The 4th stop on my tour of colleges in Wisconsin was Ripon College and it was fun to be greeted by the “Red Hawk.” After crisscrossing the state and visiting three other schools, the group was getting a little bit tired. However within moments of our arrival it was clear to all of us that Ripon is a special place and we were instantly energized and ready to learn all about it.
- Ripon College is the smallest of the schools we visited with current enrollment of 840 students. We were told that theywould be happy to have enrollment go up to 1000 but not much more than that.
- New Core Curriculum is being launched in September 2016, which will emphasize written expression, quantitative research, intercultural competence, and problem solving in applied settings across disciplines.
- Popular majors are Biology, English, History, Exercise Science, Business, Psychology, and Communications.
- Division 3 Athletics. They are particularly proud of a new athletic and wellness facility which is being built.
- Admission process is a holistic one. Ripon is a “Test Optional” school and the typical admitted student has an average GPA of 3.4.
- Professors build strong bonds with students and support them through academic, career, and personal advising.
- Collegial, collaborative, and community describe the Ripon experience.
- Flexibility of course scheduling. We were told that the day and time of a class can be changed to accommodate a particular student’s schedule. This is highly unusual.
I came away from my visit excited to inform my clients about this small, friendly, personalized, and impressive Midwestern college.
