By Sue Luse

Campus Overview

Lake Forest College is an easy 6 hour drive from the Twin Cities.  Located 30 miles north of Chicago and only minutes from Lake Michigan. This campus is beautiful, surrounded by a forest in a very affluent area.  The atmosphere feels like a cute New England town. An old campus with historic buildings.

Admissions/Financial Aid

• Admissions Counselor for Minnesota: Meredith DuMais, dumais@lakeforest.edu, 847-735-5012
• Average ACT is 23-28
• Average GPA is 3.6
• 57% acceptance rate
• Accepts their own application or the Common App with no preference for either
• Interviews are highly recommended
• 85% of students receive aid
• Offer Presidential Scholarships for up to $12,000 per year
• Offer Forester Scholarships for up to $8,000 per year
• Can receive up to $20,000 per year

Academics

Lake Forest has small classes taught by professors (no teaching assistants).  The student-faculty ratio is 13-to-1, and most classes top out at around 20 students. Their most popular majors are Economics, Communications, Politics, and Biology. Lake Forest overlaps with Lawrence, St. Thomas, St. Olaf, St. John’s, Ohio Wesleyan, Denison, Puget Sound, Redlands, Hobart William Smith and Skidmore. They have pre-professional programs in Health and Law. This college also offers a dual degree in Law, Engineering and Pharmacy. Students can declare up to two majors and one minor and about half of the students double major. There is also a Learning Center that is very good for students with learning disabilities.

Lake Forest offers an Independent Scholars Program where students can design their own majors.  They also offer a Richter Scholars Program where students experience one-on-one research opportunities with a professor during the summer after their first year.

There is also a campus in the loop of downtown Chicago providing off-campus programs that run every semester which allow students to do internships in Chicago and engage in immersive academic programs. Internships in Chicago include United Airlines, The Art Institute, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Chicago Blackhawks, Shed Aquarium and Rolling Stone Magazine.

Student Body

• 1,600 students
• 46% from out-of-state
• 16% international students
• 35% diversity
• Quite a variety of students – preppy, alternatives, jocks, etc.

Recreation/Activities

Lake Forest offers over 50 clubs and plenty of intramural sports. The Greek scene is small. They have 17 Div III sports including hockey. There is an impressive hockey facility on campus. The new 17 million dollar Athletic Center is very nice and there’s also a beautiful beach quite near the campus.