I have heard alot of good things. We considered it for my D but she wanted a bigger school. I have a friend who is sending her D this year. I will post again after the semester begins to let you know how it is going.
I know several Ursinus alums - all of them speak very highly of Ursinus.
I was deciding between Ursinus and Albright - Ursinus was my first choice throughout the application process. I didn't change my mind until I went for overnight visits after being accepted. Both visits went well, I remember seeing a performance of Antigone at Ursinus that was pretty good. I sat in on a calculus class at Ursinus and the students seemed challenged, but not entirely engaged.
I ended up choosing Albright though, because I related more to the student body - very-down-to-earth, t-shirt and jeans types. The students were very engaged in the government class I attended there. I had a lot of fun playing Scattergories in the freshman dorm night I stayed. The student I stayed with was a swimmer, (I can't swim,) but I related very well to her and her friends and a few of them recognized me when I arrived on campus a few months later for orientation.
The students I stayed with at Ursinus were "metal/goth;" I don't think they were the norm there, but that was who I was paired with for my overnight stay with and the impression was made by them. None of the Ursinus alum I know fit that metal/goth description - all are mainstream to trendy/preppy and most are into sports/fitness. The alum I know from Ursinus all work in science fields, (i.e. physical therapist, engineer, chemist.)
YMMV. Go have a visit for yourself. I believe Ursinus is a great school - it just needs to be the right "fit" for you.
Last edited by FutureActuary; 06-16-2010 at 02:30 PM.
Tour guide from 2 yrs ago looked like she rolled out of bed and didn't bother changing up, then talked a lot about parties and little about academics.
Very poor ambassador for the college and left a very bad taste in D's mouth. Sure it's a good school, but didn't sell itself very well when we visited.
When I got to my professional school of choice (a mid level, relatively well known institution in New England) I had a conversation with a professor from SEPA about the region, I mentioned of course that I was an Ursinus Alum..."Oh yeah, lots of ummm...'English Majors' there," was his reply. The insinuation was clear. "Very, umm...how do I say, concerned about themselves, the students and the administration, I mean." My $140,000 at work.
-Frustrated Alum.
FWIW, the English department is a bunch of great people, in reality, I don't think that it tended to collect the slackers...ESS, Art and Psych. kept them (relatively) busy...
We visited recently and were very impressed with the calibre of students at Ursinus. When we had visited earlier for a tour in the Spring, we were not as impressed with our tour guide. My son is considering Ursinus compared to Dickinson and Allegheny. We haven't met many students at Dickinson and my son is hoping to visit overnight at Ursinus and Dickinson to get a better feel for the students. He has learned a lot from overnight visits and has taken one school off the top of his list because he didn't like the social atmosphere. My son is looking for a school where the sports teams are close but students also socialize outside their team frat etc. Anyone have any input on that re Ursinus? Also it's location between Phila and NY seems ideal. How have alumnae done in the grad school/ career search? Also what is ESS?
We visited about 1 1/2 years ago. S thought it was too far away from a city. Nice mix of old and new buildings, including a stunning fine arts center. Nice athletic facilities. Has sort of a core curriculum that they call the common intellectual experience, that I thought was good. Seems to have a good variety of courses for a school of its size.
My son is looking for a school where the sports teams are close but students also socialize outside their team frat etc.
D1 is a varsity athlete at Ursinus. She has a good mix of friends. The team is close --- she has dinner very evening with her teammates and the male counterparts. They have parties with other teams, too. She lives in one of the houses on Main Street, and loves it. The whole house gets along and they support each other. About a quarter of people in the (coed) house are athletes so they go to games / meets etc for those friends, and attend the theater / dance / singing performances of some of the other kids in the house.
For D1, Ursinus has been wonderful. She found her "fit". She is a science major who works very hard, as do her classmates. Because of the relatively small student body, D1 knows or at least recognizes on sight a large percentage of the students there. D1 likes that, others may feel suffocated.
p.s. "ESS" stands for Excercise and Sport Science. Some ESS students are planning to go to grad school for physical therapy, some are ESS majors because that's the closest thing to a phys ed major that Ursinus offers.
Anyone have any input on that re Ursinus? Also it's location between Phila and NY seems ideal. How have alumnae done in the grad school/ career search? Also what is ESS?
Sports teams were always the problem groups, think food splattered on the hallways of the dorms, taking golf clubs to the fluorescent lights, problem. I really liked the area, good people there, good proximity to anything you could want or need. I wouldn't mind moving back to the area. We never spent much time in Phil or NYC.
I've come to the realization that most mid-level liberal arts colleges, among other things, are some sort of gigantic conspiracy designed to babysit your children and develop them psychologically but impart very little specific and practical knowledge...I dunno, maybe that is the point. The corruption in higher education is ubiquitous, Ursinus is no different, but no worse either... I like to think that the faculty makes up for it. I had to cram in two majors to get out of my time there what I did, either one alone I don't think would have been satisfying.
Anyway, my classmates have jobs or are in grad schools, then again my friends were closer to the top 20%, I, obviously, made it to grad school, but I had nothing to do with the pre-professional program for my current studies, I got two good recommendations from professors but the school had no other hand in my applying to or prep for grad school.
Thanks everyone for their input! When my son visited last he had lunch with the team and they showed him around a little. He felt that they were very friendly and welcoming, which is what he has been looking for from a social standpoint.
Hey guys. I just got into Ursinus today early action and I'm reaally excited. I also got into big state schools like Rutgers and UDel, but since Ursinus is offering the most money and closest to my house I'll probably go there. That being said, HOW ARE THE PARTIES? This isnt a huge part of my decision but its pretty important. If you have gone to an Ursinus party, know someone who has been to one, etc. PLLEAASEE tell me how they are. I wanna enjoy myself in college!!
Hey guys. I just got into Ursinus today early action and I'm reaally excited. I also got into big state schools like Rutgers and UDel, but since Ursinus is offering the most money and closest to my house I'll probably go there. That being said, HOW ARE THE PARTIES? This isnt a huge part of my decision but its pretty important. If you have gone to an Ursinus party, know someone who has been to one, etc. PLLEAASEE tell me how they are. I wanna enjoy myself in college!!
I registered this screen name after landing a PennSTAR helicopter on the baseball field to airlift out a party go'er who took it a little too far...I was puked on, threatened, assaulted and came into contact with just about every imaginable bodily fluid there (involuntarily I might add). The party scene is alive and well. Enjoy. You would find this just about anywhere though...
