VISIT: Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo, Michigan

The hidden gem of all the schools I visited was definitely Kalamazoo College. “K College”, as they call it, is a remarkable little college located in Kalamazoo, a small college town in southwestern Michigan. It’s across the street from Western Michigan University, and the two campuses are divided by the train line and station that will take you to Chicago in just two short hours. K College has rolling hills topped by picturesque late nineteenth-century buildings that remind me of Radcliffe Quad in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Check out the campus and its programs here: http://www.kzoo.edu/

K College is renowned for its science programs, through which students present annually at conferences (including a national conference they host on campus) and do cutting-edge research as undergraduates. The university has million-dollar equipment that every sophomore in organic chemistry gets to use; the same piece of equipment would never be within breathing distance of an undergraduate at a larger university, like the University of Michigan. K College sends upwards of 95% of its students to graduate and professional programs, and the school boasts one of the nation’s highest rates of admission to medical school. Most students are published in peer-reviewed journals by the time they graduate.

K College’s suceeses stem from the “K Plan”, the central philosophy of the university’s curriculum. There are four components of the K Plan: a broad-based liberal arts curriculum, a final Senior Individualized Project (basically a senior thesis), study abroad, and internships/externships. The first two pillars of the K Plan are required for all students; the last two are optional but highly suggested. The internship programs are offered all over the country and are traditional work programs. The “externships” are more unique. These programs allow K College students to live with alumni and accompany them to work. These intensive programs offer students the chance to do a short work program (usually four- to five-week experience) that offers a peak into the work and life balance of different careers they might pursue. Students pursue these as early as the summer after the freshman year, and they receive an invaluable experience in what it means to pursue a certain field. This is the only program of its kind in the US, and it won a national award for experiential education in 2004.

K College’s study abroad programs are truly remarkable. Their students go all over the world, and their study abroad office really makes their experience streamlined and easy. When you study abroad, the university pays your travel expenses and you don’t pay any program fees; you simply pay your normal tuition for the time that you’re away and they take care of the rest. This is a BIG difference from most other schools, where the onus for paying for, securing, and pursuing your study abroad experience can be a little less guided. Students are encouraged to take rigorous courses while abroad and to use their time away for the most rigorous educational experience possible. This is also different from many other study abroad programs in which the focus is more about “being abroad” as the educational experience than the courses themselves. Overall, I was impressed with the seriousness with which K College treat their education. They know it’s a privilege to go to such an exceptional place for school, and they work very hard. They truly have an eye for the long view; that is, they treat their education as transitional period that will take them to the next step in their lives. I have rarely seen a campus where the students treat their schooling with such adult, responsible seriousness, and I was really impressed. Of course, all this isn’t to say that the students don’t have a lot of fun—they definitely do. But they treat their time in college as the beginning of adulthood rather than a continuation of childhood. That’s not something you see everyday.

My visit was especially pleasant because of the nice little touches the admissions office offered me. They had a personalized itinerary printed for my visit, complete with my name and the people I’d meet with. They offered me a packet full of information for students from outside the state, and they even gave me a couple bottles of chilled “K Water” (just bottled water with a K College label) for my walk around the campus. Little touches can make a big difference, and I was really impressed.

My meeting with the admissions representative was great, and I got a lot of information about merit-based aid and recruiting of students from our area. Though most K College students hail from the Midwest, there are students from Texas on campus—in fact, they have students from 38 states and 12 countries. There are very generous scholarships available for good grades and decent (note: not astronomical) test scores, so K College could be a great choice for a reasonably priced and truly outstanding college experience.