Hi! I’m a current undergraduate at Villanova and I know first hand all of the stress and questions that come with applying to colleges and finding the right fit. I’d be happy to answer any questions you have - I know I wished I had someone who could answer my college-specific questions when I was looking at schools!
Sooo do you think programs are good outside of business? I’m considering engineering or premed, but I don’t know if I would want to be living in a world of business majors…
Also, what about the social life? Do you see mostly rich white kids ? Is it cliquey? Are there mostly just outgoing extroverted people or a mix? How much of a party school has it been for you, and has it been easy to make friends?
Not to worry- business majors are out there, but they’re not the majority! The engineering program is fantastic as well as nursing. Villanova itself is a competitive and prominent school so really any major will do you well.
Yes, unfortunately the majority of students here are white. But that doesn’t mean there’s no diversity. And this is an expensive college, so you will find rich people, but no one is in your face about it. We all still complain about spending money 
I found in my first few weeks that some people make it a little cliquey because they’re desperate to find a friend group. But that wears off in a week or two and people are open to making any friends. The people here are absurdly nice- it’s an unspoken sin if you don’t hold the door for someone
It’s definitely a mix of introverts and extroverts, because that’s what college is! I’m an introvert and found plenty of people who are similar, but there are also a bunch of extroverts bouncing around campus.
There are no parties on campus, but you can find them off campus if you look for them. My advice is to not go too crazy your first weekend here- public safety is quick to shut down parties and you don’t want to look like that freshman that drank too much and had to get VEM’d (picked up by the campus ambulance). If you’re a freshman guy, it’ll be hard to get into a party unless you’re with a group of girls. There’s an abundance of guys looking for parties, so girls have an advantage getting into them.
I’ve found friends pretty fast. People are just so friendly and thrilled to be here and even now, over a month into the semester, you can go up to anyone and start and conversation.
Have you met any transfer students? I’m at Penn State right now and I’m looking to transfer to Nova for a few reasons. Just wondering, if you know, how transfer students fit in.
I have met a few transfer students, and they fit right in with everyone else. Just because you come into this school without some experiences that other students may have had doesn’t mean you’re any less part of this school or excluded from anything. Everyone is looking to meet new people at the start of a new year (or even semester) so I wouldn’t worry about it.
Good luck with the transfer: we’d love to have you here!
Okay, here goes- what percentage of your friends do NOT come from the Boston/NY/DC corridor?
Can you tell me more about the social life there and the environment?
The environment here is pretty lax. Everyone is pretty nice. The weekends are pretty boring unless you plan on going with friends to philly/parties.
@aimlesstom - why are the weekends boring? Is there little to do on campus (if there are no sports events that weekend) or does everyone go home? This is not a ringing endorsement of your school.
So i want to double major in communication and business management, but i know you have to apply to either school. which one should i apply to? ik the business school is harder to get into, but i also want a good chance to be admitted, so should i go communications? Will it be hard to add a business second major this way?
@londondad New Jersey is the most popular state students are from- a bunch are from New York, some from DC, and I’m from Boston myself and have met a few neighbors It’s true that most of the people here are from the north, but I’ve met people from California (quite a few, actually), North Carolina, Colorado, Michigan, etc etc etc. There’s a mix, but to be honest it’s a lot of people from the north/northeast.
@vb10589 The social life is what you make of it! Everyone here is SO friendly and though you may not find your friend group right away, you’re guaranteed to find similar people through clubs/sports/classes/dorms whatever. There’s always movies playing, guest speakers, sports games, and different events hosted by clubs both during the week and over the weekend, so you can stay busy 24/7 if you want to. It can be quiet on the weekends when there aren’t events (which isn’t very often), but the train is right on campus so you can go into Philly, or you can just take the local shuttle to go out to eat/see a movie.
@jjohnross It is competitive getting into the business school, so unless you’re a super outstanding student and are pretty confident you’ll get in easily, I would recommend applying to Arts and Sciences. I don’t know how hard it will be to add a business major if you’re in arts and sciences, but I personally would worry about getting into the school first and getting that second major later Come join me in getting a Communication degree!
The events that the school plans are not fun at all…like honestly…
For the weekends you just have to get with a group of friends and go to philly or some other part out of campus.
I would disagree about the school planned events! There are a cappella concerts, movie nights, guest speakers (last night I went to a sneak peak at the new Disney movie The Good Dinosaur :D), sports games (BASKETBALL), trips into Philly for museums/galleries/concerts, etc etc etc. This weekend is Special Olympics, which is one of the most fun things to happen on campus all year, and it’s all student run!
If you go with the mentality that the things the school plans aren’t fun, you just aren’t going to have fun. It’s true that every weekend isn’t jam packed with activities, but I’ve had an amazing time going to school events on the weekends. Give them a try!
Villanova is a Catholic school, right? I am non-catholic religion, so will it be hard for me to fit in the social scene?
@nmusdream everyone asks this. the answer is no. you will fit right in. The only akward part will be for the orientation program when everyone is in the pavillion to participate for a mass. For those who have no idea what they are suppose to say and do it’s weird. but other than that…it’s pretty chill and cool.
and im talking about the on campus events…they are not so great…yes your talking about Special olympics and stuff. but how rarely do these events happen? not very often. basketball=lottery system. and philly trips are off campus. when i say there is nothing to do. im talking about on campus…there is honestly in my opinion nothing much…grab a couple of friends and go exploring.
I’ve been seeing people list a lot of negatives about Villanova, and it’s starting to make me regret putting in an application and planning a visit. How would you say your overall experience has been so far? And are you in the honors program, do you have any experiences about that to share?
You’re going to find negatives about every school you look at, especially on an anonymous forum. In the interest of being transparent, I am a little biased because I am currently at Villanova, but I can genuinely say that I’ve really enjoyed being here! There are tons of good things I could say, but because you seem to be worried about the negatives here’s one thing I don’t really like:
There are a lot of core requirement classes. It differs based on what school you’re in, but as an arts and sciences student I’m a little irritated that I had to take Philosophy/Theology/Ancients. But I guess that’s part of a liberal art education! I wish there were some more common areas like the Connelly Center, but admittedly we’re not a huge campus and don’t really have the space for a new building.
Ok, I do have to concede that Villanova is in a fairly rural area and while there are usually things going on during the weekend hosted by different clubs, this is not a crazy party campus during the weekend. You can certainly find things to do both on and off campus but personally I like having a campus where I can also relax during the weekend.
I am in the Honors program and plan on getting an Honors degree in addition to my major. There are a ton of really cool classes for Honors students and the teachers are usually a lot of fun. There are also trips to museums/zoos/amusement parks every so often. I love it.
Please please please don’t judge a college solely by other people’s (most likely biased) opinions. I even admit that my opinions are a little biased! Look at what the school offers. Look at the location, the majors, the alumni connections. Look at what a school can do for you.
I really think being anonymous on this forum makes people more likely to open up and say how it is. College is what you make of it, and there are some things to do on the weekends at Nova if you look hard enough, but some people are looking for more than Special Olympics or a movie to enjoy their college experience. The campus is quiet at night and on the weekends. Since many students live close to campus, quite a few tend to go home on weekends, find things to do off campus, work, or hang out with their bf/gf. You can’t compare Nova to Penn State Main. But the lack of partying also makes the campus clean and a nice place to get school work done. You can visit plenty of schools where the students party during the week and come back to a dorm with students passed out in the bathrooms and puking in the halls, but you won’t find that at Nova. You can visit your old HS friends at other colleges and party or get in trouble in Philly. I would not cross Nova off your list because of the lack of nightlife on campus. What I would do if the night life scene is really important to you is visit the campus and take a tour, then walk the campus at night. Then go down the main line and check out the scene at St Joe’s (bordering West Philly), and then go to Penn and check out what a real night life is like. I used to hang out at St. Joe’s off campus apartments and get into frat parties at Penn when I was in HS, and went to plenty of frat parties at IUP and Penn State and had some fun and saw plenty of gross things I can’t say here and looking back on it the college party scene gets boring fast and having to live that lifestyle every week (or every other day) is not really as fun as it sounds.
I absolutely love my experience at Villanova. I am in the Honors Program and have enjoyed the academic challenge. Also, there is definitely a pretty good party scene (frat parties, bars when you’re of age, and also formals down in Philly). I’m also a current student so message me if you have any questions. Always more than happy to talk about my experience here.
my D choose Business when she applied, i don’t believe there was an option to choose a 2nd major. does Villanova ever admit you into a different program but tells you or just simple denies you the admission in general?