Dayton Alumnus, Taking Questions

<p>jmeyer thanks for all of the information. I tried in vain to get my daughters to explore UD but they didn’t want to leave the west coast. My son is a 9th grader and I hope that when he is ready to start looking that he will look at UD.</p>

<p>does anyone know about the theatre programs at UD? I’ve seen pics of art street and it looks amazing but I was curious about how good the theatre program is, how many productions it does, if it does musicls, and how difficult it is to get into? I know its alot of questions haha but any help would be greatly appreciated.</p>

<p>And another question–probably the one I should have asked first. How Catholic is it? I’m looking for another school to fill in a trip we’re making this summer to the midwest, and I like what I read about UD, but we are so not Catholic.</p>

<p>@ingerp- I’m a future UD student (I sent my check in just the other day) and as far as Catholic-ness (for lack of a better term) goes, I never got the “be catholic or you’re ostracized” vibe. It is a Marianist school, there is a beautiful chapel on campus, crucifixes in nearly every classroom (all the rooms I saw on my tour, anyway) and from who i’ve met thus far of the incoming class, the majority are indeed Catholic. many are coming from Catholic high schools. However the campus vibe I got was very laid-back and I don’t think you’d be treated any differently for not being the same religion. UD is a great place and I think anyone who visits will love it.</p>

<p>I am wondering how conservative or liberal Catholic University of Dayton is. We are Catholic, but very much a Vatican II family.</p>

<p>UD is as “Catholic” an experience as you wish it to be…sort of like a “choose your own adventure” book. Some students choose attend mass regularly, join religious organizations, and find unique ways to practice their faith on campus. Other students are blissfully unaware; they are only occasionally reminded of the school’s affiliation when they see a Marianist wandering about the student neighborhood (read, “Ghetto”). As a non-practicing Catholic, I was impressed with the opportunities the school provided for those who care…and the tolerance shown for those who couldn’t care less. Get it?</p>

<p>How is the Pre-med curriculm/program at UD?</p>

<p>Just dropped son #3 off at UD. This was just an outstanding choice for my son. Dayton, as an institution, really dots every i and crosses every t. Their customer service is exceptionally friendly as well as helpful on the administrative side. And I say this as the mom of an ND grad. ND could learn something from Dayton. A lot of times at ND you felt like they were doing you a favor instead of just helping you with your problem. Never have that feeling at Dayton. Clearly some higher up at Dayton has made the decision to be extremely customer service friendly. </p>

<p>The campus is beautiful and mostly redone. Founders Hall is next up for renovation - it needs it but the kids there seem to love it anyway. The other residence halls are amazingly beautiful.</p>

<p>And the kids that go there TRULY are THAT friendly. Could not believe it. After the parents event in the pub Saturday night, a few of us wandered into the ghetto to see what the fuss was about and maybe even run into our kids (we did! and they were happy to see us! weird…) It was one big block party but every house we walked by invited us to their party, even us old folks. My friend pointed out that over 1.5 hours in the ghetto we never heard one cuss word, not even the word ‘damn,’ and she was right. </p>

<p>These kids are really really happy and you started to feel like you were in the Disneyland of colleges. I can’t help but think my son is going to have the best four years of his life. We live in the Cincy area now and I meet a ton of Dayton grads, and to a one they absolutely loved their UD experience. I meet lots of folks who transferred out of Miami, but still haven’t met one who left UD, although they must be out there somewhere.</p>

<p>My son’s class is the largest in UD history, so I’m guessing their reputation is growing. They are pretty generous with merit aid, too - we know two upper classmen there now on completely full rides, including room/board. B+ students with good test scores get substantial chunks of aid, too. </p>

<p>Hope this helps someone and I could most likely answer some questions!</p>

<p>We dropped our DS off yesterday for his sophomore year! He is in an apt with 6 guys and couldn’t wait to move in. His freshman year was a rocky start as far as roommate selection went, but he thrived on the support from the whole floor at Founders. He found a great group of young men who seem to have the same focus and promise. I am very confident he will grow and develop into an upstanding citizen with UDs help. Drop off day was very easy and more of a ‘drop and run’, than the 2-day fanfare of activities for freshman. Not that that was bad, but really felt it wasn’t necessary for returning students. He worked out the kinks in his schedule over the summer through email correspondence with his advisor. Happy that he is set to go on Wednesday. Willing to answer questions if anyone has them!</p>

<p>Well, I dropped off my daughter and I DIDN’T LIKE WHAT I SAW. Maybe the kids were not using fowl language in the ghetto, but the partying was out-of-control. Very few kids attended the campus-sponsored dance. I saw around 150 kids, meaning that the other 750 may have been at those house parties on UD property. Apparently, it’s o.k. to stand out in the yard and drink, no matter what your age! At least a dozen houses had signs, written on bed sheets, saying, “Underage Drinking-A National Crisis”, “Don’t worry…We won’t tell your parents”, “Drop off your freshmen girls here”, etc. Upperclassmen weren’t even due back on campus until this week. They came back to party with the freshmen! How immature!! One can only hope that these freshmen know why they’re at school and can pull themselves away from the nightly party scene.</p>

<p>I saw a couple of signs like you mention, but I also saw a couple saying things like, “You’re about to enter the best four years of your life!” and “I’ve spent 3 great years here and wish I were an incoming freshman!” </p>

<p>I think the parties the first weekend back at college are <em>always</em> big. Everywhere. It’s like a reunion after they haven’t seen their friends over the summer, and Dayton is no exception. And upperclassmen often come back early, and not to indoctrinate the freshmen but to see their friends. If they joke about the freshman and party with them, I doubt that’s their main focus. They don’t even know them yet. They want to see <em>their</em> friends and the freshmen are an excuse to have a party.</p>

<p>In other words, unless your daughter is in a convent, you wouldn’t have liked what you saw at ANY COLLEGE IN AMERICA the first weekend back. Things settle down some when classes start, although I’m sure parties can be found every weekend.</p>

<p>Also, regarding the school sponsored social - we walked through that area about 12:15 or so and that party was still going strong. I know a bunch of kids went there for a while and then left for other parties. They’re figuring it out. My niece, also an incoming frosh, doesn’t drink at all, and won’t (health issues) and yet she also ended up in the ghetto later in the evening. </p>

<p>I say all this as someone who is extremely concerned about teenage drinking. The older a kid is when they begin to drink the less likely they are to become an alcoholic, thus we do not allow our kids to drink in high school. One of them has struggled with this rule a little (this particular kid was more susceptible to peer pressure) and they were grounded for many months in high school. We mean it - we don’t just pay lip service to our rule that you can’t drink in high school.</p>

<p>That being said, when they’re 18 and 19, our society says they can marry, have a child, die for our country, but not have a beer? It’s a stupid law. College kids have drank since my mom went to college in the 40’s. I do a LOT of educating with my kids about the risks and consequences of drinking, from the lack of inhibition and poor decision making on a binge night to the lifetime alcoholic who ends up with no job and no family to the person who uses alcohol as a gateway drug to pot and then harder drugs. No doubt, it’s risky business. </p>

<p>But to hide from it isn’t my m.o. We are light social drinkers and try to teach our kids to be the same way. They haven’t been perfect so far, but we don’t just lecture them, we have discussions that are two-way, and I believe it’s helped our kids so far. I hope they make good decisions. I’ve done all I can to help them do so, but I am not them, and I cannot make every decision for them. They’re launched, for the most part, when they leave for college. </p>

<p>But Dayton is no worse or better than most schools in this regard. And the kindness and welcoming atmosphere of the upperclassmen (not just at the parties) was amazing. And I’m sorry, but unless you’ve been to other university parties, you wouldn’t realize how highly unusual it was to NOT hear ANY swear words at a college party.</p>

<p>docmom, did you look at Xavier when you were college shopping, and if so, how would you say it compared with UD? What led you to choose UD instead, etc.?</p>

<p>We live in Cincinnati and have been on Xavier’s campus many times. It’s just not that campus-like to us, especially compared to Dayton (or even the University of Cincinnati, recently named in the Top Ten Most Beautiful Campuses by Forbes). Dayton is just a great campus. </p>

<p>Xavier is in a bad part of town, and there’s no cool commercial area near it, so it seems pretty isolated. They’ve built some nice new buildings recently but it seems very urban.</p>

<p>Also, Xavier is Jesuit and Dayton is Marianist. Most Jesuit colleges in the US very much downplay their Catholicity, and Xavier is no exception. Dayton seems to embrace it, even though I do know several kids there who aren’t Catholic and they seem just as happy there as the Catholics. UD Orientation had a great mass, and the school is decidedly Catholic while definitely not ramming it down anyone’s throat. But if you’re Catholic, your faith is very much available, whether attending masses or getting involved in Dayton’s extensive service and outreach programs.</p>

<p>And as I probably mentioned earlier, Dayton has thought of everything. Their facilities are mostly all new and the opportunities for the kids are extensive. Every department is pleasant on the phone, and they really go out of their way to try to help you. Honestly, the employees seem as happy as the students!</p>

<p>I just didn’t think Xavier holds a candle to Dayton. But that’s just one opinion - you should visit both and see what you think.</p>

<p>My DD has made Dayton her #1 choice. So just how generous are they with merit scholarships? Does anyone have any experience and/or data to share?</p>

<p>micawber, see thiis thread <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-dayton/681713-merit-aid-university-dayton.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-dayton/681713-merit-aid-university-dayton.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;