Lawrence University

Appleton, Wisconsin | Admissions Phone: 920-832-6500

E-mail: admissions@lawrence.edu | Website: www.lawrence.edu

ADMISSION

Admission Rate: 62%

Admission Rate - Men: 60%

Admission Rate - Women: 65%

EA Admission Rate: 85%

ED Admission Rate: 83%

Admission Rate (5-Year Trend): -10%

ED Admission Rate (5-Year Trend): -4%

% of Admits Attending (Yield): 18%

Transfer Admission Rate: 39%

# Offered Wait List: 87

# Accepted Wait List: 23

# Admitted Wait List: 2

SAT Reading/Writing (Middle 50%): 610-710

SAT Math (Middle 50%): 600-740

ACT Composite (Middle 50%): 27-31

Testing Policy: Test Optional

SAT Superscore: Yes

ACT Superscore: Yes

% Graduated in Top 10% of HS Class: 35%

% Graduated in Top 25% of HS Class: 69%

% Graduated in Top 50% of HS Class: 91%

ENROLLMENT

Total Undergraduate Enrollment: 1,472

% Part-Time: 4%

% Male: 47%

% Female: 53%

% Out-of-State: 73%

% Fraternity: 8%

% Sorority: 10%

% On-Campus (Freshman): 100%

% On-Campus (All Undergraduate): 94%

% African-American: 5%

% Asian: 5%

% Hispanic: 10%

% White: 62%

% Other: 4%

% Race or Ethnicity Unknown: 1%

% International: 13%

% Low-Income: 25%

ACADEMICS

Student-to-Faculty Ratio: 8:1

% of Classes Under 20: 81%

% of Classes Under 40: 96%

% Full-Time Faculty: 85%

% Full-Time Faculty w/ Terminal Degree: 91%

Top Programs

Biology

Economics

English

Environmental Studies

Government

Music

Physics

Retention Rate: 85%

4-Year Graduation Rate: 66%

6-Year Graduation Rate: 80%

Curricular Flexibility: Somewhat Flexible

Academic Rating:

FINANCIAL

Institutional Type: Private

In-State Tuition: $48,822

Out-of-State Tuition: $48,822

Room & Board: $10,719

Required Fees: $300

Books & Supplies: $900

Avg. Need-Based Aid: $39,106

Avg. % of Need Met: 95%

Avg. Merit-Based Aid: $26,419

% Receiving Merit-Based Aid: 33%

Avg. Cumulative Debt: $31,136

% of Students Borrowing: 67%

CAREER

Who Recruits

1. M3 Insurance

2. Enterprise Holdings

3. Hauser Advertising

4. McAdam Financial

5. Air Wisconsin Airlines, LLC

Notable Internships

1. American Museum of Natural History

2. Uber

3. EY

Top Industries

1. Education

2. Business

3. Operations

4. Arts & Design

5. Social Services

Top Employers

1. US Bank

2. Epic

3. Northwestern Mutual

4. Target

5. Wells Fargo

Where Alumni Work

1. Chicago

2. Oshkosh, WI

3. Minneapolis

4. Milwaukee

5. New York City

Median Earnings

College Scorecard (Early Career): $44,100

EOP (Early Career): $44,500

PayScale (Mid-Career): $98,800

RANKINGS

Forbes: 193

Money: 183

U.S. News: 58, Liberal Arts Colleges

Wall Street Journal/THE: 189 (T)

Washington Monthly: 107, Liberal Arts Colleges

Inside the Classroom

The history of Lawrence University, a tiny liberal arts school in Appleton, Wisconsin, is as unique as its present-day educational offerings. One of the earliest (ninth, to be precise) coeducational colleges in the United States and one of the top music conservatories anywhere, the nearly 1,500 undergraduates on campus today enjoy an intimate academic environment in which the largest number of degrees conferred are in the performing arts. It is the only school in the nation whose college of arts and sciences and music conservatory are both 100 percent populated by undergraduates. There are thirty-five distinct majors as well as the option to complete a five-year double major from both the conservatory and A&S; like we said, LU is unique.

Operating on a trimester calendar, the academic year is comprised of ten-week fall, winter, and spring sessions. For more than seventy years, part of the LU core curriculum has been a yearlong Freshman Studies program that in a small, seminar-style classroom explores questions like “What is the best sort of life for human beings? Are there limits to human knowledge? How should we respond to injustice and suffering?” From there, Lawrence undergrads encounter a dose of humanities, natural science, social science, and fine arts offerings and must show competency in a foreign language, quantitative reasoning, and a writing/speaking-intensive course. Every graduate completes a Senior Experience that can take the form of a paper, performance, portfolio, or exhibition.

An 8:1 student/faculty ratio allows for extremely small class sizes—the majority of sections contain only ten to nineteen students, and many independent study/1:1 music instruction courses also are available. With Lawrence being a “university” in name only, undergraduate research opportunities are wide open. Professors are expected to allow undergraduates access to their research studies; for example, every member of the Chemistry Department has to run an active research group. The Lawrence University Research Fellows (LURF) program offers a stipend during ten-week, research-focused terms. All told, close to two-thirds of LU students gain hands-on research experience at some point during their four years of study. The college strongly encourages students to study abroad, and roughly 40 percent take the plunge. Sponsored opportunities include the London Lawrence Center or the Francophile Seminar in Dakar, Senegal.

Biology (14), social sciences (19 percent), and performing arts (22 percent) comprise the most popular areas of study at LU. The latter includes Lawrence’s world-renowned Conservatory of Music, which enrolls approximately 350 undergraduates. Extremely strong natural science programs allow the university to be a top producer of future STEM PhDs. It is also a top producer of Fulbright Scholars, with five to its credit in the 2018-19 year. Other prestigious fellowships won by Class of 2018 members include a Watson Fellowship and a Goldwater Scholarship.

Outside the Classroom

Lawrence’s 88-acre campus houses 100 percent of freshmen and 94 percent of the undergraduate student body in five residence halls. The Greek presence is minimal with 8 percent of men affiliated with frats and 10 percent of women members of sororities. One-quarter of the population are NCAA Division III varsity athletes competing on one of the ten men’s or nine women’s squads known as the Vikings. Non-sports events that draw many participants include Fall Festival, Winter Carnival, and the Great Midwest Trivia Contest, a fifty-hour marathon that has drawn national media attention. There are over one hundred clubs and activities, and virtually every student on campus is involved in at least one. Volunteer organizations are popular, and students give a collective 10,000 hours per year. Three or four times per year campus will close for an hour while everyone flocks to Memorial Chapel for convocation where a famous speaker like Maya Angelou or David Sedaris will address the student body. If the Appleton campus that overlooks the Fox River doesn’t provide enough natural beauty for you, the college also owns 425+ acres on the shores of Lake Michigan that can be utilized for hiking, ice skating, and camping. Appleton is a safe and enjoyable small town with a population around 70,000 that contains ample bars, restaurants, and shops. The town is only about a thirty-minute drive from Green Bay and about ninety minutes from Milwaukee.

Career Services

The Center for Career, Life and Community Engagement employs eight full-time staff members in employer and alumni relations, Career advisor, and pre-professional advising and major fellowships. That student-to-advisor ratio of 184:1 is strong when compared to other colleges featured in this guide, and it allows the career services staff to carve out time even for freshmen. All first-years are encouraged to come in for at least a fifteen- or twenty-minute counseling session. The center’s stated mission is “preparing students for lives of achievement, responsible and meaningful citizenship, lifelong learning, and personal fulfillment,” and it offers ample one-onone counseling toward those aims.

Students can locate internship opportunities through Lawrence Link or through face-to-face counseling sessions. Many students pursue internships with nonprofit institutions, charitable organizations, and museums, although several recent undergrads have landed positions at Apple, Google, and JPMorgan Chase. In part due to the school’s small size and location, recruiting or on-campus interviewing visits from major employers are not frequent occurrences, and the school does not host a major job fair. Unfortunately, LU does not publicize data such as the percentage of students who land an internship, the number of in-person counseling sessions per year, or information about employers visiting campus. In the absence of such information and given the low starting salaries of recent graduates, it appears that some improvement may be needed in those areas.

Professional Outcomes

Of the 329 graduates in the Class of 2017, an impressive 98 percent had already reached their next employment or postsecondary destination. Among the 57 percent of that group who had landed their first jobs, fifty-eight grads were working in business/finance, forty-one in social services/nonprofit, eighteen in the arts, thirteen in health care/pharmaceutical, and twelve in media/communications. Companies presently employing more than a dozen Lawrence alumni include Deloitte, Epic Systems, Wells Fargo, Northwestern Mutual, US Bank, and UnitedHealth Group. Most students continue to reside in the Midwest after graduating. Greater Chicago; Oshkosh, Wisconsin; Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul; and Greater Milwaukee boast the greatest number of alums. Starting salaries for recent graduating classes average around $42,000, lower than many in its peer group that includes St. Olaf, Grinnell, and Carleton (whose graduates pull in over $10k more).

Over the last few years graduates have gone on to master’s and doctoral programs at a wide range of universities on the prestige spectrum. Highlighting that list are elite schools Carnegie Mellon, Duke, Dartmouth, Emory, Georgetown, University of Pennsylvania, and Washington University in St. Louis. Medical school acceptance rates fluctuate between 67 and 75 percent, significantly higher than the national average, even in down years. Recent graduates have matriculated into medical schools at Johns Hopkins, the University of Chicago, Northwestern, Boston University, and the University of Wisconsin. According to the National Science Foundation, Lawrence produces the fourteenth most future science and engineering PhDs among liberal arts colleges.

Admission

It’s hard to find a school of better quality that has a greater acceptance rate than Lawrence’s 62 percent. The university is trending in a more selective direction as the admit rate was an even more generous 73 percent five years ago, but chances remain strong, even for less-than-perfect high schoolers. While 35 percent did place in the top 10 percent of their graduating class and 31 percent possessed a GPA of greater than 3.75, many others brought more middling credentials to the table. The average GPA for admitted students is 3.46, and 31 percent did not land in the top 25 percent of their high school cohort. This school does not require SATs or ACTs but, among those who elected to submit scores anyway, the mid-50 percent range was 1210-1450 on the SAT and 27-31 on the ACT.

Lawrence was early to the test-optional party, jettisoning mandatory standardized test submission in 2006. As a result, GPA, rigor of coursework, class rank, talent/ability, and character/personal qualities are perched atop the list of most important factors. The admissions essay, recommendations, extracurricular activities, and an interview, which is recommended but not required, make up the second rung of “important factors.” Test scores are merely “considered”; 41 percent of enrolled freshmen did submit SAT scores to go along with 31 percent who submitted results from the ACT. Few apply early decision; only twenty-four did so in 2018, and twenty were accepted. A safety school for many applying to even more prestigious Midwestern liberal arts institutions, only about 20 percent of those admitted actually enroll. Thus, it is advantageous to communicate your genuine interest in attending throughout the application process.

Worth Your Money?

The sticker price (including room and board and all fees) at Lawrence is $61,716, but few receive an annual bill for that amount. Over two-thirds of undergraduates receive need-based aid for an average of $39,000, and 43 percent of those awarded aid see 100 percent of their demonstrated need met. A substantial number of students, approximately one-third, receive an average merit aid award of more than $26k. Because the most commonly studied fields at LU are not among the highest paying, students need to adjust the value of loans they are willing to take out accordingly. That said, this school provides an amazing educational experience, particularly for those interested in performance and academia, and it typically provides enough financial aid to make a Lawrence degree affordable.