There is a place for everyone at West Chester. It is a great location, a great price, and a great community. I honestly have never met anyone who doesn'Â?t love it here.
Do you have any tips for prospective students?
Do your research on your potential major. Don'Â?t just take a tour of the campus. Set up a time to meet with the department head of the major you'Â?re considering, and ask them to explain the program to you. Ask them to get you in touch with one of the students in that major who can give you an honest break down of the program. If you don'Â?t know what you want your major to be, you are not alone. The great thing about West Chester is that they have hundreds of majors, so you will eventually find your place. Your professors and advisers want you to succeed and find your passion. Almost half of students come in undecided and by sophomore year are in a major they love.
Do you find there’s enough academic rigor at your school?
This varies depending on your major. I am Music Education major, and my classes are extremely challenging (in the best way) and time consuming. But I have friends in other majors whose classes are a breeze. In general, your major-specific classes are going to be the ones that challenge you the most and will require the most time and effort. General Education classes, depending on your professor, will require less concentration and effort than your major requirements. The bottom line, however, is that you will be challenged, and you will walk out with an amazing education and a degree that will get you somewhere.
Describe the dorm life at your college.
When it comes to picking traditional versus affiliated housing, you get what you pay for. If you live in affiliated housing, you will pay almost twice as much as you would in traditional housing (almost $1000 a month), but you are basically living in a hotel. You only have to share your bathroom with one other person (your roommate), your rooms are much newer and carpeted, and they'Â?re slightly bigger than traditional rooms. The downside of affiliated housing is obviously the price and also the lack of social interaction. Students in affiliated dorms tend to keep their doors closed for some reason. This is not to say that you can'Â?t make friends in affiliated dorms, but it just doesn'Â?t happen as organically. In traditional dorms however, it'Â?s more socially acceptable to keep your door open if you want people to feel free to pop in and say hello. Students in traditional dorms are also more likely to congregate and socialize in the floor lounges, which in most dorms are the central hub you have to pass through in order to get to your room. The downside of traditional dorms is that you have to share a bathroom with everyone else in your wing, and the rooms are a little smaller and nothing fancy. However, these bathrooms are gender-specific, so you won'Â?t have to shower in a stall next to someone of the opposite gender, and these bathrooms are generally really clean. They are cleaned multiple times a day. Traditional dorms are really not as bad as everyone says they are. After a few weeks, a communal bathroom won'Â?t feel weird. I personally would recommend traditional dorms to everyone their freshman year, and then if you want to experience affiliated living, do that sophomore year.
Describe the food and dining at your college.
There are two main places to eat your meals on-campus: Lawrence Dining Hall and Ram'Â?s Head located in Sykes Student Union. Lawrence is buffet-style eating: you use one meal swipe to get in and you can eat whatever you want, as much as you want. The food at Lawrence is nothing spectacular, but most of it is not technically bad. It'Â?s what you would expect from college dining. Occasionally they'Â?ll have something that you might actually really enjoy. The great thing about Lawrence is the variety of food. You will always find something you like. There are some stations that have the same options every day, including the salad bar, soup, fruit, pizza, made-to-order pasta, made-to-order wraps, waffle makers, burgers, fries, cereal, bagels, and hot dogs. There are other stations that vary what they make on a day-to-day basis. Some of these options include meatloaf, chicken nuggets (so delicious), grilled chicken, pork, chicken pot pie, cooked vegetables, baked potato bar, fajita bar, Frito salad bar, mashed potato bar, nacho bar, and several other options. The best thing about Lawrence by far is the ice cream. They have a dozen different hard ice cream options, but they also have a soft serve machine. That can't be beat.
Sykes is a completely different machine. The way the meal plan works at Sykes is that one meal swipe is worth $4.70. All the food at Sykes has a price, so you can buy up to $4.70 worth of stuff and use one meal swipe. If your food costs over $4.70, you can either pay for the balance with your Flex (you get $250 a semester with your meal plan), or you can use two meal swipes. If you have a lot of roll over meals (your meals roll over from week to week during the semester), then it'Â?s smarter to just use two meals rather than use up all your Flex. Flex rolls over from semester to semester and year to year, so it'Â?s nice to accumulate some roll over Flex that you can use if you ever want to eat on campus once you don'Â?t have a meal plan anym...
What’s there to do for fun at your college?
The great thing about West Chester, and the thing that potential students find most attractive about the campus, is the location. It'Â?s not in the middle of nowhere, but it'Â?s not in the middle of the city. But if you want to get to the middle of nowhere, it'Â?s close by, and if you want to get to the city, it's close by. SEPTA bus services run right through the campus, so if you and your friends want to go into Philly for the day, you catch the SEPTA bus to the train station in Philly, and it'Â?s only an hour ride. Usually my friends and I will take the bus into Philly at least once a semester to go see a concert or walk around the city. You do not have to have a car on campus to be able to get somewhere fun. The borough of West Chester (borough is just a fancy name for town) is right up the street from campus. There are tons of shops and restaurants within a few blocks of each other. When it's nice out, it'Â?s great to just take a walk into town to go to Kiwi, the best frozen yogurt place in the world, or just to go for a walk. Once you're of age, there are a dozen great bars all within walking distance of each other and of campus. On campus, there is always something going on. The university sponsors a Friday night program called Sykes After Dark (which I think they are renaming soon), which the university holds every Friday night to promote students not drinking on or off campus. They have something different every week, including comedians, casino nights, BINGO night, JAVA JAM open mic nights, and karaoke. Additionally, there's always free food and a free midnight movie if you have the Sykes After Dark wristband. Every weekend, Sykes shows a movie at several different times throughout the weekend for $2. This is a movie that just came out of theaters. In addition to all of this, other campus activities are always happening, including concerts, football games, conferences, and other sporting events.
Do you feel you’re getting value for the money you’re spending on college?
All state schools in general are a huge financial win in my opinion. For the location, quality of the education, and everything that'Â?s included in your tuition (125 printer pages a week, gym access and fitness classes, tutoring services, etc.), I couldn't be happier with the in-state tuition.
Share any unusual traditions or locations on campus
-Banana Day: It'Â?s really hard to explain Banana Day to people that don'Â?t go to West Chester, but it is by far the highlight of everyone'Â?s year. Banana Day is a day all about bananas. All across campus, there are free bananas, and Lawrence serves banana-themed food. In the quad, there are dozens of games you can play in the hopes of winning a coveted Banana Day T-shirt. If you win a T-shirt, you should consider yourself a god amongst men. Do not over think this. It'Â?s literally a day about bananas.
-Baker Bob and Diner Dan: These are the two icons of campus. Baker Bob is the most cheerful person in the world. He is in Sykes on Tuesdays and Lawrence on Wednesdays. He makes create-your-own desserts, and he is the happiest person in the world. You will consider him your second grandparent. Diner Dan is a unique, cynical man who works the register at the diner. He is quite a character, and will always wish you luck with your semester after handing you back your swipe card.
-The castle's whispering arch: West Chester's campus is beautiful, and my favorite part about it is the castle building, called Philips Memorial Building. It is a beautiful castle at the entrance of campus, and a really cool feature of it is at the arch way, there is a little hole you can whisper into, and only the person standing on the other end of the arch can hear what you'Â?re saying.
-Miss and Mr. WCU: Miss WCU is a huge pageant that happens in February. The contestants spend the entire school year preparing for this night, and it is basically the Miss America contest on a college level. Miss WCU is the queen of campus. Mr. WCU is basically a parody of Miss WCU, but it is so entertaining.
Which types of students will excel at your college?
Anyone. There is a place for literally every type of student. There are so many clubs, organizations, and majors, that it is incredibly difficult to not find your niche here. There are students of every race, religious background, economic standing, and family type.
Are you involved in any clubs or activities?
There is something for everyone. Besides the Greek life, there are over a hundred clubs and organizations pertaining to every religion, hobby, community service type, and group. There are a cappella groups, a Catholic Newman Center, an Anime club, several community service organizations, student government, and the list goes on.
Are you involved in any clubs or activities?
During the first few weeks of school, when Rush weeks start happening, it will seem like everyone and their mother is in a fraternity or sorority. That really is not the case. The campus reports that 1,087 students of the approximate 11,000 undergraduate students are involved in Greek life. When you'Â?re on campus, I'd say that it usually seems like 30% of the people that I know or are in class with are in a fraternity or sorority. I personally am not. If you want to be in a fraternity or sorority, then go for it. Everyone that is involved in Greek life absolutely loves it. If you don'Â?t want to be involved in Greek life, don'Â?t think that you will be the odd ball out. Greek life does not rule the campus, and there are plenty of other ways to make friends.
How would you describe campus safety? Do you feel safe on campus?
No matter where you go to school, you have to be smart. Regardless of where you go to school, you should never walk by yourself at night, especially on a weekend when obviously people have been out and drinking. The campus is very well-lit for the most part, and throughout campus there are emergency buttons that can be pressed and campus safety will come to where you are. Every dorm is regulated by a security guard every night starting at 8 PM, and only students who reside in that dorm can get in to the building, unless they are signed in by someone that lives in the building. Campus sends out a text to all students in case of a campus emergency. Usually these texts happen once every two or three weeks, and they are usually about a sexual assault happening on-campus by an assailant who was known to the victim before the occurrence. AKA, students were drinking in a dorm and someone was taken advantage of. Obviously this is never the victim'Â?s fault, but you have to protect yourself from these situations and be smart about getting drunk when you are not surrounded by your friends who can keep an eye out for you.
There is a place for everyone at West Chester. It is a great location, a great price, and a great community. I honestly have never met anyone who doesn'Â?t love it here.
Do your research on your potential major. Don'Â?t just take a tour of the campus. Set up a time to meet with the department head of the major you'Â?re considering, and ask them to explain the program to you. Ask them to get you in touch with one of the students in that major who can give you an honest break down of the program. If you don'Â?t know what you want your major to be, you are not alone. The great thing about West Chester is that they have hundreds of majors, so you will eventually find your place. Your professors and advisers want you to succeed and find your passion. Almost half of students come in undecided and by sophomore year are in a major they love.
This varies depending on your major. I am Music Education major, and my classes are extremely challenging (in the best way) and time consuming. But I have friends in other majors whose classes are a breeze. In general, your major-specific classes are going to be the ones that challenge you the most and will require the most time and effort. General Education classes, depending on your professor, will require less concentration and effort than your major requirements. The bottom line, however, is that you will be challenged, and you will walk out with an amazing education and a degree that will get you somewhere.
When it comes to picking traditional versus affiliated housing, you get what you pay for. If you live in affiliated housing, you will pay almost twice as much as you would in traditional housing (almost $1000 a month), but you are basically living in a hotel. You only have to share your bathroom with one other person (your roommate), your rooms are much newer and carpeted, and they'Â?re slightly bigger than traditional rooms. The downside of affiliated housing is obviously the price and also the lack of social interaction. Students in affiliated dorms tend to keep their doors closed for some reason. This is not to say that you can'Â?t make friends in affiliated dorms, but it just doesn'Â?t happen as organically. In traditional dorms however, it'Â?s more socially acceptable to keep your door open if you want people to feel free to pop in and say hello. Students in traditional dorms are also more likely to congregate and socialize in the floor lounges, which in most dorms are the central hub you have to pass through in order to get to your room. The downside of traditional dorms is that you have to share a bathroom with everyone else in your wing, and the rooms are a little smaller and nothing fancy. However, these bathrooms are gender-specific, so you won'Â?t have to shower in a stall next to someone of the opposite gender, and these bathrooms are generally really clean. They are cleaned multiple times a day. Traditional dorms are really not as bad as everyone says they are. After a few weeks, a communal bathroom won'Â?t feel weird. I personally would recommend traditional dorms to everyone their freshman year, and then if you want to experience affiliated living, do that sophomore year.
There are two main places to eat your meals on-campus: Lawrence Dining Hall and Ram'Â?s Head located in Sykes Student Union. Lawrence is buffet-style eating: you use one meal swipe to get in and you can eat whatever you want, as much as you want. The food at Lawrence is nothing spectacular, but most of it is not technically bad. It'Â?s what you would expect from college dining. Occasionally they'Â?ll have something that you might actually really enjoy. The great thing about Lawrence is the variety of food. You will always find something you like. There are some stations that have the same options every day, including the salad bar, soup, fruit, pizza, made-to-order pasta, made-to-order wraps, waffle makers, burgers, fries, cereal, bagels, and hot dogs. There are other stations that vary what they make on a day-to-day basis. Some of these options include meatloaf, chicken nuggets (so delicious), grilled chicken, pork, chicken pot pie, cooked vegetables, baked potato bar, fajita bar, Frito salad bar, mashed potato bar, nacho bar, and several other options. The best thing about Lawrence by far is the ice cream. They have a dozen different hard ice cream options, but they also have a soft serve machine. That can't be beat. Sykes is a completely different machine. The way the meal plan works at Sykes is that one meal swipe is worth $4.70. All the food at Sykes has a price, so you can buy up to $4.70 worth of stuff and use one meal swipe. If your food costs over $4.70, you can either pay for the balance with your Flex (you get $250 a semester with your meal plan), or you can use two meal swipes. If you have a lot of roll over meals (your meals roll over from week to week during the semester), then it'Â?s smarter to just use two meals rather than use up all your Flex. Flex rolls over from semester to semester and year to year, so it'Â?s nice to accumulate some roll over Flex that you can use if you ever want to eat on campus once you don'Â?t have a meal plan anym...
The great thing about West Chester, and the thing that potential students find most attractive about the campus, is the location. It'Â?s not in the middle of nowhere, but it'Â?s not in the middle of the city. But if you want to get to the middle of nowhere, it'Â?s close by, and if you want to get to the city, it's close by. SEPTA bus services run right through the campus, so if you and your friends want to go into Philly for the day, you catch the SEPTA bus to the train station in Philly, and it'Â?s only an hour ride. Usually my friends and I will take the bus into Philly at least once a semester to go see a concert or walk around the city. You do not have to have a car on campus to be able to get somewhere fun. The borough of West Chester (borough is just a fancy name for town) is right up the street from campus. There are tons of shops and restaurants within a few blocks of each other. When it's nice out, it'Â?s great to just take a walk into town to go to Kiwi, the best frozen yogurt place in the world, or just to go for a walk. Once you're of age, there are a dozen great bars all within walking distance of each other and of campus. On campus, there is always something going on. The university sponsors a Friday night program called Sykes After Dark (which I think they are renaming soon), which the university holds every Friday night to promote students not drinking on or off campus. They have something different every week, including comedians, casino nights, BINGO night, JAVA JAM open mic nights, and karaoke. Additionally, there's always free food and a free midnight movie if you have the Sykes After Dark wristband. Every weekend, Sykes shows a movie at several different times throughout the weekend for $2. This is a movie that just came out of theaters. In addition to all of this, other campus activities are always happening, including concerts, football games, conferences, and other sporting events.
All state schools in general are a huge financial win in my opinion. For the location, quality of the education, and everything that'Â?s included in your tuition (125 printer pages a week, gym access and fitness classes, tutoring services, etc.), I couldn't be happier with the in-state tuition.
-Banana Day: It'Â?s really hard to explain Banana Day to people that don'Â?t go to West Chester, but it is by far the highlight of everyone'Â?s year. Banana Day is a day all about bananas. All across campus, there are free bananas, and Lawrence serves banana-themed food. In the quad, there are dozens of games you can play in the hopes of winning a coveted Banana Day T-shirt. If you win a T-shirt, you should consider yourself a god amongst men. Do not over think this. It'Â?s literally a day about bananas. -Baker Bob and Diner Dan: These are the two icons of campus. Baker Bob is the most cheerful person in the world. He is in Sykes on Tuesdays and Lawrence on Wednesdays. He makes create-your-own desserts, and he is the happiest person in the world. You will consider him your second grandparent. Diner Dan is a unique, cynical man who works the register at the diner. He is quite a character, and will always wish you luck with your semester after handing you back your swipe card. -The castle's whispering arch: West Chester's campus is beautiful, and my favorite part about it is the castle building, called Philips Memorial Building. It is a beautiful castle at the entrance of campus, and a really cool feature of it is at the arch way, there is a little hole you can whisper into, and only the person standing on the other end of the arch can hear what you'Â?re saying. -Miss and Mr. WCU: Miss WCU is a huge pageant that happens in February. The contestants spend the entire school year preparing for this night, and it is basically the Miss America contest on a college level. Miss WCU is the queen of campus. Mr. WCU is basically a parody of Miss WCU, but it is so entertaining.
Anyone. There is a place for literally every type of student. There are so many clubs, organizations, and majors, that it is incredibly difficult to not find your niche here. There are students of every race, religious background, economic standing, and family type.
There is something for everyone. Besides the Greek life, there are over a hundred clubs and organizations pertaining to every religion, hobby, community service type, and group. There are a cappella groups, a Catholic Newman Center, an Anime club, several community service organizations, student government, and the list goes on.
During the first few weeks of school, when Rush weeks start happening, it will seem like everyone and their mother is in a fraternity or sorority. That really is not the case. The campus reports that 1,087 students of the approximate 11,000 undergraduate students are involved in Greek life. When you'Â?re on campus, I'd say that it usually seems like 30% of the people that I know or are in class with are in a fraternity or sorority. I personally am not. If you want to be in a fraternity or sorority, then go for it. Everyone that is involved in Greek life absolutely loves it. If you don'Â?t want to be involved in Greek life, don'Â?t think that you will be the odd ball out. Greek life does not rule the campus, and there are plenty of other ways to make friends.
No matter where you go to school, you have to be smart. Regardless of where you go to school, you should never walk by yourself at night, especially on a weekend when obviously people have been out and drinking. The campus is very well-lit for the most part, and throughout campus there are emergency buttons that can be pressed and campus safety will come to where you are. Every dorm is regulated by a security guard every night starting at 8 PM, and only students who reside in that dorm can get in to the building, unless they are signed in by someone that lives in the building. Campus sends out a text to all students in case of a campus emergency. Usually these texts happen once every two or three weeks, and they are usually about a sexual assault happening on-campus by an assailant who was known to the victim before the occurrence. AKA, students were drinking in a dorm and someone was taken advantage of. Obviously this is never the victim'Â?s fault, but you have to protect yourself from these situations and be smart about getting drunk when you are not surrounded by your friends who can keep an eye out for you.