Lawrence University

Date: Jul 20 2011
Major: English (This Major's Salary over time)
I'll be a senior at LU next year, and I'm terribly sad to only have a year left. It took me over a year to develop the skills I needed to fully succeed here, but once I did, I haven't been disappointed. Lawrence is not a place for slackers. I learned that the hard way my freshman year. But I quickly moved from overwhelmed guppie to big fish, simply by realizing what I was passionate about and utilizing the resources I had to get to that cherished "big fish" status. My greatest advice for LU students is not to shy away from the faculty. Their sheer brilliance intimidated me for a while, but I finally overcame it, and-goodness-I'm glad I did. I never dreamed I'd find so many fabulous professors who I would be able to really connect with on a personal level. There really is something for everyone at Lawrence, academically and socially. My first two years I shied away from the party scene, and was able to still find things to do socially, from movies in the campus center cinema to phenomenal conservatory concerts, performances at Appleton's PAC, local bands performing at the many coffee shops down College Ave, etc. After turning 21, I jumped more into the "party scene," though of my own choosing. I was never pressured to drink. Having the Viking Room (the bar on campus) really fosters community within the upper classes and the faculty, who regularly bring their kids for Happy Hour on Fridays. The Appleton night life might not be what you'd see in a major city, but students seem content with it—and costs are much cheaper than you'd see anywhere else, which is great on a college student budget. Overall, I just love LU and will never regret my decision to turn down a number of elite universities to come here. I've never walked across campus without saying hello to at least one person—typically many, many more—and that never fails to make me consider just how lucky I am to go to this place.