Survey Results #33: Voglio studiare all’estero!

Since about half of Lawrence University students study at one of our off-campus programs before they graduate, we figured it would be good to know where you are interested in going. The results are equal parts surprising and expected.

First, as you often have, you turned up an eclectic list. All said, 53 individual countries captured your interest as potential study abroad opportunities.

So you will likely appreciate that we have so many programs set up for you.

There was actually a dead-even tie for the countries that the largest group of you responded with an interest for.

England and Italy…or Italy and England, whichever you prefer.

Either way, it’s fair to assume that in a few years, several of your classmates might find themselves en route to London, Florence, Oxford, Rome, York or Milan. Even more convenient that one of our programs is in both countries.

So, here are the next five countries incoming Lawrentians are interested in going to for a study abroad experience:

2 – Spain

3 – France

4 – Germany

5 – Japan

6 – Russia

Although they didn’t make the top five, Australia, Ireland, Austria, Greece, India and Israel all had a lot of responses as well!

As we’ve said already, Lawrence University is proud to have one of the most internationally diverse campuses in the country. If that’s still not enough for you, we’re ready and excited to help you experience the culture of a different country.

Survey Results #30: We’ll Be There For You…

We know we’re not supposed to make out-of-date references to pop culture, but the title is supposed to be sung to the tune of the theme song for Friends, which most of you only know from syndicated reruns.

It turns out, a lot of you are worried about some of the same things. However, the thing you are still the most nervous about is making new friends. This was followed by succeeding academically, your roommate and being away from home. Other themes we found after we asked you what you were still nervous about included time management, living independently/college life, Wisconsin’s weather, transitioning to college and Appleton and financial management.

For each of these concerns, we’ve got you covered.

We’d like to introduce you to the magic that is Residence Life. These are the people who will work with you every step of the way, to help you successfully transition to college life, at Lawrence University, in Appleton. Even if you are worried about the weather.

If you’re having an issue with your roommate, there is a trained student-staff member on your floor. If you are worried about making friends, trust us, Residence Life is already planning events and activities to introduce you to people. If you start to fall behind in one of your classes, they know how to connect you with a free tutor. If you are feeling homesick, they’re around to help you, too. Any of the most common issues that you can think about…Residence Life is ready to help you.

Remember – they helped last year’s freshmen!

So, while it’s healthy to be a little nervous, know that we’ve got people around to help you whenever you need it.

Even if it’s someone to eat macaroni and cheese with at three am.

But please don’t do that every night!

Survey Results #27: Humorous, Intelligent Apple Pies

If the incoming class of Lawrentians were all pies, they’d be humorous, intelligent apple pies.

There’s a lot of interesting things you all had to say about pies and strange foods. Before we get to that, though, it’s worth giving you the link for Bon Appetit, the food service company that will be cooking you all sorts of delicious pies…and hopefully not many of the strange foods you reported eating or feeding people.

It really is an intriguing, interesting site. For example, if you click the “environment” tab, you can find out the difference between grass-fed, natural and industrial beef…among other interesting things.

So, back to the pies. First, 47 of you responded with some sort of joke. Some of our favorite jokes were:

– I’d be wondering how I became a pie.

– I wouldn’t be able to answer this question.

– I would not be capable of conscious thought…but I would taste SOOOOO good.

Equally interesting was the 33 of you who responded intellectually. Many of you crafted nifty plans to avoid being eaten. We considered that intellectual…it’s just good to think about self preservation if you ever find yourself to be a tasty baked good. Especially when you’re coming to a college campus. Here are the intellectual highlights:

– I’d be wondering how I became a pie.

– I’d be larger but unevenly sliced. (Sorry to bring economics into this!)

– I would be so disgusting so I wouldn’t be eaten.

– I would sit on a table and not move, because no matter how hyped up they are, pies are still inanimate objects.

– I probably couldn’t process the conditional ‘if’.

– I should grow two legs and run for my life.

After that, the most popular response was “apple.”

So, here are the top five edible responses.

1 – Apple Pies

2 – Strawberry Rhubarb Pies

3 – Chocolate Pies

4 – Pumpkin Pies

5 – Cherry Pies

Besides that, there are some things you should know about your fellow incoming Lawrentians. They are willing to eat some strange things. Here’s what we found the most interesting:

– The peanut butter sandwich I found in the locker room.

– I tried the cinnamon challenge. A tablespoon of cinnamon.

– I drank a mixture of sprite, pepper, chicken, biscuits, broccoli, sour cream…

– I’ve had a goat’s brain. It actually tastes good when it is cooked in a Pakistani way!

– A Costa Rican flower that made my face numb.

– Barbeque crickets.

– Fried ants.

– A slice of the World’s Biggest Cupcake.

– A McRib.

Although it does get more worrisome than what you’ve eaten, here are some of the things you’re willing to feed to other people:

– Soy sauce shots.

– Ketchup and mustard-covered marshmallows.

– The French fry of doom. A fry covered in multiple alternating layers of ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, salt and pepper. It did not go down well.

– A live cicada.

– A lie, perhaps?

– Cinnamon cheeseburgers. Better than you’d think…

– Coke bacon.

It’s important to tell you…besides the list of pies, nothing mentioned here will be served in the campus center.

(At least, not by us!)

Survey Results #24: Time For A Brewed Awakening!

According to our survey results, you’re more likely to hear someone ask for a Brewed Awakening once you get to campus than you are to hear someone ask for a Starbucks run. We asked our incoming students which they preferred out of the following three options: Starbucks, local coffee shops or Pepsi.

(The Pepsi was included to accommodate non-coffee drinkers, although one person later commented that she prefers milk. She’ll love Wisconsin!)

In this case, about 15% of you said Pepsi, 20% said Starbucks, and a whopping 65% said local coffee shops.

(For the record, 65% is how many of our classes have just one student…in case you missed that in any of our brochures talking about individualized learning.)

Fortunately, you’ll all find a happy medium in Appleton, Wisconsin. Just a couple blocks from campus, you’ll find local favorites like Harmony CafĂ©, Brewed Awakenings and Copper Rock, as well as a Starbucks, and several enterprises that serve non-coffee options.

In fact, you can find out about everything else we have in downtown Appleton by going to this city-sponsored site. or check out a blog by Jeff Lindsay, a local resident who seems to know and love more about Appleton than anyone.

He also collects information about the city of Appleton on another website.

Now that it’s under a month until you arrive on campus, we’re getting really excited. Whether it’s at Starbucks, Harmony, Brewed Awakenings, the Brat Cart or a soda-selling restaurant, we look forward to seeing you on and off campus!

Survey Results #21: International Wanderers

A couple weeks ago, in a blog titled ‘National Wanderers’, we talked about the geographic diversity of Lawrence University’s student population. That theme continues, with some more information about our international diversity.

When you arrive at Lawrence, you’ll be at one of the most internationally diverse campuses in the country. About 13% of our students are international students, coming from all over the world. In fact, you might even find yourself hanging out at the International House.

In addition, the Diversity Center will always be working on campus to present educational programming designed to help us better understand diversity in a rapidly changing world.

Recognizing that so many of our students are international, we asked you to tell us what country you were most excited to meet someone from. A good number of you let us know that you were excited to meet someone from any country, which, of course, is a good thing. Some of you were more general, citing regions or continents (such as Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Latin America and South America…in that order.) But for those of you who listed a specific country, you came up with a list of 48 different countries.

Here are the top five:

1 – France

2 – Australia

3 – Italy and Japan (tied)

4 – Germany

5 – China

Some of the other countries that garnered a lot of interest were: South Africa, Russia, Poland, England, Greece, Brazil, Ghana, India, Korea and Ireland.

A few weeks ago, we suggested you stop by to check out the map of the United States, with a pin indicating the hometown of each student. Today, we’d encourage you to do the same thing, but instead to look on a different wall in Wilson House. There, you’ll find a map of the entire world, with a pin representing each international student, as well as each study abroad program.

By the end of your time at Lawrence, you’ll have had the opportunity to interact, live and work with students from all over the country…and all over the world.