Palm Beach Atlantic University

Date: Jun 25 2007
Major: Business - Management and Administration (This Major's Salary over time)
PBA, where do I start? First of all I should say that I am a small town guy from the Midwest. When I visited I was enamored with the idea of being in South Florida, near the beach and enjoying the great weather. One should note, PBA does an absolute piss poor job of giving a tour of the school. They will walk you through about two areas (the Greene Complex and Student Center, and one suite that has a view of the Intercoastal Waterway). I recommend if you do visit to look into things further, try and stay after and talk to students because what PBA shows on a visit is so sheltered and misleading its pathetic.

After being their for just a few months I realized what I terrible choice I had made. If you are looking for some nightlife, or any sort of social scene outside of the campus you will have a very hard time. Once the afternoon rolls around on a Friday night the majority of the students head home and leave the campus abandoned. If you insist on coming find a friend who is a local. That way you can escape the boredom that is PBA on a weekend. The sports teams that I actually care to watch are downright horrible. Any teams that are decent generate such little buzz that the campus is dead when it comes to sports. Make sure you are loud and obnoxious early on to gain the attention of what I call "the God kids" at PBA. Essentially, the kids who do nothing but worship Monday-Friday and then go against everything they say when the weekend comes. Most of the kids at PBA are very laid back, but open minded and I have yet to find one guy who would "straighten up" another guy. So essentially, feel free to act like a jackass, nobody will do much about it, if anything, you will become popular because of it. Also, as a guy make sure you pack an excessive amount of preppy Abercrombie/Polo shirts along with bottles of hair gel to impress the ladies, or in some cases, the guys.

As for my experiences of nightlife in West Palm, they were slim and dull to say the least. There is Clematis Street nearby which has its good moments that are far and few between. As I said earlier, the nightlife sucks. I had never watched so many movies in my life until I entered PBA. However, for some students, their idea of a crazy night is staying up past 1 watching movies and then topping it off with a 7Eleven run for a Slurpie. Or maybe if everyone is feeling dangerous a late night stop by the Marriot is possible. When I asked if there were any parties, or places to hang out I was immediately chastised and looked down upon. Apparently, to some, simply saying the word party insinuates that I am going to drink and not try and socialize (without drinking), something that is nearly impossible to do after class and off campus.

The campus security is good but can get over the top at times. They are visible at all times but the rent-a-cops as I call them tend to take the job too seriously. I remember a rap concert during mid March that had to do with Spring Break. The PBA security office took the liberty of posting warning signs throughout campus, even saying they would be down at the event (which was way off campus) patrolling, AND if they saw a PBA student they would be asked to leave by PBA security. A joke to say the least. To summarize, if you need them they are there but for the most part they seem to get in the way.

The rules at PBA are a bit much if you ask me. Two that stick out for any incoming freshman are these two:

1) Visitation - depending upon your hall you can only have the opposite sex over on the weekends and one day during the week. So if your busy during that day during the week you are shot. No fear, however, if you are from out of state you will have endless time on the weekends to sit around and enjoy your short and brief time with the opposite sex. Also, keep in mind you will be checked on if you do have someone from the opposite sex in your room and your door MUST remain open at all times.

2) Curfew - Even more ridiculous than the visitation rules. How old are we? I am 19, never had a curfew in my high school days I enter college thinking I am going to be free and do what I what. Not quite. Every freshman will be required to be in their room/suite by 11:30 on school nights and 1:30 on the weekends. Be prepared, also if you don't get a GPA above 2.5 you will be on curfew for the second semester.

The teachers come with the territory. I recommend using ratemyprofessor.com for selecting your schedule. There are some push overs, some that are great and others that are just horrible. Most are pretty approachable and are pretty straight forward with what they want.

Other tips, make sure you stay on top of the required chapels. Many students don't stay on top of it and if you don't you will be fined and put on probation at the end of the year. The same can be said for the 45 hours of community service that are required each year.

To conclude, I would NOT recommend this school if you do not want to be oppressed by the Christian faith. I believe in God, don't mind going to church but it is just too much for me. Any event around school is tied into the Christian faith but that also comes with a Christian school I guess. The fast paced lifestyle, along with the rude and aggressive people of South Florida are too much for me.