<p>Looking for first-hand information on Ursinis College. Does anybody have experience there? From what I've read, it appears to be a nice LAC, ranked #69 in USNWR and is one of Pope's picks in CTCL. Thinking its proximity to Philadelphia gives big city access to a small town college....
Any info would be great!</p>
<p>My S-I-L taught there (and received tenure). Hated the place....</p>
<p>"Hated the place...."
Could you be more specific? My D, wife and I toured there last month and my D really liked it. A couple of my wife's relatives also were there as students, not faculty, we have discovered and they speak highly of it. One attended perhaps 25 years ago and her daughter graduated just a couple of years ago. So I would be interested in what he thought was so bad about the place.</p>
<p>Really? CTCL makes it sound positively utopian. I remember it in particular as sounding really good.</p>
<p>To reply to the original question, we were impressed on our visit to the school by the enthusiasm of the tour guide, the campus, and with the interest shown in my daughter by the admissions office personnel. School was not in session so we met only a couple of students who worked with admissions. </p>
<p>The location is on the outskirts of Philadelphia, far enough (25 miles) to not have an urban feel to the campus but near enough to allow easy access to the city for weekend trips for a variety of cultural activities depending on your interests and definition of culture (Philadelphia Art Museum, Franklin Institute, various pro sports, ethnic restaurants, etc.). The tour guide and information from the school emphasized the opportunities for internships in the city. My wife grew up in New Jersey across the river from Philly so she has some understanding of what it offers. </p>
<p>The campus is very well maintained with some new construction, a rather remarkable art museum for a small college, a nice visual arts building, and very good (new?) performing arts center. My daughter may not major in the arts but wants access to good programs at whichever college she goes to and Ursinus seemed to fill that requirement.</p>
<p>The campus is supposed to be one of the safest, statistically. Its suburban location suggests that is likely to be the case. Still we found the building access ("old-fashioned" keys) odd when all the other schools we have visited have converted to programmable key cards. </p>
<p>The president has been committed to recruiting top quality faculty and enhancing the educational experience of the students. Its reputation has been on the upswing for awhile now. Perhaps the poster whose S-I-L had a frustrating, negative experience was there pre-Strassburger?</p>
<p>I would hope current students or their parents would respond to the question, since they would be in a much better position to comment. It is frustrating that so many good, smaller schools get only the briefest of mentions here. But since Ursinus (and all of the other schools my daughter is considering) isn't one of the 40-50 schools that CC participants obsess about endlessly, that isn't likely.</p>
<p>According to collegeboard.com:</p>
<p>415 students in the freshman class
75% of applicants are admitted
91% of students return for soph. year
The middle 50% SAT range for math/verbal is 550-670.</p>
<p>I only know of one student that attends Ursinus from my kids High School, a friend of my daughters. I spoke to her during the winter break of her freshman year and she loved it. Her parents moved out of the district after that though and I don't have any further information. I know my daughter was keeping in touch with her via facebook though and she is now a senior there. For some reason I think we were on their heavy interest mailing list for my son and we got information from them often and I also think they sounded pretty nice. They might not be well known but I've never heard anything negative.</p>
<p>I know a young man who is now a junior there and he has turned into a fine young man. He's poised, well-spoken, and well-rounded. He easily got up in front of a group of graduates/parents from our local HS and his talk was informative and engaging. I understand that they provide each student with a laptop so they don't have to get caught up in as many technology issues as perhaps at other schools. It sounds like a nice town too...who can go wrong in Collegeville!</p>
<p>We toured the College last spring. We were very impressed with the admissions office and the young girl who showed us around. This is my second go round on the college tour. Our oldest is a sophmore at college. I felt UC really showed an interest as well in our child. They were the most personal tour and interview either of my children have had. They had great followup. We have received many handwritten personal notes from them.We loved the school. The new theatre and the theatre dept were really great. There head of the theatre dept was there and had a long talk with our child. It looks like a good program although new program.Plenty of growth and attention available. The only downside was the size. It is small 1500 kids.
I would love to hear from current students on their experience at Ursinius. I hope there are some out there.</p>
<p>Had a great tour, very nice and energetic tour guide. My S was able to sit in on a Chemistry lab, which was great and very enjoyable for him (he's thinking of chemistry or physics as a major). The dorm we saw seemed a bit run down compared with Haverford/Swarthmore, but then again Ursinus has a lower endowment and is much easier to get in. Most of the other buildings we saw were quite nice. Even met the college President. It is definitely on my son's list.</p>
<p>"I understand that they provide each student with a laptop"</p>
<p>True, and they promise one upgrade (new computer) before graduation.
<a href="http://tinyurl.com/j2qox%5B/url%5D">http://tinyurl.com/j2qox</a></p>