Kalamazoo College

I'll preface any judgment of "K" with this caveat: I was not the most diligent, hard-working student. In retrospect, there was a wealth of information and opportunity available to me that I did not take advantage of.

That said, I regret to say that "K" is not what it once was, especially for those of use who don't study math and science. Having talked to numerous alums who graduated in the '60s through the '80s, I have been amazed at the decrease in the level of expectations on "K" students. I think a lot of this is not specific to Kalamazoo, but is indicative of the larger trend toward "experiential learning." For someone who plans to go on to med-, law- or engineering school, I think that "K" probably provides a good, well-rounded education. However, for those of us who tried to take our experiential educations out into the workforce, we found that we had a whole lot of experiences and not a lot of practical skills and information.

The good news about this is that, for the most part, "K" grads are a pretty smart and resourceful group. Most of us have managed to find decent jobs, but for the majority of my peers, that meant going back to grad school. The bottom line: if you're going on to grad school immediately after undergrad, "K" is still a pretty good school. If you're not, get as much specific, hands-on experience as you can through internships, individualized studies and your SIP (if they still do those...). Please don't expect your "K" diploma to be a ticket to a great job. You'll either have to work for it while you're there or (like many of us) after you graduate.

Alumnus Male -- Class 2000

K-College is a wonderful college, if you plan on going to some form of Grad school. I myself did not and still have no idea of what I would like to do with my life after college. If you are similar to me, I would not suggest coming here to find a profession. Kalamazoo College is made for people of the elite intelligence. Being mediocre in high school will not cut it here. The academic life here is more than a notion if you are not very serious about school and even then I have found that it can be overwhelming to those elite individuals. I would call this Harvard w/o the name recognition. On the positive side the people here are for the most part cool, but if you are a shy person like me, you might have a hard time finding things to do on a Friday night. For guys, the women are below average, except a few members of the sports teams. For the ladies, well women outnumber guys here so have time picking out a sucker. I'm one of only a handful of African-American students here and the minority count after that isn't to high either. So if you like ethnic diversity, good luck and if not well Mr./Mrs. close-minded enjoy K-College. The dorms are relatively ok with exception of the mens toilet in Harmon Hall on the second floor overflowing every other day. All in all students who plan on being a white-collar worker, here's heaven. Those who plan on being a content average hard-working joe smoes like me, I would reconsider and maybe apply to WMU if you like partying. I heard that's all they're good for. Well enjoy!

1st Year Male -- Class 2008

Useful Schoolwork: A+, Individual Value: D

What everyone else says here is correct to a point. The college does have small classes - I have had three classes for my minor with less than 10 each, and I will be taking a class next quarter with 3 people total. A mistake that the college has made was to keep class size low in many requirements, often making it difficult for a student to choose a 3rd class ( you are only allowed to take 3 classes per quarter unless your GPA is sufficiently high enough.)

The college is somewhat cliquey with all of the jocks, theatre freaks, anime people ( the "freak table") somewhat exclusive. There are parties to be found - the problem being that WMU has a bad reputation for rioting and that bleeds over to all parties in Kalamazoo. The majority of the people are upper-middle class from Detroit or Chicago, with a few from out of state. However, it is possible to go here if your family is of average income.

The faculty is very reachable, but the administration is a moneymaking machine, currently hellbent at getting enough money for a library renovation project. They dig for funds to the point that they have recently started a program for undergraduates encouraging giving immediately after graduation. They also solicit parents for funds (which are not part of tuition payments. The lack of the administration's interest in student affairs coupled with the very fast pace ( forcing many professors to go on sabbatical) neglects many student needs like campus organizations. Many are poorly organized due to lack of available time and lack of student body to fill positions. Couple this with a few overly strong campus organizations and the smaller ones suffer even more.

The grounds of the college look nice, but only for prospective students. Facilities Management is one of the most poorly organized staff units on campus, often disrupting class time with leaf blowers and lawn mowers. The dorms can get very dirty very fast ( imagine a men's public dormitory restroom after 2 days of use.) Janitors vary from omnipresent to invisible.My suggestion for new attendees is to realize that student pressure forces you to work hard during the week and on sunday night, and let off all the pressure on the weekends ( a trend hard to reverse.) The last thing you should know is that since the classes are on "quarters", for reference, they follow the seasons. Hence classes do not start until the end of September, and do not end until the middle of June. This throws your schedule off from that of your friends and makes it somewhat more difficult to get a summer job or go on trips intended for college students, because we are still in college when an opportunity is opened.

1st Year Male -- Class 2006

Faculty Accessibility: A+, Campus Maintenance: D+