Written by Eleni Karahalios
Denison has an incredible academic reputation, and therefore, the courses are challenging. Unlike bigger schools, there is no hiding in big lecture halls or not showing up to all of your classes. If you fail to participate, you will not get a good grade—simple as that. Mostly every teacher has an attendance policy and considers participation with your final grade, so it will be to your advantage to come to class every day. The classes are pretty small, which allows you to establish a great relationship with your professor (and also helps them notice when you are missing). That being said, Denison provides phenomenal academic resources. Not only are most professors insightful and easy to approach, but each department also has tutors and resources available to help you. Denison even has a writing center that will read and comment on all of your papers before you turn them in, and the librarians are very helpful when you are researching.
Since Denison is a liberal arts school, there are certain general education courses that you are required to take to graduate. At first these may seem useless (why should a biology major take an English class?); however, Denison believes that its students should be well-rounded and therefore knowledgeable in an array of subjects outside of their major. So, you will not only be taking classes pertinent to your major, but also classes in the humanities, fine arts, and sciences. Even though you have to take general education classes, it is very easy to double major or minor at Denison, and many students do. Denison also offers plenty of academic programs; however, you may be surprised to find there is no such thing as a "business" or "advertising" major. Instead, if you are interested in entering these fields, you would major in economics, communication, or pretty much anything. No matter what you major in, though, you should be prepared to work hard at Denison.