oh depauw

Introduction
DePauw appeals to a very specific type of student, so the way to summarize my advice is: make sure that student is you before applying here. First step is to drive around Greencastle, the town we're in, to make sure you're okay with a relatively small and simple town...and one in which the college-to-town relationship is often very strained. DePauw is a little universe unto itself, and it's a rural one. So if you want to stay away from the troubles of rural life (think Appalachain Emergency) and rich preppy white kids, this is not the school for you. If you're any sort of urbanite, run screaming. However, if you like a small-town feel and don't mind the lack of diversity, welcome. You'll have a great four years here.

Campus Life and Social Life
DePauw has a great social scene, though it's solely structured around Frat/Sorority life. You can find a party at least five nights out of any given week, which is a pretty impressive number. As for other extracurriculars, sports are difficult to get involved in: if you expect to play, you should probably come to college equipped with significant experience playing in high school...and playing well. As for other organizations, DePauw has a wide variety of opportunities to meet peope who share your interests. Another trend on campus is the push to serve the community: many of the students are involved in charitable organizations and efforts in the area. Advertisement
Academics
The good news first: there are no TAs. However, having full professors as teachers doesn't guarantee quality. The spectrum is wide-ranging in terms of attentiveness and effectiveness of instruction...and the spectrum of difficulty ranges wildly too. I will say that if you're type-A and need an amazing GPA, you should expect to work your ass off, spending at least 50 hours a week doing homework. On the bright side, this is an indicator that there's almost no grade inflation here: A's are few and far between, so you have to work to take an honest shot of earning them...and have to learn not to be discouraged if you never see one.

Student Body
They typical DePauw student is upper-middle-class, wealthy, and white. To paint a picture, imagine him/her in a Lexus RX300, wearing Tiffany's to complement the LaCoste polo. Their parents probably met at DePauw twenty years ago. DePauw Geographically, the kids are primarily from Central Indiana, the Chicago area, and various Southern states. As such, they're probably hardcore about the Greek scene - and fiercely loyal to whatever organization they're a part of - and involved in at least one other club or activity outside it.

In Closing...
DePauw can be a great experience, but you do have to know how to adapt. Plenty of people don't figure that out and end up transferring, since they don't do the necessary legwork to figure out if this is the place for them...it's essentially a smaller-scale version of Vanderbilt. If that appeals to you, welcome to heaven. If not, you should walk away before someone gets hurt.