Anyone visit High Point University?

Colleges and Universities A-Z High Point University
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<p>I’m glad to read some first hand positive thought too - </p>

<p>HPU seems to have done an excellent job of transforming the school and making it a place where people want to go. I don’t agree that all of that is fluff - I think a great deal of it is smart. I think the key is balance - and to make sure there is a strong focus on academics which I think they are doing. It seems the school has the ability to shift to going over the top and I hope that doesn’t happen. The school is attracting good students to some degree because of all the improvements they’ve made. The campus has a nice feel to it and having a clean, wireless, warm and happy place to learn and study sounds pretty good to me.</p>

<p>As far as rules and fines - it sounds a little crazy to me and pretty subjective. On the other hand if we were reading that kids were out of control and the campus was a free for all I imagine the comments would be negative too. Sometimes you can’t win.</p>

<p>Our daughter has other choices too but this is her top choice. I’m hoping for a great four years.</p>

82

<p>Bfraz and techiemom,</p>

<p>I hope your daughters will be as satifisfied with HPU as mine is. Have they joined the HPU facebook group yet? It’s a good way to meet a few others in their class and maybe even find suitemates. </p>

<p>I agree with you, techiemom, there’s nothing wrong with having a comfortable campus. I know, also that the school is quite focused on improving academic standards and recruiting students with higher stats. That’s really what Presidential scholarship weekends are all about. They get the students from the higher end of the applicant pool to fall in love with the school. If you enter the words “academic planning” on the school’s website search feature you can read the minutes of their meetings. It’s interesting to read what their plans are for academic improvement.</p>

<p>Regarding the rules and fines…I honestly wasn’t aware of them until recently. I know that my daughter has had a friend (male) from home stay in her dorm for a couple nights and it wasn’t an issue with her RA. So I guess the rules aren’t enforced in a consistent way. When I asked my daughter about rules and fines she showed me a facebook group titled something like “I thought we were at HPU not BYU”. She said that most of the fines are imposed for alcohol which is very pervasive at HPU as I guess it is on most campuses.</p>

<p>Hope all that rambling helps! Let me know if you have any more questions.</p>

83

<p>Regarding BrownBear1’s concerns about which professors at High Point (or other schools for that matter) have PhDs… This is a great question which any parent should ask. Having PhD’s in the classroom is what separates out lousy schools from the best ones, which is why US News and every other serious attempt to rank colleges takes % of faculty with the terminal degree as being so important. The strongest LACs put PhDs (not TAs and not adjuncts with MA) into all of their classrooms at ratio of 20:1 or less. Like most schools, the best place to look for the qualifications of individual faculty members at HPU is in back section the school’s catalog, which in HPU’s case is available from their website under the academics section. One of the differences between HPU and most schools, incidentally, is that HPU’s catalog lists the qualifications of all visiting professors and visiting instructors as well as the permanent faculty. This practices distinguishes HPU from the many LACs who only list permanent faculty in their catalogs while still subjecting students to a large number of temporary instructors who in many cases lack the terminal degree. Beyond looking at just the PhD, most catalogs should either tell you when a professor earned his terminal degree or what year he was hired. These notations can help you to figure out if your children are going to be working with seasoned (but not to seasoned) faculty. Incidentally, HPU’s location–not right down the road from a big research university with lots of grad students looking for their first teaching experience–means the vast majority of HPU professors have PhDs and several years of teaching experience. Because they know that experience in the classroom and mentoring students is so important, they also tend to hire faculty that have considerable previous experience in the classroom.</p>

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<p>USN&WR cares about PhD faculty the same way they care about peer assessment. It props up the old guard allowing most of the same schools to maintain their high rankings for the last 40 years. </p>

<p>The key point is to teach the student. When there is a strong correlation between writing papers and doing research with success in actually teaching someone, let me know. It’s much like the logic of picking a golf pro to help you improve your golf game on how well THEY play golf. The only thing that really matters is how well they can get YOU to play. </p>

<p>I wish nothing but the best for High Point University and wish to thank those that have provided some quality posts about the pros and cons to High Point University. Clearly High Point is doing some things well and no school is perfect. That said, alums and their parents might want to voice their concerns about how some of the things the administration does as a positive comes across as a strong negative.</p>

<p>Stuff like welcoming signs for your kid’s ‘personal’ visitor parking space and the ice cream truck? As a parent strong warning bells sound that:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Someone is doing a big marketing plan aimed at students that want to go to school at Disney World.</p></li>
<li><p>Even if that is NOT true, that will be the word-of-mouth about the place. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>If instead, they announced that that money will be used to further fund getting great guest speakers to do a weekly convocation (at the convocation center they already have) - I can’t imagine a student or parent that would not see that as a positive as well as a positive message.</p>

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<p>While there is not a 1-to-1 correlation between a terminal degree and the ability to teach, as with the golf pro, the PhD or terminal degree indicates mastery of the subject matter which is essential for instruction.</p>

86

<p>Student to faculty ratio in combination with the percentage of classes taught by tenure-track PhDs (counting only the real courses and not one-one-one tutorials, which can inflate this stat) are critical to look at when picking you LAC. It’s not just about instructors who have mastered their fields, but also about who is going to be around to write your daughter’s recommendation letters and to help her find a job as she transitions for the second or third time several years after graduating.</p>

87

<p>I go to HPU and can answer a lot of questions that you may have, but let me say that it is an amazing school. You can do searches and read how great it is but you’ll see some common things like “stuck up people”, and “the president only caters to the freshmen”. Etc , Etc.</p>

<p>Okay, there’s going to be Stuck up people wherever you go. HPU is no different. If you walk up to 9 out of 10 people , they will probably be very friendly towards you. It is NOT just a bunch of rich kids. Take it from me. I am pretty much broke and highly suggest you apply early for the presidential scholarships. It is a great opportunity that you only get once. DO IT. </p>

<p>Academically, HPU challenges you. There’s no way I could have gotten the grades I did without putting effort in. You are paying 30 something thousand a year to LEARN so get INTO it, and you will enjoy class so much more! HPU also has pretty small classes and the teachers definitely know you on an individual basis. </p>

<p>Socially, HPU can be really neat. It’s got that southern atmosphere (even though a lot of northerners go there; myself included). There are parties. It’s no top party school but there’s definitely places to go on the weekends. </p>

<p>HPU caters to its students 100%. Yes, absolutely to the freshmen. It is ALL geared towards attracting them to HPU. Sometimes it can seem that they get the best deal. However, the more I think about it, if someone actually voiced their concerns to our President, he’d listen and explain. That’s the great thing about Nido. He is a business man but he is also a top communicator and that is not something any business man can do.</p>

<p>He is respectful, patient, and considerate. He is also very funny. Believe me, HPU is incredibly lucky to have him. </p>

<p>One visit to HPU usually seals the deal. </p>

<p>Make sure you check out the website to learn about your degree/program of interest.
If it’s not there, don’t go to the school for its fun amenities rather search for a school that has what you want academically because that is what you will be doing papers/hw on and that is what you will be paying for.</p>

<p>I’m a junior. My major is Psychology with a minor in Communications-Journalism.</p>

<p>ps- journalism classes are incredibly fun with professional experienced teachers (have worked on CNN , etc) and when it comes to internships , the communications dpt soars.
My journalism class had 5 people in it. 3 of us were minors so internships don’t interest us. The other two, got internships. Pretty neat!</p>

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<p>We visited HPU last April and my daughter loved the school. The only thing that concerned me was there wasn’t many professors at the open house to discuss the programs offered. We did speak with the education dept and interior design but there really wasn’t any tables set up to talk with other dept. I was concerned with the academics but it seems that you have had a great experience. It is great to hear from those that are going now and their experiences</p>

89

<p>My daughter and I visited this past week and I am wondering if others had similar reactions and wonderings:
I felt that the dorms were unnecessarily luxurious, esp. the freshman apartment style one with two singles, kitchen, LR and huge bathroom. The nicer they are, the more they cost which I felt might cause some socio-economic division.
The emphasis on the buildings and amenities more than academics concerned me. The couse emphasized the most was the one on designing video games.
An administrator - head of admissions, I think - came over to our golf cart to introduce himself to the 3 prospectives - all girls - and commented on my daughter’s attractiveness.
The piped music was not on, but that is very unappealing to me. How about birds or even a kid playing a guitar? Seems very controlling.
Valet parking? Security waling you from your parking place is one thing, but that seems the ultimate in country-clubbiness.
I found the over-decorated lobbies a la Tuesday Morning were over the top and unappealing to me. Very hotel-like.
Our tour guide was nice and personable (clearly required to memorize the kids’ names) but seemed a bit brain washed - like he had been drinking the Kool-aid.
I kept thinking about the Truman Show and Disney world.
I also kept thinking that I would rather have more put into financial aid and less into fountains and creepy statues.
I’d really like to know if the profs are happy.
Are gay kids welcomed? There is no mention of sexual orientation in the list of things against whichh the school does not discriminate. Should the liberal minded read between the lines and staY away?
Would a degree from HP be respected?
The visitation rules are disturbing.
I thought the electronic sign with our name was cheesey. It was suggested that we take our picture by it.
I’d love to know if other parents feel the same things. The others on my tour were very impressed.</p>

90

<p>Different strokes for different folks. We love HPU. As soon as my daughter stepped on campus, there was no other college in consideration. </p>

<p>A year later, we have not been disappointed either. She has been challenged academically and thriving socioemotionally. It was a perfect fit for her and for us, her parents. We know she is happy, well cared for, learning and succeeding.</p>

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<p>I completely agree with you tchr59. My daughter and I went to HPU recently on an athletic recruiting visit. The vibe there is definitely creepy and we found the emphasis on the superficial disturbing. We ran into the president, and he made a comment to our group of two girls that they don’t admit any “ugly boys”. Our tour guide repeatedly invoked the president when explaining why certain things are the way they are, i.e., “We give away free oranges because he wants to model generosity”, or “He’s building a steakhouse to teach us how to have good table manners.”, etc. We have been on many college tours and we couldn’t even tell you who the presidents are of most of them, but I can assure you, you will not leave HPU without knowing who Dr. Qubein is! My D saw right through it all and announced to me after we left that she would not go there “even if it was free.”</p>

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<p>While I do disagree with High Point’s emphasis on esthetics, I don’t understand how a university’s president being an active and influential presence on campus would be perceived in a negative way.</p>

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<p>They are doing something right. But again, it’s a matter of individual preferences and fit. HPU is no doubt up and coming…here is an excerpt from this week’s NEWSWEEK</p>

<p>He’s Got Some Great Advice For You: Relax
Candid and surprising tips from a legendary guidance counselor.
By David l. Marcus | Kaplan College Guide
Aug 12, 2009
For nearly 40 years, college applicants in the New York suburbs have sought the wisdom of an extraordinary guidance counselor known as Smitty. He routinely contradicts parents and guidebooks. He tells kids not to choose a college based on an intended major, “because if you’re like most youngsters you’ll change that major three times before graduation.” He goads top students to look beyond big-name campuses: “It’s about the fit, not the brand.” In boom times and recessions alike, Smitty urges high-school seniors to avoid taking on big loans: “It’s better to have savings for grad school than to be handcuffed by $70,000 in debt.”
With his silver-flecked hair and his gravelly voice, Gwyeth Smith Jr. has a way of making families listen to his unconventional notions. He sees the months- or years-long period of considering colleges and writing essays as a journey of self-discovery—America’s rite of passage. He reassures parents with the message that where kids get into school is less important than how the process has prepared them to become critical thinkers.
I shadowed Smitty during his last two years at Long Island’s Oyster Bay High School, leading up to his retirement in the summer of 2008. By then, he’d worked at six schools with students from all sorts of backgrounds. He’d sent them on to Princeton and Caltech, as well as his favorites—lesser-known campuses like Lewis & Clark College in Oregon, Miami University in Ohio and High Point University in North Carolina.</p>

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<p>The comment about “ugly” boys blows me away. What an unprofessional comment for an educator.</p>

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<p>Hard to believe…but then again, it’s hearsay. It’s important to stick to the facts and see for yourself. As I said, our experience has been that HPU talks the talk and walks the walk… and it’s all been good. So glad that our DD saw through it all and she was savvy enough to know it was all genuine. </p>

<p>HIGH POINT, N.C., Aug. 11, 2009 – Forbes.com has ranked High Point University at No. 296 in its national listing, “America’s Best Colleges.” With 4,352 higher-education institutions in the United States, this ranking places HPU in the top 6 percent of all schools nationally.</p>

<p>HPU’s ranking places the university ahead of several fine institutions in North Carolina, including: UNC Wilmington (No. 352), Appalachian State University (No. 378), Elon University (No. 390), N.C. State University (No. 418), UNC Greensboro (No. 493), UNC Charlotte (No. 527), Meredith College (No. 535) and East Carolina University (No. 549).</p>

<p>Other prestigious North Carolina institutions included on the list are Davidson College (No. 60), UNC Chapel Hill (No. 68), Duke University (No. 104) and Wake Forest University (No. 130).</p>

<p>“High Point University is honored to be included with so many outstanding institutions in the Forbes.com ‘America’s Best Colleges’ rankings,” says Dr. Jeff Adams, director of Institutional Research and Assessment at HPU. “Our faculty, staff and administrative teams have worked diligently to transform students’ academic and campus-life experiences at HPU, and we are delighted that these efforts have allowed us to be recognized by Forbes.com as one of the top-tier institutions in the country.”</p>

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<p>^ Sorry - People can make up their own mind about HPU but using Forbes list to say how good it is, is just silly. The list is Bogus at best, come on it listed “Salem College” as the 2nd best school in the state… Just Stupid… </p>

<p>HPU is an OK school and will appeal to some, but it’s no Salem College… And it is definitely not a “top-tier institution” in anything other than it’s own press releases.</p>

97

<p>The Forbes list may not be as respectable, but High Point is ranked by US News and World Report (which is well respected) No. 5 among comprehensive universities in the South and No. 1 in its category among up-and-coming schools. There has been no university in this country that has turned around since Dr. Qubein took over leadership in 2005. Enrollment has tripled since his tenure and all the transformations have almost been completed. He can now concentrate on enhancing the academic side of it, so it can be a repectable nationally known university. Look at Elon university today (nationally known university), and what they were 12 years ago (an unknown, average type of school). It appears that High Point is following the same trend. My daughter looked at both schools, and picked High Point over Elon. She has just completed her freshman year and is thriving. She could not have been happier with her decision.</p>

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<p>MMAMom-I read that article too. The counselor certainly wasn’t won over by cheesy gimmicks so HPU must be doing something right. We plan to visit, and if it isn’t a ‘fit’ for my D it certainly will be for others.</p>

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<p>High Point University was ranked by US News and World Report No. 5 among comprehensive universities in the South and No. 1 in its category among up-and-coming schools again for 2010.</p>

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<p>I have noticed that a few posters with connections to High Point have tended to post in a way that may be unintentionally misleading to readers who don’t have the time or energy to verify the underlying facts.</p>

<p>I know a few love High Point and can even understand in a very limited way (like all schools, it’s a good fit for some kids). But in the interest of accuracy, yes High Point was named #5 in the “Baccalaureate Colleges (South) Rankings” (not the comprehensive universities ranking). </p>

<p>The other schools ranked higher than High Point on the list are…</p>

<h1>1 Ouachita Baptist University Arkadelphia, AR</h1>

<h1>2 John Brown University Siloam Springs, AR</h1>

<h1>3 Erskine College Due West, SC</h1>

<h1>4 Covenant College Lookout Mountain, GA</h1>

<p>And Then…</p>

<h1>5 High Point University High Point, NC</h1>