Augsburg College

[koopie57]

Has anyone gone to Augsburg College or is familiar with it? My daughter is seriously thinking about transfering there.

[JabbatheHutt]

1. Well, it's a nice college..

from a viewpoint.. right near UMN.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

4. Hi, Jabba

Welcome to DU!

[JabbatheHutt]

6. Thanks for the warm welcome.

As I mentioned before, I was a recovering addict and my stay was at the Fairview Hospital for 28 days, so I got to see the view of Augsburg College often.

[Hardrada]

2. I dated a girl from there once

Long ago when I was in school in St. Paul. She was cute and very intelligent. Smart kids there and a good choir I believe.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

3. I'm an alumna from more years ago than I care to remember

but I still get the alumni magazine, and I remain proud of the college's tradition of social activism.

> They were handicapped accessible before it was required.
> They have had special outreach programs for each new ethnic group that has moved to the Twin Cities
> They sponsor the Center for Global Education, which takes students and the general public on study tours of Third World countries
> They have just started a charter school in St. Paul to prepare students from under-represented groups for careers in the health professions
> It was the local pioneer in the practice of holding college classes in prisons and other institutions

I went back as a part-time instructor about ten years after graduating, and just as during my student years, there was a real feeling of community among the faculty, and here's something that is highly unusual for a college setting, the faculty didn't put on airs and pretend that they were a better breed of human being than the clerical staff.

I was talking with two philosophy professors one snowy day when one of them looked outside and noticed that the new maintenance manager had asked one of the maintenance men to shovel the walks. The trouble was, this particular maintenance man had a heart condition and was also retarded. The other philosophy professor immediately phoned the maintenance manager and told him that this employee had a heart condition and being retarded, had probably not thought to explain the fact.

In retrospect, this episode epitomizes the Augsburg spirit for me. I never taught at another college where the faculty would know the names, much less the personal details, of the maintenance crew.

Other aspects of college life:

> It's part of the ACTC (Associated College of the Twin Cities), so if a course you want or need is not available at Augsburg, you can take it at one of the other colleges. There is a scheduled shuttle bus that runs among the campuses.

> The college was founded by Norwegian Lutherans, and the Norwegian heritage is still evident, but it's more in the aspect of a "flavoring" instead of a feeling of "anyone who isn't Norwegian is out of it." I think religion courses are still required, but you get to pick which ones you take, and it's academic study rather than indoctrination.

> The college is located within walking distance of the University of Minnesota and the Cedar-Riverside district. We used to use the U library all the time when the Augsburg library didn't have what we wanted.

> Two different bus lines to downtown Minneapolis run past the campus, and if you walk the three blocks to the U's West Bank campus, you can pick up the bus to downtown St. Paul.

I think it's a great place for someone who wants a small college atmosphere in an urban setting.

[Hardrada]

5. Luther College is like that too

Maybe still more Norse since not in a metropolitan setting. I shall have to google an Augsburg alumni guide to find out what happened to the Augsburg coeds of the later 1960's. You provided some quite good information. I was at the Luther Seminary and my wife was later in grad school at U of M and we both used the U of M library. (And the MPLS public library for research on my Skid Row book).

[Demrock6]

7. Im going to a friends grad party Saturday

She just finished up at Augsburg. Very good school. She is very happy with her education.

[angie1961]

8. augsburg

my sister was attacked on campus, and they did not offer much support. she transfered 6 months later.

[newyawker99]

9. Hi angie1961!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[RobbinsdaleDem]

10. My son attended Augsburg

It's a nice school. However, dorm rooms for freshman are very small, and parking is sometimes scarce, especially if attending events. Augsburg is close to downtown Mpls. and the UofM, and it's right on the bus line. Fairview University Medical Center (Riverside Campus)is right across the street. My son attended Augsburg for only two years, but he didn't leave because of the school. His girlfriend at the time graduated from Augsburg with a degree in music education. She is now teaching middle-school choir. She attended Luther her first year of college, and she transferred to Augsburg because she felt Luther was too isolated. She's a city girl. This was in the late '90s.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

11. Hi, RobbinsdaleDem and

welcome to DU!

:hi:

I lived in Robbinsdale for a couple of years in the 1980s.

[RobbinsdaleDem]

12. Thanks for the welcome!

[Worst Username Ever]

13. My stepsister went there.

It is OK, I guess. I'd prefer the U of MN, but then, I am biased. ;-)

[Lydia Leftcoast]

14. I've attended both, and it depends on what you're looking for

At the U, you can study almost any subject you can imagine, and there is tremendous diversity.

On the other hand, it is anonymous and bureaucratic, with a majority of commuters,and you may end up taking many of your freshman and sophomore classes in huge lecture halls. My medieval history class had 450 students, and beginning psych was held in Northrop Auditorium.

Augsburg offers all the standard majors, and while it is more diverse than it once was, it still has a definite Norwegian Lutheran identity.

On the other hand, it is small enough that you can always tell who the freshmen are each year: they're the people you haven't seen before. The largest class I ever had had 80 students, and you can really get to know your major professors.

[Worst Username Ever]

15. I'll correct you on one thing

The majority of students (82%) live on campus, they don't commute. But yes, the U has large lectures (split into smaller 30-person labs or recitations).


http://www1.umn.edu/umnnews/Feature_Stories/Record_number_of_freshmen_living_on_campus.html