GROVE CITY, Pa., May 15, 2000 -- Brad Lingo, a senior at Grove City College, hadn't even considered applying to the Harvard Law School, let alone a handful of other prestigious law schools in the nation.
But at the urging of Dr. Charles Dunn, the Grove City College student completed the Law School Assessment Test, scoring in the 99th percentile, applied to the nation's biggest and best law schools, was accepted, and decided on Harvard.
Lingo and others like him are proving that small liberal arts colleges are more than capable of competing with much larger and much better known schools across the country, said Dunn, the college's dean of the School of Arts & Letters.
Altogether, more than a half-dozen Grove City College seniors this year scored between the 92nd and 99th percentile on the LSAT.
And this year, for the first time ever, Grove City College students competed for Fulbright, Marshall and Rhodes scholarships.
"We had seven students this year apply -- And we had one make it to the interview stage of Rhodes. And it is very difficult to make it to the interview stage."
Another earned a Fulbright scholarship to Mexico, said Dunn, who previously taught at Clemson University, the University of Illinois and Florida State University.
"These, of course, are the most prestigious awards that a graduating senior could compete for. They are international awards," explained Dunn, who served as chairman of the United States J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board for several terms.
Historically, Grove City College has not competed at this international level, he said. But the small college in northwestern Pennsylvania is proving that it can compete, he emphasized.
Along with his love for teaching, Dunn said he finds himself instructing both staff and students on this campus that they are as talented as those on better-known campuses.
Lingo was reluctant to apply to the nation's best law schools, Dunn said. Yet, he scored well above most students across the nation.
That small school stigma needs to end, the longtime educator said.
Even after his astounding LSAT score, Lingo said he experienced a bit of an inferiority complex when he interviewed at Harvard, Princeton, Yale and the University of Chicago law schools.
But based on those interviews, "I think we get just as good an education if not better (at Grove City College)," said the 22-year-old from Hudson, Ohio, not far from Akron.
Lingo said he chose to attend Grove City College because of its Christian and conservative emphasis, as well as its high academic standards and affordability.
Based on his experience, students shouldn't be reluctant to go to smaller schools.
"Grove City has really a bright future as both our faculty and students recognize that we can compete with the best in America," Dunn said.
"Grove City is good and is getting better, and it can compete with the best," he said.
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Contact Lee Wishing
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724-458-3332 / 1665 evenings & weekends
http://www.gcc.edu/Pr/pub_entrance.asp
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