There are a few things you should know before attending Creighton University of that I will try to summarize as best I can. Some people may read my comments and find they love Creighton, and others may find that they belong elsewhere.#1 The professors here truly care about you as a person and about your progress in their class. There are a few exceptions, but for the most part all of my professors know my name and I even go in once in a while just to chat with them about life.
#2 The student population is mostly Christian and conservative. This means that there are many students who feel that evolution is a myth and talking about sex is wrong. Some will also gently tell you that you are heading to hell if you disagree. The majority are not extremists, but student organizations have brought people to the school to talk about such things as how a gay man can become straight and ‘how far is too far’ speeches.
#3 The administration is conservative. This has several practical implications on every day life. For one thing, it is considered totally acceptable to bring up God in just about any class and talk about how he is involved in your life. Furthermore, the administration has also censored images and movies that contained material considered not in line with the Catholic church. Also be aware that after 7 PM you must allow a desk worker to swipe your ID card for you to prove you live in your dorm, and members of the opposite sex must be off of your floor by certain hours every night. Also note that there are no coed floors in the freshmen or sophomore dorms save for a few special living communities. A few years back some people from the gay-straight alliance handed out condoms to people on campus and they were severally reprimanded and told they were lucky their organization could exist at all (though not in so many words). Finally, a few of us looked up some rules just to see what there was, and we realized that it would be a bad thing if our RAs caught anyone masturbating, because technically it is against the rules and they would have to write us up.
#4 There is a parent committee who must approve most changes to the rules. This should tell you several things about Creighton. First, it should suggest that there are a lot of students from the surrounding area of Omaha. Second, it should explain why some of the rules exist and why they won’t change. I’m not sure who came up with this idea so I’ll just add it here: On some floors of the residence halls you will end up living with one of the Jesuits.
#5 There is virtually no diversity here. That includes ethnicity, cultural, intellectual, or anything else. There is a crucifix (or at least a cross) in every classroom.
#6 Most of the students do not have a passion for learning or any kind of ambition. There are those students who work hard, but they are mainly in it so they can get into med school. Don’t expect to many intelligent conversations about philosophy or science to start up randomly. In fact, I personally know several students who got accepted to big name institutions, but came here so they could party more and get wasted four nights a week. This surprised me the most because I thought of Jesuits schools as selective, but Creighton has about an 89% acceptance rate.
#7 The biology department is very focused toward premed students. This can be definitely be a great or terrible thing depending on who you are. Most professors will spend more time trying to get you to do well on MCAT questions than teach about theory, but there are a few exceptions.
#8 The core classes. Most students, and even some professors, consider the core classes a waste of time and because of that attitude you will not be challenged nor get very much out of them. I feel I should add that there are a few people I know who disagree with me, and tell me it is just bad luck that I’ve been in those kinds of classes. Still, I feel justified after one of my professors said “I know most of you won’t be going on in this field or taking any more classes and don’t want to be here. I know. But don’t worry, I’ll do my best to get you through this course and you’ll be on your way.”
#9 The facilities. The dorms are nicer than most other places I’ve seen. After that it again it really depends on who you are. As far as undergraduate science facilities go Creighton is pretty good. Anything in the fine or performing arts, however, will be lacking. Furthermore, it is a complete fight to fund organizations and events here when working with the activities office and the Creighton student union. Also know that the campus is very small and there are no places to go within walking distance besides Old Market.
#10 There is a new honors program they are still tweaking. The special courses you can sign up for are usually on interesting topics (though the classes still didn’t strike me as overly challenging), but the three foundational courses one has to take are all about God and unfortunately this adds stress in the following way: Honors students don’t have to follow the core, but because most grad schools and the like will not view the three intro courses as what they are looking for, we must take the core anyway, so we must take more classes. There is a coed honors floor for first year honors students, but again many of these students are here to party and/or get their As so they can move on to med school where the real learning starts.
#11 I would advise anyone considering Creighton to have a clear idea of what he or she wants to do. This is because Creighton is very strong (and very reputable) in some areas but not others. If someone comes in as premed, he is set, but if this person changes his mind and wants to major in a weaker field of Creighton such as math or psychology, he is totally screwed. In all honesty, for a fraction of the price one could go to a state school and get about the same education, as well as more facilities and opportunities.
#12 People are generally very friendly. I should also add the campus is much safer than some people make it out to be (again, not in one of greatest places in Omaha).
People often tell me that I should not complain about the education here. They say that with the exception of a few schools, education is basically the same everywhere and that it is the graduate school I attend that will matter on my resume. Perhaps that is true, but I want my undergrad years to be filled with learning for learning’s sake.
People will also tell me that I should not complain about the conservative nature of the school, and that we are paying a lot of money for the special environment. Again, they are completely correct, and I have realized that if I want to change my undergraduate experience I should transfer to a more selective, liberal institution and stop complaining to people here. After all, there are plenty of people who see Creighton as exactly what they want out of college. I just advise prospective students to visit a few times and keep their options open. I was dazzled the first time I came to Creighton, and it was a hard thing to do to admit I had made a mistake. I wish you all the best of luck.
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