Albion College

Date: Sep 26 2005
Major: Math (This Major's Salary over time)
Albion was my "financial backup" - they offer very generous scholarships - but the education has not been worth even the little it costs. In my experience, most smart students come for the same reason and have the same regrets.

The student body is, in general, totally incurious, and their apathy is contagious - after a while, even bright, interested students begin to focus their intellectual energy on transferring or graduating early.

To speak of a social "scene" would be generous. On most weekends, the only events are at fraternities, and consist exclusively of drinking. The town of Albion is as depressed as many of the students, and the college does little to help. Its policies on room and board (all students must live on campus and take a full meal plan) mean there is little incentive for student-focused businesses to spring up - all activity, such as it is, takes place on campus.

It is difficult to overstate the lack of scholarship on campus - most professors do not publish, and student research only takes place thanks to extremely generous compensation. Class selection is very limited, because most faculty members are forced to teach a huge number of introductory classes, primarily for the benefit of management majors.

In fairness, Albion is good at what it does, which is produce moderately educated, intellectually indifferent graduates willing to work menial white-collar jobs. The school's motto is "Liberal Arts at Work," and it is taken seriously. Anything not likely to help a person of average intelligence find a job in business is marginalized - see, for example, the philosophy department, currently facing the retirement of 40% of its full-time faculty with no replacements in sight - but the economics department and, especially, the institute of management are treated very well. For students with little or no interest in intellectual pursuits or a liberal education, and a high tolerance for social monotony, Albion may be a very good choice.