<p>Son is soph ME major–it’s a lot of work (engineering anywhere is). Expect 16-18 credit hours per semester. He actually enjoyed some of the mandatory freshman curriculum. He is not Catholic or even religious and has never felt out of place. He partied quite a bit freshman year but has recently toned it done to focus on his atudies, as he needs a 3.25 GPA to get into the 5-year BS-MS program.</p>
<p>As a parent- the kids seem great. you have the cream of the crop in what ever aspect you are looking for; something for everyone. True academics, social service oriented, athletes or more social kids-- who happen to be very smart; a lot of personality.
The President of the school, Fr. Donohue is incredibly warm & dynamic. He tries to know the kids & the alumni.He attended the local NJ accepted student gathering at an alumns home. In attendence were currant & recent VU students-- he greeted all by name. Impressive. He has big aspirations for VU.</p>
<p>The expereince from a parents pt of view is very positive. Orientation for p’s is 2 days and kids 4 +. Kids are assigned a orientation team & they are walked thru all the U’s services – up close & personal so noone will fall through the cracks. I felt this was the intangible that you pay for. </p>
<p>My son says they are very strict on campus with drinking-- but he manages to have alot of fun. He’s made great friends. Apparently the freshmen pile into cabs to go to parties at U Penn.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/villanova-university/875640-chance-me-pleaseee.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/villanova-university/875640-chance-me-pleaseee.html</a></p>
<p>i got defferred to RD, will you chance me to see if ill get in this time?
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/villanova-university/875640-chance-me-pleaseee.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/villanova-university/875640-chance-me-pleaseee.html</a></p>
<p>water1234 - Thanks so much for the detailed info. What is your understanding of how much UGs are allowed access to the most sophisticated lab equipment? My son is in EA at Nova and has visited twice, but also got in at Michigan and was pretty impressed, but we’re wondering where UGs get the best hands-on experience. Does anyone have experience with both Villanova and a large, highly ranked Eng. school to compare?</p>
<p>ELY - Is your son currently at Nova or a HS Sr? Did you visit Michigan? My son also in same position - trying to weigh the reputations of the two schools. We’re from the midwest and Mich is huge here - Nova not so much. What is Nova’s rep. outside the east - or even in the east?</p>
<p>^My S is a HS Sr. Yes, we visited UMich in the summer & recently attended an EA student event at Nova. My S is a big sports fan and has always followed UMich and as someone interested in Engineering it was his #1 choice this time last year. Now, however, he is leaning more toward Nova. The size of UMich (i.e. having to take bus to/from Engineering campus) put him off a bit. Class sizes at Nova and the obvious personal approach they take to education has won him over. (There are not too many smaller schools like Nova who have such strong sports programs–another plus for my S.)</p>
<p>Nova has a great reputation here on the East Coast and is well regarded with employers. Nova graduates have a reputation as being smart, hard-working & disciplined. We were told during our recent visit that they placed 100% of their graduating Engineering students (who were not going on the masters, etc.) for the past 2 years. </p>
<p>Good luck to your S–it’s a hard choice, but you know that he’s got great options!</p>
<p>I have loved the freshman program here for engineering. I spent the first seven weeks of school in a lecture type class of about 70 kids. We broke into groups of about 6-7 and completed microprojects on a weekly basis. It was nice because all the microprojects incorporated various disciplines and taught us to work in groups with one another. The next seven weeks everyone spent doing a miniproject which had about 20 people in it. The second semester first seven weeks as well were spent doing another miniproject. I loved the robotics one i did first but was less enthusiastic about the acoustics one I did second semester. I am a CompE and not very fond of civil engineering so that’s why I wasnt that thrilled about acoustics. However, we had a few lab periods that definitely made the class worthwhile. For the rest of the semester I am in a class Intro to ECE. There are about 18 of us with a teacher and a senior TA. Each week we do a lab and the teacher checks it off. There is a lot of individual attention in the class with the teacher or the TA explaining things. I have loved the freshman program here. I have friends at other engineering schools who have said they do nothing like this at their school and would prefer to.</p>