Pace University - New York

Date: Nov 21 2007
Major: Communications (This Major's Salary over time)
First off I'd like to say that I never intended to go to Pace University, but I also never expected it to be this mediocre. Possibly if you were looking foward to going here it would be a better experience, but regardless I'm still entitled to my opinion…

The most disappointing aspect of this university is the professors. My Critical Writing professor has taught at 3 other colleges and "mysteriously" left each one, and was still hired by Pace. The teachers in the english department are arrogant and self-absorbed. They are under the assumption that if they have a Ph.D that makes them an amazing teacher, and let me tell you that doesn't mean a thing. My class was personally told that our opinions didn't matter and aren't always useful in society. I don't understand why a university would hire someone like that. My psychology professor left after 2 weeks to have back surgery. We got a replacement and were given a new cirriculum and couldn't withdraw without consequence if we wished to. The man spelt infrared rays incorrectly, and had to check the text book for the correction. The language department assumes kids in 101 have taken the language already and speeds through the cirriculum. There are students in my Russian class that haven't passed a test yet but the teacher is acting as though it's not a problem. Although the professors are usually available to help you, they didn't give me productive advice and shut down my suggestions pretty quickly so I learned its best to work out my own problems and accept unfair grades.

Although I am on a $13,000 scholarship, Pace is still ridiculously expensive for what it is. Classes are frequently canceled unexpectedly. It's not that I don't like to have some time off but when it comes down to it, it's a lot of wasted time and money, especially if you are commuting and come in unknowning of the cancellation. Freshman dorming is semi-reasonable for the city, only $7,000. Beyond that it's upwards of $14,000 a year, nearly half of what the school costs. Pace is coming closer and closer to being as expensive as NYU, and rates increase each year. You are coming out with tons of loans.

The core cirriculum is filled with a lot of crap classes that are uneccesary, I knew what I wanted to do so I don't get why the core is so extensive. For the most part you can't get courses in your major in freshman year. If you know what you want in a college I suggest to going to a school that gets more specfic quicker. If you want to horse around and change majors 300 times before you're a junior, be my guest at Pace.

The social life is good for people that live there, but really not so great for commuters (but that's the case in most colleges). All the events are posted the day of rather than a week or two in advance so it's hard to attend if you don't have notice. I didn't get into the main fall event because it was free. Without a ticket you get shut out quickly. The clubs are mainly geared towards business and cultural things so if you like that, it's a plus. There are no sports, a few intramurals but they don't occur frequently. The gym and workout area are small, but it's not what the school's about so I guess thats irrelevant to them. The students are generally friendly but a lot less bright than I thought they'd be. I'd say a good percentage could careless about their grades and tend to not side with me against bad professors because they could give a sh!t about their education. Nightlife is good, there are tons of bars that don't card in the area and tons of kids from Pace go. It's a very good way to meet people while intoxicated. Most people are more concerned with what they're going to drink tonight rather than what they're going to get on their test the next morning.

The neighborhood is excellent. One of my favorite things about Pace. I always feel safe walking around and there are some nice places to eat if you explore.

It would be totally understandable to get a mediocre experience if I was paying a minimal tuition but Pace only offers a maximum of $15,000 in scholarship money. I couldn't tell you about financial aid because I did not receive any, but that isn't Pace's fault. Unfortunately my parents have bills even if they look nice on paper. They did offer me an extra $2,000 on merit after they re-evaluated my application. You need to inquire to get stuff like that done though, so don't just sit back and wait for it to come to you.

Basically my advice is, if you like the bar/club hopping nightlife, had about a 75/80 average or so in high school, interested in business, and aren't easily frustrated by condescending professors, Pace is for you. There is some 50 or 60 percent of Pace students that like it so don't go by just the opinions on this site, or mine, try to find someone you know to get other opinions. As for me, next semester it's off to a City University for an affordable and equal but most likely better education.

If you are wondering why I attended this university to begin with, and if I dislike it why did I bother. Well, ask my parents that question because it was more their decision than mine.