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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Thu Oct 19th, 2006 06:11 pm |
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Hi Rhonda, very nice, and accurate review. I'll add a few things. The City of Beloit IS trying really hard to move up in the world, and the city is showing some great signs of resurgence - they've been attracting some very large employers of late (Staples will have its largest US distribution center in Beloit for instance). Beloit is also working hard to establish itself as an arts center - Last year, they hosted the first Beloit Film festival - four days of films, celebrities, and related events that attracted quite a bit of media attention and will be repeated this year, and a number of artists have rented studios in the downtown area.
Beloit, however, really does have a split personality, with beautiful suburban areas sitting side by side with lower income areas. My daughter says there are definitely parts of town that she wouldn't go into by herself at night. The campus, itself, however, is well patrolled and safe. Still, the split personality of the town is definitely the college's biggest drawback, in my mind.
There is no real mall in Beloit, but there are several malls in Janesville, two exits up the freeway. Finding a friend with a car to take you there is not a problem, according to my daughter. There is inexpensive bus service to Madison (a terrific town with everything a college kid could want or need) and Chicago. Mostly, however, my daughter has a hard time keeping up with all there is to do on campus, so the lack of a mall has not been an issue for her so far.
You hit the nail on the head about the individuality factor. Beloit College is not the place for anyone who isn't comfortable with differences, and sometimes eccentricities, in others. One plus in my daughter's eyes is that she has friends from every part of the U.S. and every corner of the world -- she commented this week that she feels like that alone is adding immensely to her education and experiences.
Finally, in my daughter's experience so far at least, the teachers really are all they're cracked up to be. Although my daughter said it felt "weird" to call them by their first names at first, she now is telling us stories about going out for coffee with this professor, having that professor pull her aside after class and encourage her to major in his department, and making plans with another professor to do a study abroad program he'll be leading when she's a junior. For a freshman, who was never terribly assertive with teachers while in high school, this is perhaps the most amazing thing about Beloit. It really is a college that is changing her life.
Your child's mileage, of course, may vary, and, like all schools, Beloit is not right for everyone. But if Beloit feels right, it can be a wonderful and special place, especially for kids who march to their own drummer. Her only real complaint? That "so-so" food in the Cafeteria. She cuts to the chase and calls it slop. 
Last edited on Thu Oct 19th, 2006 06:15 pm by CarolynLawrence
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Northeastmom
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Posted: Thu Oct 19th, 2006 09:25 pm |
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| Carolyn, I have read the Beloit reviews. I am just curious if you have visited Clark, and if so, do you think that Beloit and Clark are similar at all? I just ask, b/c as I read the reviews, Clark comes to mind (even a area like Beloit, sounds like Worcester in some ways).
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jocelynDAD
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Posted: Thu Oct 19th, 2006 09:50 pm |
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NEMom:
Having been in both Beloit and Worcester, there is really no comparison. Worcester has a long way to go to revive the downtown area and the side of Worcester near the Clark campus is still scary. Beloit is economically down, but the downtown is not seedy just tired. The area around Beloit and Beloit itself is relatively ok. South Beloit, Illinois is is need of a lot of upgrade, but no way is it a Worcester.
NEMom: Re Clark/Beloit: Carolyn's description (not surprisingly) is very accurate. 
Last edited on Fri Oct 20th, 2006 04:18 am by jocelynDAD
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Northeastmom
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Posted: Thu Oct 19th, 2006 10:04 pm |
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| jocelyndad, Thanks. Is the Beloit campus/school anything like Clark?
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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Fri Oct 20th, 2006 02:32 am |
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Northeastmom,
My daughter did look at Clark. Although their campuses are similar in terms of size, they are quite different in feel. Clark's campus has less greenery, and is immediately surrounded by a more urban-feeling area (and yes, a more scary area immediately off campus).
Beloit has more open spaces and sits surrounded by a residential area of large, older homes. It's about a half mile walk to "downtown" Beloit - which is all of three blocks long. While there are definitely some low income sides of town, there is also a very large middle and upper class population so it's an interesting mix.
Worcester feels much more urban in a gritty sort of way, especially the area where Clark is located. Beloit has an overall suburban/small town feel, although it is classified as a "city" (Population is 35,000, Worcester is much larger) and there are some old factory buildings along the river that are slowly being converted to other uses.
The student bodies are somewhat similar, although I'd say Beloit is the more "free spirited" of the two. Clark's student body is also larger than Beloit, and they offer some doctoral and master's level programs. Although Clark's acceptance rate is lower, Beloit's enrolled student stats are higher. Clark was a safety for my daughter, Beloit a match.
A few other differences: 95% of Beloit students live on campus all four years probably 100% live within two blocks of campus from what I can tell - 75% do at Clark. Clark draws mainly from the northeast, with 39% coming from Mass. Beloit does have a sizable midwestern population (although only 15% are from Wisconsin), but truly draws nationally. Both Clark and Beloit do have sizable populations of international students.
Beloit also has a higher percentage of students receiving financial aid. 85% receive some financial aid, and Beloit guarantees to meet 100% of demonstrated need. At Clark it's 55% of students receive financial aid and they do not guarantee to meet 100% of demonstrated need. Both schools are generous with merit scholarships for above-average students.
There are no fraternities or sororities at Clark. There are three frats and 2 sororities at Beloit, but only a tiny percentage of students belong and there is no major rush or anything like that. My daughter says only one of the fraternities really meets the animal house definition, and the other houses are just places to live. Although she looked primarily at schools without frats/sororities, she has found them so atypical at Beloit (one of the sororities hosts a regular Lesbian tea party for instance) that she really doesn't consider them an issue at all.Last edited on Fri Oct 20th, 2006 03:03 am by CarolynLawrence
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Northeastmom
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Posted: Fri Oct 20th, 2006 10:13 am |
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| Carolyn, Thank you for comparing and contrasting the 2 schools.
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westkymom
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Posted: Fri Oct 20th, 2006 11:42 am |
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...afterthought, Beloit has no foreign language requirement. I was surprised, given the internationalism. However, the catalog does state, "Students will be expected to complete at least 2 units (or equivalent non-credit-bearing activities) involving study or experience of a language and/or culture not their own, and of their relations between nations or other global entities in a global context."
Also, to followup on Carolyn's comment, there is a healthy industrial presence in Beloit which coupled with all of the construction going on indicates healthy growth. I bet the town will be amazingly different in ten years. Were my son out of college, I'd encourage him to get a job there. However, the amenities in the town of Beloit haven't quite caught up with the industrial side. Typical teenager, my son didn't really care about the growth of industry in Beloit, with, "Where's the dang mall?" It's just him of course, but it came down to: Beloit College had to be somewhat of a bubble to go to college there, but he also thought it would be nice to watch the snowfall from the window of Sophia's Restaurant and to watch the geese land and the leaves turn at the Riverside park. Oh, and living in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy dorm didn't look too bad either!
--Rhonda
Last edited on Fri Oct 20th, 2006 01:24 pm by westkymom
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Northeastmom
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Posted: Fri Oct 20th, 2006 12:06 pm |
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| Well I don't know what their foreign language requirement is, but some schools do allow for classes in which one studies a foreign culture (taught in English), and this meets the foreign language requirement. My kids would opt for this option! My older son crossed schools off his list that have more than one semester of foreign language requirements (and he preferred to attend a school that does not have a foreign language requirement for his major).
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westkymom
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Posted: Fri Oct 20th, 2006 01:09 pm |
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| From every conversation with every person we met at Beloit, we came away with the understanding that the students can design their education with great freedom and flexibility. Here's one example: I asked a Beloit chemistry professor how many Chemistry majors were in this 101 class. He responded, "I don't know yet. We feel they need the chance to discover more about chemistry and about themselves. We always have more chemistry majors AFTER the first semester of chemistry than at the start of it." How cool is that?
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westkymom
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Posted: Fri Oct 20th, 2006 01:15 pm |
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Okay, I'll admit, I've been holding back one detail about the town of Beloit that was a huge negative before my son and I could even find the campus. There is a Wendy's restaurant right off the highway into Beloit. We stopped for lunch there. After a few minutes of being there (and after having ordered, of course), we started to notice a strong smell of sewage. The cashier said, "We need a whole new Wendy's. We have bad sewage pipes and it's smelled like this ever since I came to work here." I can't tell you how the mixed odors of sewage and hamburger affects one. I did not initially want to include this detail because I do not think it is fair to judge Beloit College based on one rogue Wendy's. However, I felt I couldn't let any of you go to Beloit without warning you. I strongly encourage you to consider someplace else for lunch!
--Rhonda
Last edited on Fri Oct 20th, 2006 01:26 pm by westkymom
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GoBlueAlumMom
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Posted: Fri Oct 20th, 2006 01:53 pm |
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| Just when I thought nothing more could possibly be reported about a small LAC in the midwest...two pages of 29 posts and counting. With that last tidbit of information about sewage, perhaps this thread should be retitled, "Everything you wanted to know about Beloit College, but were afraid to ask!"
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Northeastmom
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Posted: Fri Oct 20th, 2006 03:02 pm |
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Thank you for telling me about Wendys. My kids enjoy that Wendys just a bit too much for my liking, so if my younger son does visit, I will be sure to take him to this Wendys (perhaps it will cure him of needing his fastfood fix)!
I agree with you that it has little to do with the school. I must add that some of the odors we pass through on the way to the school my older one attends are not always that pleasant. We drive through some beautiful scenic country and there are farms, and with that come not so pleasant odors.
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GladHi
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Posted: Fri Oct 20th, 2006 06:16 pm |
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(I can't comment about the Wendy's, since we didn't eat there). About the fact that there is no foreign language requirement at Beloit--
At the orientation day meeting with my daughter's FYI (First Year Initiative) teacher, who is a Spanish professor, one of the parents asked why there is no foreign language requirement. Her response--when it's not required, we get the students who really want to learn the language. That makes a lot of sense to me.
My daughter absolutely loves Beloit. It is the right "fit" for her. By the end of her second week there she felt right at home. She says her dorm is like a family. After the earthquake here in Hawaii, dormmates were e-mailing asking if her parents were okay (Beloit is on October break right now, but she stayed in Illinois with family friends and missed the earthquake). (By the way, we are okay--no damage, but it was scary for my husband in our high-floor condo, and then we had a full day with with no power. I was driving when it hit, and I didn't even know we had had an earthquake!)
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westkymom
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Posted: Fri Oct 20th, 2006 06:43 pm |
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Re: the earthquake, my brother in Ewa Beach said they felt it, but thought it was 3.5 to 4.0 in strength. They were without power for 13 hours, but no damage of any kind. Fortunately, they were never without water. My greatest fear for all of you Hawaii folks was tsunamis. I believe I heard that it wasn't a shallow enough earthquake to generate a tsunami. Believe me, my whole family was glued to various newschannels and keeping up with reports of damage/injury. We're so glad it wasn't any worse and that you all are okay.
--Rhonda
Last edited on Fri Oct 20th, 2006 06:43 pm by westkymom
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GladHi
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Posted: Sat Oct 21st, 2006 08:27 am |
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Rhonda,
Yes, luckily no tsunami. The quake was 25 miles underground, which minimized the effects. The worst damage was on the Big Island--$100 million plus. We lost power for 12 hours in downtown Honolulu, and we did not have water for part of that time. But it could have been a lot worse. My husband's complaints: 1) no coffee; and 2) no Seattle-St. Louis football game.
Another problem was overloaded cell phone circuits, so we couldn't get through to our family members at first to tell them we were okay. Our Beloit daughter was blissfully unaware anything had happened here until we finally were able to leave her a message on her cell phone.
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westkymom
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Posted: Sat Oct 21st, 2006 12:47 pm |
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Yes, it is an odd thing about phone lines. I was in the 1989 World Series earthquake in San Francisco and we noticed that if you used a calling card, for example, you accessed different trunk lines into or out of the area. So three different ways to call out after an emergency (that I know of): cell phone, regular long distance and calling card. After the big Asian Tsunami, I finally got off my duff and did what I should have done when the kids were little: stocked piled emergency supplies.
All one has to do to get get started is to purchase an American Red Cross "Deluxe Emergency Preparedness Kit" for $65 ( https://www.redcrossstore.org/shopper/ProdList.aspx?LocationId=1 ). I plan to send one with my son to college. Oh, and I'll probably some out to my brother in Hawaii -- he still has that invincibility syndrome from youth.
Here's a few links for anyone who's interested in more info (there may be better sites out there, but at least it's a start for anyone who's interested).
http://www.ready.gov/america/getakit/index.html
http://www.redcross.org/services/disaster/0,1082,0_217_,00.html
For pet owners: http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/be_a_lifesaver_disaster_planning_can_save_your_pet_in_an_emergency.html
For Volcano prep (I'm sure Hawaiians are experts in this area): [url=http://emd.wa.gov/5-prog/prgms/eq-tsunami/vol-ash-english.pdf#search='filter%20masks%20volcanic%20ash']http://emd.wa.gov/5-prog/prgms/eq-tsunami/vol-ash-english.pdf#search='filter%20masks%20volcanic%20ash'[/url]
--Rhonda
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Asdad
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Posted: Tue Oct 24th, 2006 08:25 pm |
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On Beloit:
My D loves the school, hates the town. She is third year, and she has grown tired of the food. I believe this would be the case anywhere because of the sameness.
She does miss many of her friends that are away for the semester abroad. Having said all of that, she did not come home for fall break (her choice)!
The school has been a very positive influence.
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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Tue Oct 24th, 2006 09:40 pm |
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Asdad,
My daughter has a few junior friends who all complain about everyone being gone for study abroad. She's planning accordingly and already has two programs in mind. She also hates the food, but I agree: she'd pretty much say the same thing anywhere. Other than that, she's a happy camper. It was neat to see her anxious to get back after fall break.
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westkymom
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Posted: Wed Oct 25th, 2006 12:41 pm |
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I think it's so great that all of the Beloit students we talk to or hear about all love their college. While we were on campus, we heard only one dissenting vote from a young lady who complained, "The college is too small." We also read a similar complaint online. Since being a small college really is not a negative about the school, we haven't found one person who is unhappy with the school. We think that's pretty amazing.
Re: the food, my son just said, "Eh, I'll just stock up on Spaghetti O's.
--Rhonda
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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Thu Oct 26th, 2006 04:39 pm |
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| I think it is telling that students at Beloit actually line up to host prospies. My daughter says it's considered a fun thing to do. They don't get any compensation for doing so, not even a free pizza coupon. They just want to do it because they love their school and its fun to fill prospies in on how great they think Beloit is. Again, Beloit is not for everyone - and, as at every school, there are certainly those who decide Beloit is not right for them and transfer - but there is a general sense that those who find it is a fit are happy with their choice. Last edited on Thu Oct 26th, 2006 04:40 pm by CarolynLawrence
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