Lake Forest, IL: Lake Forest, a liberal-arts college, has a beautiful campus, wonderful teachers who provide a rigorous curriculum and the exceptional city of Chicago as an educational resource.

Lake Forest ranks 105th in U.S. News and World Report’s America’s Best Liberal Arts Colleges. Ninety-eight percent of its faculty have Ph.D’s and the student-to-faculty ratio is 12:1. Professors teach all classes and provide academic advising.

The strengths of Lake Forest are its small classes and the personal attention students receive from professors. You have the opportunity to be an individual and not just a number, as you would be at many universities.

Also, the location is superb. Lake Forest is 30 miles north of Chicago and the campus, right on Lake Michigan, is within walking distance to the train station. A lot of the faculty base their curriculum around Chicago’s resources. According to their website, Lake Forest prides itself on diversity; students come from 47 states and 47 countries.

The school’s weaknesses are few and far between. The only one I could find is that it’s not a party school that many think college life will be. I personally think it’s one of the better colleges in Illinois.

I recommend Lake Forest to those who are looking to broaden their minds and meet interesting people. It’s not for people who would rather party than work. However, it can be a place to make the next four years of your life ones that you will enjoy in many ways. Their website is www.lfc.edu.



Reviewed in 2005