Denison University

Date: Jul 06 2011
Major: Psychology (This Major's Salary over time)
Denison has personality. It has plenty of quirks, but I've come to love it for what it is. I'm proud to call myself a Denisonian.

The school is in an identity crisis right now. In the 80s/90s, it was ranked by Playboy as one of the top 10 party schools in the country (I'm very involved with Alumni so I've heard all the stories). A few too many students died, though, so in the 90s the school abolished greek life shut down the party scene. Greek life has since returned but in a more responsible form, and we aren't allowed to live in our fraternity houses. Denison has also undergone an academic rebirth. It used to be a 'gentleman's C' school for rich kids who just needed a degree before going to work for their Daddy's company, but now Denison has a very solid reputation with grad schools and employers. It's strange though, because the school is in limbo right now between those two very different reputations.

We're still a rich school, but we have a lot more diversity than we used to in that area and there's not a lot of pressure to flaunt your wealth. We're still a party school in many ways, but we also have first rate academics so students are very responsible (and a big part of the student body that doesn't party at all). In some ways, it's like Denison has the best of both worlds. The Denison name still carries the social respect that it did in the old days, but now it also carries academic respect.

My freshman year was rough as hell. I thought about transferring, as did half of my friends. Classes were difficult, and the social scene was intimidating. Now I can see that the difficult classes i took made me a better thinker and that the demanding social scene forced me to become more aware of myself. Denison has certainly changed me (for the better, I think).

On a more practical note:

The faculty are SO HELPFUL. You just have to take initiative and make appointments with your professors, or any other faculty you happen to meet.

The administration can be frustrating at times. They like to pretend that greek life doesn't exist, and that it isn't important to the school. Sometimes if feels as though they're still working against us as if its the 90s again (and, in turn, its like they're working against the school's social life). We make it work though. We have a great time.

The school administration has TONS OF MONEY but sometimes they spend it in ways that we don't understand… like on new athletic centers when what we really wanted was a renovated dining hall.