Now that results have been out for a while and you are in the process of making or have already made your decisions, feel free to ask any questions you may have.
I’m currently in my final semester and have studied both Business Economics and Psychology over my four years. I have also been heavily involved with the campus and office of undergraduate students. Moreover, I have pursued internships every summer for course credit.
Best.
@aahmed4 quick question… My S will be attending in the fall…considering majoring in economics… What type of job offers have (if any) have you received? Wasn’t sure if he should try to pursue a business degree instead. Although, being well rounded with a CLAS degree might be wise. Here in lies his dilemma. Lol
Great question! I personally decided to pursue economics through CLAS so that my academics would be more well rounded, and this also enabled me to pursue my interest in psychology. That being said, Bloomberg recently ranked VSB as the #1 undergraduate business degree in the nation, so pursuing a BBA might be something to consider. One thing to note, however, is that pursuing economics through CLAS is an almost identical course program to VSB with the exception of a few classes required as part of each college’s core requirements. If your son did want to pursue a business background while still keeping his academics well rounded through CLAS, I would recommend that he spends a summer (probably best being the summer after freshman year) pursuing the business minor (SBI) so that if he did want to take business school specific classes or pursue a minor in a business school program (like finance or accounting) he would be able to.
I tend to find with most of the employers that I have spoken with, they prefer students well versed in the knowledge often associated with a BA (CLAS) degree, because BA degrees spend more focus on critical thinking and provide a wider range of beneficial cognition skills. With regards to jobs, over my 3 summers after starting freshman year, I have pursued internships with PayPal, eBay, and Warner Brothers respectively (my business interests are in technology and entertainment). With regards to post-graduation work, I am currently in the process of lining up some short-term consulting projects for the summer with a few companies in California. Regarding full-time work, I have been in deep discussions with several fast paced tech startups in the Silicon Valley and a few fortune 500’s (though already having such big named companies on my resume, is leading me towards choosing a small startup with a more intimate working environment).
With all this said, I think your son has great prospects no matter which path he chooses, and Villanova does a great job of helping students with their future career goals.
Let me know if you have any further questions!
Best.
Thoughtful response, @aahmed4. Good luck and go Cats!
@aahmed4 Thank you very much for your response. It is very helpful. He is so conflicted right now on which way to go. Is it possible to get a minor in finance or accounting if he completes the SBI business minor program during the summer? Is this minor through the business school? Sorry for all the questions. Your insight is very much appreciated!!!
If he chooses to go the CLAS path and does the Summer Business Institute (SBI) during the summer after freshman year, he would definitely have more than enough time to likely minor in both finance and accounting if that was his desire. Simply doing SBI would give him a ‘minor in business’, even if he chose not to pursue a separate minor in the business school. With regards to the minors, yes, they would be awarded through VSB.
Doing SBI the summer after freshman year would be highly recommended, because it would also give him the ability to pursue at least two internships throughout the remainder of his college career, and this would definitely give him an advantage when entering the workforce comparative to others his age. Provided he chooses a strong degree that can translate well to the business world, I personally believe that internships are more beneficial than pursuing minors, just for the sole fact that real world business acumen is highly respected in comparison to classroom experience. I find that college does a great job teaching one how to critically think, and thus enables individuals the necessary skills for the workforce. Depending on what he ends up pursuing after graduation, he will likely learn all the necessary work skills needed on the job, and thus work experience definitely holds a greater weight than class experience.
Best.
@aahmed4 thank you for your thoughtful and informative response! I will relay this information to him. Best of luck to you! I have no doubt you will be successful!
How much do you think a Villanova education is worth? Although we appealed financial aid, I’m not sure if we are going to get anything more, which basically means I’m paying full tuition. So, compared to the $25k/year I could pay at my state university (UMD), is Villanova really worth that much more? $250k over four years is much more than $100k over four years, but a difference in the quality between schools also exists. (I should note I would be pursuing Finance in VSB)
That’s a hard question. The fact is, Villanova is extremely expensive, especially when financial aid does not work in your favor. The fact also is that Villanova is a very well respected university nationally, and is gaining even more recognition everyday. At the end of the day, it ultimately comes down what you do with your education which will determine if you will reach the success you want. Could you achieve the same success from UMD that you could achieve from Villanova? The likely answer is yes. However, you will probably have a lot easier time and get better opportunities going to a better named school, and the case is that Villanova is better than UMD, especially with respect to business (Bloomberg recently ranked the VSB undergraduate degree #1, better than a Wharton degree with regards overall value).
The world we live in today, as unfortunate as it may sound, is one where “brand name” determines how you’re treated, and the person with the better pedigree will ultimately have the easier time in the long run. When you do not have the “brand name” you just have to work that much harder the prove your worth.
The answer in short is that the expense of the education at Villanova can be justified. Yes, you will be investing a lot more up front, but if you make the most of your education and explore the opportunities that Villanova can provide (with regards to internships, networking, building relationships, etc.) the return on investment would be that much higher. By no means is this a bash towards UMD. If that is ultimately where you choose to go, you will definitely have a great education, you may just have to work harder in the long term.
Hi! I recently committed to Villanova and I am very excited to attend this upcoming fall. I plan on going pre-law with major in Economics at the CLAS and I was thinking of doing a double major with possibly Political Science, History, or Psychology. First off, do you think a double major would be too rigorous? My main goal is to maintain a high GPA throughout my next 4 years (3.8 at the very least) so I can attend a great law school so if the course load is quite rigorous I may have to rethink my plan to double major. Just to give you an idea, as a high school senior I’m taking pretty difficult classes including AP Calc BC, AP Euro, AP Lit, and AP Psych. I just hope I will be able to keep my GPA high up until I apply to law school.
Also based on what you know about VSB would you say the course load is more rigorous than CLAS? Ever since it was ranked #1 by Bloomberg my Dad thinks that maybe I should transfer to VSB but I’m not very sure especially considering I’m going pre-law and I think a double major at CLAS would be more impressive to law schools but as a current senior, what do you think? And if I do decide to transfer to VSB as a current accepted student at CLAS would that be a lot more difficult and kind of a hassle?
Thanks so much and I’m sorry for so many questions that are kind of all over the place. I would really appreciate your input!
First off, congrats on your acceptance to Villanova, I am sure you will love your four years here!
With regards to the coursework, it is pretty manageable. Of course, Villanova’s goal is to rigorously challenge you, but you will learn how to best prioritize your work and course-load pretty quickly. If you’re up for a double major, I don’t think it would be too difficult for you, and is very possible to finish both majors in eight semesters (I actually have friends who have triple majored or double major double minored). As long as you are a good student, and you are willing to spend the time when you need to, you can maintain a high GPA with relative ease (I have around a 3.75 cumulatively and a 4.0 this semester so far).
I believe VSB and CLAS are pretty comparable in rigor regarding what you would be considering studying; of course any science major like Biology, Physics, or Chemistry tends to have more required credits and so those course-loads tend to be fairly more difficult. VSB is a great school, but is extremely difficult to get in to, even if you try to do an internal transfer – if it is the Economics major you are concerned about, Econ through CLAS is almost identical to Econ through VSB (most people who solely major in Economics, without an accompanying business major or minor, actually do it through CLAS). If law is your ultimate goal right now, I would definitely recommend doing it through CLAS; you can double major Economics and Poli-Sci and even specialize the Econ degree towards a political (pre-law) track – this path will definitely look impressive to the top law schools (I have friends going to top law degrees who have done this double major path).
Let me know if you have any other questions!
@aahmed4 Hi I’m considering attending Villanova in the fall and I’m just curious about the overall atmosphere on campus. Would you say that the overall student body is welcoming and accepting of others/not snobby? I visited Villanova last week and I loved the campus but I read some reviews about how a lot of students fit the generic white/snobby/preppy stereotype and that is something that I’m looking to avoid if I can. Also, do u feel isolated on campus (especially since freshman can’t have cars) or are there enough businesses/stores/etc around the general campus that you feel like you have easy access to the things that you need (like going grocery shopping and such). Ah I feel like I have so many questions but I just don’t know where to begin!
Thank you so much for your thoughtful response, it was very helpful! I will be sure to let you know if I have any further questions.
@aahmed4 What a great thread! Thank you. My daughter is accepted to VBS for fall. She is wait listed for honors college. If she doesn’t get in she can apply Soph year with a high GPA. She is not a partier and was looking forward to honors dorm. Any suggestions or comments.
@aahmed4 I will be going to Villanova this fall and was wondering which freshman dorms are most desirable? Housing comes out so soon and I want to get the best dorm I can! Thanks!
I’ll let @aahmed4 chime in too, but most of South Campus seems about the same, with the exception of Stanford. It’s the largest and seems to be not as well-loved as the others.
I just want to say what an exciting senior year for you with Villanova winning the NCAA tournament! I enjoyed watching it and know you will miss your alma mater. Congrats on your upcoming graduation. #NovaNation
I personally love the atmosphere at Villanova, I enjoyed the smaller feeling of the student body versus something like the atmosphere at a state school, but that was just my personal preference. In terms of education, the average class size tends to be around 35 students and that complemented the way that I learned and thus the overall environment felt more intimate to me. You will also quickly come to learn that a majority of the school pride not only comes from our incredible education, but our amazing basketball team – even if you’re not a fan of basketball, you will become a fan of Villanova basketball!
People tend to come from wealthier backgrounds and being a private school it tends to have more of a preppy feeling to it. It seemed pretty normal for me, though I did come from a more preppy upbringing, and was therefore used to the atmosphere. That being said, as a non-white non-catholic student, I did not feel left out or like I didn’t fit in, furthermore, there are a lot of non-preppy students, so I definitely do not think you will feel out of place (the values of the university and the students themselves are very inclusive, and that made me love Villanova even more).
In terms of businesses and food establishments, there is definitely stuff to do around the campus; Bryn Mawr is not too far (could definitely be walked to in about 15-20 minutes) and there are bars, businesses, and other small places to walk around. The center of Wayne is in the other direction (about a 5-10 minute Uber ride) and similarly to Bryn Mawr there are bars, businesses, and restaurants. King of Prussia is approximately a 20 minute drive and is one of the largest malls in the country, so if you needed anything, you would likely be able to find it there (I believe there are shuttles on the weekends that will take students there). I personally had a car and had a place very close off campus where I lived all four years, but all my friends who did not have cars had no problems getting around. I think it will take a little while to get used to Villanova, but you definitely will not feel isolated on campus, there is always something going on and a lot of cool events to get involved with on and off campus.
I definitely would recommend she reapply for it for sophomore year if she does not get off the wait-list, and she should work really hard to keep a strong GPA her first two semesters. I personally did not join the honors program, so I actually do not know too much about the difficulty of getting in to it, though I did have quite a few friends who were a part of the program and they seemed to enjoy the honors classes that they took.
I am aware that during sophomore year, honors students have the option to live in honors apartments on west campus – that being said, I believe Villanova is changing there rooming policy starting next year so that students starting sophomore year could theoretically live in the west campus apartments if they have an early enough rooming schedule time (I am actually no too sure about this, as it did not affect me personally, but I did hear several students talking about it).
Regardless of where she dorms her first year, I am sure she will love it and feel comfortable. I am sure she will find a great group of friends to either spend her time with and potentially room with in the future – she will definitely not feel about of place if she is not much into partying.
I actually had my own place that was close off campus, so I do not personally know which dorm is most desirable. I think most dorms on south campus are pretty comparable and equally respected. I do believe there are one or two freshman dorms that are NOT on south campus, and I definitely would not recommend living in them. Some of my friends who did not live on south campus freshman year regretted it and felt isolated from the rest of the freshman class.