About Denison University

Founded in 1831, Denison University. is a Private college. Located in Ohio, which is a city setting in Ohio, the campus itself is Suburban. The campus is home to 2,277 full time undergraduate students, and 0 full time graduate students.

The Denison University Academic calendar runs on a Semester basis. In the school year the student to faculty ratio was 9:1. There are 245 full time instructional teachers. Degrees awarded at Denison University include: Bachelor's Degree, Masters Degree, Post-master's certificate, Doctor's degree.

Quick Facts

Acceptance Rate43%
Application Deadline15-Nov
Application Fee40
SAT Range1190-1380
ACT Range28-32

Admissions at are considered More Selective, with ,28% of all applicants being admitted.

In the school year, of the students who applied to the school, only 9 of those who were admitted eventually ended up enrolling.

100% of incoming freshmen are in the top half of their high school class. 88% were in the top quarter, and 49% were in the top tenth. You can apply online.

STUDENT LIFE Reviews

We asked, and students answered these important questions about student life at Denison University.

5%
“We”re apathetic”
14%
“We know about current events and vote”
75%
“We participate and encourage others to get involved”
6%
“There”s nothing we won”t protest”
2%
“We save it for the classroom”
17%
“Sometimes, but not often”
56%
“There”s usually intelligent conversation to be found”
25%
“All the time, including weekends”
3%
“I”m always terrified”
3%
“I only go out in groups”
16%
“I usually let someone know where I”m going”
78%
“I feel extremely safe”
48%
“We don”t play sports”
0%
“We play recreationally”
46%
“We bought the gear”
7%
“We live for the big game”
5%
“It”s not really our thing”
18%
“Occasinally we gallery crawl”
62%
“There are a variety of opportunities”
15%
“We”re a very artistic group”
0%
“Haven”t met them”
2%
“Available in class”
38%
“They keep regular office hours”
60%
“They”re always available”
0%
“No greek life, but other groups to join”
36%
“There is some involvement, but not a lot”
52%
“Plenty of people join a sorority or fraternity”
11%
“It”s everything. If you”re not greek, you”re a geek”
0%
“We”re not into drinking at all”
0%
“Maybe a little, but it”s not a big thing”
48%
“We only party on weekends”
52%
“There”s some drinking happening every night”
2%
“Never, we”re here to learn”
38%
“There might be people who do”
50%
“People are known to partake on weekends”
11%
“There”s a huge drug scene”
5%
“We”re apathetic”
14%
“We know about current events and vote”
75%
“We participate and encourage others to get involved”
6%
“There”s nothing we won”t protest”
2%
“We save it for the classroom”
17%
“Sometimes, but not often”
56%
“There”s usually intelligent conversation to be found”
25%
“All the time, including weekends”
3%
“I”m always terrified”
3%
“I only go out in groups”
16%
“I usually let someone know where I”m going”
78%
“I feel extremely safe”
48%
“We don”t play sports”
0%
“We play recreationally”
46%
“We bought the gear”
7%
“We live for the big game”
5%
“It”s not really our thing”
18%
“Occasinally we gallery crawl”
62%
“There are a variety of opportunities”
15%
“We”re a very artistic group”
0%
“Haven”t met them”
2%
“Available in class”
38%
“They keep regular office hours”
60%
“They”re always available”
0%
“No greek life, but other groups to join”
36%
“There is some involvement, but not a lot”
52%
“Plenty of people join a sorority or fraternity”
11%
“It”s everything. If you”re not greek, you”re a geek”
0%
“We”re not into drinking at all”
0%
“Maybe a little, but it”s not a big thing”
48%
“We only party on weekends”
52%
“There”s some drinking happening every night”
2%
“Never, we”re here to learn”
38%
“There might be people who do”
50%
“People are known to partake on weekends”
11%
“There”s a huge drug scene”
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  • How would you rate on-campus housing?

    58 Students rated on-campus housing 3.7 stars. 12 % gave the school a 5.0.

  • How would you rate off-campus housing?

    23 Students rated off-campus housing 1.9 stars. 0 % gave the school a 5.0.

  • How would you rate campus food?

    60 Students rated campus food 2.7 stars. 3 % gave the school a 5.0.

  • How would you rate campus facilities?

    60 Students rated campus facilities 4.4 stars. 52 % gave the school a 5.0.

  • How would you rate class size?

    60 Students rated class size 4.7 stars. 70 % gave the school a 5.0.

  • How would you rate school activities?

    59 Students rated school activities 4.3 stars. 47 % gave the school a 5.0.

  • How would you rate local services?

    59 Students rated local services 3.9 stars. 37 % gave the school a 5.0.

  • How would you rate academics?

    60 Students rated academics 4.3 stars. 45 % gave the school a 5.0.

Denison University REVIEWS

What's your overall opinion of Denison University?

18 Students rated Denison University

Pratyush - 02/04/2023

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Ellen - 04/06/2022

I transferred from this school after two miserable years and ended up much happier at a state school. If you did not go to a boarding school or private school for high school, Denison is not for you. Denison is quite literally a glorified boarding school- you are stuck on the Hill with nowhere to go and live in crappy dorms all four years. The Brownstones are falling apart. There are two total bars in Granville- don't expect to go until you're an upperclassman. They're weirdly gatekept by all of the Greek members. There is nothing surrounding the school where you can escape. Greek life is everything, which I did not know before attending. I chose Denison after attending a highly regarded public high school coming from an extremely middle class family. I decided on Denison for the athletics (their lacrosse teams are good), but quickly realized all of my teammates cared more about Greek life than competing or being a team. I have never seen more rampant hard drug use and binge drinking in my life. In the two years I attended, I had two separate acquaintances get arrested for drug related offenses by the Granville Police. One literally spent six months in county jail (I wish I was joking) and the other got a DUI. I genuinely liked the school until I decided not to rush for Greek life and I was immediately outcast. Everything on campus revolves around Greek life. I will say the academics were outstanding and class sizes were very small, but this depends on your major and course selection. My advice? Go literally anywhere else.

Margo - 08/25/2021

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Daisy - 06/27/2020

As a Mexican- American coming from a diverse environment, Denison is definitely a culture shock. It saddens me to say that the social life at Dension is very cliquey and if you don't have a group, expect to feel completely lonely. Many people join sororities and fraternities in hopes to find a group to "belong to" because it is very hard to find new friends aside from the ones you already met at freshmen orientation. Additionally, everyone seems to be in a group of friends of primarily their race only. You will find international students with the internationals, the Hispanics with the Hispanics and so on and so forth. Unless you are white or a social butterfly, don't expect to get close to that many people. The party scene is a little odd considering every race have their own individual parties and the atmosphere in each one is very different. Nevertheless, people are pretty nice on superficial levels and you would hardly encounter anyone rude or mean. Finding places to hang out is almost impossible considering the campus is small and the only real hang-out place is the food are Slayter, The library is small, and you never really find an individual study area during finals week. Honestly, this school sucks, so if you have the option of going somewhere bigger and better.. DO IT. The only good thing is that Denison is pretty affordable and the small size of it helps you connect more with faculty.

Denison University FAQS

  1. What is the Acceptance Rate at Denison University?

    The fall 2020 acceptance rate for Denison University is 43%. That means, out of _____ applications received in 2020 , _____ students were offered admission. The number of males who applied was _____ vs the number of females which was _____.

  2. What should every freshman at your school know before they start?

    I would encourage myself to truly consider the location of the school and the liberal arts atmosphere more. I feel as, though I have assimilated well on campus, I may have grown more and defined myself as an individual more on a larger campus that could have offered me more diversity than my present school does. The main point I would stress to myself in high school would be: DO NOT BE AFRAID TO BREAK OUT OF YOUR BUBBLE! I would also avise myself that not every hiccup along the way is bad- it truly defines who you will become.

    Read all 56 answers

  3. Describe the students at your school.

    Denison students are dedicated to education, and dedicated to building lasting relationships with each other and the school.

    Read all 55 answers

  4. What is the stereotype of students at your school?

    Rich, snobby, good school, party school

    Read all 48 answers

  5. What are the academics like at your school?

    I am a Psychology and Spanish double major. I've had some really interesting and challenging classes within and outside of my majors. The profs are for the most part wonderful. Most of them are very down to earth and personable. They're very accessible and invested in their students. I've only had a few professors I couldn't stand, but luckily there aren't many on campus. My only complaint is that some classes are hard to get into. Class sizes are kept small, so the popular classes fill up very quickly and freshman and sophomore year it is kind of difficult to get all the classes you want.

    Read all 48 answers

  6. What is your overall opinion of this school?

    The best thing about Denison is our sense of community. It's a small school, approximately 2,100 students and completely residential. Everyone is on campus all the time and there is a lot of interaction between students. On the way to class you'll always see people you know. The town of Granville is quaint, but not very active. There are two bars and a really good frozen custard place, but not much else. Even though there is not much to do in town there is always lots going on on campus and Columbus isn't far away either.

    Read all 47 answers

  7. What are the most popular student activities/groups?

    Denison does a wonderful job of organizing activities and events on campus. We are constantly having comedians, concerts, movies, plays and other social activities. We have several large concerts throughout the year and several campus wide events. There are trips to chicago, washinton d.c and philadelphia, sports games and broadway shows. Depending on where you live on campus, the social scene is more prominent. In some resident halls you'll find doors open until late at night and in other dorms doors will be closed an locked. People tend to stay up late during the week doing homework. It's not unusual to be up until 2 every night or pulling all nighters even in the middle of the semester. With so much to do on campus it is easy to procrastinate.

    Read all 47 answers

  8. Is the stereotype of students at your school accurate?

    No, there are lots of nice people on campus. I don't feel any pressure to look a certain way and something like 93{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of our student population receive some kind of financial assistance.

    Read all 47 answers

  9. Here's your chance: Say anything about your college!

    Denison had small classes and unique opportunities for service learning and work study within the community. At Denison I was able to do work study in the community at a local non-profit for at-risk adolescents instead of working in an administration office or library at the school. I appreciated the opportunity to make a difference in the community while paying for my education.

    Read all 26 answers

  10. What do you consider the worst thing about your school? Why?

    There is no real "off-campus" since we are located in a small city town in rural Ohio.

    Read all 16 answers

  11. What's the most frustrating thing about your school?

    The most frustrating thing about my school is that Greek life was such a predominate aspect of many students social life. I personally did not join a sorority and often got frustrated at the difficulty I had in making friends. It seemed that the sororities created cliques in the school and it often felt like the 13th grade of high school. Eventually I found a group of friends who were not associated with a sorority or fraternity. However, not being a part of Greek life seemed to be looked down upon by many students in the school.

    Read all 14 answers

  12. What kind of person should attend this school?

    I believe someone who is extremely focused upon succeeding and being a part of a small, hands-on community. They should want a classroom atmosphere that places emphasis upon class discussion and heavy involvement, as well as establishing close relationships with professors. Our school really isn't existential, it is very grounded and fundamentalist. They should also be prepared to be encouraged to take many different types of courses- not just the area of study they want to make a career out of. Additionally, they should also want to get involved outside the classroom.

    Read all 10 answers

  13. What's unique about your campus?

    The amount of clubs and organizations that students can take part in. There is a wide variety whereas everybody can find an extracurricular activity and a group to feel comfortable in.

    Read all 9 answers

  14. What kind of person should not attend this school?

    Someone who is driven and willing to learn and accept different ideas and viewpoints. Be able to make your own fun because there is not a lot to do around town.

    Read all 8 answers

  15. What do you brag about most when you tell your friends about your school?

    It's good reputation and high caliber students both socially and academically. The professors are excellent, they are experienced and among the best in their fields and capable professors as well.

    Read all 8 answers

  16. What's the one thing you wish someone had told you about freshman year?

    how awesome it is

    Read all 7 answers

  17. Describe how your school looks to someone who's never seen it.

    Denison is a university where students fluorish from learning a diverse group of concepts and ideas both from their courses and from one another.

    Read all 6 answers

  18. Describe your favorite campus traditions.

    Academics, Fraternity, Community

    Read all 6 answers

  19. What are your classes like?

    Dick Lucier, emeritus economics prof of Denison University, on why good teaching is difficult and valuable

    Read all 1 answers

Student Body

Students

55%

female

45%

male

2,277

Total Undergrad Enrollment

N/A

Total Grad Students

69%

Out-Of-State

22%

In-State

9%

International

Organizations

180

Student Organizations

10

Fraternities

8

Sororities

Housing

Yes

On-Campus Housing

97%

of students living on campus

Student Diversity

% American Indian/Alaskan Native
N/A
% Asian/Pacific Islander
4%
% Black or African-American
7%
% Hispanic/Latino
9%
% White or Caucasian
66%

TUITION & AID

All students must apply yearly for financial aid. This process starts with the FAFSA. Though financial aid deadlines vary by school, it is a good idea to apply as soon as possible. For the upcoming school year, you can apply as early as October 1 for the FAFSA. Additional school aid will be dependent on the FAFSA results.

98% of students attending Denison University receive some sort of financial aid. 21% were awarded federal grants. While 57% received federal loans. Many students do also need to apply for additional private student loans.

Cost Out of State

$48,960

Tuition and fees(Out of state)

$1,000

Books and Supplies

$11,970

Room and Board

61,930

Total On Campus

Actual Cost By Income Level(W/Financial Aid)

Family Income
Cost
$0 - $30K
$12,098
$30 - $48K
$15,333
$48 - $75K
$24,233
$75 - $110K
$28,187
$110K & UP
$35,264

We use student reviews and the most current publicly available data on our school pages. As such, we don't typically remove or edit college information. Sources for school statistics and data include the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics and the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. Portions of college data include copyrighted material, which is reproduced on this website by permission of Wintergreen Orchard House, a division of Carnegie Communications. © 2009-2016 by Wintergreen Orchard House. All rights reserved.

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