Westmont College

I chose Westmont college because I wanted a small school that maintained in-person instruction during Covid. It was a last minute application for me. I am very happy they tried to stay in-person throughout the pandemic. This college is a little too small (about 1,400) and sometimes seems like they just don't have that many diverse programs. The best thing about Westmont is definitely the small class sizes and attentiveness of professors towards students. You develop a very personal relationship and they care for the student, the overall teaching and learning experience is overall the best thing Westmont has to offer.

However, my criticisms about Westmont involve almost all other aspects. The cafeteria is just average food, but they have inconvenient hours, with breakfast lunch and dinner only having about a two hour service window for each meaning if you have a class scheduled, you may miss out on the meal. Dinner stops serving at around 7, but on weekends hours are even more irregular. The health and psychiatric offices are both by appointment only an open from 9-3 on weekdays only. I?ve only attempted to get into the health clinic once, and friends who have tried to get appointments for psychiatry have not gotten responses back. Dorm rooms are a main concern of mine. Dorms for first and second years are severely outdated, upperclassmen dorms are much newer and have AC, nice kitchens, and remodeled bathrooms. Lower class men dorms have outdated, problematic bathrooms, I have no idea how old the room carpets are but they need to be replaced, and most rooms do not have AC installed. I heard there is even a lawsuit being compiled for issues of mold in the dorms. Dorm room issues are mainly what makes me dislike Westmont. My residence hall has a couple different buildings, some burnt down in a fire several years ago and we're rebuilt which was great. They now have much nicer bathrooms, working AC units, etc. My main complaint is that I pay as much as the students who get placed in those dorms for way less. A current heat wave has been going on, and it's just impossible to cool my room. I have not been able to sleep, I was constant getting heat rashes, and got sick. If that was just the dorm I got, so be it, but a couple buildings over their AC is constant running. I dealt with the housing office trying asking why we are paying the same when they are using far more energy and have nicer amenities. The only solution I could think of was a housing fee reduction for me and my suite mates, but they replied that they can't do anything like that (which is honestly what I expected) and told me to use fans! Trust me I have two but they just blow warm air, and take quick, cold showers, and even slept with a wet towel as a blanket.

1st Year Male -- Class 1925

Useful Schoolwork: A, Campus Maintenance: D