It’s also been getting more competitive to get in https://denisonian.com/2023/04/news/denison-admission-rate-drops-to-17-for-incoming-class-of-2027/ |
Denison may not be harder to get into academically (I'm not sure), but more students are applying to Denison, making it... harder to get into. 2023 ACCEPTANCE RATES ------------------------------ Denison - 17% Dickinson - 43% Gettysburg - 48% Rhodes - 53% St Olaf - 56% This looks to be several years old, but you can compare SAT scores here: https://www.reachhighscholars.org/scores_and_acceptance.html. |
Why?? |
I can’t answer for everyone but I will answer for my family. Our family looked at a lot of SLACs mainly in the 20-50 ranking range. There are a lot of very good schools with a lot to offer in that grouping. But my children lacked interest, for a variety of reasons, in a number of these. Their remoteness, the adjoining town/city - either it lacked interest or appealed economically depressed or perhaps there was a history of gown/town issues, the student body gave off a vibe that made them feel less than comfortable. And then we drove out to Granville. We live in Connecticut so downtown Granville reminded us of home. Stayed at the Granville Inn - which has a very welcoming ambiance. The campus is nicely laid out and situated on the hill. The student body was friendly and welcoming - they made my DS feel welcomed. Adam Weinberg, the President, presents himself and the school very well. You get the sense that he has a plan (and he does and has been executing on it). Then you research Columbus and realize it is doing well, growing, and like the idea that maybe the Midwest may be a little less intense than some of the similar schools on the East coast. Add into that they were fair in their pricing, through merit aid discounting, and you say count me in. So I’d say it’s a combination of a very nice town, well perceived administration, a solid academic reputation, well rounded student body and frankly fair pricing. As a family we found that combination fairly hard to find when looking at schools with our children. We felt fortunate that our DS was able to spend his four years on the Hill as they call it. |
You come here a lot, don’t you? |
I would venture more than some and less than others…lol. Then again, by virtue of our post, the same could be true of you, no ? And, yes I do post about our family’s positive experiences with Denison. I believe that’s the purpose of these forums - to share your experiences with others in the spirit of providing information and with that hopefully guidance. And I remember when I first started exploring colleges with my children and navigating the process and how little I knew. And Denison treated my family fairly so why not do the same, share that fact, and in doing maybe help another family. |
Is that true? Doesn't Denison also do a lot of yield protections stuff? e.g., have no essay but then email all the applicants later saying "hey, now is a good time for an essay" Also, don't they waitlist some students but tell them they will get merit if accepted? |
Hopefully, I got this info below right... From the 2022-2023 Common Data Sets Applied/Accepted/Enrolled Denison = 12,220*/2,684/683 = 22% acceptance rate = 25% yield Dickinson = 8,261/2,885/577 = 35% acceptance rate = 20% yield Gettysburg = 5,796/3,264/644 = 56% acceptance rate = 19% yield Rhodes = 5,253/2,832/477 = 53% acceptance rate = 17% yield St Olaf = 5,524/3,116/869 = 56% acceptance rate = 28% yield In 2023, Denison had 14,500+ applications - Denison has an optional "Why Denison" essay that they send out later. - St. Olaf and Dickinson have optional essays. Gettysburg and Rhodes do not have additional essays. Rhodes has a cool elevator pitch option. - Denison offers some students on their waitlist merit money, but the reported admitted student rate already includes waitlisted students, so that would not impact the acceptance rate. However, I think offering merit money to waitlisted students would positively impact the yield rate, if they do move off the waitlist. |
So helpful! Thank you! |
One possible reason is that Denison kept a very wide band of academic stats in its admissions--they accepted a wider range of SATs and GPAs than comparable schools even as they became more popular instead of becoming more academically rigorous in admissions. This ends up being just a numbers game--there are more kids with SATs and GPAs in the top 40% than in the top 10% so the school is going to have a larger pool of applicants who think they have a shot. In addition, Denison markets itself as more pre-professional than other LACs (though outcomes aren't actually any different--most LACs do a decent job of supporting internships and career outcomes). It's location is less rural than most LACs. Rural locations used to be thought of as idyllic to LACs applicants, but post-Trump and opioid addiction era they have a worse reputation among the urban/suburban MC/UMC kids who are looking at LACs. |
putting Denison in the list of these colleges is laughable. First of all these schools all have acceptance rates ranging from 60%-80%. Why you would put that in a league with Denison at 17% makes no sense. Denison’s alumni are vastly more sucessful than those schools. Think any sector of business or high ranking government and a Denison alum has been ceo (Senator, Congressman, CEO of BofA, ESPN, Disney, Spring, Burger King, eagles, kayak, Tudor investment (one of the most sucessfull IB oat), founder of Blackrock!?) also the endowment, 1.2 billion for 2,500 students. 300 M is the average for those schools. I mean Denison is 4X. This post is a joke |
| I think Denison has become more selective recently and would be harder than schools like Dickinson and Gettysburg. What about Providence as more of a target? |
| Denison is 17% acceptance rate |
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I have been to Denison, and it reminds me of Lafayette but with a much nicer town. I would think Lafayette and Bucknell are peer schools these days.
Denison is sort of rare in that it is a good but not great liberal arts school that is thriving. Maybe Connecticut College for an easier admit? No idea about Depauw but my DS has a friend who went there for lacrosse. He also has friends that have gone to Denison for lacrosse too. So, maybe they are peers? |
Agree with on the Christopher Newport front - worth looking at if they like denison |