Anonymous wrote:

I'm the PP who mentioned the pre-professional vibe there -- and there's definitely nothing wrong with getting a great job out of college, but the admissions presentation was very focused on what they called their "outcomes" to the expense of everything else and that was very off putting to us.

At other LACs that we visited, they talked about their academic philosophy, the types of classes you'd be taking, the history of the school and some of its traditions, the experience you'll have on campus, but we didn't get that at Denison. The presentation was very focused on where the kids would be working when they graduated. For my daughter, who is planning on getting her PhD, it just didn't have the right vibe for her (even with potential merit).

It needs to be the right for for your kid. There's nothing wrong about a pre-professional vibe for families looking for that. Honestly, though, we defintely expect my son to go to graduate school, and we're not looking for some of the things you mention at all (he is interested in physics, math, and engineering). Denison wouldn't be the right choice for him, but neither would a place that focused on some of what you are looking for - to each their own.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have posted in the past in support of Denison. I have a student who is currently a senior. He has had a good experience and I believe is genuinely fond of the Hill.

I can share my family’s thinking and how that thinking has likely impacted (lowered) Denison’s acceptance rate.

A couple of things. My son is pretty intellectual although not a grinder. He’s also not a Econ studying Lax Bro that has aspirations of going to Wall Street. He went to a good UMC East Coast suburban high school. Nothing special though. And last he was not a recruited athlete.

What does that all mean - at least through my optics.

He didn’t go to a private school nor is he a recruited athlete. That knocks down most of the upper tier Nescac schools. I’m making generalizations but there is some truth in them. Knocks out a couple of Patriot schools as well. Then again, never did understand the appeal of Colgate’s location and not feeling the Bucknell vibe. Way too much drinking. Like Lafayette but sorry that town is depressing.

So doesn’t really have the grades for upper NESCAC, not sure he wants to freeze his b$lls off at Colgate while hanging with a bunch of finance wantabe’s and the like and doesn’t want to feel like he’s living in a depressed economic area. Seriously, have your driven to some of these places ? Who in their right mind wants to spend 4 years in some of these places ? I would go out of my mind.

Drive up to Denison - it may not be classical in its Architecture but downtown Granville reminds him of home, kids are friendly, not all stressed out, and Dad’s liking the discount especially as my son’s college fund got whacked in the Great Recession.

So it’s not Haverford, definitely not Swarthmore, but kid can have fun. And I suspect he’s not killing himself but he’s working - I see it and he’s maturing into a nice young adult in a relatively safe environment.

He was accepted to higher ranked schools. Some definitely more academic but Denison felt like home. And do they discount to compete - sure - name me a business that doesn’t. I do in my business.

But the flip side my rock star daughter with 99.5 percentile SATs and straight A’s - Denison offered her significantly less merit. Part of that is based on gender and I’m sure they figured she would get “better” offers but also I suspect they know their class.

I actually think the acceptance rate decline is not a good thing. Some students belong at Wesleyan, some at Smarthmore, and some at Pitt, and some at Denison. We are all a little different.

I will say though I like going to Granville. Drive’s a bit much but cute little town. And it is not easy to find the complete package and alot of the SLACs are not in thriving areas.

So in typical DCUM fashion I’m sure there will be folks that flame away because it’s not Williams but not everybody belongs at Williams.

It is what it is - a good school in a nice town that provides a nice place for young people to learn how to become independent adults. It’s not the only school out there but importantly my son had liked it and my DW and I are happy with how he has grown.

This was an honest and valuable post for those interested in Denison. I really wish more posters would offer this type of feedback without being subjected to vitriol for their honesty. DS isn't considering Denison, but knows someone who is very happy there. His list of schools is urban/suburban with quick access to life off campus. I think this is important to many kids and colleges that fit the profile have become much more selective in a short 5 years.

For my DS, while he's a go with the flow and easy going kid, he says he'd get bored of campus only parties and tailgates. He knows he needs more. It's nerve-racking since his list is well thought out, but not a single school within 30 minutes of city. . He's not considering any SUNY schools as safeties. Fingers crossed

For options similar to Dennison but possibly a little less pre-peofessional, you could check out Wooster, Kalamazoo, Lawrence, and Beloit. You can read about colleges of that size and selectivity level on CTCL.org.

Anonymous wrote:I have posted in the past in support of Denison. I have a student who is currently a senior. He has had a good experience and I believe is genuinely fond of the Hill.

I can share my family’s thinking and how that thinking has likely impacted (lowered) Denison’s acceptance rate.

A couple of things. My son is pretty intellectual although not a grinder. He’s also not a Econ studying Lax Bro that has aspirations of going to Wall Street. He went to a good UMC East Coast suburban high school. Nothing special though. And last he was not a recruited athlete.

What does that all mean - at least through my optics.

He didn’t go to a private school nor is he a recruited athlete. That knocks down most of the upper tier Nescac schools. I’m making generalizations but there is some truth in them. Knocks out a couple of Patriot schools as well. Then again, never did understand the appeal of Colgate’s location and not feeling the Bucknell vibe. Way too much drinking. Like Lafayette but sorry that town is depressing.

So doesn’t really have the grades for upper NESCAC, not sure he wants to freeze his b$lls off at Colgate while hanging with a bunch of finance wantabe’s and the like and doesn’t want to feel like he’s living in a depressed economic area. Seriously, have your driven to some of these places ? Who in their right mind wants to spend 4 years in some of these places ? I would go out of my mind.

Drive up to Denison - it may not be classical in its Architecture but downtown Granville reminds him of home, kids are friendly, not all stressed out, and Dad’s liking the discount especially as my son’s college fund got whacked in the Great Recession.

So it’s not Haverford, definitely not Swarthmore, but kid can have fun. And I suspect he’s not killing himself but he’s working - I see it and he’s maturing into a nice young adult in a relatively safe environment.

He was accepted to higher ranked schools. Some definitely more academic but Denison felt like home. And do they discount to compete - sure - name me a business that doesn’t. I do in my business.

But the flip side my rock star daughter with 99.5 percentile SATs and straight A’s - Denison offered her significantly less merit. Part of that is based on gender and I’m sure they figured she would get “better” offers but also I suspect they know their class.

I actually think the acceptance rate decline is not a good thing. Some students belong at Wesleyan, some at Smarthmore, and some at Pitt, and some at Denison. We are all a little different.

I will say though I like going to Granville. Drive’s a bit much but cute little town. And it is not easy to find the complete package and alot of the SLACs are not in thriving areas.

So in typical DCUM fashion I’m sure there will be folks that flame away because it’s not Williams but not everybody belongs at Williams.

It is what it is - a good school in a nice town that provides a nice place for young people to learn how to become independent adults. It’s not the only school out there but importantly my son had liked it and my DW and I are happy with how he has grown.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have posted in the past in support of Denison. I have a student who is currently a senior. He has had a good experience and I believe is genuinely fond of the Hill.

I can share my family’s thinking and how that thinking has likely impacted (lowered) Denison’s acceptance rate.

A couple of things. My son is pretty intellectual although not a grinder. He’s also not a Econ studying Lax Bro that has aspirations of going to Wall Street. He went to a good UMC East Coast suburban high school. Nothing special though. And last he was not a recruited athlete.

What does that all mean - at least through my optics.

He didn’t go to a private school nor is he a recruited athlete. That knocks down most of the upper tier Nescac schools. I’m making generalizations but there is some truth in them. Knocks out a couple of Patriot schools as well. Then again, never did understand the appeal of Colgate’s location and not feeling the Bucknell vibe. Way too much drinking. Like Lafayette but sorry that town is depressing.

So doesn’t really have the grades for upper NESCAC, not sure he wants to freeze his b$lls off at Colgate while hanging with a bunch of finance wantabe’s and the like and doesn’t want to feel like he’s living in a depressed economic area. Seriously, have your driven to some of these places ? Who in their right mind wants to spend 4 years in some of these places ? I would go out of my mind.

Drive up to Denison - it may not be classical in its Architecture but downtown Granville reminds him of home, kids are friendly, not all stressed out, and Dad’s liking the discount especially as my son’s college fund got whacked in the Great Recession.

So it’s not Haverford, definitely not Swarthmore, but kid can have fun. And I suspect he’s not killing himself but he’s working - I see it and he’s maturing into a nice young adult in a relatively safe environment.

He was accepted to higher ranked schools. Some definitely more academic but Denison felt like home. And do they discount to compete - sure - name me a business that doesn’t. I do in my business.

But the flip side my rock star daughter with 99.5 percentile SATs and straight A’s - Denison offered her significantly less merit. Part of that is based on gender and I’m sure they figured she would get “better” offers but also I suspect they know their class.

I actually think the acceptance rate decline is not a good thing. Some students belong at Wesleyan, some at Smarthmore, and some at Pitt, and some at Denison. We are all a little different.

I will say though I like going to Granville. Drive’s a bit much but cute little town. And it is not easy to find the complete package and alot of the SLACs are not in thriving areas.

So in typical DCUM fashion I’m sure there will be folks that flame away because it’s not Williams but not everybody belongs at Williams.

It is what it is - a good school in a nice town that provides a nice place for young people to learn how to become independent adults. It’s not the only school out there but importantly my son had liked it and my DW and I are happy with how he has grown.

I was reading until this. It’s offensive. You could’ve left this out and gotten your point across. I guess I’m not in my right mind because I spent the first 19 years old my life in one of “those places”!

It was not my intent to offend but I can see how it did so my bad. I was actually thinking more along the lines of Colgate and it’s remoteness then some of the areas with depressed economies. But I will say my kids do not even want to be in suburbia - they want to be in the city so I don’t know how these remote areas are going to attract young people. Add in a cold climate and there is a reality. Columbus feels like it is growing, Granville is adorable, and Easton Mall is twenty minutes away. These things matter when deciding where to live for 4 years. And me personally I can not imagine how anyone chooses to live in Hamilton, NY ? And in a similar vein, Hartford’s economic woes have impacted Trinity College. It’s a reality. But I do realize my choice of language was harsh so my apologies.

First of all, Granville is not exactly a thriving metropolis and it IS cold. People choose to live in areas like Hamilton, PA or Easton, PA because their families live there or because the cost of living is very low. Or because they wanted a slower pace of life. Or for outdoor rec opportunities.

I'm the PP who mentioned the pre-professional vibe there -- and there's definitely nothing wrong with getting a great job out of college, but the admissions presentation was very focused on what they called their "outcomes" to the expense of everything else and that was very off putting to us.

At other LACs that we visited, they talked about their academic philosophy, the types of classes you'd be taking, the history of the school and some of its traditions, the experience you'll have on campus, but we didn't get that at Denison. The presentation was very focused on where the kids would be working when they graduated. For my daughter, who is planning on getting her PhD, it just didn't have the right vibe for her (even with potential merit).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow! PP was trying to be nice and share her thought process. You people are going to scare off people from sharing if you focus and get offended by every single word of someone's post. Here's someone with actual experience at the school and you're taking apart her post piece by piece. How delicate are you all? If you don't agree with her, don't send your kids there.

Don’t say things like “who in their right mind would want to live there?” and expect people to not get offended.

Anonymous wrote:Wow! PP was trying to be nice and share her thought process. You people are going to scare off people from sharing if you focus and get offended by every single word of someone's post. Here's someone with actual experience at the school and you're taking apart her post piece by piece. How delicate are you all? If you don't agree with her, don't send your kids there.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have posted in the past in support of Denison. I have a student who is currently a senior. He has had a good experience and I believe is genuinely fond of the Hill.

I can share my family’s thinking and how that thinking has likely impacted (lowered) Denison’s acceptance rate.

A couple of things. My son is pretty intellectual although not a grinder. He’s also not a Econ studying Lax Bro that has aspirations of going to Wall Street. He went to a good UMC East Coast suburban high school. Nothing special though. And last he was not a recruited athlete.

What does that all mean - at least through my optics.

He didn’t go to a private school nor is he a recruited athlete. That knocks down most of the upper tier Nescac schools. I’m making generalizations but there is some truth in them. Knocks out a couple of Patriot schools as well. Then again, never did understand the appeal of Colgate’s location and not feeling the Bucknell vibe. Way too much drinking. Like Lafayette but sorry that town is depressing.

So doesn’t really have the grades for upper NESCAC, not sure he wants to freeze his b$lls off at Colgate while hanging with a bunch of finance wantabe’s and the like and doesn’t want to feel like he’s living in a depressed economic area. Seriously, have your driven to some of these places ? Who in their right mind wants to spend 4 years in some of these places ? I would go out of my mind.

Drive up to Denison - it may not be classical in its Architecture but downtown Granville reminds him of home, kids are friendly, not all stressed out, and Dad’s liking the discount especially as my son’s college fund got whacked in the Great Recession.

So it’s not Haverford, definitely not Swarthmore, but kid can have fun. And I suspect he’s not killing himself but he’s working - I see it and he’s maturing into a nice young adult in a relatively safe environment.

He was accepted to higher ranked schools. Some definitely more academic but Denison felt like home. And do they discount to compete - sure - name me a business that doesn’t. I do in my business.

But the flip side my rock star daughter with 99.5 percentile SATs and straight A’s - Denison offered her significantly less merit. Part of that is based on gender and I’m sure they figured she would get “better” offers but also I suspect they know their class.

I actually think the acceptance rate decline is not a good thing. Some students belong at Wesleyan, some at Smarthmore, and some at Pitt, and some at Denison. We are all a little different.

I will say though I like going to Granville. Drive’s a bit much but cute little town. And it is not easy to find the complete package and alot of the SLACs are not in thriving areas.

So in typical DCUM fashion I’m sure there will be folks that flame away because it’s not Williams but not everybody belongs at Williams.

It is what it is - a good school in a nice town that provides a nice place for young people to learn how to become independent adults. It’s not the only school out there but importantly my son had liked it and my DW and I are happy with how he has grown.

I was reading until this. It’s offensive. You could’ve left this out and gotten your point across. I guess I’m not in my right mind because I spent the first 19 years old my life in one of “those places”!

It was not my intent to offend but I can see how it did so my bad. I was actually thinking more along the lines of Colgate and it’s remoteness then some of the areas with depressed economies. But I will say my kids do not even want to be in suburbia - they want to be in the city so I don’t know how these remote areas are going to attract young people. Add in a cold climate and there is a reality. Columbus feels like it is growing, Granville is adorable, and Easton Mall is twenty minutes away. These things matter when deciding where to live for 4 years. And me personally I can not imagine how anyone chooses to live in Hamilton, NY ? And in a similar vein, Hartford’s economic woes have impacted Trinity College. It’s a reality. But I do realize my choice of language was harsh so my apologies.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have posted in the past in support of Denison. I have a student who is currently a senior. He has had a good experience and I believe is genuinely fond of the Hill.

I can share my family’s thinking and how that thinking has likely impacted (lowered) Denison’s acceptance rate.

A couple of things. My son is pretty intellectual although not a grinder. He’s also not a Econ studying Lax Bro that has aspirations of going to Wall Street. He went to a good UMC East Coast suburban high school. Nothing special though. And last he was not a recruited athlete.

What does that all mean - at least through my optics.

He didn’t go to a private school nor is he a recruited athlete. That knocks down most of the upper tier Nescac schools. I’m making generalizations but there is some truth in them. Knocks out a couple of Patriot schools as well. Then again, never did understand the appeal of Colgate’s location and not feeling the Bucknell vibe. Way too much drinking. Like Lafayette but sorry that town is depressing.

So doesn’t really have the grades for upper NESCAC, not sure he wants to freeze his b$lls off at Colgate while hanging with a bunch of finance wantabe’s and the like and doesn’t want to feel like he’s living in a depressed economic area. Seriously, have your driven to some of these places ? Who in their right mind wants to spend 4 years in some of these places ? I would go out of my mind.

Drive up to Denison - it may not be classical in its Architecture but downtown Granville reminds him of home, kids are friendly, not all stressed out, and Dad’s liking the discount especially as my son’s college fund got whacked in the Great Recession.

So it’s not Haverford, definitely not Swarthmore, but kid can have fun. And I suspect he’s not killing himself but he’s working - I see it and he’s maturing into a nice young adult in a relatively safe environment.

He was accepted to higher ranked schools. Some definitely more academic but Denison felt like home. And do they discount to compete - sure - name me a business that doesn’t. I do in my business.

But the flip side my rock star daughter with 99.5 percentile SATs and straight A’s - Denison offered her significantly less merit. Part of that is based on gender and I’m sure they figured she would get “better” offers but also I suspect they know their class.

I actually think the acceptance rate decline is not a good thing. Some students belong at Wesleyan, some at Smarthmore, and some at Pitt, and some at Denison. We are all a little different.

I will say though I like going to Granville. Drive’s a bit much but cute little town. And it is not easy to find the complete package and alot of the SLACs are not in thriving areas.

So in typical DCUM fashion I’m sure there will be folks that flame away because it’s not Williams but not everybody belongs at Williams.

It is what it is - a good school in a nice town that provides a nice place for young people to learn how to become independent adults. It’s not the only school out there but importantly my son had liked it and my DW and I are happy with how he has grown.

I was reading until this. It’s offensive. You could’ve left this out and gotten your point across. I guess I’m not in my right mind because I spent the first 19 years old my life in one of “those places”!

It was not my intent to offend but I can see how it did so my bad. I was actually thinking more along the lines of Colgate and it’s remoteness then some of the areas with depressed economies. But I will say my kids do not even want to be in suburbia - they want to be in the city so I don’t know how these remote areas are going to attract young people. Add in a cold climate and there is a reality. Columbus feels like it is growing, Granville is adorable, and Easton Mall is twenty minutes away. These things matter when deciding where to live for 4 years. And me personally I can not imagine how anyone chooses to live in Hamilton, NY ? And in a similar vein, Hartford’s economic woes have impacted Trinity College. It’s a reality. But I do realize my choice of language was harsh so my apologies.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have posted in the past in support of Denison. I have a student who is currently a senior. He has had a good experience and I believe is genuinely fond of the Hill.

I can share my family’s thinking and how that thinking has likely impacted (lowered) Denison’s acceptance rate.

A couple of things. My son is pretty intellectual although not a grinder. He’s also not a Econ studying Lax Bro that has aspirations of going to Wall Street. He went to a good UMC East Coast suburban high school. Nothing special though. And last he was not a recruited athlete.

What does that all mean - at least through my optics.

He didn’t go to a private school nor is he a recruited athlete. That knocks down most of the upper tier Nescac schools. I’m making generalizations but there is some truth in them. Knocks out a couple of Patriot schools as well. Then again, never did understand the appeal of Colgate’s location and not feeling the Bucknell vibe. Way too much drinking. Like Lafayette but sorry that town is depressing.

So doesn’t really have the grades for upper NESCAC, not sure he wants to freeze his b$lls off at Colgate while hanging with a bunch of finance wantabe’s and the like and doesn’t want to feel like he’s living in a depressed economic area. Seriously, have your driven to some of these places ? Who in their right mind wants to spend 4 years in some of these places ? I would go out of my mind.

Drive up to Denison - it may not be classical in its Architecture but downtown Granville reminds him of home, kids are friendly, not all stressed out, and Dad’s liking the discount especially as my son’s college fund got whacked in the Great Recession.

So it’s not Haverford, definitely not Swarthmore, but kid can have fun. And I suspect he’s not killing himself but he’s working - I see it and he’s maturing into a nice young adult in a relatively safe environment.

He was accepted to higher ranked schools. Some definitely more academic but Denison felt like home. And do they discount to compete - sure - name me a business that doesn’t. I do in my business.

But the flip side my rock star daughter with 99.5 percentile SATs and straight A’s - Denison offered her significantly less merit. Part of that is based on gender and I’m sure they figured she would get “better” offers but also I suspect they know their class.

I actually think the acceptance rate decline is not a good thing. Some students belong at Wesleyan, some at Smarthmore, and some at Pitt, and some at Denison. We are all a little different.

I will say though I like going to Granville. Drive’s a bit much but cute little town. And it is not easy to find the complete package and alot of the SLACs are not in thriving areas.

So in typical DCUM fashion I’m sure there will be folks that flame away because it’s not Williams but not everybody belongs at Williams.

It is what it is - a good school in a nice town that provides a nice place for young people to learn how to become independent adults. It’s not the only school out there but importantly my son had liked it and my DW and I are happy with how he has grown.

I was reading until this. It’s offensive. You could’ve left this out and gotten your point across. I guess I’m not in my right mind because I spent the first 19 years old my life in one of “those places”!