Knox College

Date: Jul 28 2008
Major: English (This Major's Salary over time)
I highly disagree with many of the negative comments I've read. Yes, Galesburg is small and by no means impressive, but I think many students constantly complain about the town or about how they feel trapped within the "Knox Bubble", while never stepping off campus to truly explore the town and get to know people outside of Knox. Whatever you think is wrong with Galesburg is what's wrong with most small Midwestern towns.

Also, I've always felt extremely safe on the Knox campus and in Galesburg. The incidents I've heard about could happen in any college campus (petty vandalism, date-rape, a couple of robberies); I don't see how Knox stands out in this respect.

The student body is fairly diverse. There are quite a few people from the Chicago metropolitan area, but there is a good number of international students and a lot of kids from Portland (?!). Most students are politically liberal; a lot of them seem to suffer from white/upper class guilt and that can get annoying. I've met a good share of intelligent, mature and interesting individuals as well as quite a few morons. I supposed that'd be true of any school.

A few general things:

The party scene is not the best, but I wouldn't say the school is boring. The food in the cafeteria is awful. The dorms are acceptable although some are much better than others. The campus is pretty, but during the winter you feel trapped and a lot of people get depressed. The amount of work can be intense and the trimester system does not work for everybody; if you are a slow reader you might struggle with it. The wireless system is very slow, but I think they were supposed to fix it. There's a lot of gossip, which would be the case in any small school/town. There's a lot of extracurricular activities and if you can't find what you want you can create your own club (providing that other people would want to join).

I think what sets Knox apart is the amount of financial aid the school gives (part of the reason why not "enough" money is spent on facilities), which means that not everyone is rich.

The other thing that sets the school apart is its wonderful faculty (at least in the humanities, it seems a lot of people complain about the sciences) and the amount of independence and self-motivation that is expected from you. The school will in fact give you money if you have a specific (and realistic) project in mind. I've had quite a few professors that have made me a much better writer, thinker and scholar and I'm deeply grateful to them for helping me grow during my years at Knox.

Admittedly, to succeed at Knox you must be organized, hard working and independent; the professors are very helpful and knowledgeable, but many of them do not have patience for people who don't care. If you at least try however, I've found that most professor are genuinely willing to help you.

Also, you can design your own major/minor, as well as undertake independent project. The school in fact, encourages and funds independent projects. I've found that this school works best for students who take their learning into their own hands. The professors and administration will guide you (or give you money), but you will be responsible for your own education.

I love this school and I think I've received a wonderful education in and outside the classroom.