Academics
With fewer than 1,000 undergraduates, Lake Erie College truly is "a small, close knit college where every one is known individually and not just by student ID numbers." Lake Erie College understandably "prides itself on the individual attention students get in all aspects of student life," an attribute many students identify as the school's greatest strength. The school is best known for an "outstanding equestrian program" that provides "a great hands-on approach to the coursework that is both practical and intellectually challenging. Our riding teams are nationally ranked and students have fun at the barn." But students insist that the program is hardly the only game in town; on the contrary, "The school is becoming way more educationally diverse and pretty soon equine will not even be the most popular major." Education, the social sciences, psychology, and business studies are among the most popular alternatives to equine studies. Throughout the school, "Professors are excited about the subjects that they teach and about helping students" and "are easy to approach when you do not understand a problem or have to miss a class." Similarly, administrators "are easy to approach and their office doors are open when they are there. They are eager to help students in any way they can."
Student Body
The typical Lake Erie College undergrad is female (although the school’s historically lopsided female-male ratio “is evening out in recent years with the addition of our football team”) who “balances studying, activities, sports, and friends pretty well.” Most “grew up in small towns or want to live in a rural setting” and “come from varying income brackets (because of the equine program).” Some feel that “the wealthy students tend to look down on the poor students” but others say that their classmates are “very friendly.”
Campus Life
Life on the Lake Erie College campus is subdued. Hometown Painesville “has nothing in it, no clubs, no good restaurants, and everything closes at 6 p.m.” Campus activities include “theatre productions…concerts and art activities.” Undergrads typically gravitate toward low-key diversion; “Most of the guys play-ping pong in the lounge or bet on televised sports games” while women “ride horses, read, listen to music, go on Facebook, and hang out with friends.” There is a party scene “in the dorms and in the nearby apartments,” but “it’s not out of control or anything too crazy,” in part because the already small student body is reduced further by the fact that “most people abandon campus for the weekend and [the campus] essentially turns into a ghost town. Midnight Taco Bell runs are very popular, though.” Cleveland is about 30 minutes away, and “student groups offer trips” for those yearning for a destination more exotic than Taco Bell.
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