THE BASICS
| Founded: 1853
Type:
Accredited, four-year, private, liberal arts college
Location:
Campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, IL
Enrollment:
140 undergraduate students
Student to Faculty Ratio:
12 to 1
Average Class size:
9 students
Majors: Humanities, Liberal Studies, Natural Science, and Social Science
Motto:
Non Ministrari Sed Ministrare
“Not to be served but to serve”
Calendar:
Two 15-week semesters, one six-week summer session
| |  | | | | | | ABOUT SHIMER COLLEGE |  | 
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Mission
Shimer College provides and preserves education centered on discussion of enduring questions and issues. Historically influential original sources are studied through Socratic questioning in small seminar classes, following the kind of Great Books curriculum advocated by Robert Maynard Hutchins. The core values informing education at Shimer are free inquiry, dialog, critical open-mindedness, and integration of disciplines. The College offers all members of its community the opportunity to participate meaningfully in deciding the future of the institution. A Shimer education demands much of both the intellect and the character of students, and prepares them for responsible citizenship and the examined life.
Enrollment
- 140 undergraduate students
- Women: 52%, Men: 48%
- Students of color: 20%
- From outside Illinois: 56%
Admission Criteria
- College-preparatory course work
- High school/college transcripts
- SAT/ACT scores recommended
- Two writing samples
- Letter of recommendations
- Rolling application deadline
Tuition & Fees, 2011-12
- Tuition: $26,150; Book Fee: $1,290; Other Student Services Fees: $2,600; Room & Board: $10,464
- Total: $40,504
Financial Aid
- Shimer offers both need- and merit-based financial aid and is a “Barron’s Best Buy”
- 82% of undergraduate students receive financial aid
- Average financial aid package: $13,956
Examples of Scholarships
- Montaigne Scholarship: Full- and half- tuition scholarships based on writing, and discussion of an original text
- Homeschoolers and Nontraditional School Scholarship: Up to $6,000 per year
- Phi Theta Kappa Scholarship: Up to $6,000 per year
Academics
- Shimer’s curriculum is based on the Great Books core designed by former University of Chicago President Robert Maynard Hutchins.
- All classes are seminar-style discussions of primary-source texts.
- 85 credit hours are spent on core classes focusing on Natural Science, Social Science, Humanities, and Integrative Studies. 40 hours are spent in various elective classes.
- In a 2008 study, Shimer ranked in top 1% of undergraduate institutions whose graduates go on to earn PhDs.
History
 | Shimer College was founded in 1853 by Frances Wood (later Frances Shimer, pictured left) and Cinderella Gregory who relocated from New York State to western Illinois to operate what was then known as the Mount Carroll Seminary. Coeducational from the start, the Seminary is historically significant as a women’s college for the formal education it made available to its mostly female student body.
In 1896, Shimer began its sixty-year affiliation with the University of Chicago, which strengthened its orientation toward the liberal arts. During this time, Shimer adopted the Hutchins Plan, a curriculum based on in-depth discussion of the Great Books developed by Robert Marnard Hutchins, then Chancellor at the University of Chicago. Today, Shimer’s curriculum continues to comprise only primary-source texts.
Shimer moved to Waukegan, IL in 1978 and found its permanent home in Chicago in 2006. Shimer College is located on the campus of the internationally recognized Illinois Institute of Technology, renown for the architecture of Mies van der Rohe and the McCormick Tribune Campus Center designed by Rem Koolhaas.
Location
| - Shimer shares a campus with IIT and VanderCook College of Music, located in the historical Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago.
- Chicago, pop. 2.7M, is a world-class cultural and economic center.
- Enjoy Second City and Steppenwolf Theaters, see a taping of “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me,” hear a free concert under the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, bike down 18 miles of lake front trails, eat your way through the many diverse neighborhoods.
Programs
- Weekend College Program: Meets every third weekend and offers nontraditional and working students the opportunity to pursue a degree that can be completed in four years or less.
- Early Entrance Program: Offers admission to exceptionally bright high school juniors and seniors prior to their high school graduation.
- Shimer-in-Oxford Program: Provides the opportunity to spend a semester or year at Oxford University in England, typically taking one core class with a Shimer faculty member and two tutorials with Oxford faculty.
- BA to JD Program: Offers exceptional students an accelerated route to a law degree through an agreement with the Chicago-Kent College of Law.
- Shimer Internship/Mentorship (SIM) Program: Awards stipends to selected students working in unpaid internships with the aim of bridging the world of ideas and work under the guidance of experienced mentors.
Partnerships
- Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT): Students have access to virtually all IIT facilities, services, and student organizations. They may also take elective classes at IIT.
- VanderCook College of Music: Students may take elective classes and participate in musical ensembles at VanderCook.
- City Colleges of Chicago: Shimer is currently negotiating an expanded articulation agreement with all City Colleges for reciprocal access to selected courses.
- Art Institute of Chicago: Shimer students have free access to exhibits, lectures, and performances at the critically acclaimed Art Institute of Chicago as part of the Institute’s University Partner’s program.
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