<p>Hi I am a rising senior applying to Villanova (business school) EA and I was just wondering if any current students or former students could reflect on the school's social life and other aspects of the school. Is there a lot to do on campus? easy to make friends? is it hard if you are not greek (how is the greek scene-dominant?) parties? student body? too religious? workload? how are dorms, lounges, food? where does everyone hang out during free time? how are carreer opportunities? internships easy to find? difficult to find housing in area senior year and would you need a car? anything! thanks a lot in advance!</p>
<p>Well, I’m not a student obviously, but my d is a senior so I’ll help a little until others chime in. She is living off campus- only about 2 miles away, and gets rides from roomates and all the other seniors living around the area. It wasn’t hard to find off-campus housing.
Greek life is not dominant, but is there. It matters NOT if you are in Greek life; it’s unecessary for social life. There are no Greek houses.
There is a lot to do on campus- concerts, theatre, sports events are big. The train station on campus is a 10 minute ride to Philly- a HUGE bonus being in a gorgeous area with the city close by. That moniker “Villa-NO-fun” has not been my d’s experience at all.</p>
<p>NOT too religious, but there if you want. It truly doesn’t matter what your faith is, or is not.
Food is excellent, says my d, and there is an amazing variety to meal plans and many non-cafeteria food sources. Freshman dorms are mainly in their own area, which most find great, and very close to main campus. Most sophomores live in the main campus quad and like the center of action, but the dorms are not as nice- typical cinder blocks. Junior year is mainly west campus- fantastic apartment like dorms for 4.
My English major d has loved the academics, mainly because of truly excellent professors in her experience, every year. The business school is top-notch. The workload is bearable, challenging but NOT an overwelming grind that takes every waking moment to survive.
This is a friendly place, with a generally very happy student body. Diversity is lacking, however.
Hope this helps. I think it is a common view of Villanova from a parent’s perspective. Best of luck.</p>
<p>“Diversity is lacking, however.”
Thus the other, perhaps more accurate moniker:
“Vanilla-Nova”</p>
<p>Okay, Villanova is definitely more diverse than outsiders think…</p>
<p>^^^^
Yes, it is definitely more diverse than outsiders (or exaggerated monikers) might lead people to believe. However, it just isn’t as diverse as it could be. I’m not being critical, just making an observation.</p>
<p>“Vanilla-nova” is correct. And I hope you’re rich, or you might feel self-conscious when every other car in the student parking lot is a BMW or Mercedes and you’re driving a 1997 Honda Accord.</p>
<p>There is nothing to do in Villanova. Your social life will consist of taking the train to Philadelphia to hang out.</p>
<p>You can’t even have a car on campus until junior year, so that shouldn’t matter at all. And yes, there are preppy kids, but plenty of people will just wear a t-shirt and gym shorts or whatever. Like seriously, people are over exaggerating the whole rich, preppy, white thing.</p>
<p>And yeah, there isn’t a whole lot within walking distance, but the train is easy to access.</p>
<p>I graduated from 'Nova several years ago and having recently visited the school again, I believe it is becoming increasingly diverse, both in terms of race and ethnicity, but also the general look and feel of the student body. (which is a good thing 
) </p>
<p>I was definitely a bit overwhelmed by some of the flashy-ness of students my freshman year. I think you notice them the most because quite frankly, they want to be noticed, so it is a bit deceiving as to what % of people are actually like that. There are many decent, down to earth people at Villanova. Just find them and forget about the rest, because they will exist in the majority of schools in some shape or form. I think one thing that most all 'Nova students have in common is they are very ambitious and motivated-- with sports, school, volunteerism, etc. Everyone finds their niche. </p>
<p>Villanova is not Penn State. If you are looking for a big party scene, then it is not the place for you. That being said, there is definitely a solid social scene. Freshman and Soph years, this mainly means apartment parties, hanging out in dorm rooms, trips into Philly or Manayunk to bars. Junior year is awesome having an on campus apartment, they are fairly reasonable with letting people have parties there. Once you hit 21, the bars on and around the main line are a good time. </p>
<p>Career opportunities are great. I graduated from VSB and the school did a lot in the way of bringing in recruiters. My brothers was an engineer and I know he found his current job through on campus recruiting also. Check out the placement stats: [Placement</a> Statistics](<a href=“http://www.villanova.edu/vpaa/careers/placement/]Placement”>http://www.villanova.edu/vpaa/careers/placement/)</p>
<p>Workload was tough, and some of that may have just been adjusting to college life and the college class pace. I loved the majority of my professors at Villanova. They are absolutely great-- very approachable, personable and they care about what they are doing. So even if a class is hard, just reach out to your professor and they are almost always willing to help. </p>
<p>The school absolutely DOES NOT force religion on you. Sure you have to take intro to Theology and I think 1 upper level Theology class, but they are extremely interesting, and they are taught ojbectively. Other than that, you choose how much you want to be involved in religion or not. </p>
<p>Okay this is quite long. Hope it helps!</p>
<p>I’m currently a freshman, and I wanted to comment on the religious aspect. It seems like a lot of posters on here downplay the fact that Villanova is a Catholic university, but I find this aspect pretty pervasive. During orientation, there is a Sunday mass I was told was “mandantory” (I skipped it with no repercussion, though), and you will have to take two semesters of theology your first year. I also find that even classes in literature or philosophy can have a very Catholic/Christian perspective, and my professors sometimes assume everyone in the class is coming from a Christian background. Bottom line, if you don’t consider yourself Catholic or Christian, you might find the religious atmosphere a bit much.</p>
<p>Sorry for intruding on your post, OP, but even though I already know Villanova isn’t extremely ethnically diverse, how is it for racial sensitivity? The religious aspects aren’t really an issue for me, and I know they have a Multi-Cultural section, but how do they treat diversity really?</p>
<p>hi, im a freshman at villanova…
soo…as for the social life, there is pretty much activity on thurs, fri, and sat. typically people pregame and then either go to the different ‘houses’…there is no greek housing on campus…but some of the brothers do live together and have parties there…therefore some houses are like ‘sig kai’, fiji etc…there are also sport team housing…like rugby or baseball. also, there are apartment complexes where a ton of upperclassman live, and if you are a girl it is pretty easy to get in. girls never pay anywhere, and guys usually pay at the frat parties at the door to get a cup. there is also some drinking in dorms, but you just have to be careful not to get caught. alsoo…there are things called ticket parties…frats rent out bars or clubs in philly, and for like 20 bucks you get a wristband and are bussed there and back. it depends on what frat or ticket party, some you might want a fake for, but others its not really necessary…you take cabs, walk, or the train everywhere…a car is def. not necessary. As for the religious aspect…some of the classes do involve things like the bible and what not, but it isn’t trying to force it upon you, it is literature. church is completely up to you…the food is wicked good, and there are a TON of options…just make sure you understand your meal plan before signing up because they can get a little complicated…there is a lot of work, but it is totally managable if you can learn to budget your time…i do a ton on campus and on some nights i will be up pretty late, but there are a ton of resources available…hope this helps…</p>
<p>freshman at villanova</p>
<p>it’s definitely NOT villanofun. however, guys might prefer taking a trip to upenn every once in a while (it’s quite easy $4 train ride from the train that’s on campus) cuz you guys have to pay to get into parties here (like you do in other schools.) girls have it pretty sweet you’re free everywhere girls i would suggest more nice casual clothes cuz ppl here don’t get as dolled up as they do at rutgers (OH BY THE WAY there are a lot of NJ kids here.) frat parties are nice cuz you don’t have to go looking usually people just know… idk… and ppl get picked up and dropped off cuz they run rides. the party scene gets old after a bit tho and it’s nicer sometimes to just stay in the dorm and drink with friends. this usually happens especially since it’s been raining hard these past weekends. there are ticket parties, those are cool. i’m prob the minority in the sense that i don’t have a fake id tho… no idea how everyone got those… person before me basically covers the rest. </p>
<p>anyway, wow if you’re not catholic not to worry it’s really not a problem. if anything it’s just an advantage cuz you’ll be good in class if there’s some bible reading you can just talk from what you know. church is nice tho (when i go every once and in a while) cuz people here aren’t sleeping the guy talking is usually pretty entertaining. i remember him alluding to the taylor-swift kanye west incident and joking about it — most adults here are pretty up to date. this school is very tech savy. meal plans suck but everyone has to have one… if you can try to get out of it, do so. CAR def not necessary. the majority of ppl are genuinely nice here. i would recommend checking out [Overheard</a> at Villanova | Facebook](<a href=“Facebook Public Group | Facebook”>Facebook Public Group | Facebook) kids really aren’t composed of snobby rich catholic kids who don’t have fun… people here are really chill … Oh bedtime here is usually 1-2am maybe past depending if everyone has a last minute essay to write. just message if you have any questions!</p>