Lake Forest College

Lake Forest College is a private liberal arts college in Lake Forest, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Lind University by Presbyterian ministers, the college has been coeducational since 1876 and an undergraduate-focused liberal arts institution since 1903. Lake Forest enrols approximately 1,600 students representing 47 states and 81 countries.

Lake Forest offers 30 undergraduate major and minor programs in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, and features programs of study in pre-law, pre-medicine, communication, business, finance, and computer science. The majority of students live on the college's wooded 107-acre campus located a half-mile from the Lake Michigan shore.

The teaching faculty consists of 178 members. Lake Forest has a student-to-professor ratio of 13:1, and the average class size is 19. No classes at Lake Forest are taught by teaching assistants. All faculty hold a doctorate or equivalent degree. See a list of Lake Forest College people for notable faculty. Lake Forest professors regularly include undergraduates in their primary research and supervise independent research projects.

Faculty members receive fellowships and grants from such notable organizations as the Fulbright Program, National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, National Endowment for the Humanities, Freeman Foundation, Mellon Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Getty Trust, Goldsmith Foundation, and Kemper Foundation.

Approximately 1,500 students attend the college, and about 86% live on campus. Among the largest and most active student groups on campus are the student radio station (WMXM), Student Government, PRIDE (LGBT), SPB (organizes on-campus entertainment) and the Greek organizations.

Located 30 miles north of Chicago, Lake Forest College is roughly an hour’s commute from the city. The Metra rail line, located in downtown Lake Forest, is a 15-minute walk from campus, where trains run approximately 25 times per day.