Manhattan College

Date: Jan 01 2010
Major: English (This Major's Salary over time)
Given the opportunity, I would pick both "advice" and "neutral" for this comment, but that isn't an option.

Ok. So…

I pretty much feel positively about Manhattan College. I cannot complain at all about the English Department. The campus is beautiful. And the library is also quite nice, and a place where I frequently go. One of the main reasons I picked Manhattan is because I found it to be a friendly school for the most part and it seemed the most "normal" of the ones I had toured by that point.

First, my bias—I'm a commuter. I do not dorm. So, I can't speak too much on the actual dorming experience, only from what I've seen myself and heard from others.

I'm going to go point-by-point here…

1. The workload wasn't too difficult for me because I graduated from a pretty challenging high school. However, even I needed to go for extra help, because I was taking Statistics this semester and math really isn't my thing. HELP IS AVAILABLE—if your professor can't help you, don't be afraid to go to tutoring! That's where I went.

2. Campus security could/should be tighter. Personally, I find that there are several unguarded ways to get onto the campus—and that shouldn't be. The general location of the school isn't too bad—even though it's technically in the Bronx, Riverdale is a pretty nice area. And I'm actually from the Bronx, and I've seen various areas in the Bronx, so I think I have a pretty good idea of this. If you do decide to go here, I suggest you not travel alone once it gets dark out. Bring a friend. or a group of friends.

3. My orientation leader said that we are not a wet campus, nor a dry campus—we're a "moist" campus. Whatever that means. Like I said, I don't dorm (and even if I did, I'm not interested in that kind of partying anyway) but listen to this—if you're underage, YOU SHOULDN'T BE DRINKING ANYWAY. So don't be complaining when the RA writes you up. Secondly, I think there are people around campus that aren't into drinking and partying…I know some. You got to look harder if these are the kinds of friends you want to have. But I do believe there is still partying going on, both on and off campus. In fact, i know. Just remember that the amount of actual fun a person has cannot be gauged by how much drinking/partying they do—because you can be partying every night, and you can still be thinking to yourself, "Man, this sucks." Pardon my language.

4. Even though it is a catholic college, don't expect people to be walking around all pious or anything. I'm protestant anyway, but from what I can tell, a lot of people on this campus don't seem to know what they believe. If you're looking for real Christians, there's a good handful. Just putting it out there.

5. Student Activities does seem to work hard to provide good, fun things for people to do, both on and off campus. (Like with discounted tickets for stuff, and stuffs.) However, don't expect large turnouts for on-campus events. There seems to be an abundance of apathy and a lack of school spirit on this campus. I think the Student government is trying to work on this issue right now, and they're starting by hosting a spirit weekend before the spring semester starts. In general, though, don't expect a lot of

Rah-rah, go Manhattan!

on this campus. A lot of people seem to themselves or very much involved in their own friendship groups. I don't see too much reaching out as of yet. And isn't college supposed to be more…school spiritish? At least in the movies…

6. The faculty overall is not mediocre, and I did have some good teachers in my first semester. I can't really say much about the faculty yet, though, because I've only completed one semester so far.

7. Since I commute, I like to bring my food from home. And with good reason. There are three cafeterias on campus. Plato's can be slow-moving at times, especially during the lunch hour. Dante's is ok—I would suggest buying food freshly made, as opposed to from the fridge. And Locke's is a step above typical cafeteria food. Just one step. I can't imagine myself living on this kind of food every day. If you dorm, get plenty of food you can make in your own room, or on the dorm stove or something. Try to get nutritious stuff. And I would strongly suggest that if you live less than an hour away, try to go home on the weekends as often as you can—and bring some of mom's cooking back to your dorm in tupperware.

Overall, students aren't bad. I know plenty of people on a "hi, how are you" basis. It's a pretty friendly campus. But I wouldn't say people are as active, united, or as social as they COULD be.

Overall, I would suggest visiting the campus for yourself. Take a tour. And don't be afraid to approach students and ask for their honest opinions on the college.