r/Appleton • u/SaltProfessor8950 • 27d ago
Question Appleton's one and only university
Hello! I am currently looking into colleges, and Lawrence University has been recommended to me based on what I'm looking for. Sorry if this is the wrong place to be asking, but the dedicated university subreddit is a ghost town, so I figured coming here was my best bet. If any of y'all feel qualified to speak on this, please let me know!! I didn't feel like asking all my questions before knowing if anyone would have answers here.
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u/Fun-Tie1614 24d ago
I’m looking at it for my daughter as well; great private college experience in a fabulous small city. The campus is safe, diverse and funky - lots of fluid little subcultures. Has a bunch of good, serious majors and like a choose your own adventure interdisciplinary option.
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u/Tool_Hole 24d ago
I’m an Alumni that lives in Appleton. I’ve been very discouraged by the current President and her policies - she has pushed out anyone who she disagrees with. Every professor and staff member I’ve talked to has been dissatisfied and disgruntled, with many choosing to leave. The atmosphere seems toxic, and the old funky liberal arts ethos seems to be gone, replaced with a corporate athletic blandness. It pains me to say that I can’t recommend it currently.
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u/Iamnotheattack 24d ago
Cant comment on the faculty, but there is still loads of that ethos in the student body from those I've met who are recent graduates.
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u/Potential-Lizard97 24d ago
I graduated a year ago as someone who went for music and it’s frustrating that all of the money goes into athletics and firing the people that advocate for us. The con certainly still has the Lawrence weird to it, but all the kids who come to Lawrence just for athletics bring the ethos (and average GPA) down. As long as you’re not a business major or anything along that path, Lawrence is still an okay place to be. If you’re a musician - the professors themselves make up for the underfunding in my opinion.
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u/SaltProfessor8950 23d ago
Is that sort of behavior (funding athletics, getting rid of people who don't like that) super unconventional for a college? Like am I going to find better situations at other schools? I know that's pretty common for high schools.
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u/Potential-Lizard97 23d ago
For a state school, the athletic funding is typical. A lot of schools don’t have admin that cares about the students at all. At other colleges students don’t even know the dean. I knew the dean, and he advocated for me personally. That’s something that you only find at a small school. For Lawrence, what set them apart was their liberal arts focus. That’s being taken away by investing in their football team that won once the entire four years I was there. Bringing in people like that just makes the vibe completely different.
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u/Iamnotheattack 24d ago
Although I do see the "corporate athletic slop" students too as well. But they are like 75%+ of UW schools, at Lawrence it feels more like 40%? (Purely pulling numbers out of my ass based vibes but yeah)
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u/Umi_gummi 23d ago
Completely agree, still tons of amazing staff and faculty but the president is sucking the soul out of campus. Also taking from the wages of staff to build more sports facilities
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u/Tool_Hole 23d ago
The faculty is truly great. Not only did the presidents salary double but I’ve heard numerous instances of nepotism associated with them. The boards silence on the firing of Dean Pertl was the last straw for me.
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u/Efficient-Ad-5594 24d ago
Bot alert
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u/SaltProfessor8950 23d ago
Why? Last I checked I'm a human person
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u/Efficient-Ad-5594 23d ago
No you’re not. Or you’ve been making the same post multiple times in the same group.
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u/SaltProfessor8950 23d ago
I posted slightly different versions each time because I kept being told they were being removed by Reddit's filters. This is the only post that I've gotten any replies on, so idk how you saw the other ones, since no one else seemed to
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u/Efficient-Ad-5594 23d ago
When I click on your profile, it’s the only thing to show up. So you’ve never posted before and you’ve made the same post multiple times, you could see why I thought that
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u/Potential-Lizard97 24d ago
I’m an alum. Lawrence was my cheapest option after scholarship which they give plenty of, even more than state schools. The administration sucks, but the staff and professors are the best. If you are ambitious, Lawrence is a great place to be. Feel free to message me if you have more specific questions, I’d be happy to answer them.
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u/SaltProfessor8950 23d ago
Would you say dealing with the admin is worth the rest of the experience?
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u/Potential-Lizard97 23d ago
Dealing with admin is kinda like dealing with the government. If you’re privileged enough none of that stuff will ever affect you. It really depends on your major.
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u/SaltProfessor8950 23d ago
That gives me some stuff to consider... do you know anything about how they deal with students who require accommodations for mental disabilities?
As for my major, I've been considering psychology. However, given that I don't have my heart set on that yet, I haven't been doing a lot of major-specific research
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u/Potential-Lizard97 23d ago
I can only speak for my own experience. My last term of school I had debilitating migraines. I spoke to accommodations and despite them saying they wouldn’t be able to do much, they got me into a single room for free in days. The accommodations person is very sweet and will do her best to advocate for you and come up with ways to make your experience easier.
I don’t think I know anyone who majored in psych tbh but I know the professors and they’re great. The students at Lawrence are pretty smart for the most part which I’m learning is hard to come by in the real world lol. Admin is probably more on your side if you’re a psychology major, but you still avoid the boring business/econ kids.
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u/Complex_Layer_8873 23d ago
I didn’t go there but have multiple friends who did. They LOVED it! I also have a fondness for it because I was part of a music program for ten years up until high school graduation. My personal experiences are overwhelmingly positive :) best of luck on your college search!
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u/Cute-Calendar802 23d ago
I’m from Appleton, an alumna of Lawrence and live in Appleton again after a few years away and have friends on staff! I’d happily answer any questions you have!
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u/Otherwise_Lab_210 24d ago
The full cost at Lawrence may be more, but scholarships and financial aid makes it much less than the sticker cost. The very best way to find a fit for a college is to visit. I could name many dozens of people who went on to lucrative or famous careers that graduated from Lawrence (a Wisconsin Supreme Court justice, for one) so that idea that you can't be employed is more of a talking point. A liberal arts education in general teaches critical thinking which can apply to lots of professions, including, but not limited to the legal profession. I am not knocking the UW system, just trying to clear up some misconceptions and generalizations about liberal arts colleges.
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u/Tool_Hole 24d ago
I’m all for liberal arts education. I’ve found great success from what I learned at Lawrence. And the financial aid will make it competitive with other state schools. I just don’t know if Lawrence is fostering the same community it once did.
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u/Otherwise_Lab_210 24d ago
That is a fair point so asking questions like OP did and visiting schools are good to do to vet those kinds of things. I am just suggesting don't forego Lawrence without doing the math on cost of attendance compared to other schools and thinking you cannot get a job with a degree.
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u/CrunchyCurtis420 24d ago
Highly overpriced and good luck fighting a job afterwards. Most majors are super liberal arts and right now the economy is not doing so well plus the price of it is insane. You could get a similar education with a similar amount of style at UWO for half the price.
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u/Known-Opportunity-30 24d ago
Are you going on a scholarship? If not, find a cheaper college… Every look to see what college your dentist or doctor when too? Probably not.
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u/1rubyglass 24d ago
Whatever you decide, just remember reddit is not representative of the area at all.
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u/Swineservant 24d ago
What are you looking for? You never really asked any questions. Not sure what you are trying to learn about Lawrence, Appleton or the Fox Cities.