Earlham College, (A College That Changes Lives) located in Richmond, Indiana a town of about 37,000 people, is just over the Ohio border. It was opened in 1847 by the Great Migration of the Society of Friends primarily coming from North Carolina in the 1820s who found themselves uncomfortable living in areas where owning slaves was part of the economy. In 1859 they added a second collegiate department and renamed the school Earlham. It is the second oldest Quaker college in the world and the first co-educational one.
Over the years, Earlham has grown with the times, but they have no let go of certain principles. For the Society of Friends, one of the basic beliefs is that all truth is God’s truth. This means their mission is as follows: Earlham emphasizes:
All of this makes Earlham a completely different kind of place than most of your run of the mill Liberal Arts Colleges. So for a minute or so, let’s set aside the fact that they have top notch academics.
Those principles are not beliefs. They are actions. And there at Earlham each one of those, each day, and in every way, is something the whole of this very diverse group of people is working on to make happen academically, socially, within their college community, locally in Richmond, and in the broader world. So if you are someone who wants to go to college and enter a bubble, Earlham is going to take a pin and pop it. You are one of them now.
There are multiple ways that they do this and because of the amazing ways they approach everything, it makes your education a whole lot better. First off, the First Year Experience Program interweaves your Residence Life activities and your academic ones together to help you create a rich community experience and integrate you into the Earlham community as a whole. There are four growth areas that you’ll work on in this program which include interpersonal and intrapersonal skills, college success skills, and community building skills.
There are also Living-Learning Communities as well. Places like Cooperative Farming/Sustainable Agriculture House, or Literary Studies House, Spanish and Latin American Studies, or Environmental Studies House all are home to groups of people with shared interests academically but socially as well. Learning and academics are alive at Earlham. Students here are curious and inquiry does not stop at the classroom doorstep.
Academically, Earlham is excellent. They have some really stand out programs in certain fields in particular including Contemplative Studies, Law and Social Justice, Medical Humanities, Visual and Performing Arts, Biology and Biochemistry, and Peace Corps Prep. Their Integrated Programs in particular are cutting edge (Medical Humanities for example).
So what is it like outside the classroom and the dorms? Well it’s pretty cool actually. Folks in student government might find themselves on a committee with faculty and in charge of a major project (oh, yeah, that’s also a Quaker thing, everyone being totally equal). A lot of students study abroad because of the global perspectives of the school and the number of international students who go there. There are a ton of clubs, everything from service to politics, cultural to sports. Join the Asian Student Union, or submit your poetry to The Crucible, get involved at the Rose City Coffee Co-Op or join Gamers United, continue with Model UN, or hang out at the Interfaith House. Join the theater, play kickball or quidditch, cheer on Men’s and Women’s soccer or basketball, run track, play tennis, enjoy a football game. With such a close community, everything is more fun here.
Is Earlham for you? It’s not really a traditional college even if it does have football and a super strong biological sciences program (Earlham is in the top 10 of schools where its students go on to do PhDs in the biological sciences). But if you are looking to have a truly incredible experience where you learn with others, grow with them, explore the world, explore yourself, search for meaning, find the truth, you should go here. Maybe we all should.
Pros:
Cons:
Over the years, Earlham has grown with the times, but they have no let go of certain principles. For the Society of Friends, one of the basic beliefs is that all truth is God’s truth. This means their mission is as follows: Earlham emphasizes:
- The pursuit of truth, wherever that pursuit leads
- Lack of coercion
- Letting the evidence lead that search
- Respect for the consciences of others
- Openness to new truth and therefore the willingness to search
- Veracity
- Rigorous integrity in dealing with the facts
- Application of what is known to improving our world
- Respect for all persons
- Integrity
- Peace and Justice
- Community
- Simplicity
All of this makes Earlham a completely different kind of place than most of your run of the mill Liberal Arts Colleges. So for a minute or so, let’s set aside the fact that they have top notch academics.
Those principles are not beliefs. They are actions. And there at Earlham each one of those, each day, and in every way, is something the whole of this very diverse group of people is working on to make happen academically, socially, within their college community, locally in Richmond, and in the broader world. So if you are someone who wants to go to college and enter a bubble, Earlham is going to take a pin and pop it. You are one of them now.
There are multiple ways that they do this and because of the amazing ways they approach everything, it makes your education a whole lot better. First off, the First Year Experience Program interweaves your Residence Life activities and your academic ones together to help you create a rich community experience and integrate you into the Earlham community as a whole. There are four growth areas that you’ll work on in this program which include interpersonal and intrapersonal skills, college success skills, and community building skills.
There are also Living-Learning Communities as well. Places like Cooperative Farming/Sustainable Agriculture House, or Literary Studies House, Spanish and Latin American Studies, or Environmental Studies House all are home to groups of people with shared interests academically but socially as well. Learning and academics are alive at Earlham. Students here are curious and inquiry does not stop at the classroom doorstep.
Academically, Earlham is excellent. They have some really stand out programs in certain fields in particular including Contemplative Studies, Law and Social Justice, Medical Humanities, Visual and Performing Arts, Biology and Biochemistry, and Peace Corps Prep. Their Integrated Programs in particular are cutting edge (Medical Humanities for example).
So what is it like outside the classroom and the dorms? Well it’s pretty cool actually. Folks in student government might find themselves on a committee with faculty and in charge of a major project (oh, yeah, that’s also a Quaker thing, everyone being totally equal). A lot of students study abroad because of the global perspectives of the school and the number of international students who go there. There are a ton of clubs, everything from service to politics, cultural to sports. Join the Asian Student Union, or submit your poetry to The Crucible, get involved at the Rose City Coffee Co-Op or join Gamers United, continue with Model UN, or hang out at the Interfaith House. Join the theater, play kickball or quidditch, cheer on Men’s and Women’s soccer or basketball, run track, play tennis, enjoy a football game. With such a close community, everything is more fun here.
Is Earlham for you? It’s not really a traditional college even if it does have football and a super strong biological sciences program (Earlham is in the top 10 of schools where its students go on to do PhDs in the biological sciences). But if you are looking to have a truly incredible experience where you learn with others, grow with them, explore the world, explore yourself, search for meaning, find the truth, you should go here. Maybe we all should.
Pros:
- Brand new $30 Million state of the art science facilities
- Extraordinary personal growth experiences here
- 89% Med school acceptance
- Students who go here become people whose lives are changed
- Regular admit rate is 58%, Early decision admit rate is 73%
Cons:
- Small: 1100 students
- In a pretty isolated part of Indiana (Dayton, OH is closest city probably)
- You have to be down with the idea of community and listening to other people
- You have to be a pretty confident person and able to get along with others