Denison University

Date: May 31 2011
Major: Economics (This Major's Salary over time)
Denison U. is a real mixed bag, and honestly kind of a weird place. I'll start with the positives. The college itself, in terms of academics and the administration, is excellent, especially compared to most schools of similar size and admission selectivity. In particular, the economics department is nationally known. The coursework is not too difficult, but then again I'm a fairly hard worker. It's definitely no cakewalk, either. Denison has a great reputation in the working world, especially in nearby areas. Some people have complained of administrative sluggishness, but I personally have found them friendly, informative and responsive, as would be expected at a small school.

The negatives. Cliques form quickly and strongly, and in many ways it feels like high school. This being a small school some of that behavior is to be expected but honestly I feel like Denisonians take it to an extreme. I'm sure it has something to do with the college's isolation and lack of night life in Granville. To be blunt, I've found many students uninteresting. Very few are outwardly mean or jerkish, I just often feel like people blend together. If you manage to find a few special snowflakes, this doesn't matter so much (because really, in the end we only have like 5-10 good friends) but it's a little disconcerting and demoralizing, especially when you first arrive. For most guys, weekends revolve around getting drunk and trying to have sex with girls. This is a lot of fun, just not every week, you know?

I know a lot of people love Denison. For me, the social scene is not exactly what I had hoped for. The diversity is pretty bad. The school has made an effort to increase ETHNIC diversity on campus, and succeeded for the most part, but regardless of skin color, most students still come from a similar preppy middle-class stock, if you know what I mean. There are more offbeat people, but you have to seek them out (as I did).

Denison is a very very traditional, small-school undergraduate experience and most students understand and want that. If that's your thing, you literally cannot go wrong with DU. If you perhaps want a more open-ended experience, look elsewhere. But damn, if you're thinking of econ, consider it anyway because that department is Ivy League-level.