As an incoming high school senior, my parents are having me visit a few more colleges before I have to figure out which schools to apply to. I live in Ohio and am interested in writing/journalism/English/communications, so my mom is having me visit Ohio University. I have already seen U of Dayton, Miami U, Xavier U, Butler U, and Otterbein U, so does anyone know which of the remaining 3 schools (Marquette, Villanova, Duquesne - all recommendations that seem pretty good match schools for me) is the most worth looking at? Is there one in particular that just isn’t worth seeing, or would I be missing something by only visiting 2 of those 3 like my parents want?
Also, is anyone familiar with all 3 schools and able to give me insight on the overall atmosphere, Greek life, party scene, study abroad opportunities, and things like that? (Note: I’m not looking for a huge party school with lots of Greek life… the opposite is more appealing to me).
Villanova is a somewhat tougher admit than Marquette and much tougher than Duquesne. It is a pretty, suburban campus whereas Marquette has a really attractive but more urban campus, and Duquesne has a nice but geographically small campus in downtown Pittsburgh. I don’t think Greek life is especially strong at any of them, all have ample study abroad options, but perhaps the location might matter to you.
Ohio U has a lovely campus in a small town and has an excellent journalism / communications school. Even with merit at the other schools (Xavier, Duquesne and Dayton are pretty generous and Miami might be if you have high stats), the price can’t be beat for an in-state student (if cost is a concern).
–Google the common data set for each of the schools and see if any of the schools place a high value of demonstrated interest. You may want to put the schools that do like to see strong demonstrated interest higher up on the list to visit.
–If you haven’t done so yet you can try to read up on all three schools before deciding which to visit to see if any of the schools sound particularly appealing to you. Get your hands on some of the good college guide books (ex. Fiske, Princeton Review, Insiders Guide) which you can probably find in the library or HS guidance office.
–If you are geographically far it is generally fine to apply first and visit the school only if you get in, it find that it is affordable, and is a school you would consider attending.
–Villanova does have Greek life, not sure about the other schools.