Fyi

Colleges and Universities A-Z Ursinus College
1

<p>I went to Ursinus College and I graduated in 2011. I read the Visit Reports on here and am very surprised by what people think. First of all, Ursinus is just as difficult to get into and just as amazing an education as Haverford or Swarthmore; both of which are in the same athletic conference as Ursinus. Schools get put into an athletic conference because they are similar in academics and athleticism.</p>

<p>Second, trying to base student diversity on one tour is difficult. You never know who is going to be out and about. Additionally, everyone has good and bad days so try not to judge an entire school off of one interview or one girl you see crying. Its college. People cry.</p>

<p>Ursinus is a school that supports discussion and learning for the sake of learning. However, we have a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. There are amazing internship opportunities. There are amazing research opportunities. Students have been published and students are accepted into extremely high-ranking post-grad programs; both in the U.S. and abroad.</p>

<p>Ursinus does tend to have more of the 'preppy' set of students. But that doesn't mean other types of people don't exist. Everyone there finds their niche.</p>

<p>I will say people at UC work hard and then party hard :-)</p>

<p>Though Collegeville seems small, there are actually a lot of things to do in the area, in addition to King of Prussia. Restaurants, theatres, shopping, and various events.</p>

<p>Good luck with your college searches and let me know if you have any questions about UC!!</p>

2

<p>On a different thread I asked about my college list, and after looking into your suggestion- Ursinus College- I am beyond enthusiastic about the college. I managed to get my list cut in half because so many of the college did not meet what I wanted the way Ursinus did. They seem to have quality academics, too & I adore the passion for learning, not JUST competing. It’s inspiring. Beyond all of the things I love about Ursinus, I do have a few questions. </p>

<p>Firstly, how flexible is the curriculum? Are the requirements so high that I won’t be able to experiment around a bit? I am kind of eclectic and like to get my hands into all sorts of things. </p>

<p>Also, what type of feel does the campus have? As I won’t be able to visit colleges until fall, I’m curious about what to expect and what type of student finds their place at Ursinus. </p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

3

<p>Hey! </p>

<p>That’s awesome, I’m glad you’re thinking Ursinus! As some background, I was an English and Dance double major, and now I am in law school.</p>

<p>Curriculum: well you have certain core Liberal Arts courses you HAVE to take: 2 semesters of the same foreign language (don’t have to be consecutive), 2 semesters of CIE (freshman seminar), 1 lab science, 1 humanities course, 1 math, 1 diversity (mine was history of jazz dance) , 1 global (mine was Caribbean lit), and an ILE which could be an internship, research or study abroad.</p>

<p>You then have certain courses needed to complete your major(s). However, if you only have one major you have plenty of time to take as many other courses as you want. Most people double major, have a major and a minor, double major and have a minor etc… Or you can just have one major and take classes in everything.</p>

<p>Something you may be interested in is creating your own major. I had a friend who wants to be a museum curator create a Renaissance Studies major (essentially; it had a longer name). So you can go that route as well.</p>

<p>The campus has a great feel. I suggest doing an overnight, possibly even two, just to see what its really like. But remember that your feel of campus will likely be swayed by your tour guide or you overnight host because you’re seeing it through their eyes in a way.</p>

<p>If you want a more broken-down, stereotype classification, I can do that too. There are the athletes, there are the theatre people, there are some stoners, there are the more introverted people, there are the oddly extroverted people etc… but they all find each other. There is Greek life on campus, comprising I believe 22% of the student population. However, being Greek is not a classification in and of itself. All of the groups I just mentioned are scattered throughout Greek life. </p>

<p>All in all, there will be cliques everywhere, but UC is really about taking the steps to see what you love doing and growing as a person and if you do that fearlessly you will make lifetime friends. Also, among UC alums, if you went to Ursinus, you automatically have a bond that going to other schools does not create, at least from what I’ve seen of my friends from HS that went to other schools.</p>

<p>So, as cheesy as it sounds, all students find their place at Ursinus as long as they are willing to work hard academically and fearlessly dive into the life there. Someone who just wants to sit in their room and not try all of the things UC has to offer will get by… but why would you waste college like that?</p>

<p>For example, I was a cheerleader, in all of the dance companies, an RA, a tour guide, VP of the women’s honor society (Whitians), did Summer Fellows (a summer research program), helped start a club (yea you can do that too!), was a member of many other clubs, went out on the weekends, had an off campus job for 2 years, etc…</p>

<p>let me know if you have any other questions!!</p>

4

<p>Thank you so much for such a thorough answer! I will deffinately be mailing Ursinus and delving in deeper into the departments I’m most curious about. Sounds like a great place to receive a undergraduate education.</p>

5

<p>In my book Ursinus, Hendrix, and Muhlenberg are three schools that every one should look at! ( I like Rice, Allegany, Juniata ,and Yale too!) but those three are where it is at! Urisnus is kind of hard to say but that is about the only flaw!</p>