Student Profile
Lauren
- Class: Sophomore
- Major: Psychology
- Gender: F
- High School: McFarland High School
- Transfer Student: N
Big Picture
the best thing about Denison is the opportunity to develop close, meaningful relationships with professors who truly care about your success. Denison is the perfect size; i know a lot of people from all departments and interests, but it doesn't feel smothering. most other people my age have no idea where Denison is, but other adults i talk to are always impressed and mention a friend or relation who went there. i spend a lot of my time in fellows, the 24 hour computer lab, and slayter, the student union. Granville is small, but there are some cute restaurants and shops and lots of charm. it's also close enough to Columbus to go into the city for entertainment. the administration is very approachable and consistently listens to student concerns. in November, we had a campus wide forum about diversity issues on campus. a few stupid students had been harassing others and we as a student body decided we wouldn't stand for it and we united together in opposition to hate. everyone seems really proud to be at Denison, we there's not as much school spirit in the traditional sense of caring a ton about our sports teams.
Academic Life
i know every professor in the psychology and biology departments, even the ones i haven't had classes with, as well as many other faculty members all across campus. my favorite class so far has been honors biosocial dimensions of behavior, the honors version of the intro to psych class. honors classes are even smaller and more discussion based than traditional classes, and the professor was fantastic at involving us all and bringing the material to life. the library and computer labs are consistently full with students studying on a regular basis. participation varies, but the majority of classes really encourage interactive learning, so being a passive learner isn't really an option. meal times are occasionally a time for intellectual and political discussions and debates, but most people are pretty wiped after focusing our academic attention on our classes so that kind of conversation typically stays in class. students are competitive, but it's mostly against yourself--it's never cutthroat or sinister. between my extracurricular activities, department colloquia, and just hanging around the building, i see my professors (and other faculty!) around all the time. it's really nice to be able to start up a casual conversation with them and benefit from their wisdom and experience about classes, graduate school, and more. as a liberal arts college, you have to take classes in every division. it's nice to have choice in which specific classes you take and it's definitely manageable, but with a major, minor, and concentration you have to do lots of careful planning to fit it all in.
Student Body
there are lots of special interest groups on campus, from Outlook (GLBTQ) to the Black Student Union, to Denison Religious Understanding and dozens more. people wear everything from sweats to designer labels and everything in between. interaction between these groups is still somewhat limited, but is visibly improving since the forums in November brought diversity issues to the public consciousness. the new incoming class has more geographic diversity than ever, with less than 1/5 coming from Ohio and plenty from around the country and indeed the world. middle and upper class students are the most common, but generous academic and need based scholarships make Denison affordable for people of all economic means. tons of students are heavily involved in political activities and attend the numerous free lectures provided. the most active and visible groups are left-leaning, but there are plenty of conservative students too.
The Best Things
professors
The Worst Things
negative perceptions
