Looking Back on Why I chose SLU Over Other Majority White Liberal Arts Colleges

When I was sitting down four years ago, deciding between St. Lawrence, Colby, Hobart, Hamilton, Union, or Colgate, I thought to myself: what do I really want in a school? How do I want my four years to play out? Well, four years later, I am here to tell my story. My name is Andrew Watson, and this is why I chose SLU.

Growing up in southern Connecticut, I came from a less than diverse background. So when I was looking at schools, I really wanted a chance to be among a more ethnically and racially diverse population. I wanted a chance to meet new and exciting people who came from backgrounds different than my own! Then again, I did not want too much diversity, lest I feel like the odd one out. I set my target at going to a school with no more than 80% white students. There, gleaming on my screen, was my answer. St. Lawrence’s student population is 79.3% white! It was like home was calling. I knew where I belonged.

That same night, I was also thinking about economic diversity. My home state did not offer me much opportunity to meet anyone outside my social class. I mean, there was that one time I made eye contact with the landscaping guys, but we did not talk or anything. When I saw that St. Lawrence was within the rural town of Canton, I saw an opening. After all, being in such close proximity to the town must mean SLU has a strong, healthy connection to the community, right? I wanted to mingle with the “common folk,” as my grandfather, T. Boone Pickens, once said.

Four years ago, I had one last requirement for the school I wanted to attend. And boy, St. Lawrence has it in spades. I needed to be able to tell everyone back home that I was truly getting a value education – that is, I felt like every last dollar of my tuition was being spent in the best possible way. When I saw SLU’s price tag, 67,000 dollars, I admit I was skeptical. But when I learned that each swivel chair we buy for classrooms costs hundreds of dollars but we can’t afford to divest from fossil fuels, I knew I was home.