was wondering about the basics of social life at this school, and what the student body is like
I heard Quinnipiac is a great school and since it’s 70% out of state, most people live in campus which makes for a great social life.
Quinnipiac University is located in Connecticut. The majority of students are from New England and come from affluent backgrounds. You’ll see many luxury cars that student’s parents bought them but not from freshmen. Freshmen aren’t allowed cars on campus. It’s great for health, law, and good for business majors. The students are nice to your face but caught up in their own lives and more superficial problems. That isn’t necessarily bad but is worth keeping in mind. It’s a mid-sized institution so you’re bound to run into familiar faces (can be good or bad depending on how often you plan on hooking up with strangers and potential future classmates) . Social life is decent. Student body is homogeneous which is good if you already fit into the small box of all things deemed acceptable.
I was reading into Quinnipiac since it is a match for DS1. Deal breaker - the meal plan. You have to pay for a certain amount of dining dollars (actually comes with the dorm billing) - currently $1400 per semester (or so). But food is purchased a la carte but think equivalent to cost of food court quality. Fruit $1, sandwich $7-9 .
I have a son - an active, athletic son (but not an ‘athlete’). He could not be possibly be full on a pieced of fruit and a sandwich for lunch ($10 or so). He would have to buy more - making dining every expensive. Other NE colleges charge about $2500 per semester for 3 meals (all you care to eat) per day or app $22 per day. At Quinn, he would have to pay minimum of $33 per day for 3 meals ($6, $12, $15) and since the portions are smaller (not all you can eat), he would have to also pay for snacks. He would pay nearly $40 per day or almost twice the cost of what colleges including Umass Amherst, Cornell, etc. (schools that are consistently rated top10 in the country).
Silly thing but certainly a deal breaker for us. That and they have alot of quads for freshmen. And you pay the same as someone who has a double?!? The quads are NOT twice the size of the doubles.
Most of their freshman housing is in quads with lofted beds.
Just to be clear, this is a Massachusetts forum, and Quinnipiac is in Connecticut.
Quinnipiac was one of my top choices last year, but a HUGE deterrent was the social life. The student body is very homogeneous and most of them are quite snobby. Girls only look at you if you’re an athlete or are in a frat and everyone judges you on your interests and who you hang out with. People there are very cliquey - a glorified high school. Plus, according to what a recent graduate told me, a few of the students there aren’t super bright. I liked the school academically (almost as good as the school I decided to attend), but in the end, it just wasn’t for me at all.
Did you ever visit Quinnipiac @LBad96 ? From your previous threads it appeared that you didn’t visit there. I met two students who study there who love it. My daughter is considering the school, but until we actually step foot on campus, I don’t think we are qualified to really know what it is like. Can you back up your statements with evidence?
@netter11 look at many Niche and Cappex reviews. I’ve also heard from actual QU students, as I said in my previous post. The student I talked to (who graduated last year) told me that everyone was only nice in the group chat for the purpose of icebreaking and they show their true colors when they arrive in the fall. Didn’t want to take a chance that that wasn’t true.
I am so glad we did not listen to the cappex etc reviews and did a lot of visits and talking to people at home and at QU before my D said yes. I believe that fit is important in picking a college, and I assure you that there are many distinguished students at QU, especially in the business and health sci programs. My daughter and many of the friends she hangs out with have taken many AP classes, college classes in hs, shadowed doctors, held jobs, etc. and were accepted at several other colleges but picked QU bcz it fit for them. Yes there are athletes, and some students with noncompetitive GPAs, and there are also 8000 other unique students attending. You will meet every kind of person there.
As a parent, I have met several of my Ds college friends and briefly some if their families at events, and they are excellent people. Polite, respectable, well rounded and care about their studies and futures. They are very involved on campus and off campus. She is not a party girl (though there is a lot of partying going on as in any other college) and is constantly doing something interesting. I don’t think my daughter’s experience there is unique. Every person at home and there that we spoke to and still meet as her journey continues loves it.
QU may not be every person’s fit, but please do not listen to those silly reviews. When we were looking at college, I was very nervous that the friendliness we experienced was all going to be a show and would go away once she was there, but it didn’t. The staff are still friendly and competent. Yes, there are people there who have money and drive expensive cars, maybe because it is an expensive school if you do not receive merit. But not everyone who drives a nice car or has money is a snob. I drive D up every time in my beat up 125000 mile Prius, and I do not feel marginalized, out of place, or that anyone is giving us a second glance. Come to think of it, several of her friends drive old cars too. and I see lots of other normal vehicles dropping off as well.
This is our experience. Maybe others who attend have a different one, but so far I have never heard a complaint…well, the food is overpriced.
By the way, my family are huge geeks…and proud of it. My daughter dated another QU geek and there are lots of other average regular people who are not athletic stars or athletic. But it is fun to watch a hockey game or hike the “mountain” across the street. I did it once just for fun.There is a beautiful creek along one of the roads there. There is plenty of other creativity to search out at QU.
Best of luck to all in finding your fit!