<p>Good morning all:</p>
<p>D is a current senior, looking to apply to Ursinus for fall of 2010. Before she does, we were wondering:</p>
<p>How are you enjoying Ursinus? Is it what you expected when you applied? What's better? What's worse?</p>
<p>Thanks for any help you can give!</p>
<p>D1 just started her soph yr at Ursinus. So far it’s meeting expectations.</p>
<p>Good things:
• Small class sizes. The largest class she had as a freshman had about 30 people. Most had about 20, a couple had only 12 students.
• Nice attention from professors. All know her name (probably due to the small class size); all have been responsive if she asks for help or advice
• Opportunities probably not available at larger schools. She did independent research second semester freshman year and is employed as a lab TA this year.
• Definite sense of fit / engagement with Ursinus. The students aren’t all exactly like her, but she’s found her niche. She’s learned who to talk to / how to get things done.
• Flexibility. Professors have allowed her into “closed” classes or offered to open another section of a class to accommodate schedule conflicts.</p>
<p>D1 is not a complainer, so I don’t hear many bad things. Below are things that sometimes annoy her, and she admits that they are not major issues.<br>
• Only one dining hall and one food court on campus. A little variety might be nice…
• Her friends at Penn State have more school-sponsored social options. (I would hope so, with 15x the students!)
• Her freshman-year dorm room was small, dark, and noisy – it was in the basement across from the laundry room. (But this year she’s in the Residential Village and loves her room.)</p>
<p>Just so you know where she’s coming from, D2 is a science major and varsity athlete. Kids with a different focus might have more to add. She has been very happy with her decision to attend Ursinus. </p>
<p>I think if she was choosing a college now, she would consider bigger schools (mostly for the social aspect). She has more confidence now than she did as a high school senior, and now feels she could navigate a big school. The irony is, I believe she developed that confidence in part due to her experience at Ursinus.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for taking the time to share your D’s experience at Ursinus! I’m glad to know she’s liking it. My D might be interested in playing basketball there…do you (or your D) know how hard it is to walk on?</p>
<p>Technically, all of the basketball players are “walk-ons” since it’s Division III and there are no athletic scholarships. ;)</p>
<p>It would be perfectly acceptable (and a good idea) for your D to contact the coach (Jim Buckley) and indicate her interest. He will probably try to see your D play, and you could gauge your D’s chances by his comments; or just ask him outright if D is likely to make the team.</p>
<p>My D says that over 20 women tried out for the team last year, and he kept 13. I don’t know how many of the freshman who didn’t make the team considered themselves “recruited” for basketball.</p>
<p>(My D does not play bball at Ursinus)</p>
<p>Nephew attends, just started sophomore year. I spoke to him a number of times last year and over the Summer, and S1 and I visited him there last year, S1 is interested in Ursinus. I ditto everything mrsref says. Nephew very bright, but not the greatest student in HS–he has really been engaged by profs at Ursinus, did quite well last year. Likes the social scene. Dorm experience similar last year, he also got into residential village this year, loves it.</p>
<p>Another parent reply here…you were probably hoping to hear directly from some students. My daughter is a junior, although she transferred in as a sophomore, so it’s her second year. She really has enjoyed her time there and taken advantage of the small school atmosphere and advantages that offers. I’d say similar comments to the above posters. She ended up not liking her first choice school after a year. Although not really large (5000 students) it did not have the sense of community and socal cohesion she had hoped for. It was in Washington, DC, a city she loves, but that also resulted in students not really socializing on campus much on weekends…eveyone was running out to clubs and such.</p>
<p>She has been much happier with the social scene at Ursinus, as well as the academic opportunities and enviornment. Not a lot to do in Collegeville, so kids are more likely to hang out on campus and make their own social opportunities. There are some things to do locally, however…nice bike trails and such, some restaurants in places like Phoenixville, shopping in Plymouth Meeting, King of Prussia, etc. Those things are of course more accessible if you have a car or a friend with one.</p>
<p>She (and we) have been quite happy with the academic side of things. She was a Summer Fellow this past summer, which involves doing research or a project one on one with a professor for eight weeks. For her it resulted in a 30 page paper and power point presentation to faculty and students at the end of the session. Not the kind of thing a rising junior is as likely to experience at a large school. She got a $2500 stipend and free housing…also better than a summer of babysitting.</p>
<p>She also worked the Alumni Weekend at the beginning of summer, helping with various tasks…registration, ferrying aournd older alums in a golf cart, etc…had a suprisingly good time, made freinds with an elderly male alum who is an artist in Phoenixville. She will be studying abroad in the spring, which in addition to obvious benefits is probably also a good break from the enviornment of a small school.</p>
<p>Thanks to all who have responded! You are confirming what we suspected from the start–Ursinus should be a good choice. Priority app has been sent.</p>
<p>Had dinner with D1 over the weekend, so have an update to the post above.</p>
<p>Apparently Wismer (the dining hall) was reconfigured over the summer to add seating toom and two more “stations” for new food options. D1 likes the new options, so now likes the dining hall more than she did last year. :)</p>
<p>My son had the impression the school was very academically intense–perhaps because the tour guide was. What is the workload like?</p>
<p>I think the workload depends on the major / classes. One thing for sure, there is more work for a class at Ursinus (or any college) than in high school. One difference is, college students spend less time in the classroom and are expected to do more on their own.</p>
<p>My D is very busy during the week. Partly because of her major (chemistry), partly because she has taken on a lot (18 credits, pre-season workouts for her sport, and part-time employment). Her roommate is pre-med and has a similar workload. During the week they have very little “down” time. (Their one indulgence is watching “Gray’s Anatomy” on Thursday evening.) Friday nights and Saturdays are for fun/relaxation, then the books come back out on Sunday.</p>
<p>My son is in the Class of 2013. We are so happy that it was a great fit for him. There is lots of work fro his classes…CIE is reading, reading and then some more reading…He has no real complaints…maybe, the food is boring a bit…having a terrific Freshmen experince thus far. He came home for mid-term break (a long weekend). He loved being home…his room, the shower, the home cooking. However, he was ready to go back on Tuesday and that was the way it should be! The school has been a terrific choice!</p>
<p>Thanks Parents. I have noticed on CC that the small school forums seem to draw very few student comments, so it is great that parents step into the breach.</p>