Todd R.

Well, well, well! First to review my Alma Mater, eh? Well when I heard it referred to as the Harvard of the Midwest by a couple of guidance counselors, I thought that they were either joking, being exceedingly praiseful, or spitting the campus generated propaganda that so many colleges seem to be in the business of doing professionally. You can only be as good as perception of the people hiring the grads, right? Well, do the research because Wabash Men overachieve and reach higher than their similar Midwestern school counterparts. Just percentages of graduates that go on to do such amazing accomplishments blows my mind. But this college fosters a kind of thinking and learning that is well beyond the years of an 18-22 year old average college student. One positive, that is also a negative, is that Men are not afraid to be Men on this campus. Since female presence is limited and your learning is centered with male counterparts, emotional, thought provoking, and real subjects, that are important to thinking critically are explored in a liberal arts environment that encourages inner exploration and sharing of discovery. The lack of females takes male ego out of the equation, which can be a huge stumbling block in true discourse and also eliminates cattiness and competition for female attention. However, the lack of females also adds to Wabash's not so proud chauvinism and some female bashing as feminism is rarely explored in many of Wabash's classes. However, this is a minor inconvenience to the real learning that goes on. Lack of female presence ensures also that a Wabash Man will treat a woman like a lady when she is in his presence... because he may not know how many opportunities will come his way that week. Also, since there is a lack of females on campus, dozens of women flock to the campus parties on weekends because of the rationale that I've heard from so many women: "Where better a place to find a single guy?" True Dat!!! Wabash is a NCAA Division III athletic school. Which means that Wabash College does not give athletic scholarships or aid to students who play intercollegiate sports. However, Wabash is very competitive and regularly beats Division II schools in various match-ups around the region. The school plays in the North Coast Athletic Conference which is one the top conferences in Division III athletics. Every year in November (the last regular season game of the year) Wabash plays DePauw University in the Monon Bell Game in which the two schools play for a bragging rights and a prize of a 300+ pound bell donated by the Monon Rail Co. After 119 meetings, the all time series is even with 9 ties and 55 wins a piece. Wabash has won four straight football conference titles, three outright. Admission is generally free for most contests except football games and any conference or NCAA tournament games. Wabash starting really building in the mid to late 90's updating and remodeling existing buildings, but it wasn't until the turn of the century that Wabash started throwing around some serious weight with their endowment money. Wabash invested millions into four brand new campus buildings and two large expansions. The biggest project was the brand new athletic center which would be impressive for a school 10 times the size of Wabash. The next building was the brand new biology/chemistry building, followed by the brand new Malcolm X Institute of Black Studies, and brand new Trippet Center for the Inquiry into Liberal Arts (where the old Malcolm X Institute stood.) They also gutted the Goodrich Building (where Math and Physics reside) and expanded and added an observatory. Also, the old Yandes Library was gutted and expanded into the new Detchon Center for Languages. These impressive new buildings and the things they allow our gifted faculty to accomplish in instruction and research make Wabash even more competitive amongst liberal arts institutions not just in the Midwest but around the country as indicated by their ranking in Forbes Magazine. I may be an alum, but I'm definitely not just a fan. People in the know when they find out I graduated from Wabash have they same reaction... They realize that you are capable of a lot! "Wabash, eh?" Nodding while they rub their chin. Just that name alone skips several interview questions and they pretty much get to the salary part. Also, I have had several people tell me (and even one DePauw grad who is somewhat famous on their campus as well) that they wished they had chosen Wabash because they realize now, all these years later, what an opportunity that they missed out on. Don't get me wrong, Wabash is not for everybody and they are super selective even at the application stage, but there are few opportunities in your lifetime to blaze your own trail and make the choice for something unique and challenging. I think that if you are a prospective student reading this: Visit the campus. You'll be hooked.