<p>I am thinking of possibly applying ED to Bucknell. I have some concerns, though.</p>
<p>I want to get a good education in physics. I know Bucknell has good engineering and I’ve heard good math, but do they have good physics? If my goal is to go to a top grad school, will I be prepared?</p>
<p>The Greek life. I probably don’t want to go Greek. Will I still be able to go to parties, have lots of opportunities to meet people, etc?</p>
<p>Nothing to do on campus. I’ve heard complaints that there isn’t much to do on campus, so kids usually just go out and get drunk. Especially considering I probably won’t be involved in Greek life, will this be an issue for me?</p>
<p>Cost of things. I’ve heard the stores on campus are very expensive. I’ve also heard that the administration (excluding the professors) seems like its more focused on turning a profit rather than improving the life of students. Can someone explain?</p>
<p>Also, I’m just wondering, what have been some noticeable changes in the past say 3-5 years at Bucknell? For example, I’ve heard Greek life is getting slightly less popular.</p>
<p>I can’t answer your questions. But, I can say that with so many concerns Bucknell wouldn’t be a good ED school for you. ED should be reserved for the school that you absolutely love the most and CAN AFFORD.</p>
<p>I urge you to go see the school and ask your questions in person before you commit to ED. Good luck. :)</p>
<p>Bucknell is a great school. But if you have so many questions/concerns, I wonder why you want to apply ED.</p>
<p>Bucknell’s engineering program is nationally ranked. I would think its physics program must be pretty good given engineering students must take several physics courses. I believe you would definitely be prepared for graduate school. Bucknell also sends many student to medical and law school.</p>
<p>Greek life is a big part of Bucknell. My D, a senor, did not go that route. She is an independent and has a very active social life and has many independent and greek friends. Non greeks have their own house parties. And non-greeks can often get into greek parties.</p>
<p>Nothing to do on campus. Haha. There is always something to do. This pretty much goes for any college campus. My D never complains of boredom. There are lectures, concerts ,movies, sports events, parties, etc. The town is small but quaint and has some great restaurants/bars. </p>
<p>There is also a great natural beauty. Bucknell is adjacent to the Susquehanna River and some great state parks.</p>
<p>Cost stuff. No idea what you are talking about.
Noticeable changes. Its campus is expanding and modernizing and its student population is becoming more diverse.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot. I am thinking of applying ED because it’s my favorite school of those I’ve seen. These were issues that I had seen online and I wanted to get another opinion or two. I am going to spend a day at the school or something before I decide.</p>
<p>Does anyone know anything about the drinking there? I’ve heard there’s a lot of it.</p>
<p>My D is in a sororiety, and I can say, there does seem to be a lot of drinking. Having said that, she is very involved with her major and she works at the Univerisity and therefore is at least equally involved in non-greek events. Also, I wish every university had the forced Sophomore rush that Bucknell has. The one year waiting period means that while half the kids eventually go greek, their closest friends are almost always from their freshman year dorm anyway - so for example my D’s 4 closest friends consist of one non-greek girl, and 3 girls in 3 different houses. This is completely typical. The nongreek friend is often dragged along to greek events and no one cares. They also hang as a group and do plenty of nongreek related stuff.</p>
<p>I would like to comment on the statement that the administration seems more concerned about turning profit not much about the students. My son is a freshman there, and I have the opposite impression.</p>
<p>I feel that there is a tremendous emphasis on providing support, care, and hand holding to the student. Maybe even too much :)</p>
<p>When my son and I first visited Bucknell last fall, I was struck by the presentation by the admissions director: unlike most of her counterparts in other colleges/universities, she spent most of her time talking about what education means at Bucknell. She hardly spent any time talking about fine facilities, return on investment (meaning, see what high paying job our graduates are getting, etc), or exciting sports events. Her thoughtful discourse on the Bucknellian educational philosophy is what impressed me most. I was sold. My son was sold for a different reason ;)</p>
<p>After my son was admitted ED, the admissions officer assigned to him “harassed” him the rest of his senior year to make sure that my son did not slack off with a senioritis. </p>
<p>My son is doing very well so far, and I am a very happy Bucknell parent.</p>
<p>Regarding things costing too much on campus… first of all, Walmart is very near by and I believe they have a weekly shuttle service to and from (don’t know whether this is year around or just around the beginning of the school year). Second, their dinning service is well into 11 PM. this makes a HUGE difference. My older son’s school cafeteria closed at 8 PM, and hence, he ended up spending money for food and snacks when he needed something at night, and 8 PM closing time at the cafeteria there was responsible for quite a tidy sum of money spent that could have been saved. So, other than regular supplies of personal items you can get at Walmart (shampoo etc), laundry (on campus - are you doing 100 loads a week?) and snacks (you can get this for free till 11 PM), what other areas of spending do you have left? Everything else can be ordered on line.</p>
<p>Right after we dropped our son off at Bucknell, there was a earthquake in the DC area. Within hours, we got emaill from Bucknell reassuring us “all of our students are safe”.</p>
<p>Then later early in the fall, there was a flood in the nearby region, and just in case, students at my son’s dorm had to be evacuated overnight. We got a hilarious (and touching) email from the administration. It almost felt like “disaster preparedness manifesto”. It had some to the effect that: </p>
<p>(a) your student will be safely housed in a indoor track/facility on campus (something like that)</p>
<p>(b) we have prepared food, medicine, clothing, etc (wow, Haiti government should learn from Bucknell administration). Clothing, mind you!!!</p>
<p>(c) we have also a team of psychologists on hand to counsel your student in case s/he is traumatized by the experience of displacement (again, don’t recall exact wording).</p>
<p>We were rolling on the floor laughing by the time we got to the item (c) above. My son told me that the students had a GREAT time with this large scale pajama party. </p>
<p>Humor aside, I felt very touched by how the school seems to take my son’s and his peers’ welfare darn seriously.</p>
him the rest of his senior year to make sure that my son did not slack off with a senioritis. </p>