics in college guidebooks - it is the type of place that does not appeal to everyone and is somewhat self-selecting.

Are you ready to be challenged?  Do you want to be able to direct your education and not be told what to take all the time? Do you want to continue music or vocal lessons or perhaps perform with other enthusiastic students? Do you want to experience another part of the country for four year and can you handle the cold, long winters?  Yes?  Check out Lawrence in College that Change Lives by Loren Pope or talk to me for more information.  This is a spectacular place!

University of Wisconsin - Madison

If you are looking for a university overflowing with school spirit, look no further than the University of Wisconsin – Madison.  On game days, most spectator sports sell out their home games and the campus is a sea of red, one of the school’s colors.  You have to love the spirited football fans that regularly jump up and down in the stands between the third and fourth quarters (check them out on YouTube) and flood the field at the end of the game, regardless of score to celebrate the “fifth” quarter with a dance on the field.  Campus enthusiasm extends beyond sports, however, with legendary snowballs flights and too many traditions to count.

I was surprised to find myself surrounded by water and enjoying the views of a large and lovely lake from the heart of the campus.  Located on an isthmus between two lakes, the campus has a lakefront section and a more urban neighborhood.  With 29,000 undergraduates and a total student population of 42,000, UW Madison, is a huge place.  There are 8 schools within the university and 42 libraries.  Our tour guides mentioned classes of 600 students with discussion sections of 30 and indicated that many freshmen classes had 300-600 students.  Officially, the university states that 10% of their classes have more than 100 people and 10% have less than 20 people.  Academically, there is almost everything you could want here for the assertive student to take advantage of.

UW Madison is required by law to limit out of state students to 25% of the total population, including international students, which in 2012 accounted for 10% of the total.   Clearly it is not easy to be admitted to UW Madison as a non-resident.  However, once admitted, most students stay and graduate at a high rate and mostly with 4 ½ years.  It is a vibrant, active campus in a pleasant, small city, which is also the state capitol.  Californians would be right at home on the lakeside beach when the weather gets warm!

Union Terrace Beach

Who would be a good fit here? A high achieving, independent, confident student who would be happy in an environment where there is not too much racial diversity but tons of opportunity for jumping during football games would be a perfect fit if he or she also had a really warm coat!