As with everything, West Chester has many pros and cons.
PROS:
- Price: Even though costs are rising, WCU has been reviewed as one of the Top 100 Kiplinger Best Buy schools. Not too bad for what is considered one of the top state schools in PA.- Academics: Certain departments have good programs, such as music ed. and nursing. In my experience, I found that the foreign languages department is well organized and can adequately prepare student for the rigors of graduate school.
- Professors: This is a bit of a hit or miss, but many professors are willing to guide and help students. Researching student reviews on the efficacy of professors is highly advisable in order to weed out the horrible professors who shun students.
- The town of West Chester: Historical and quaint. The town offers students a variety of shops and bars if you also subscribe to the drinking scene. Bars range from trashy to classy. There is even a brewery in town with rather decent beer. The town's location is also convenient. Drive out in one direction for a while, and you're in Amish country, drive 20 minutes East and you can enjoy what Philadelphia has to offer, drive 20 minutes South and you have sales tax free Delaware.
CONS:
- Certain programs lack: The math department was well known for its inefficiency during my undergraduate studies. Other programs are also fairly unstable. Research programs carefully before choosing to matriculate at the school.
- Subjectivity within courses: I have encountered several instances where grades were based entirely upon subjectivity. One of several examples: I was utterly disgusted when one professor told us that she had graded our essay based exam on how much writing appeared on the paper rather than on the actual content of that writing, even though I managed a relatively good grade.
- Social scene: I have a relatively good imagination, but still had trouble finding something fun to do within the university area that didn't involve drinking or driving elsewhere. There are fun events intermittently spread through the semester, but not enough to truly keep students entertained. The university sometimes looks like a ghost town on weekends because students simply opt to go home.
Programs and services: Certain programs are in jeopardy due to the stress of the economy. Services are also being cut back. Even though students are required to pay a steep technology fee, they are now only allowed to print up 125 pages per week, as opposed to 75 pages per day a few years ago.
Overpopulation: WCU's desperation can be observed by their admission rate. They are letting far too many students matriculate, and have even built several new dorm building to accommodate them. This means that if you're planning to use WCU's computers, you will often have to wait in a line. This also means that parking at WCU, which has always been a big problem due to space limitation, is getting increasingly more difficult. These are things to consider, especially if you plan on commuting.
Food: Bland and uninspired. The two words which describes the mass produced food at WCU. Even though they have made somewhat of an effort to provide student with new options, the food is still quite tasteless.
---I hope this review has provided necessary information on the various aspects of the university.
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