Had the pleasure of visiting here while performing my work related duties. A huge thank you to Kai Swanson. What a wonderfully nice man. Cafeteria left nothing to the imagination. Every possible food item you could want Great learning atmosphere. I wish I was college age just so I could attend this amazing learning institution Thanks for the great tour and lunch read more

This college looks impressive on paper and during campus tours, which is exactly why my child chose to attend. Unfortunately, the reality was very different and the decision turned out to be a major mistake. Students are treated more like high schoolers than college adults, with policies and oversight that feel controlling and out of step with what most families expect from a university. The most alarming issue, however, is how the school appears to handle rape and sexual assault. From what we witnessed, the system seems to protect perpetrators far more than it protects victims. Individuals accused of serious misconduct appear to face minimal consequences, while victims can feel ignored, blamed, or even vilified for speaking up. That kind of environment discourages reporting and raises serious concerns about student safety. Drugs and alcohol are also clearly present on campus, yet the systems meant to monitor and address these problems seem ineffective. We did ask questions about safety and student well-being before enrolling and, unfortunately, believed the reassurances we were given. In hindsight, the reality did not match the rhetoric. Overall, the college does a very good job marketing itself and creating a positive first impression. Unfortunately, our experience suggests that the reality behind the brochures is far less reassuring. Families considering this school should ask difficult questions about student safety, accountability, and how serious incidents are actually handled. read more

Excellent college! Wonderful people! I received a fabulous education!

Augustana College is on a beautiful and high tech campus. Roll a ball and it will roll downhill to the Mississippi River. Rock Island Downtown is nothing to write home about but it is trying and has a great opportunity to invest in real estate. The area around the school is quaint and mostly blue collar, where Moline is mostly white collar. You'll find great pizza close to school. Most of the dorms have been renovated and a new building has gone up every year for at least the past 4 years. The school was wonderful during the pandemic. How can one Not get an education with a class size of 20 students taught by real professors and not grad students? My child has enjoyed everything Auggie has to offer: Clubs, dorms, work, sports and classes. Travel to Rock Island is easy. Fly into Quad Cities airport and drive 10 minutes on a traffic free ride to Augustana. It's a pretty and simple drive. We stay at the Holiday Inn Express in Moline which has free shuttle service-across the airport parking lot- safe & clean. Gerber Center is the hub of the college- library, dining hall (yummy food), & meeting spaces. The campus is lush & green during Spring & Summer, beautiful colors in the Fall, especially by the slough. Sidewalks are cleared daily during winter. Augustana is situated in a park like setting and is kept up very well by the groundskeepers. New buildings for new majors are going up every year. As a parent, move in day for Freshmen was very well organized and very helpful. Coming from the West Coast our child chose this school which gave a very generous scholarship and we know that nothing within California would get us these class & graduation ratios. Our child wanted to experience true seasons, which they certainly have. I can't recommend Augustana College more! read more

This college is pathetic. My largest problems with this college are the lack of security, overbearing administrative rules, inadequate technology, and irresponsible students. Lets start with the technology. For a college that charges more than $40,000 a year, you would think that they would have decent internet. This is not the case. Need to ask a homework question online or look up a howto video on you tube? How about doing the research for your research paper? Not possible. The internet is slower than dial up, and that is being nice. Sometimes you will wait as long as 1-2 minutes for a webpage to load, if it will even load. This makes it impossible to do your research papers and impossible to look up how to videos for calculus, chemistry, or any other subject. I was even going to buy my own mobile broadband device because of how impossible it is to use modern-day tools for school, but that's strictly forbidden. My second issue with this school is that despite providing inadequate tools for learning (I.e. nonexistent internet), they force you to live on campus. Effectively, they force you to live in an environment where you have no ability to use the internet, where you have to walk 10 minutes just to get food, and where you have one dirty and outdated bathroom per a floor. As for the dorms themselves? I've seen documentaries on correctional facilities that look nicer than what this place offers - oh, and with roomer cells too. My last problem with this school is their lack of security. Augustana is in a bad part of town. This is why they explicitly tell prospective students how to get there - so they can send you on the *one* path that doesn't show how bad of an area Augustana really resides in. Now, you would think that a college in a bad area would have decent security. There are no cameras, and the grounds are not well lit at night. RAs only patrol the dorms the first half of the night and there is only someone to check people in during the evening. They can't even figure out who broke a fountain and caused so much water damage this year, so they are passing the cost onto everyone living in the dorms. I'd like to think that if there where cameras and there where sweeps of the dorms every 2 hours round the clock, this wouldn't have happened. Yes, this college has a beautiful campus, and yes, there is a lot of student involvement. Sadly, the student involvement also extends to binge drinking and fraternities, as well as an a collection of smokers at the building entrances - as in, right next to the doors. The lobby's smell like cigarettes when this happens, and campus security is doing nothing to enforce the Illinois law that clearly makes it illegal to smoke within 15 feet of a building entrance. If you want to drink, party, have hit-and-miss teachers, a beautiful campus and a college that everyone *thinks* is prestigious, this is the place for you. If you want a calm environment where you will actually learn a thing or two, go to Loyola or something. read more

My experience with the school is different than most. I first visited in the late 90s, when I was giving talks about global warming. Yes, the campus +is+ beautiful. Seeing is believing. Also, the whole cultural atmosphere is about encouragement and friendliness. Two profs took me out for coffee, and I kept thinking, "If we had had a school like this in my village, I wouldn't have dropped out. My professor back then mostly spent time having me bring him coffee and proving to me--using graphs-- how unintelligent I was." These profs cared so much about their students--in a way similar to the way I care about animals, or the environment: passionately and as an advocate. Recently I visited again because I lost a bet to my third-eldest stepson, and now I have to pay for two years of college. Wow! It's even better now... More beautiful and full of excited students and supportive faculty. read more

Awesome education, devoted teachers and great food! Our grandson will be attending starting this year and we are so proud and excited for this opportunity and his future! read more

I recently graduated from Augustana, and I love the place. The education they provide is top notch with faculty who care about their students and the world they will be apart of once they leave. The focus at the school is on the improvement of yourselves and the world as a whole, and I give props to their effectiveness on making people socially aware and helping college students mature and realize their unintentional impact on the world and the possibility of making a solid, positive, intentional impact as well. The area it is placed in is not the best, but there are positives whether you get involved with that community or not. The area surrounding Augustana may be low income, but it is not as dangerous as people may expect. Any possible dangers are warded off by the Augie Bubble (security may seem non-existent, but the campus is constantly at a safe level), and if you choose to engage with the community around you, the experience is a life-changing one. You are exposed to poverty and the possibilities of changing it. There are countless non-profit organizations in the area that are doing a wonderful job at helping out in many aspects of the community. You are also exposed to the stereotypes you once placed on areas of poverty, and maybe the people that inhabit them, that you realize are not always true (hence the reason it's a stereotype). The area is full of culture if you get a chance to get out in the area, and Augustana itself keeps the campus full of fun activities and events that you can enjoy whether you drink or not. On top of all that, there is a plethora of opportunities to get involved in clubs and organizations, on the Augustana campus and off of it. There is an organization on campus called CORE that is extremely helpful in helping students develop their interests to find out what they would like to do in the future and also in getting internships and practical experience to really hone those uncertainties to a solid no or yes. So overall, yes the campus is beautiful, but the education is pristine, the experience is unforgettable, and opportunity is abounding. read more

Augustana has such a gorgeous campus and is just small enough that you can fairly easily cover all of it on foot, but it's large enough to keep it interesting. Same for the amount of students (roughly 2300 students these days) - just enough that you almost feel like you know everyone in your graduating class, but there's always a few you haven't yet met. Overall, the class sizes were very reasonable (currently stated student-to-faculty ratio is 13-to-one) with some of the "big" 100 level classes being maybe 40-50 students back when I was there, to as small as about 3 students in the advanced Japanese classes back when it was fairly new - average was probably roughly 20 students or so. I had some really great professors who I still remember fondly and who really taught me plenty (not even always just about the topic at hand), and I had only two professors that I thought not very good at conveying the information to their students - I had a lot of professors (even if they were incredibly intelligent), so that's really not bad at all. A lot of people in the Midwest have heard of Augustana and tend to think of it as a "good" school, so the reputation can be kind of nice when you add it to your resume. If you move too far away from the Midwest, however, most have never heard of it, so that's something to consider. The Quad Cities itself has a little bit of everything, so if you have a car, there is much to enjoy in the area, and with just a few hours driving you can be in Chicago or St Louis if you are really looking to get away. The less than 5 stars isn't really Augie's fault entirely, but both are the reasons why if I had it all to do over again, as much as I *loved* it while I was there, I don't know that I'd recommend it to someone now because of the following: Reason number one is cost - for a private liberal arts school, I suppose it's in line with what's typical, but your education really does not have to cost that much. Sure, smaller class sizes were great and having that "connection" with some of the professors instead of being just a number or not getting to actually speak to the professors was nice. If money is no object, this is a great place to be. If money is not free flowing in steady supply, you have to consider whether it's really worth it. On Augie's website it says that 95% of students get financial aid, so depending on the package they can offer, if you will owe no more than going to Augie than a cheaper school, then it might be worth it that way, but might not be if you are going to add years to your student loan payments. In the end, you get your degree no matter how many people were in your graduating class or how well you got to know your professors. The only other thing I did not love about Augustana (and this may have changed) was that I did not feel prepared to really go forth into the world and get a real job because I had this "liberal arts" degree in some ridiculous majors that were very interesting to study but not very useful when it turns out that you need to actually work for a living after college. Yes, it's my fault for not doing better research. Yes, I chose my majors and was enough adult when I did so that it was my choice and responsibility. Yes, they had a career center available, and I think I knew vaguely where it was. I accept this all. I do think, though, that with tuition at that cost, more could be done to really help students understand more about their choices in college as they relate to the "real world." It did not occur to me that people with my majors (I had 2, plus a minor) will likely not find actual employment in those areas that seem so interesting when you are 20-ish. Sure, I might not have listened, but having to sit down and have that conversation a couple times a year as to where I'm headed after college couldn't have hurt and is something I'd hope students today receive. So, overall, for the type of school it is, Augustana is one of the best. Just bring a big checkbook or a smart plan to make it more affordable than it is and focus that generic liberal arts degree into something that's actually practical (especially if you are going to be trying to pay back student loans). read more

There are many reasons I left this school when I did. Was promised money, but never saw a dime.

Great education, great teaching staff, good food. Very good social environment. All around great place to be.

Hopefully Augustana has changed since I went there. It always made itself out to be a "selective" liberal arts college, but it's anything but that. Augustana drew and continues to draw bland, blind-conformist mid-American types. Many of The students who went there in the mid to late 80s were rotten people who had absolutely no business being enrolled in a four-year liberal arts college. If you're a worldly, progressive person and especially if you have an alternative bent, don't choose Augustana. read more

I STRONGLY AGREE with Sean L. He was really spot on with every aspect of the school. Augie prides itself on being a top liberal arts college, but it is everything but that. For starters the surrounding campus is not student friendly. Remember Rock Island is not a college town. It is a low income area ridden with crime, drugs, and an overall lack of modern day amenities. I really don't understand how anybody can give this school a 5 star rating. This is an institution that does not allow for its students to build serious resumes. In all honesty, this school has virtually nothing for its students. I really made a mistake coming here. The faculty is for the most part hit or miss. Some profs here are great and some are worse than horrible. I am a science major here in the neuroscience program. I really wish I would have found another place to attend. First off all, this school does not offer any research opportunities on campus. Enough said. Your only shot at research is to apply to schools in other parts of the country. If you get accepted to a summer research program great. If not, you just lost all of your chips. I have to be honest, I realize I am being a bit harsh. but college is a serious investment. If you cannot get a return on that investment because the institution you attended is lackluster, your out big money. Note to previous reviewers, OK, Augie does have a decent looking "main" campus, but is that really a factor when choosing a college. You go to college for one really important thing, to GET INTO GRAD/PROFESSIONAL SCHOOL. College is an investment. The whole reason people invest in college is to get a return on that investment. This is what Augie does not help you achieve. This institution is a money pit, please beware. For all I know the people that gave Augie great ratings are getting paid by the institution itself. Do realize that there are much finer places out there. Don't go to a small school because you lack the courage to sit in on a class of 200 people, go to a school because it will help you achieve success. This is not a school for serious students, nor does the rest of academia view it as so. I plan on receiving my degree from Augie in 2013, I will have spent four years at this institution and will wish I could get them back. Why not transfer you ask, well its simple: Liberal arts classes. Your credits will not transfer to anywhere coming from this college. They set this up on purpose so that you will be stuck in this place for the rest of your undergrad career. Its a way to ensure that they get money from you. Good luck to those looking into prospective colleges. I made a mistake with my decision, but that doesn't mean its the end of the road. read more

Visited with my senior as an option once he was admitted. Beautiful campus and nice people. But feels very isolated in a part of the state that has seen tough times. read more

I LOVE Augustana and could not imagine myself anywhere else! The opportunities are quite amazing for a school of our size, about 2,700 now. The Augustana actually gives you $2,000 to go away and study abroad or have an internship! Australia, London, Germany, Asia, there are so many options! Our music groups are superb as well and travel on tour every year. Just recently the symphonic band went to Italy and the choir went to Germany! The campus at Augustana, as most others have said, is gorgeous. It's small enough to be able to make it everywhere in 15 minutes, but large enough so the campus doesn't seem cramped and there's plenty of room on the lower quad for concerts and other all-campus actitivies. As for the internet, every college campus runs into the same problem when so many people are using the same internet. You're able to bring your own router in you feel the need, but if the internet gets a little slow, you can always head to an academic building (all of them have wifi) and get your work done. There are all these little study nooks and cranny's on campus, you've just got to find yours! The reading room in the geology building just happens to be mine. :) The most important thing to know about Augustana if you're considering going here, is that the professors are unparralleled anywhere else. This is no exaggeration. Dr. Calder was awarded the professor of the year in the whole state of Illinois just 2 years ago and we have professors like Dr. Hammer that discovered a new species of Dinosaur in Antartica! (Be sure to check out the skeleton in our museum!) Not only do we know the names of these professors, they know their students as well. Other schools might have well named professors, but what's the point if you can't have a discussion with them because there are too many students? All of the professors care about their studen. If a student is struggling, the department will provide a tutor to that student for free! Augustana is all about success, whether it's getting help from a tutor or needing to start that resume or find that internship, there is always someone there to help you and with the friends you'll make along the way, you'll all be able to help each other out and make the wonderful augustana college journey together. read more

Augie: It's beautiful, full of photo opportunities and breathtaking views. LITERALLY BREATHTAKING. I suggest eating a banana and stretching thoroughly before the campus tour. I walked about 4 miles (my mom wears a FitBit) and trekked up 15 flights of stairs. The tour guide wanted us to ask questions, but I thought if I opened my mouth, I might pass out. I am A 17 YEAR OLD GIRL AND I NEED PROPER TRAINING BEFORE THIS TOUR. P.s. I love the outstanding and personal attention that the admissions office and tour guide gave us. Just remember to wear proper shoes and sweat-resistant clothing. read more

My son and I attended an Augustana summer visit during our tours of various colleges and universities. Of all the schools we visited, Augustana had the most professional and impressive presentation. It was in line with the type of presentations I have been exposed to when working with the sales teams of some of Chicago's top corporations. The school is beautiful, seemed very up dated. We left fully informed with our every question addressed, and had a chance to visit with the heads of some departments. We found that compared to large state universities, Augustana's access for students to work one on one with the heads of the departments was unparalleled. Their entrepreneur focus is innovative and refreshing. As a parent I appreciate that they make their valuable scholarship programs so easy to understand and attain with upfront information leaving little to question. If Augustana teaches students to present themselves as professionally as their staff, their futures will be paved with great success. Our son's college options have been expanded from 3 top state universities to include Augustana. read more

I went on a college visit here last week. Was very interested at first because the campus was beautiful on the outside. What's not to love at first glance? First we were given lunch at the cafeteria, I got a salad and found a hair in it that was not my own. It was disgusting. Another thing around campus was that whenever I used any of the bathrooms they were all very dirty and looked like they were hardly ever cleaned. Next we went to see the dorms. Unfortunately they were pretty unsanitary and dumpy. The dorm rooms are very small for 2 people and the carpets seem to have many stains no matter what room you were in. We also took a look the the bathrooms. They also seemed very dirty and unsanitary, the showers were very small, and there no place to hang a towel. Next we walked down a very beautiful trail next to a river. I thought it was gorgeous but was disapointed to hear that many rapes occur on the path. Sexual assult is a problem at any college campus but it seems to be worse at this school. I would be terrified to ever walk alone down that path at night. Another thing I noticed all along campus was the smell. Every room either it was a classroom or dorm room seemed to have a gross musty smell. Maybe the college is very old or just not cleaned well, I do not know personally. Another thing I disliked was the academic requirements. It is mandatory to take 4 years of a language at this school. Many people struggle with languages and usually do not even carry on that language after high school. Another thing I disliked about the academics was how ALL of your core classes are in the same building!! what?? I guess it makes sense because there are few students here to begin with but shoving them all together in one building(old main) does not seem logical at all. Next I asked a couple of current students what they do on the weekends. They told me they have bingo on Friday nights and there are school sponsored events. What?? Are you kidding me?! "Yes I enjoy playing bingo on my Friday nights."Thanks but I have until I am 90 to play bingo on my weekends. A senior told me that "if you really wanted to find a party you could." Seems there is little to no party scene here. How boring...This school seems very lame to me personally. The surrounding area seemed very dangerous. All the nearby houses are very run down and falling apart. I would not walk alone at night in this town. I feel very badly for anyone who has to attend here. If you currently are considering attending, please visit first!! This college seems perfect at first glance but is really a dump on the inside, it is NOT maintained well at all. read more