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Does anyone know about Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa? It doesn't get much outside press, and its own admissions propaganda comes off as down-to-earth in a rather lighthearted spirit. (Aha: Here we have a school that doesn't take itself too seriously, for once.)

By Sallymadison (Sallymadison) on Wednesday, March 17, 2004 - 02:46 am: Edit

My daughter and I went to Coe during Iowa Private College Week last summer only because my "boss" went there and thought my daughter should look at it. What a terrific experience. We were late because we missed a turnoff, but the admissions receptionist greeted us by name when we walked in, used the walkie-talkie to hail an admissions counselor to guide us to an on-going campus tour, introduced to the "talking" guide and the other student who followed at the back of the group to answer questions or clarify as we were viewing the campus and half-way through the tour on a hot August day, they treated us to creamsicles, with a large grill offering either hamburgers or chicken breasts for lunchtime sandwiches indoors where faculty and staff and coaches were mingling with the many family visitors.

After we left Coe, we drove another hour, approximately, to Grinnell. Again, we were late by about a half hour. There, we climbed up to the Admissions receptionist, who told us, "Oh, there's a couple of tours out there -- you can join one when you find it." The guide was a student who did NOT know how to project, did not acknowledge our joining the group, or do anything other than mumble. Another student, barefoot, was giving tour and we joined her group because she was civil and as a theatre/drama major, had mastered projecting her voice to a group. The tours were quite a contrast which showed Coe in a much better light than Grinnell (to be fair, gave us ice cream cookie sandwiches at the end of their tour).

We have visited Coe again twice, once for their scholarship competition day and again for an overnight and day of classes and meetings, and can only say wonderful things about the school. As a less-competitive school than the top LACs, it offers a very generous financial package that can be viewed on their website, and is not as expensive as the "name-brand" schools. My boss who graduated from there Phi Beta Kappa went on to Boston College's Marine Biology program at Wood's Hole and got a master's from there. Despite my daughter's desire to get into some of the famous schools, both my husband and I agree she could grow a good deal from a few years there. In addition, I see from my boss's relationship with the school that the alumni remain active and enjoy maintaining their ties to other Coe graduates and their families. Also, as a rolling admission school, you get to find out early. On April 3rd, we are returning to Cedar Rapids for Coe's Scholarship Recognition Ceremony, and are looking forward to it. They welcome international students, and have on-going exchange programs with some overseas universities. It is a school with a wide range of students, despite its small size and significant midwestern population. After my daughter went through the French competition, she was sent a lovely letter in French from the professor who conducted the interview thanking her for taking the time to visit Cedar Rapids, and also sent an email by an English professor who had been contacted by the French professor because of my daughter's interest in majoring in English. The English professor sent her an email about her specialization and classes that she teaches, and how she conducts them, and we also as nice as could be. If Coe were on a coast, it would not be as unknown.

Coe is great, and I recommend it to your closer examination.

By College_Crazed (College_Crazed) on Tuesday, March 30, 2004 - 04:46 pm: Edit

I'd like to add a few more positive comments about Coe.

My D is a senior and down to selecting a college to attend next Fall. Coe is on her "final" list of three schools. She began looking at Coe over a year ago, after reading about it in the Princeton guide. She and her mom visited in April of '03. She applied in Fall of '03, was accepted, and visited again in January '04 by herself to participate in the college's fine arts scholarship competition.

My D has applied to six colleges in total. Of all the admissions offices and officers we have encountered, Coe has been the most outstanding, by far, for the following reasons –

- They offer rolling admissions, so there is no waiting game.
- They check in often to assist with the process.
- They are completely transparent about their merit-based and talent-based financial aid process.
- They respond quickly to requests for information.
- They express a sincere interest in knowing the applicant.
- Their students call often and offer friendly, honest advice about the college.

Of all the colleges our family visited during "the search" (Occidental, Claremont Colleges, Whitman, Chapman, Hamline, Macalaester, Austin College, Southwestern University, Northwestern), Coe was the most genuinely friendly and helpful.

I don't know exactly where my D will go to college, but our impression is that Coe is a very good liberal arts college that seems to be a little "under the radar." When I went looking for information about it on this list a year ago, I couldn't find any.

To contrast Coe to another school, which I will call school X (a slightly more "prestigious" school), I'd like to share the following story. My D competed at both schools for music and drama scholarships. Within three weeks of the competition, Coe sent separate drama and music department letters thanking her and informing her of the results. Following the school X competition, my D has waited six weeks for a response, but hasn't heard anything, although she has received an overall financial aid letter. Over this last weekend, D received a garbled email from the head of the school X music department describing a mix up that has resulted in scholarships being prematurely awarded, even though the school has not communicated with us. I expect we will be well into April before school X can straighten out the mess.

As most of us know, the college hunt is an inscrutable and confusing process. It has been refreshingly different to work with Coe.

I would say more about the characteristics of the Coe campus and Cedar Rapids, but I haven't yet visited. My spouse and D are enthusisastic.

From a customer service perspective, compared to other colleges, Coe gets my highest rating. I highly recommend you look at it if you're interested in a small liberal arts college.

By Czyrda (Czyrda) on Monday, July 19, 2004 - 07:31 pm: Edit