PC Student Life & Western Civ Questions

[bosscross]

Hi there, I am looking for some more in depth information about PC social life, as my D is looking there but we won’t be able to make a visit before applications are due. I’ve had a very hard time trying to find information about the school. From what I’ve read on here, a current student described it as a “party school”. Didn’t think that would be the case at a religious school, can anyone elaborate? How often do students go out, where, etc.? Also, what is the typical student like? Are they artsy, preppy, entitled, etc.?

About Western Civ classes, I have read that there are 3 common semesters and the fourth is a class of the students choice. How many choices are there and what are they? How is the class taught - discussion based or lecture style with a lot of assessments? Would one describe this class as more busy work that is the majority of a student’s homework load or just about the same as other classes? Hoping a parent of or a current student can elaborate! Thanks!

[LACSearch]

Hi bosscross - sorry I’m late to the party but I can help a bit.

S graduated from PC a few years ago and we live in the area. The school as a whole is a great spot. Campus is clean, housing and food not bad, lots to do in the area. There are a couple of bad areas off campus but they are in a direction that the students tend not to have to go towards. It’s a city so you just have to use some common sense.

Like any college, you get out of it what you put into it. There are lots of activities, sports, intramurals, clubs, etc. Is there partying, yes just like anywhere else. There are lots of rental homes across the street from the campus and that’s a large part of it, but also a great part of it because there are lots of housing options. The student population is pretty much a cross-section of middle / upper-middle-class kids from the new england region who probably went to a private (maybe Catholic) high school. I can honestly say I never ran into a student who was not polite and courteous. Money or not, I don’t get the feeling that any kid would feel out of place. Son graduated from the honors college and now has a great job in SF and his best friends are the guys and girls he met at PC. It’s also a D1 school and the sports (especially hockey and basketball) are well attended. Also, intramurals are pretty active.

As far as Western Civ, its made out to be more of a big deal than it really is. It is a combination of History and religion and taught like a basic gen ed class - lectures and a paper. It may be skewed a bit toward the Catholic side because of the school but were are protestant and son never felt it was a big deal. Anyone smart enough to get into PC can certainly handle the class!

Hope this helps.