<p>All of her classes have over 30 students. Civ, of course, has many more in the large section. She didn’t get in to several of the classes she wanted because they were full.</p>
<p>I think the drinking is getting worse each year. You can check out the student newspaper for more info.</p>
<p>[</a>" + artTitle.replace(“-”,“”) + " - " + “The Cowl” + "](<a href=“http://www.thecowl.com/]”>http://www.thecowl.com/)</p>
<p>Marist also gave my d considerably more money.</p>
<p>Also a parent of a class of 2014 student, offering a different point of view. My student has experienced most class sizes less than 30 students, finds DWC extremely interesting (is in an honors section and has a smaller class size), has had some great professor interactions, and made some terrific friends. Admits that there is a lot of partying, but seems similar to what friends have experienced at other colleges (several of those friends at schools mentioned in the above article).</p>
<p>Thank you current PC parents. Zonina, thanks for the newspaper link. I’m trying to think back to my college days and I wonder if things have gotten worse or just stayed the same with respect to drinking. I went to a school where students worked hard and played hard on the weekend and once in awhile on Thursdays. We seldom drank during the week, which seems more common at the schools my son is accepted at. Most of my fellow students were really nice and friendly. Drugs were a non-issue. THe PC newspaper paints an uglier picture of the party scene although I know several student who absolutely love it there, 2 partiers and one non-partier.</p>
<p>opt25:</p>
<p>With all due respect, you did know PC was Catholic when your child enrolled, right? You did know that a mass is a religious service, right? If religion makes you feel awkward/uncomfortable, maybe you should have passed on attending the mass.</p>
<p>Very few Catholic colleges shove religion down your throat. It’s there if you want it. Crucifixes in the classrooms are common in Catholic colleges. At Brandeis, there are mazzuzahs (sp?) in the doorways. BC, Georgetown, Holy Cross, are all Catholic and held in very high regard by Catholic and non-Catholic alike.</p>
<p>MADAD,
Of course I knew PC was Catholic. THe Welcome Mass was the first item on the agenda of orienation. All freshman were told, by the President of the school, that they were members of the PC family because they made the sign of the cross.
I have other children at other Catholic colleges. Never before, and never at any other Catholic college, have I been made to feel unwelcome for not being Catholic.</p>
<p>opt 25: I understand you felt uncomfortable. I guess the most important question is: is your child comfortable at PC?</p>
<p>Wirefox… I’m curious how your D liked to school after the Family Day? Definitely has many positives in the honors program, campus was very lively with Lax game, Rugby game and BOP activities going on. Even had a chance to speak with the security dept. at one of the tables and got very good feedback from them. Asked a few random students in one of the smaller eateries how the meal plan worked outside the dining hall and they explained the whole points thing without any reservation. Pretty good overall!</p>
<p>LACsearch unfortunately, we missed the Family day. We went to the BC Honors day. Would you mind telling me about the Honors program. What did you like? My S will spend a day next week.</p>
<p>LACSearch: We actually went to the weekend for admitted students back in February. Dinner on Friday night for Honors Program students and then a very large open house on Saturday. We both felt we liked the school more after that weekend than we did back in Oct. when we first visited. Daughter is doing another trip this month with my husband. He has a very strong biology/science background and that is what my D wants to major in so I convinced H to visit so he could get a feel for the Biology department. Also, my D will actually shadow a student that day so she can get a feel for classes etc. We will see. We also will be visiting UVA this month. Her brother is there and UVA is in state for us although with the Honors program scholarship at PC, the two schools are very close in cost. Also, a little lower down on D’s list is W&M. Know that school well since my older D is there. We shall see…starting to get slightly stressful around here. It is now a matter of really trying to compare the curriculum of all three schools and figuring out which would work best for her. Good luck with your decision too!</p>
<p>Was also at that dinner and yes it is getting more diffucult to weigh the wants vs the practicallity of the honors program and the scholarship. </p>
<p>mathlady… it is a very interesting school. It would not be my first choice if it weren’t for the honors program and generous scholarship. The honors program definitely raises the bar at the college. The profs are hand picked for the program. I spoke to Dr Lynch who runs the honors program and he explained the situation… if I remember correctly there are a min of 6 required honors courses but there are opportunities to take many more. Best I can decipher there are 23 honors courses (not counting colloquium). As a liberal arts major it looks like I have the potential to take maybe 8 more practically. On top of that there is the honors colloquium which is an indepth study of a praticular subject matter. They offer 4 colloquium per semester to choose from starting in 2nd semester sophmore. He said a typical honors student would take 2 in his time there but did know of students who have taken 4. Also offered are independant study courses where you have the opportunity to make your own course based on a very specific subject matter. All in all it appears that you can be as challenged as you want or as laid back as you want.</p>
<p>One thing that did impress me was how nice everyone was. There was a Lax game about to start and as we were walking out of the Peterson center a Lax player came running out of the door ahead of us. As the door closed quickly behind him (I’m sure with the game about to start his mind was on getting back to the bench) he stopped, came back, and opened the door for us. Thought this said a lot about him and hopefully the culture!</p>
<p>Thanks, Your thoughts helped explain the expectations.</p>
<p>Isn’t it funny how sometimes it’s the little things you notice, LACSearch? My D is a current PC junior. Last year a friend from BC came to visit and commented on exactly the same thing. He told her he’s never been to a college where people are so friendly and “what’s with everyone holding the door for you?” lol.</p>
<p>Re: Alcohol issue of the newspaper. That was NOT representative of a major problem…I’m a writer on the Cowl and we were ordered to write articles about alcohol to “raise awareness” or something. It was basically the choice of the faculty adviser to do an alcohol-themed issue. I didn’t like the concept, and I thought it was unfairly vilifying the student body. There is a drinking scene on campus, but I have numerous friends who don’t drink at all. My roommate doesn’t drink, but she still goes out and has fun with us. Nobody judges her for not drinking.
I love having the door held for me, btw. It was one of the first things I noticed on campus. Most of the boys are such good gentlemen! :)</p>
<p>I’m a junior at Providence and I just quickly read through this article. A lot of kids do choose to drink as there are bars situated closely around campus. The area directly around school is fine. Once you begin to wander further off campus by yourself, you might run into a little bit of trouble late at night only (12 am or later I’d say). Overall, Providence is a great school. It is what you make of it. I’ve met a lot of really good people and have had a good experience. I’m definitely not looking forward to the end of college.</p>
<p>im extremly happy excited and proud to be attending pc next year, but i am a liitle worried about the drinking scene since i do not drink… how much of the student body does go out to bars once or twice a week? and what else is there to do friday/ sat. nights?</p>