Hi, I was wondering if anyone had any information/opinions on UNE in regards to its academic rigor, specifically the rigor of the science/health programs? I know it has a very high acceptance rate, which makes it come off as being less challenging, so I was just wondering if that is true or not.
Thank you!
Here are the counselor’s comments on my DS’s Naviance:
95% of students receive merit scholarships.Students can earn merit scholarships up to $15,000 depending on the strength of a student’s application. The application essay actually is weighed heavily when selecting students for merit awards. The school is Division 3 athletics and has a new hockey team. The school’s proximity to the ocean allows for students to be active in boating and going to the beach. The school also has a partnership bicycle program with L.L. Bean in which freshman who do not bring cars to campus are given a free bike. Students are required to complete 2 years of an internship experience. Portland, Portsmith, Boston and NY are all areas where students go to fulfill their internship experiences. The school is popular for its college of Arts and Sciences as well as for its Health and Professional Studies. UNE is building its liberal arts program as well as its business studies program. Housing is guaranteed for 3 years.
Not sure if this is currently accurate, as some of the counselor’s comments on his Naviance have included dates that are 4-5 years old (goes to a very large hs) but this one is undated.
I know that merit scholarships go up to $20k now. Hard to say whether it’s worth it when there are decent state schools in New England. I live in the greater Portland area and I will say that UNE has done a great job building its profile. The Biddeford campus is actually really nice and the athletic facilities are great. The addition of the pharmacy school on the Portland campus led to much greater interest from out of state students and their reputation in the sciences has grown with that. I think a lot of the science programs are run from the Portland campus. All in all, it’s a nice school and I think that academics are probably pretty good. I’m not convinced that it’s worth what they’re charging though.
I have a freshman at UNE. The merit made this school competitive in pricing with our state schools.
Regarding rigor in the health sciences curriculum needs to be consistent across schools where there are terminal exams like nursing boards etc. Review the pass rates should be helpful in this regard.
On a non academic note this does not appear to be a suitcase school but there are not alot of programming on the weekends for the students. The programs that are run do not seem high quality.