Denison University
Reviews

I LOVE my classes

I graduated from an extremely rigorous high school so I expected work at Denison to be pretty chill; however, classes at Denison turned out to be very challenging and academically stimulating. My classes were very demanding as well as exciting! All of my professors were interesting and the small class size made clases very engaging. The professors all really care about their students and their classes; one professor, who use to teach at Georgetown and Northwestern, told us in class one day that he decided to teach at Denison because he saw that all the professors at Denison actually liked their students. In large universities, many professors teach classes as a side-job since they mainly focus on their individual experiments and projects; however, Denison professors are genuinely focused to teach and interact with students at a liberal arts institute. That particular professor has been teaching for more than 10 years at Denison now, which goes to show that Denison academics ROCKS.

I LOVE my classes

I graduated from an extremely rigorous high school so I expected work at Denison to be pretty chill; however, classes at Denison turned out to be very challenging and academically stimulating. My classes were very demanding as well as exciting! All of my professors were interesting and the small class size made clases very engaging. The professors all really care about their students and their classes; one professor, who use to teach at Georgetown and Northwestern, told us in class one day that he decided to teach at Denison because he saw that all the professors at Denison actually liked their students. In large universities, many professors teach classes as a side-job since they mainly focus on their individual experiments and projects; however, Denison professors are genuinely focused to teach and interact with students at a liberal arts institute. That particular professor has been teaching for more than 10 years at Denison now, which goes to show that Denison academics ROCKS.

Denison Is LOADED!

Denison is probably the most generous school EVER. I applied to 8 different schools and Denison gave me the most. Almost every one of my friends got some kind of aid - need-based or academic. Its awesome because I get the Denison experience - which is worth a billion bucks - for a low price!

No Campus Housing ROCKS!

I love how Denison doesn't allow off-campus housing - it gives the campus a community-feel. I got to know lots of seniors and juniors as a first-year, which is really awesome. Parties are also accessible because the upperclassmen live on-campus. Overall, the banning of off-campus housing at Denison is one of the main reasons why Denison is such a fun place to mingle.

Computer Labs Are 24/7

Its nice that the printing lab is open 24/7 and its right near the freshmen dorms! I can literally get to the printing lab in 5 seconds. Depending on where you are, the wi-fi isn't that great...but bad internet access gives you an excuse to have library dates and it gives you more socializing time when Facebook takes forever to load:)

Some Weed

There is some moderate pot use, but not much drug use beyond that. The attitude around weed is not very relaxed, and if you smoke, you must be very careful about not getting caught. Our "drug culture" is basically smoking weed in bathrooms to avoid getting caught. The atmosphere is definitely dominated by alcohol, and some students still view marijuana as taboo. However, if you do wish to smoke, you will certainly have no trouble. You occasionally hear about other drugs, but you would have to work to find them.

Attractive Clones

The student body is generally very attractive, just not much diversity. Make sure you're prepared for the broverload. The sorority girl prototype is also dominant, wearing their uniform of uggs/hunters, leggings, northfaces, and sorority shirts/sweatshirts. There is definitely a population of students who break the mold and display their own personal style, but these students aren't really celebrated. The "cool kids" are the ones who conform. I would really like to see Denison become a more of a place that encourages individuality.

Pretty Bad.

The food here is actually quite unacceptable, especially given the money we pay. I feel like it is very difficult for me to be healthy without spending a ton of additional money aside from what we already spend on the required meal plan. Very few options, very poor quality, and the dining halls themselves are nothing special. It gets as bad as pouring sour milk onto your cereal in the morning. Atleast the staff is friendly...

Ehhh...

We have a good lacrosse, field hockey, and swimming team but we're still a D-3 school. We have absolutely NO school pride - even for our good sports. Our athletic facilities are okay, but the gym closes at 9 and the swimming pool isn't open on the weekends. Overall, I'm displeased with DU athletics.

Nostalgia in the Now

Granville is a town with an old soul. There are local shops everywhere that everyone goes to such as a high-brow thrift store that turns out to not be an oxymoron, a small store specializing in baby items, and of course the local ice cream shop. Everyone is eerily polite and perfect-looking. It is a town that seems to have maintained the same feel for decades; walking down mainstreet looks and feels like a movie set in the 1950s.

As White as Wonder Bread

It's really mostly comprised of wealthy white kids, to be honest. But there are certainly other students of different ethnicities on campus, and they are not discriminated towards at all. In fact, if a student were to be discriminated towards, students would probably end up having a protest or something about it. Though we aren't all that diverse, we aren't closed minded.

Surprisingly Challenging

I expected Denison to be challenging, but there is always work to be done. But it's not always such a bad thing. Sometimes you get really passionate about a subject in class and are actually excited to read/write about it or talk about it with your professor. Professors love talking to students outside class for the most part. Denison boasts some of the best academics in the country and I have been challenged to think like I never have before.

Really Generous

My parents make a really good income, but Denison still gave me a huge amount of financial aid. They do blind admissions so they don't discriminate based upon financial status. They pick out the scholarships for you, you don't have to apply for anything. Just turn in your FAFSA or what have you, and you're done. Amazing. Even if you don't think you qualify for need-based, do it anyways because, like me, chances are they'll give you money. The only down side was that they took some of my federal funding away this year AND hiked the price up, yet again. But they're still really helpful and understanding if you ask about more financial aid opportunities. Really helpful.

Historic but up-To-Date

Denison's building are beautiful and historic, but they have renovated them nicely on the inside to boast top of the line modern necessities. Slayter, the student union, is a fun hang out in between classes or for dinner or studying. It's not the prettiest building on campus, but there's always people in it, so you always end up running into someone there. Part of the athletic center is under construction for a new pool (for our Sate Champions Swim TEAM!), but it is still open and all of the facilities on the athletic center are still running. Lots of squash/racquetball courts, as well as two different work out rooms, packed with great machines, and there is usually at least one machine per room open. The library is great, and if students aren't studying in empty classrooms on campus, then they're in the library. More times than not you will end up seeing someone you know on the second floor of the library, which is kind of fun. Both Macs and PCs are available to students in the library and most, if not all, floors.

Interesting Classes, Pretty High Workload

The amount of work you have in pretty high, but manageable. Classes are engaging and usually interesting to go to. Denison attracts great speakers who greater enrich your experience

Great Merit Based Aid

I chose Denison because of the financial aid they gave me. For such a highly ranked liberal arts school, their merit based aid awards are more than generous. As someone who didn't qualify for any need-based aid, I was very pleased with my aid package. They even offered me work study and I will not have to take out loans. I was accepted to several schools which were roughly equal to Denison in size and quality and none of them gave me nearly as much merit-based aid. I probably would not have chose Denison if it weren't for the aid they gave me but in retrospect, I am glad I chose to go here for reasons that have nothing to do with financial aid!

Friendly, Available Professors

Denison professors definitely exemplify the Liberal Arts College mindset of always being available and being directly involved in your life, in a great way. They're extremely helpful and really get to know you in a way that makes the classes that much better

Not Huge, but Present

Denison attracts scholar athletes, so academics are what Denison is most proud of, but sports are still pretty big on campus. A lot of people I know are on some sort of team ranging from club to varsity sports. School spirit is nothing compared to my high school, but people do attend games, since it is free for students.

Not Like Other Colleges

Parties at DU are an experience, an experience that gets old pretty fast. If you enjoy dancing in sweaty dorm rooms that you need to leave perodically in order to catch your breathe and cool off then you have come to the right place. Parties here suck, there are usually not enough parties so people cram into one and you can barely move. Plus, quiet hours start at 1 am and security is pretty strict with that. If you like to party, don't come to Denison.

Security Has Nothing Better to Do Than Bother You

Security usually don't bother students unless the student is obviously drunk or out of control. Sometimes it seems like security is bored and are looking to bust students. Denison is not a big fan of the party scene so they will do anything to try to crack down on it. Because we live on campus all four years, quiet hours start at 1 am and are strictly inforced.

Great for Our Size

We are relatively small, but our facilities rock. Our athletic facility is solid. Classrooms and academic buildings are spacious and comfortable to work in. The dining hall is not mind-blowing, but definitely is a nice spot to eat. The apartments mainly for upperclassmen are outstanding. They are huge and some feel like mini condos.

So Secure

There are safety walks for when you are walking at night to a location. There is plenty of security presence that will assist you if necessary. You can leave your doors open and laptops out and people will not take them.

Granville is a small town in...

Granville is a small town in central Ohio with about 4000 residents. It is a quaint little town, so night life is almost nonexistent. Whit's frozen custard is fantastic, and Brew's is the local watering hole.

Ohio State is 25 miles away in Columbus and some travel in for concerts and parties but most of the parties are on campus in the dorms.

No one is allowed to live...

No one is allowed to live off-campus. Denison is a residential campus and unless you live within 25 miles of the school you have to live on campus all four years.

The food is college food. Some...

The food is college food. Some days it's awful, and some days it surprises you and is pretty decent. If it's a macaroni and cheese or pasta day, it'll be great. Meat is not so good. And don't go for the veggies; they're all frozen.