A new 'ask a recent graduate your bucknell questions' thread

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Why should one need to do that? either the numbers are the truth or they're not. are you saying it's important to get an enhanced FA package one should "schmooze" the FA officers at BU?

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<p>im saying that if the number, based on bucknells formula that considers things like home equity and retirement assets, is unreasonable (for whatever reason), it makes sense to do more than just call. its very difficult to 'demonstrate' financial need over the phone. phone calls and in-person visits are good for explaining the 'demonstration' of need, however. hence my suggestion.</p>

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Another question-I know the university sponsors a shuttle to and from the Harrisburg airport. Is that a private company?

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<p>i saw both university shuttles and chartered buses used around breaks. since i lived within driving distance, i am not entirely sure which shuttles are chartered and which arent.</p>

<p>anyway, two more people to contact for private shuttle quotes:</p>

<p>Susquehanna Valley Limo: 1-800-685-5567
Harrisburg Airport Limo: 1-800-931-7222</p>

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How is the intellectual atmosphere at Bucknell?

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<p>i dont think i would describe bucknells general climate as particularly intellectual. 'average joe' bucknell student is smart, outgoing and has strong academic interests... but isnt necessarily intellectual by my, admittedly rather high, standards.</p>

<p>thats not to say there arent intellectuals on campus. there are a ton, and as such finding and befriending them is incredibly easy. its just unlikely that half your freshman hall is going to sit around together until 3am discussing the implications of godels incompleteness theorems on the philosophical underpinnings of the vienna circle, and specifically how they impacted wittgensteins theory of language. i certainly would have done it, though, as would many of the friends i made on campus.</p>

<p>in other words, youre probably not going to confuse bucknell for reed. but youre not going to confuse it for a place devoid of intellectual thought, either. absolutely not. </p>

<p>in short, intellectualism is present, but probably wont hit you in the face upon stepping on campus.</p>

<p>regarding meeting with financial aid officers at BU:</p>

<p>i met with one of the head honchos there last week and yesterday they let me know that they were adding a $4k need based grant to my package. though it's not very much and i will still have to take out significant loans, at least it's something.</p>

<p>Erica, how hard is it to have a very good GPA, above 3.5? And how well do you feel prepared for grad school?</p>

<p>thank you so much!</p>

<p>Check this thread out: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/500614-bucknell-v-penn-state-schreyer.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/500614-bucknell-v-penn-state-schreyer.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>You guys/gals need to talk some sense into some of them. It is such a shame that LAC's have such a negative connotation to them.</p>

<p>Colber- if you are so concerned about students response to Bucknell, why in the world would you give the school such a poor review on the College Visits forum? Shame on you.</p>

<p>^Actually, that was my brother. We use the same account, and he hates Bucknell, I don't exactly know why (he goes to Haverford, maybe that's why?).</p>

<p>What kind of programs do they have to get transfer students acclimated to the campus life, academics and social scene at Bucknell?</p>

<p>Also, do all the transfer student live in one dorm or are they scattered around campus?</p>

<p>Thanks Eric.</p>

<p>Hi again recent grads! I'm looking at the academic calendar in the 08-09 catalog...and notice that there is a "fall recess" in October. Do the majority of students go home during this break? Or do most stay on campus?</p>

<p>Most people go home unless the student is an athlete or international student.</p>

<p>i applied as a neuroscience major because i was considering pre med, but now i'm pretty positive i want to be an english major and on the course selection website it won't let me choose anything else... how do i fix this?</p>

<p>You may have to take classes as a neuroscience major for the first semester and then set up a meeting with the dean of the college of arts and sciences to discuss switching majors. I'm not entirely sure though. Here's the contact information page for CAS: <a href="http://www.bucknell.edu/x4516.xml%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.bucknell.edu/x4516.xml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>would they really make me do that?? that would be so ridiculous.</p>

<p>Well, your application was evaluated based on your intended major, neuroscience, and not english. So it would make sense to me that they wouldn't let you switch majors so easily. But again, this is all speculation on my part. They may let your switch before classes start. Maybe Eric could shed some more light on this.</p>

<p>Wow, breck, that's a ridiculous coincidence. I applied as a neuroscience major as well (for premed and personal interest) but am thinking of switching to English... Though I am also considering talking to my (future) adviser to set up a custom major. Something along the lines of neurolinguistics. If that sounds interesting to you as well, maybe consider it? I feel it's a happy marriage between neuroscience and language (my interests).</p>

<p>to address the recent questions:</p>

<p>TRANSFER STUDENTS: i know there is an orientation for transfers, some of which overlaps with freshman orientation. and because bucknell takes its freshman orientation programs VERY seriously, i have no doubt the transfer orientation program will be sufficient in terms of social opportunities. that said,i dont know the current housing situation for transfers, but in the past they were assigned spaces as they were made available. so while it was possible that two transfers would get assigned a room together, the more probable outcome would be to end up with a returning student. i would think this to be a desirable outcome, anyway.</p>

<p>FALL BREAK: i would agree that most people within decent driving distance go home. a few people with money to burn fly home, as well. the dining halls are still open, though (one is closed each day over the weekend for deep cleaning), and there are still decent numbers of people of campus, so its not a bit deal. (some people will also spend the weekend with a local friend on the hall, though this is more common for thanksgiving/easter.)</p>

<p>REGISTERING: i cant address the specific issues with registration because incoming freshmen didnt register online back in the day. however, the registration issues are the same.</p>

<p>basically, within liberal arts, there are b.s. majors and b.a. majors. because b.s. degrees are more difficult to fulfill (there are more required courses within the major, some of which are sequenced), and bucknell really does want you to graduate in four years, theyre basically forcing you to take what you need now (bio, calc and chem) so that you can graduate on time.</p>

<p>my suggestion? call the school. a click of a button will likely get you 'unhooked' from your b.s. path at this point, though i make no guarantees. but... it cant hurt. (also, should things for whatever reason not work out, transferring out of a b.s. program after your first semester is not a big deal... at all.)</p>

<p>Hi Eric, ilmor and satn87,</p>

<p>Thanks so much for your on-going responses to questions on this forum! </p>

<p>We are looking at the Bucknell Laptop program and at first we were sure that getting a Laptop through Bucknell would probably be the best option to be sure that my daughter was equipped with what she needed and compatible with all the University resources. But it appears this it is not the most cost-effective option. In your opinion, are the support and compatibility advantages of purchasing through the University worth the price?</p>

<p>Ashelia and Breckw,</p>

<p>On page 6 of your registration packet, it states that you may switch degree programs by providing a written request to the Admissions Office (an email contact is provided on that page). Good Luck! I think Neorolinguistics sounds really interesting!</p>