<p>A few questions! I'm a rising senior and thinking of applying here but I have a bunch of questions.</p>
<p>1) Is there a lot to do off campus? Are there nearby groceries, movie theaters, restaurants, etc. that you can do? Do you need a car to go anywhere? A bike? I won't have a car but if I needed to I could maybe bring a bike. Is everything walkable?</p>
<p>2) What are the best programs there? I'm undecided in my major but could really go for anything once I find an interest. Maybe social work, social services and humanities, psychology, or medical sciences. Right now, anything could go. If I'm undecided, does SCU have strong programs all-around?</p>
<p>3) How competitive is their merit scholarships? I have about a 3.9 UW GPA, various leadership, and a 1970 total on my SAT. Cost is a MAJOR concern, and a lot of the reason I'm looking at SCU is so I can attend college out-of-state (instead of going to UWashington with 26,000 other kids) and possibly get merit aid.</p>
<p>4) How are the dorms? Nice? Or are they boxes?</p>
<p>5) Where's the nearest airport? Is transportation easy to get there?</p>
<p>6) How's the diversity? Are there really preppy, rich kids there? I'm not preppy and I'm not rich.... I'm more on the semi-liberal, casual dressing side.... and I'm Asian, but I don't really hang out with a lot of Asians- most of my friends are white actually. I don't really act Asian or FOB a lot... so....?</p>
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<li>My daughter just finished her freshman year at SCU. She says...there is a LOT to do there. Some of it is a hike away but there is a bus system that can take you to the big mall, and the Caltrain station is right across the street. There are kids with cars and if you need a ride somewhere, usually you can find one. She does not (and will not) have a car there. It hasn't been an issue.</li>
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<p>2.The school has good programs overall. They are very well known for their business and engineering programs. My daughter says their sciences are great.</p>
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<li><p>Their scholarships are competitive. You have to be accepted with distinction to get a scholarship. The stats for that vary from year to year so it's hard to say. </p></li>
<li><p>The dorms are fabulous...roomy, nicely maintained, and clean. In fact they are working on some of them this summer...and truthfully I don't know why because I thought they were pretty spectacular as is. DD's room was 12X18 with two huge closets and a huge cadenza with drawers and cabinets. Rooms have sinks in them in many dorms. They are quite nice.</p></li>
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<p>5) The nearest airport is the San Jose airport which is all of ten minutes away. There is a free shuttle bus which runs from the train station (right across the street) to the airport.</p>
<p>6) We're not rich or preppy either. The school is expensive. It does draw it's fair share of "rich kids". But most are quite down to earth and nice. DD says this is not an issue.</p>