LU is a tight-knit community. Academics come first for everyone. There's still plenty of room to have fun, though!
Do you have any tips for prospective students?
Prospective students should first consider the potential financial strain of attending Lawrence. It's a fantastic school, but the price tag can be hard to swallow. If you can do that and want to know more about student life, stay overnight as a prospective student! It's a great way to meet current students and get a better look at the campus. Pay special attention to the quality of the different dorm buildings - LU is a 4-year residential campus, and not all dorms are created equal.
Do you find there’s enough academic rigor at your school?
LU was rated the 18th most rigorous college in the US in 2011, beating out Yale, Princeton, and Stanford. It's tough, but worth it.
Describe the dorm life at your college.
Dorm life depends heavily on where you live and who your neighbors are. Sage Hall is the notorious party dorm, but it's not a total disaster (usually). Trever is sort of the odd one out, and not a lot of people spend time there or want to live there. It is also the furthest away from academic buildings. Plantz is the unofficial dorm for conservatory students, and has a very good community feel. Colman has the benefit of sinks in each room, and is generally a good place to live. It is the furthest from the campus center, which becomes important during the winter. Brokaw is generally a last resort, though some people totally love it and live there every year. It's four floors with no elevators, and campus security's headquarters are on the first floor. Ormsby is old and fairly quiet with the occasional weekend parties. Kohler is the largest dorm on campus, and is completely substance-free. It is also a popular spot for conservatory students. After freshman year there are other housing options, including group/theme houses, fraternities, and apartment-style dorms.
Describe the food and dining at your college.
Dining at LU is run by Bon Apetit, a large but environmentally conscious food provider. Generally the food is excellent, with a variety of choices and plenty of options for people with dietary restrictions. The campus center houses all of the food options. There is a dining hall that has breakfast, lunch, and dinner, a corner store for buying snacks and other essentials, and a cafe that serves burgers, sandwiches, salads, bagels, coffee, etc. that is open until midnight (important!). The most important thing about dining is deciding on how you want to split your meal plan funds - there are different plans that change the amount of dining room meals you get vs. cafe dollars. Cafe items have been increasing in price, and many people underestimate how often they will go.
What’s there to do for fun at your college?
Appleton is a great city, but it is fairly spread out and hard to navigate without a car. So, most of the fun activities students participate in are through campus clubs and groups. There are countless trips to sign up for, including annual camping and canoe trips. Many people are involved in athletics. Despite the academic rigor of the school there is a fairly active party scene, especially around the fraternities, who have 1-2 theme parties per term. Upperclassmen can enjoy the Viking Room, which is a bar for students and professors located in the basement of one of the academic buildings.The VR holds activities like weekly trivia, guest bartenders, and Senior Night activities. The main attractions of downtown Appleton are also bars, though there isn't really a college bar scene due Lawrence's small size.
Do you feel you’re getting value for the money you’re spending on college?
Prestigious but expensive. Getting your money's worth depends on which department you're in. The LU conservatory is widely celebrated, and the psychology , biology, and chemistry departments are strong. The only major that is an absolute waste at Lawrence is art - the program is tiny and terrible.
Share any unusual traditions or locations on campus
Oktoberfest takes over College Avenue every year, and is extremely well-attended by students. Lawrence students participate heavily in the Midwest Trivia Contest, which is an experience that can not be explained in writing. LUaRoo is a mini-music festival held each spring, and popular campus bands as well as outside acts are invited to play. My favorite tradition is senior streak, in which the senior class attends a final Senior Night at the Viking Room in June and then collectively streak through campus. Underclassmen often line the exit of the VR to cheer on their friends. The one famous location on campus is the large steeple/tower on top of Main Hall that is featured in the majority of photos of the campus. To students this structure is known as the Nipple of Knowledge.
Which types of students will excel at your college?
Work hard, play hard. Students with varied interests. Students interested in music. Pre-med or students thinking of going to graduate school.
Are you involved in any clubs or activities?
Everyone is in at least one club, they're a great way to meet like-minded people and get involved with the community. Most people are in 3-5 clubs.
Are you involved in any clubs or activities?
There are four fraternities on campus: Sigma Phi Epsilon (Sigep), Beta Theta Pi (Beta), Delta Tau Delta (Delt), and Phi Kappa Tau (PhiTau). Beta and Phi Tau are generally held in high regard, Delt is a bit misunderstood but mostly full of good people, and Sigep is half good people who make bad decisions and half bad people period. They are the root cause of many complaints and incidents on campus. Joining any fraternity requires a willingness to balance academic life with residential life, and many students have failed out due to an inability to keep grades up in the frat environment. There are more sororities on campus, but the popular ones are Delta Gamma (DG) and Kappa Kappa Gamma (Kappa). Sororities do not have campus housing at all, which is a definite drawback. Sororities do about twice as much philanthropic work as any fraternity.
How would you describe campus safety? Do you feel safe on campus?
Super safe. On campus security is always patrolling, they are generally a kind group that are more concerned about safety than pointlessly busting people for underage drinking. Appleton PD generally only comes on campus if asked to do so by security, but the downtown area surrounding campus is safe and extremely well-patrolled.
LU is a tight-knit community. Academics come first for everyone. There's still plenty of room to have fun, though!
Prospective students should first consider the potential financial strain of attending Lawrence. It's a fantastic school, but the price tag can be hard to swallow. If you can do that and want to know more about student life, stay overnight as a prospective student! It's a great way to meet current students and get a better look at the campus. Pay special attention to the quality of the different dorm buildings - LU is a 4-year residential campus, and not all dorms are created equal.
LU was rated the 18th most rigorous college in the US in 2011, beating out Yale, Princeton, and Stanford. It's tough, but worth it.
Dorm life depends heavily on where you live and who your neighbors are. Sage Hall is the notorious party dorm, but it's not a total disaster (usually). Trever is sort of the odd one out, and not a lot of people spend time there or want to live there. It is also the furthest away from academic buildings. Plantz is the unofficial dorm for conservatory students, and has a very good community feel. Colman has the benefit of sinks in each room, and is generally a good place to live. It is the furthest from the campus center, which becomes important during the winter. Brokaw is generally a last resort, though some people totally love it and live there every year. It's four floors with no elevators, and campus security's headquarters are on the first floor. Ormsby is old and fairly quiet with the occasional weekend parties. Kohler is the largest dorm on campus, and is completely substance-free. It is also a popular spot for conservatory students. After freshman year there are other housing options, including group/theme houses, fraternities, and apartment-style dorms.
Dining at LU is run by Bon Apetit, a large but environmentally conscious food provider. Generally the food is excellent, with a variety of choices and plenty of options for people with dietary restrictions. The campus center houses all of the food options. There is a dining hall that has breakfast, lunch, and dinner, a corner store for buying snacks and other essentials, and a cafe that serves burgers, sandwiches, salads, bagels, coffee, etc. that is open until midnight (important!). The most important thing about dining is deciding on how you want to split your meal plan funds - there are different plans that change the amount of dining room meals you get vs. cafe dollars. Cafe items have been increasing in price, and many people underestimate how often they will go.
Appleton is a great city, but it is fairly spread out and hard to navigate without a car. So, most of the fun activities students participate in are through campus clubs and groups. There are countless trips to sign up for, including annual camping and canoe trips. Many people are involved in athletics. Despite the academic rigor of the school there is a fairly active party scene, especially around the fraternities, who have 1-2 theme parties per term. Upperclassmen can enjoy the Viking Room, which is a bar for students and professors located in the basement of one of the academic buildings.The VR holds activities like weekly trivia, guest bartenders, and Senior Night activities. The main attractions of downtown Appleton are also bars, though there isn't really a college bar scene due Lawrence's small size.
Prestigious but expensive. Getting your money's worth depends on which department you're in. The LU conservatory is widely celebrated, and the psychology , biology, and chemistry departments are strong. The only major that is an absolute waste at Lawrence is art - the program is tiny and terrible.
Oktoberfest takes over College Avenue every year, and is extremely well-attended by students. Lawrence students participate heavily in the Midwest Trivia Contest, which is an experience that can not be explained in writing. LUaRoo is a mini-music festival held each spring, and popular campus bands as well as outside acts are invited to play. My favorite tradition is senior streak, in which the senior class attends a final Senior Night at the Viking Room in June and then collectively streak through campus. Underclassmen often line the exit of the VR to cheer on their friends. The one famous location on campus is the large steeple/tower on top of Main Hall that is featured in the majority of photos of the campus. To students this structure is known as the Nipple of Knowledge.
Work hard, play hard. Students with varied interests. Students interested in music. Pre-med or students thinking of going to graduate school.
Everyone is in at least one club, they're a great way to meet like-minded people and get involved with the community. Most people are in 3-5 clubs.
There are four fraternities on campus: Sigma Phi Epsilon (Sigep), Beta Theta Pi (Beta), Delta Tau Delta (Delt), and Phi Kappa Tau (PhiTau). Beta and Phi Tau are generally held in high regard, Delt is a bit misunderstood but mostly full of good people, and Sigep is half good people who make bad decisions and half bad people period. They are the root cause of many complaints and incidents on campus. Joining any fraternity requires a willingness to balance academic life with residential life, and many students have failed out due to an inability to keep grades up in the frat environment. There are more sororities on campus, but the popular ones are Delta Gamma (DG) and Kappa Kappa Gamma (Kappa). Sororities do not have campus housing at all, which is a definite drawback. Sororities do about twice as much philanthropic work as any fraternity.
Super safe. On campus security is always patrolling, they are generally a kind group that are more concerned about safety than pointlessly busting people for underage drinking. Appleton PD generally only comes on campus if asked to do so by security, but the downtown area surrounding campus is safe and extremely well-patrolled.