Current student taking questions

Colleges and Universities A-Z Bucknell University
61

<p>snajean and satn (your questons overlap)-</p>

<p>each hall has lounges with various 'game' type things (usually foosball and table tennis). in addition, uptown, the campus 'nightclub' located in swartz hall, has pool tables. there isnt really a dedicated center for such things, however. during the day, students who dont go back to hang out on their halls usually go to the first floor of the library or the bison food court area in the langone center. a more dedicated 'union' type building has been near the top of the 'to do' list for some time.</p>

<p>checking the bucknell wesbite, the arts and humanities residential colleges are located in mcdonnell hall. the others (global, environmental, social justice, science and technology) are located in smith.</p>

<p>also, i just found the upperclass floorplans, so i can link to all of the first year floorplans except swartz (upperclassmen live in the singles in the front, freshmen live in the doubles in the back), harris (choice, fourth floor is different than the other three) and larison (upperclassmen live in the larison annex). okay, so i can link to half the halls:</p>

<p>mcdonnell:</a> nicest freshman (and sophomore) doubles on campus.
smith:</a> very nice, new doubles, corner room is a triple (and often a bit of a party room).
vedder:</a> room shape provides a bit more privacy, but furniture isnt movable (well, it is, but theres nowhere to move it); recently renovated.</p>

<p>as you can see, most of the rooms are doubles. there are a VERY limited number of singles available, so dont count on getting one (i wouldnt want one as a freshman, anyway), a small number of triples (theyre large, though), and no apartment style or quad options for freshmen. the mods (sophomore partyville) and gateways (mostly seniors, very nice) do provide apartment-style options on campus, though. there are also quite a few singles open to upperclassmen and a small number of sophomores.</p>

<p>as far as a computer goes, you could theoretically get by without one... but i wouldnt recommend it. there are plenty of computer labs on campus open for your use 24/7, but so much communication is done via instant messanger that it would be hard to get your messages from people in other halls (dinner, meetings, projects, whatever) and spend time with people on your own. definitely not worth the expense of buying a student-priced update when it comes out, i dont think.</p>

62

<p>What is the economics dept. like?</p>

63

<p>alanarch-</p>

<p>the more i get asked this question the more difficult it becomes to answer. its just hard to compare a department you know (im an econ major, youre in luck) to many you, well, know nothing about. nonetheless, ill say what i can.</p>

<p>most of the faculty impress me to no end. the classes in general are not as mathematically intensive as i would like (im heading to graduate school in mathematics; i approach economics like i approach physics), but most of my less numerically-proficient friends have found the mathematics (and econ classes in general) sufficiently challenging.</p>

<p>being a liberal arts college, course options arent particularly large. that said, bucknells department is easily large enough to accomodate a focus: about 25 economics courses are tought every semester (probably about 40 distinct courses per year). independent study is somewhat popular for advanced upperclassmen, as well.</p>

<p>outside the four core courses (intro to economics, intermediate microeconomics, intermediate macroeconomics and intermediate political economy) course offerings are quite varied. they take a somewhat 'historical' route (economic history of women, the great depression, etc), an 'international' route (international econ, specific courses on pacific rim, african or carribean economies, etc), a political route (macroeconomic policy, several political economy courses), or more of a 'quantitative finance' route (mathematical economics, econometrics, public finance, etc). many pick an area or two of interest but one could just take a random combination of courses as students dont declare sub-concentrations (as they do in political science). as such, the freedom within the major is great for those wishing to double-major. also (and this is something to consider when comparing with other lacs), bucknell has a business program so a bevy of management and accounting courses are available to supplement a theoretical study of economics. id advise basic courses in things like accounting and business law for econoimcs majors wishing to directly enter the job market upon graduation.</p>

<p>lastly, i can say with confidence that the economics department at bucknell is stronger than it is at penn state. ive taken a few economics courses at penn state and ONE has lived up to the expectations i have for economics courses at bucknell... a 400-level international trade course that was dropped by about half the class after the first midterm.</p>

64

<p>I think you mentioned you were a math major?</p>

<p>My daughter likes Bucknell a great deal and would major in math, particularly interested in statistics.</p>

<p>Can you tell me a little bit about the math program?</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

65

<p>madad-</p>

<p>mathematics is a clear 'number one' department in my mind, though my experieces are obviously rather limited. economics was good. political science was very good. mathematics was... great. </p>

<p>and thats not just my biased opinion. every year several thousand of the top undergraduate mathematics students across the continent (yay canada!) compete for their schools in the william lowell putnam mathematics competition. despite their small enrollments, three liberal arts colleges have broken into the top ten in the past 12 years: harvey mudd four times (1997, 2001, 2002, 2003), swarthmore once (2001), and bucknell once (2004). that year we were joined in the top ten by seven other american universities: mit, princeton, duke, caltech, berkeley, harvard and stanford. pretty elite company.</p>

<p>one of the biggest advantages of being a mathematics student at bucknell is that all of our courses are 4 credits instead of the more typical 3. as such, professors are able to go into significantly more depth than at other schools while covering the same basic curriculum. after a few semesters the additional depth really begins to add up. that and every class is small, every professor is there to teach, and every professor is more than willing to help you learn... whether thats getting through the homework assignment or going over advanced independent readings.</p>

<p>statistics</a> is an offered concentration within the department of mathematics with which i am not particularly familiar. i placed out of statistics 1 with ap credit and my interests are in a much different vein: mathematical logic and foundations of mathematics. as such, im not knowledgable about many of the professors who teach the statistics courses (on an academic level, theyre all nice people).</p>

<p>if thats not enough, the math department has a very well attended picnic every year for students, faculty and alums that i think that speaks to the nature of the department. ive been in their offices working through things after midnight, my professors as excited and obvlious to time as i was. and as a result of their helpfullness im in a very good position to apply to graduate schools next year (im spending the next academic year as a ta at penn state before officially applying to programs).</p>

<p>i dont know, im exhausted and beginning to ramble. but if your daughtor is interested in math and is up for the challenge (its not the harvard mathematics department, but its hard)... i couldnt give a less inhibited recommendation.</p>

<p>edit: one more thing before i forget (and go to bed)! we actually have female mathematics majors. ive taken quite a few courses at penn state over the years... theyre usually like my seminar this semester which has TWO females, neither of which is american. in contrast, there were more female math majors than male math majors (11 to 9) in the bucknell class of 2004.</p>

66

<p>Your response was much more than I expected--many thanks</p>

<p>My daughter has made it clear she wants to be challenged in college--does not feel challenged very much in HS, except for in AP courses.</p>

<p>She has straight A's in all honors classes, all A's ex. one B+ in AP, not super active but active enough, based on PSAT's should score in 700's when she takes SAT's this weekend.</p>

<p>She loves Bucknell, and frankly, my wife and I were very impressed when we visited a couple of weeks ago. The alumni-run bus from Bucknell to the Boston area during breaks convinced my wife that Bucknell wasn't really that far away!!</p>

<p>Let's hope for the best, and thanks again!!</p>

67

<p>eric- can you recommend a meal plan (platinum/gold/silver?) & tell me a bit about each (can i go and eat whenever i want or do i get a specific number of meals per weekday and weekend?) Also, when do the dining halls open and when do they close?</p>

68

<p>the platinum/gold/silver meal plans are all new from my freshman year and, from the looks of things, are essetially the same plan.</p>

<p>these three plans are required for freshmen because a) they are a bit of a rip off and b) you have truly unlimited access to bostwick (the dining hall), meaning youll never go hungry. though expensive, after youve paid unlimited access is nice because just getting a piece of fruit for breakfast or ice cream after dinner with your friends doesnt count as a 'meal', whereas with other plans it does. anyway, where the plans differ is in the amount of declining balance on each, which youll use downstairs at the bison and at the 7th street cafe. though money can be added to the declining balance at any time, its a bit of a hassle. and since declining balance dollars transfer (you dont lose your balance until graduate), the platinum plan is probably the way to go, though with the expectation that the declining dollars will be used as frugally as possible. things can add up VERY quickly when people start charging multiple starbucks drinks on a daily basis. if the trust level isnt there, working up from the silver plan isnt a big deal. again, youre not really saving much money with platinum. its just a bit less of a hassle.</p>

<p>oh, and save your guest passes for the major theme feasts. invite friends. invite parents! just expect a lecture about how there werent ice scupltures, prime rib, lobster tail and a room upstairs full of handmade cakes and chocolates when THEY were in college. makes 'em feel good that youre probably eating better than they are, though.</p>

<p>lastly, they play around with dining hours quite a bit, but heres a link to what is currently posted on the bucknell website: <a href="http://www.bucknell.edu/About_Bucknell/Offices_Resources/Bucknell_Dining/Dining_Information.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.bucknell.edu/About_Bucknell/Offices_Resources/Bucknell_Dining/Dining_Information.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>increasing hours has been a point of emphasis the last couple of years, though i doubt theyll increase much beyond the current levels.</p>

<p>if anything isnt clear, just let me know. its difficult to remember what exactly needs to be explained and what doesnt.</p>

69

<p>What's the prevalent political view like: conservative, liberal, apathetic?</p>

70

<p>Hi Eric:
Two things today. I am assuming there are ATM's conveniently located all over campus, so that my daughter can use her current Wells Fargo account. Yes? and..... I am going to continue Verizon cell phone service. I think that you once said that Verizon had good reception there. True?
Thanks so much. Have a fun summer.</p>

71

<p>dwincho-</p>

<p>for a liberal arts college i would definitely say bucknell is on the 'conservative' side. its not an oberlin, bard, vassar, sarah lawrence, wesleyan, et cetera... type of school. that said, the university-wide politics are probably still left of center. theres a strong conservative voice on campus in the bucknell conservatives club as well as several strong liberal voices in the college democrats and the caucus for economic justice, among others. on the whole i wouldnt consider bucknell a terribly politically active campus, but it is certainly 'informed' and there are lots of chances for activism if thats your thing. </p>

<p>molly-</p>

<p>yes, there is an atm located in the basement of the langone center near the bison bookstore and mail center. i honestly dont remember the bank affiliation because its not something i use often. $60 in cash will last her a at least a month... if not two... or three. im serious.</p>

<p>again, with the cell phone service i can attest the verizon works well. another poster mentioned one that worked well for his son on a previous page. but it is essential that you get a high quality phone. this doesnt mean it has to be an expensive phone, mine was free, but my old phone just didnt cut it. cnet.com is an excellent website for consumer electronics ratings.</p>

<p>...</p>

<p>i guess i also need to admit that im not longer ericatbucknell, but perhaps ericwasatbucknell. for some reason i cannot now understand i graduated last weekend with a bachelors in mathematics and economics. im still going to enjoy my summer, though, despite being bored to tears by speaker ed rendell. one of my professorial advisors at penn state decided to pay me $8.15 an hour to sit around and read books! what a great start to my grad school career.</p>

<p>hope your d has a fun one, too!</p>

72

<p>How truely good is engineering( and is it prestigous) compared to WPI and Cooper Union.</p>

73

<p>mr ben-</p>

<p>i have no first-hand experience with engineering at bucknell. however, many of my friends are engineering majors and my brother is currently a practicing engineer (he went to penn state), so i can provide some insight.</p>

<p>one, bucknell has a very good engineering department. the students are smart and work hard. importantly, they get good jobs when they graduate. however, if you are thinking grad school, bucknell is annually among the top schools in the nation in the percent of engineering graduates earning phds.</p>

<p>two, bucknell is probably not unique in its engineering education. frankly, you can get a great engineering education a lot of schools, and though some could be called more prestigious than others, starting salaries are about the same everywhere. its just not a 'prestige' major; employers simply want someone who got a solid education at a good school and consequently can do the work. cooper union, bucknell and wpi all easily make the 'good' cut, and probably in that order. as such, theyd all be fine selections.</p>

<p>what i think makes bucknell the 'better' choice in my mind has nothing to do with engineering. what happens if you, like many engineering majors, decide after a semester or two thats its not what you want to do for the rest of your life? cooper union, though a fantastic school, provides you no flexibility. wpi provides very little. at a school like bucknell you could change your major to biology and go premed or to chemistry and plan for graduate school. or you could go in a completely different, non-science-related direction. </p>

<p>i guess my point in all of this is a simple one. there are probably 50 schools out there that provide top-notch engineering educations. within this list find the one thats right for you for all things non-engineering. thats the school where youll be most likely to be successful. and thats the school from which youll probably land the best job.</p>

74

<p>eric- congratulations on graduating.
that being said, i have 2 more questions. First, what are the cell phone services that have good reception at bucknell? which one/s would you recommend, including verizon?
Second, can you tell me if i can find an engineering booklist online for my freshman year? how much do books cost for the first year?</p>

75

<p>Eric, having gone through the Freshman Seminar Process, are there any outstanding courses and more importantly reputed Advisors that you've had or heard of?</p>

<p>Also, I'm a bit confused - do 1st year students take a Foundation Seminar in addition to a full 4 course schedule or is 3 courses + the seminar (I think it's this one)?</p>

<p>Lastly, I'm not sure how much you'll be able to help me with this, but I'm trying to decide between a few courses.</p>

<p>Roman Civilization - Christopher Chinn
Modern Europe - Julian Bourg
Thinking about History: World War II - David Del Testa</p>

<p>and </p>

<p>Political Science 140 American Politics - Robin Jacobsen, Scott Meinke
Sociology 123 Law and Society - Mathew Silberman</p>

<p>I've already decided to pick ECON 103 as my other course and I'm aiming toward a balanced schedule for the 1st Semester and want to wait to take Math/Science courses (not my forte) 2nd Semester.</p>

<p>Any light you could shed about the particular courses or professors would be much appreciated. I know I can look at professorsreviews.com or whatever but you seem to be a much more reliable source. Thanks.</p>

76

<p>satn-</p>

<p>verizon, sprint and cingular all get good reception, not sure about others. but again. and i cant say this enough, make sure you have a quality phone. it can make a huge difference.</p>

<p>as far as online booklists, i dont think youre going to find one. however, the university uses the stewart calculus series, so you can start there. if you want to save more money, go to the bookstore before orientation (if youre relatively local) or on move in day (if youre not). if you order your books that night from a reputable site you should have them in time for the start of class. </p>

<p>keep in mind that the bookstore wont buy books back that werent sold through them. its not an issue if its something you want to keep, but they actually buy back at a decent price, so its something to consider if its something youll never want to see again.</p>

<p>your first semester as an engineer is going to be pretty expensive because the calculus and physics texts arent cheap. my guess is that youll end up spending $500, though its certainly not unusual to spend even more than that. most semesters youll probably be between $300 and $600, depending on how many new books you need to purchase. </p>

<p>iceman-</p>

<p>you are correct in your assumption. the foundation seminar is indeed a full course. youll need to register for three in addition to it. </p>

<p>on your couse selections, i can recommend anything by bourg. i havent had him personally, but he has a good reputation on campus. also, the history 100 course i took freshman year was outstanding, though it was with a pretty special professor (kirkland). id take one of those two.</p>

<p>american politics with jacobsen is also a solid bet. i didnt take the course here (ap credit), but i minored in poly sci and shes known to be pretty good within the department.</p>

<p>and one word on the professor rating sites. read them, but read them intelligently. 'easy' profs will rarely get horrible reviews. difficult profs, even fantastic but difficult profs, will get them often. but if multiple students are willing to rate a professor highly even after working hard for an imperfect grade, he or she is someone you want to take.</p>

77

<p>I looked at the AP test credit pdf file on Bucknell's website but still find it unclear. I received a 4 on the AP US History exam which should give me credit but does that mean I can place out of Poli Sci 140 American politics? And would credit (4 or 5) for Euro place me out of Modern Europe?</p>

78

<p>Hi Eric!
Congratulations on your graduation! Well done.
Thank you for answering my many questions. I appreciated it very much and found your responses to everyone very helpful.
I hope you have a great summer at Penn State and wish you every success.
Molly</p>

79

<p>iceman-</p>

<p>bucknell has changed its ap policies slightly since i enrolled, so i cant comment on exactly how it works now.</p>

<p>however, my impression is that passing ap us government (not sure if you meant this instead of us history) still allows you to place out of poli sci 140. however, you would not get to count this credit towards your required courseload to earn a major in poltical science. you may want to email someone in the department (sherri foster, academic assistant for poli sci, <a href="mailto:sfoster@bucknell.edu">sfoster@bucknell.edu</a>) to make sure, though.</p>

<p>as for history, its doubtful. in my experience bucknells history courses are quite different than those taught at the high school level and as such, you will likely not be able to place out of a specific course.</p>

<p>i also realized that i forgot to address specific profs for foundation seminars. different members of the faculty will teach many of the courses each year, design new ones, et cetera... so i cant be of much help when it comes to specifics. however, if you are having difficulty selecting seminars, i would recommend taking one from someone in or near the department in which you plan to study. they can be of more immediate help when it comes to recommending courses and faculty that will suit your needs and interests.</p>

<p>...</p>

<p>also, thanks everyone! ill be sure to keep you all updated when i find out where ill actually be spending my next four, five, six, seven or eight years as a phd student. this whole process is much simpler the second time around, though. i can certainly say that.</p>

80

<p>Eric- about 1st semester courses: as an engineering major, i have 3 required courses, an elective and a foundation seminar. they're all full courses, probably. So does that mean engineers have to complete 5 course credits first semester or does the elective carry over to 2nd semester? Thanks.</p>