Hello. I am a high school senior from new jersey. I have narrowed down my college choices to Florida Institute of Technology and Villanova University, both of which I have been accepted too. If I went to Florida Tech I would want to double major in Psychology (with a concentration in Forensic Psychology) and business administration/IT management. If i went to Villanova i would double major in Psychology and Criminology. I like the social atmosphere better at FIT because from what I have heard Villanova is full of those rich, white, snobby, popular kids from high school. Is this true? I like villanova better academically though. How large are the classes and how good are the teachers? Also, I am nit hugely religious and I was wondering if that would be a problem. I am also not a huge fan of the fact that religious courses are required so I was wondering how those classes are (Like ACS for example). Are people accepting of non-religious people or is religion shoved down your throat in those classes or in all classes in general. How is it not having a car and how are the dorms? I am really worried that I won’t like the people there but I don’t want to miss out on an opportunity academically. No matter where I end up attending I may want to try and transfer to the University of California - Irvine because they have a top notch psychology and criminology program. Would it be easier to transfer from Villanova since it is a highly regarded school? Please be unbiased in your responses. Thank you!
I am sorry but I cannot compare FIT, I just don’t have enough knowledge. I can tell you about Villanova because my son is a student there. First of all, you are correct, Villanova is “full of those rich, white, snobby, popular kids from high school”. I cannot second that sentiment enough! It has that exact feeling. If my son could choose again, he said he would definitely not choose Nova because of this. And I cannot sum it up and better than you already did. It is very much like the popular kids at high school. I keep waiting for them to mature into college students but it doesn’t seem to happen. My son has been excluded from groups because he does not have the money to keep up with them; they do tend to look down on you if you don’t have money. One group project he had to do for a class actually began with the students comparing how many stamps they have on their passports. I try to share this with people who are considering Nova first because this is the atmosphere on campus in a nutshell. In one word; overprivileged.
Academically, Villanova does have tough curriculum, those who carry a full set of credits have almost no time for socializing. Class size tends to be small but that can also depend on your major. Some business courses, for example, can be larger because there are so many business students taking many of the same classes. For the most part, the teachers seem qualified. But my son has had a few teachers who were truly bad. However, since you are comparing, I expect you can find that anywhere.
The ACS class, it looks like some either love it or they hate it. My son loved his, but that was mostly due to his prof. He is not religious and engaged in much debate in ACS class concerning religion. This is welcome and encouraged by some professors but I have heard of some that are very catholic and push you to believe; those I believe are the minority, however. A couple of professors he did have push religion were, oddly, not ACS class. I am not entirely positive but I think one was philosophy and another was math related???
One thing my son did not take into account, though… Be mindful that it is a catholic university and, while there are non religious students there, many of the other students do attend because they are religious and want a religious education. Therefore, many of your fellow students are very religious. Some not as openly religious as others, but they are still religious. My son did suffer some backlash from Views he expressed in ACS class. But he has found that he has to change how he speaks, who he speaks to and the topics he discusses because he hits a religious nerve once in awhile and gets blasted from some fellow students. So, my best advice would be to remember your surroundings, it is a catholic school afterall! It is not always about you being non religious but more about the others who are religious (if that makes sense). Watch what you say and you will get along fine.
If partying is of interest to you, on campus it is virtually non existent; but most freshman have fake id’s and frequent the local bars. Again, these are very rich kids, they have the money for bars and taxis (hopefully) every weekend.
The dorms are average freshman year, smaller sophmore year, outstanding junior year and no dorms at all for seniors. They keep promising to build senior housing but it has been pushed off for years now and I will believe it when I actually can see it.
As for transferring, I am sorry but my son has had no experience there. I just shared his experiences, I hope this helps you decide if Villanova is right for you.
uh, a bit on the over-the-top bitter side? Come on, lighten up.
That comment was definitely not exaggerated at all (sarcasm).
Can someone please confirm or deny what imthemomma is saying. Bc if it is true, then thts really cringe worthy and Idk if Nova is for me. I’m a moderate liberal, but I do like
Ugh, i am not trying to exaggerate. In fact, I tried to tone it down as best I could. Believe me, I could give you many worse examples that might not please some people, if you want to hear them; but I tried to temper my response. I am just trying to share my son’s general experiences and feedback so you can decide for yourself. There have been many kids that my son and I have met on campus that were looking for the experiences he had. They want to blend their faith with their studies, so by relaying his experiences. It reassures them that their faith will be supported. And that there are others there like them. And while my son says if he had to choose again, he would choose differently. It is not meant to be bitter. He is not at all bitter, he has gotten the education he is paying for. He is on dean’s list every semester and has friends; there are others there like him. But he says stidents like him are the minority. It is just not the college experience that he would choose over again. It was not for his type of personality; I think maybe they are just not laid back enough for him.
But I don’t know if Villanova is for this student or not; I don’t know him/her. That is why all I do is share my son’s experiences and the only one that can decide is you. I shared his personal campus and class experiences; and what I said about the dorms, the partying and such is straight fact; look it up. And if you think that a Catholic University is completely devoid of religion then I think you are trying to fool yourself. If you are at Nova now and your experiences were different then that is great. I am not judging you, so please reserve your judgement of our experiences. And if you are the type of person that needs things sugar coated then maybe this review is not for you. I myself definitely do not like things sugar coated. But the truth can be a bitter pill to swallow for some.
@imthemomma:
I don’t doubt what you’ve shared is your son’s experience from his eyes. Because no one here knows your son or how he’s basing his conclusions, it’s important for any reader to seek all views. While some may occasionally share input similar to what you wrote, there are many who will say their time at Villanova was the best four years of their life.
You’re going to find “rich, white, snobby, popular kids from high school” at any private school so if that’s a major turnoff, but although I’m no expert on FIT, I would assume Nova has more of these kids. Nobody is forcing you to hang out with these kids though. There are a lot of genuine, down to earth kids at Nova and they’re not hard to find (unless you purposefully isolate yourself).
The one thing imthemomma got right is that ACS is a hit or miss, mainly due to the professor. It was awesome experience for me because I had two amazing professors.
Msg me if you want any more info from a current student, I’ll be happy to help.
I’ve had a son graduate from Villanova recently and have another in another private school of approximately the same size on the East coast which is more difficult to get into and has a more national student body. There are certainly down to earth kids at Nova. However, the observation that the place has many high school characteristics is spot on; in general I found students there to be less mature and less grown up than their counterparts at other schools. Many not all of the kids are from very conservative backgrounds and communities where they have been sheltered from racial, economic and social diversity. A great example is that students will not speak out in class because they fear snide comments from their peers. Really? In college? I don’t know anything about FIT but imthemomma’s comments are well grounded in the reality of life on campus there.
Rising junior @ Nova here, unfortunately what imthemomma said is fairly accurate. I came from a private catholic school, but definitely not a very prestigious, expensive one. I am a very social person who likes to go out on weekends, but unfortunately alot of the social life revolves around the kids who don’t recieve financial aid and whose parents receive salaries well above six figures. I make do with what I have, but I definitely did not expect this kind of college social scene and although I still like the school, I am very disappointed from my expectations.
My daughter just graduated this year. She has had an amazing four years there. Internships abroad, service opportunities, has made wonderful friends and did not belong to a sorority. Don’t listen to everything you hear. Go spend the day, stay overnight sit in on a class and make an informed decision yourself. Picking a school is about the right fit for you. On a side note, graduation weekend was the most wonderful weekend to send off their new graduates. They did a beautiful job. Good Luck on your choice
@tune6868 I love your idea to double major in Criminology and Psych but I will be honest with you that you may be disappointed in your options as far as crim courses are concerned. I was a criminology major at villanova for a year and a half before I realized I was paying way too much for them to only offer 8 classes in my major a semester, so I transferred to a school that offers 40+ classes in my major each semester. Don’t get me wrong, I love Villanova and I had a great time there but for that specific major, it is not the best option out there. Although I cannot speak as far as FITs program is concerned. Best of luck!