http://www.studentsreview.com/PA/UC_comments.html Life at UC - Comments en http://www.studentsreview.com/PA/UC_comments.html I am a Science Major at Ursinus College finishing my senior year. What drew me to Ursinus College was the "beautiful campus, outstanding accommodations, access to Philadelphia and the renowned pre-... Wed, 26 Dec 2012 06:09:45 GMT StudentsReview 1215-91176 Copyright 2013 StudentsReview, Ecliptical Technologies, Inc. 1215-91176 1215 69 Neuroscience/Cognitive Science Female Undergraduate Class 2013 4th Year Negative I am a Science Major at Ursinus College finishing my senior year.

What drew me to Ursinus College was the "beautiful campus, outstanding accommodations, access to Philadelphia and the renowned pre-health professionals program." I weighed Ursinus carefully with several other small, liberal arts colleges before deciding it was "the best fit."

However, the more time I spent at the school, the more I realized that Ursinus College is just another overpriced and underfunded Liberal Arts safety school.

Let me first start off my saying that you should NOT trust the website pictures or the tour guides. "Some people I may know" have been paid very handsomely by the school to wear "preppy and collegiate" clothing, which the college provides, while posing with other, good-looking students. The tour guides are instructed to avoid certain topics that may put the school in a bad light, even if it means completely lying to our tour group. Common lies are:
1. Ursinus is conveniently located near Philadelphia and the King of Prussia mall (there is no direct transit to Philadelphia or KOP, you must take 2.5 hours of roundabout trains and buses)
2. The sciences are the backbone of the college (The school has been making dramatic cuts to science research and education at the expense of Division 3 sports, which they feel will help promote the school better)
3. Ursinus has a friendly social environment (Alcohol and Drug culture is OUT OF CONTROL. EMS is constantly shipping people to the hospital at all hours of the night. There is no little-to-no oversight by faculty or police, meaning that students of ALL AGES drink openly and without consequence. There is a serious risk of sexual assault and alcohol poisoning compared to other liberal arts colleges. Greek life runs the campus like something out of a very dark Animal House. Be VERY aware of bullying.)
4. The food is great for a college. (Lie of the Year award for this one. It is common knowledge that the only days students look forward to eating on campus are the days that Ursinus is running tour groups. It is on these days that you are less likely to get violent diarrhea from the food served. If you get a chance, ask someone on campus what they call the "follow up" to eating at Wismer Dining Hall...it is actually pretty funny...and sad.)

However, in fairness, the school does have some positive aspects.
1. The Chemistry Department is OUTSTANDING. They EASILY compete with Ivy League schools. The professors are brilliant, inspirational, approachable and wonderful to learn from. If you are someone pursuing a degree in Chemistry (especially Organic Chem) then it may be worth it to ignore some of the negative aspects of the school.
2. Most professors care. The school is going through a "rough-patch" since the death of our former president. There have been financial strains and policy disagreements. The Office of Admission, the Board of Trustees and Athletic Directors are fighting over money at the expense of students and faculty. However, you can always be sure that your professor knows what is going on and that they are there for you.
3. While the music department still needs work, the Theater Department puts on GREAT productions. Theater is one of the only things other than athletics that thrives at Ursinus. They fight tooth and nail for every penny and resource they can get, but they pull through and manage to put on memorable and inspired performances that are accessible to ALL students.
4. Special Accommodations. They are taken very seriously and all conditions can accommodated for, if it is special housing, academic accommodations or something more specific, the school does a good job making your college experience a little better.

In summary, Board of Trustees ("The Man") = Evil
Professors = Great
Students = Disheartened or too drunk to care.
Things to do (other than drugs and alcohol) = Scarce
Housing = Not bad
Food = Laxatives
Athletics = Get more than they deserve
Should you go here = Only if your are alum, a chemistry major or an alcoholic. Wed, 26 Dec 2012 06:09:45 GMT http://www.studentsreview.com/PA/UC_comments.html http://www.studentsreview.com/PA/UC_comments.html What you are paying for at Ursinus (those ridiculous prices that everyone is complaining about...) is the ability to go to a small school where each student recieves individual attention. The classes ... Tue, 02 Oct 2012 03:43:26 GMT StudentsReview 1215-89661 Copyright 2013 StudentsReview, Ecliptical Technologies, Inc. 1215-89661 1215 17 English Female Undergraduate Class 2015 2nd Year Positive What you are paying for at Ursinus (those ridiculous prices that everyone is complaining about...) is the ability to go to a small school where each student recieves individual attention. The classes here are tiny and the majority of them are discussion-based, while the professors are very knowledgeable and make themselves availible to their students.I have professors who are ivy league educated, very successful in their feilds, and always have their office doors open to me. A lot of money goes to science here, but as an English/ Art history double-major, I do not feel that I am overlooked. The Berman musuem of art is a fantastic resource, and students with a desire to get involved at the musuem will find it easy to do so. Academics are rigorous but manageable, and if you put the work in you will reap the benefits. While I will say that the "small-town" feel here gets quite old, with a car Philly is only a short distance away. If you are coming here with liberal arts academics in mind, and you want to be on the kind of first-name basis with your professors that will help you to succeed, Ursinus is a good school. If your main concerns when picking a college are a raging social life and gourmet food then yeah, you won't be happy at Ursinus. Tue, 02 Oct 2012 03:43:26 GMT http://www.studentsreview.com/PA/UC_comments.html http://www.studentsreview.com/PA/UC_comments.html Honestly I only came to Ursinus because of the money and I paid for that poor decision for the 4 years I was there. Every year tuition goes up and aid does not so you end up paying about 8,000-10,000 ... Tue, 03 Jul 2012 04:51:35 GMT StudentsReview 1215-88219 Copyright 2013 StudentsReview, Ecliptical Technologies, Inc. 1215-88219 1215 58 Political Science Female Undergraduate Alumna Class 2000 Negative Honestly I only came to Ursinus because of the money and I paid for that poor decision for the 4 years I was there. Every year tuition goes up and aid does not so you end up paying about 8,000-10,000 out of pocket by senior year. Ursinus is very good about painting a picture that's very deceiving. There is so much that happens at Ursinus that they try to cover up. On more than one occasion a faculty member has engaged in a sexual/romantic relationship with a student and the school did everything it could to cover it up and allow the faculty member to "resign." The class sizes are small but the professors are either really enthusiastic about their jobs or hate their lives and make sure that students are miserable too. Sad to say many fall into the latter category. So, even though the professors may know you it doesn't necessarily help you in the long run unless the professor wants to be helpful. Ursinus is also extremely unprofessional. On more than one occasion students personal information has been made public by faculty members and faculty members have been spotted at the local bar actually getting drunk. During my last two years at Ursinus the college was being investigated by the D.A.'s office for failing to report rapes that occurred on campus. It's pretty common to hear about someone being raped and the perpetrator being allowed to stay on campus after the college convinces the victim that they'd be better off if they didn't report it to the police and let the school handle it. Despite all of this I must say that there are certain departments where the students get a very good education: Biology, ESS, Business. But many of the other departments are behind the times and are not worth the 50,000+ tuition/year. If you think you can take on a sub par college experience, very high tuition, and graduate at the top of the class I'd say go for it. I know a lot of people who hated Ursinus but made a point to graduate with a 3.8 or higher. That helped them to go to graduate programs at good schools. And although Ursinus faculty isn't the best, if they see a student with a high GPA who they can brag about on the website, they will make a point to help them if they can. Tue, 03 Jul 2012 04:51:35 GMT http://www.studentsreview.com/PA/UC_comments.html http://www.studentsreview.com/PA/UC_comments.html Here's a piece of advice, if you have a choice to go to another school, go there. AVOID Ursinus like the plague. If you want to spend 40+ thousand dollars a year to drink natty, go to Ursinus. If y... Mon, 20 Feb 2012 04:50:26 GMT StudentsReview 1215-85447 Copyright 2013 StudentsReview, Ecliptical Technologies, Inc. 1215-85447 1215 53 Other Male Undergraduate Class 2011 2nd Year Advice Here's a piece of advice, if you have a choice to go to another school, go there. AVOID Ursinus like the plague. If you want to spend 40+ thousand dollars a year to drink natty, go to Ursinus. If you want to get a late night hook up, go to Ursinus. If you want to live in a town that is an overpriced dump with a volunteer fire department with a loud air raid horn, go to Ursinus. If you want to go to a school with reject Harvard teachers who want to teach at Harvard, go to Ursinus. If you want teachers who have no understanding of the outside world, go to Ursinus. If you want to go to a school to watch field hockey, go to Ursinus. If you want to see scary Orville Redenbacher impersonators, go to Ursinus. If you want to go to a school with a bunch of people who don't take there education seriously and who are closed minded, go to Ursinus. If you want to get an education go somewhere else. And lastly if you don't believe my review go to REIMERT HALL on a Thursday, Friday, Saturday morning or any morning and look at the courtyard- don't worry you don't need a card or anything to see it. Mon, 20 Feb 2012 04:50:26 GMT http://www.studentsreview.com/PA/UC_comments.html http://www.studentsreview.com/PA/UC_comments.html Run. Please. If you have any hope of maintaining your sanity, do not come to Ursinus. I'm a Resident Advisor and I can say from person experience that this school is terrible. Yes, the professors are ... Sat, 18 Feb 2012 04:35:43 GMT StudentsReview 1215-85400 Copyright 2013 StudentsReview, Ecliptical Technologies, Inc. 1215-85400 1215 69 Neuroscience/Cognitive Science Male Undergraduate Class 2013 3rd Year Neutral Run. Please. If you have any hope of maintaining your sanity, do not come to Ursinus. I'm a Resident Advisor and I can say from person experience that this school is terrible. Yes, the professors are good. Everything else is terrible. High Sexual Assault rates, High alcohol abuse rates, High Drug Use, Low Student Moral. Only 1-2 60 year old+ Campus Safety officers watch over the entire student body. Tour guides and student "models" are provided with preppy clothing and paid to lie about their successes. There is nothing to do in the surrounding community. There is no easy access to Philadelphia. (It takes about 2-3 hours to get to Center City. You have to take 3 buses and a commuter train.) RUN. Please. DON'T COME HERE. Sat, 18 Feb 2012 04:35:43 GMT http://www.studentsreview.com/PA/UC_comments.html