This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at DePauw chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.
While the majority of students at DePauw University are from Indiana or a neighboring state, people from all over the country (and world) travel thousands of miles to attend the small liberal arts college. Here I highlight a few students and ask them what it’s like to attend a college so far from home.
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Kaitlyn Malley: Scottsdale, Arizona
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How did you find DePauw?​ “My dad’s coworker’s daughter is an alumni. He mentioned it to us and we stopped by for a tour while we were in the Midwest and I fell in love with the campus in October.”
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What’s the biggest difference between your hometown and Indiana?​ “The weather is definitely different; it is still in the 100s back home. We visited for the first time in the fall, and the leaves were so different from anything in Arizona.”
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What’s your favorite thing about the Midwest?​ “I actually really love the weather so far… but we will see how long that lasts.”
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Biggest transition or challenge? ​“I came to DePauw not knowing a single person and it was really just a leap of faith, but I’m so glad I took it! It’s hard with all my family and friends back home, but I’ve already met so many great people, it’s made it so much easier.”
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Hannah Houpt: Charlottesville, Virginia
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How did you find DePauw? ​“I actually found it by accident. I visited 17 schools up and down the East Coast. Then the summer before my senior year, we came back to Chicago, because that is where my brother and I were born and while my brothers and dad were at a Cubs game, my mom and I randomly decided to visited DePauw, so I crashed a prospective football student tour and ended up loving DePauw and came back for Fall Friday.”
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What’s the biggest difference between your hometown and Indiana? “​The biggest difference is that here everyone is super friendly. I am not used to strangers saying hi to me.”
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What’s your favorite thing about the Midwest?​ “Well, my favorite thing about Greencastle is Dairy Castle…I have a half gallon of cookies and cream to last me to February 15th.”
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Biggest transition or challenge?​ “It was hard coming to such a small town and leaving everything that was familiar to me, but I have transitioned pretty well.”
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Josh Krutchik: Los Angeles, California
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How did you find DePauw?​ “I got an email from the golf coach two years ago and the more I looked at the school, the more I liked it.”
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What’s the biggest difference between your hometown and Indiana? “​Probably just the size. LA is this massive city that has beaches, skyscrapers, and so much stuff to do and Greencastle has a Walmart.”
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What’s your favorite thing about the Midwest? ​”It’s more laid back here; life is more slow paced and the people are nicer.”
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Biggest transition or challenge? “​Probably just talking to all my friends and family back home, because they are three hours behind me so finding a good time to talk is challenging”
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