Lake Forest College

Date: Jan 14 2009
Major: Economics (This Major's Salary over time)
My experience at Lake Forest College was exceptional. I decided to attend Lake Forest because I wanted to play tennis at the collegiate level. I decided early on that I would go here and didn't spend much time looking at other schools although my application could have placed me at a more prestigious college.

It is true that there isn't much to do in the town of Lake Forest. There are some fantastic restaurants including: Francesca's, Ferentino's, The Lantern, South Gate Cafe, and Egg Harbor Cafe to cure the weekend hangover. As far as the night life goes, you're better off taking the campus shuttle into Highwood to either Gabe's Backstage Lounge or Teddy O'Brien's. There are usually themed parties on campus that provide an entertaining alternative for the social underage drinker or unfortunate underclassman without a fake id. On top of that, the school recently spent $4 mil on a student center that serves food and beer and offers foosball, ping pong, Golden Tee, billiards, a stage, and more.

The clever student will take advantage of the alumni connections and relations with the town of Lake Forest's residents. The mansion-littered east end of town is stocked with CEOs, many of whom visit the college to speak or offer assistance when looking for jobs.

I'm afraid the athletics at Lake Forest are atrocious. My tennis team boasted an impressive record, but many of the teams we played were an embarassment to the sport. There's really no reason Lake Forest Tennis shouldn't win conference consistently. Our most successful team is handball, which for whatever reason wins a national championship every year.

In my opinion, Lake Forest should pump more money into the country club sports like tennis and sailing and start a golf team. I'd be willing to bet that in any given year the school could assemble a dozen students and create a very impressive golf team.

Lake Forest College advertises itself as "Chicago's" National Liberal Arts College. While many complain that Chicago is an hour train ride away, the school really does work to bring students into the city. Several of the classes I took had multiple field trips into Chicago. They even have an entire building designated to the organization of Chicago programs for students. Aside from that, community members donate extra tickets to events including the Lyric Opera, White Sox and Cubs games, and various other events held in Chicago that are given out for free on a first-come first-serve basis.

As far as academics go, you really get out what you put in. The professors are truly incredible and the small class sizes allow you to form personal relationships with them. Professors are always available for help outside of class and respond to emails in a punctual manner. Some professors even give out their cell phone numbers should students require additional assistance.

Should you attend, I suggest the following professors (if they're still there): Davis Schneidermann, Robert Archambeau, Kent Grote, Robert Baade, Ted Ahern, Robert Lemke, and David Yuen.