<p>Hi! I'm a high school junior looking into University of Scranton.
Anyone go there/ know family/friends?
How much was faith/religion a factor? I'm Catholic, but I don't necessarily want to feel like I'm at a Youth Group or something for my entire college experience, but I like the idea of being able to go to church on campus and things like that.
What was the social life like? From what I've gathered it seems like there are a lot of activities and things going on, but are there parties on campus? I'm not looking for a party school but I'd like the option of going out to a party every so often.
Politics? I'm assuming it's mostly Conservative?
Safety?</p>
<p>Based on my canvassing of Scranton it is no longer conservative we got them to go for Obama. It is a strong Catholic area. I found a strong community with independent thoughts. It’s a nicely compact town that suffering in the economy. I 'm Catholic and I found it quite comfortable in Scranton. But I did not do much with the campus.</p>
<p>I have a friend who’s a professor there. He really likes it. It’s a Jesuit school, and no Jesuit school is going to give you the hard-sell on religion. I went to a Jesuit school for undergrad (BC) and there was zero pressure to go to mass or do anything religious. The 2 Theology classes that were required could be chosen from a wide range of courses that were more philosophical and historical than religious. I suspect Scranton is similar.</p>
<p>Its a very good school. Scranton, Pa. is not much, but you can do stuff in the Poconos and its a couple of hours outside of NYC by bus with regular bus service. </p>
<p>Jesuit schools are not going to be too heavy on religion…its there if you want it and if you don’t, that is up to you. Though I recommend going on retreats for the relaxation and good friends you will meet. </p>
<p>A Jesuit education is worth the price of admission. </p>
<p>From what I hear the quality of life on campus is very good, a nice balance of study and play time. College life is going to be full of all sorts of good things and “challenging things” as young people make decisions away from their parents…and sometimes they make the wrong decision. Drinking occurs everywhere. Bad behavior occurs everywhere. But if you get caught up in that, look out…your grades will suffer and things can spiral out of control quickly. So its best to refrain from party city, particularly your freshman year. </p>
<p>I highly recommend a visit to Scranton and see kids while they are on campus. You can also arrange overnight stays in the dorms. </p>
<p>I don’t know about internships there, but I would imagine they do just fine in Philadelphia, NYC etc. Your professors will be top drawer and challenge you greatly. I think Scranton is center right…politically…but I don’t have many opinions on that to be very certain. Overall I don’t think politics is going to be a major part of their culture, though clubs exist if that is what makes you happy.</p>
<p>I have 2 kids that have gone to Scranton. One graduated, one is there now. Both love it there! </p>
<p>Religion is there if you want it, but it is certainly not forced on anyone. We are not Catholic or even very religious, and my kids are very comfortable on campus. Regular masses are available. </p>
<p>There are plenty of activities and clubs with which you can get involved. Montage Mountain (skiing, snowboarding, concerts) is just a 10 minute drive from campus. The party option is there, but it is basically off campus.</p>
<p>Scranton has a mix of conservative and liberal people. John McCain spoke there while he was campaigning and the venue was full.</p>
<p>Now they don’t have a journalism major, but they do have a journalism track within the communications department. I don’t know much about it since neither of my kids were communications majors.</p>
<p>If you have any questions, feel free to ask either here or by PM. We have been very pleased with the education our kids have gotten at a Jesuit school. Their whole core curriculum makes for a very well rounded person.</p>
<p>A grad school classmate of mine did his undergraduate study at U of Scranton. It wasn’t quite the best fit for him because he was a very conservative fellow who described himself as a traditional southerner. I gather that he chose Scranton because of a generous financial aid package. From a social relations standpoint he wasn’t altogether enthusiastic about his four years there but he said he had no complaints about the education he received.</p>
<p>hi there. Im a freshman at the university and so far its been great! You are not forced to take part in religious activites such as church every weekend, but it is offered to you. You are required to take theology, however it is actually really intresting to intrepret the text. </p>
<p>Socially, the school is great too. I immediately felt comfortable since the first day. There are many activites that the school will host for you to take part in late at night. Parties arent on campus. They are right off campus in the houses rented by the upper classmen. The furthest walk I ever had to a party was 5 minutes. You dont have to know upperclassmen to be invited. You usually find out from other freshmen and they will never turn people away if they are throwing.</p>
<p>The campus is very safe, there is always officers on duty. The surrounding streets arent as safe but the violence and crime rate is down. I have never felt in danger on campus or off campus.</p>
<p>Like it was said before there is no journalism major, but you can easily get involved with the school newpaper. They are always looking for new people to write and wont shut you down just becuase you are a freshman.
All of the professors that I have had since I’ve been there have been really great. They are all really nice and they are very understanding too. Since the class size is smaller compared to some schools and there are no lecture hall sized classes, you can reach your teachers on personal levels too which is great. </p>
<p>I absolutely love it there and I recommend it 100%!</p>
<p>It is up to the student and the tutor to make arrangements for the tutoring session. There is not a walk in type of office for subject area help.</p>
<p>The drop in center covers Math, and courses in Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Economics, Accounting, and Statistics. That is quite a wide variety of subject areas for drop in. And yes, if you want to sign up for a personal tutor for a particular course, you certainly can. The system works well.</p>
<p>My friends son was assigned a tutor.He received notification on line regarding the tutors name and schedule. It was the tutor that made the contact with him. She was unavailable for most of the sessions that were set up.</p>
<p>Then he needed to contact the tutoring center, explain the problem, and get a different tutor. My kids both had a tutor for one course and one kid worked as a tutor for several courses. If the schedule doesn’t work, the student needs to speak up.</p>