Christopher Newport University

Date: Jan 29 2010
Major: Undecided (This Major's Salary over time)
I am a freshman at Christopher Newport, and I am a member of PLP, having received the $1,000 scholarship. I don't feel as though there's anything particularly negative or positive about the school. In terms of social life, clubs are fairly easy to get involved with, and in my experience the members are usually friendly and laid back. CNU is a dry campus, so drinking is definitely frowned upon, but people who've been given violations usually only have to perform community service as punishment. CAB (campus activities board) organizes activities for most weekends, things like movies, ice skating, and comedians. One really big plus of living in Newport News is having the ability to go to the beach when the weather is nice—a few times I've just driven down on the weekends with a group of friends and a picnic. Most people do go home on the weekends, however.

The course material I'm "learning" doesn't seem to be too difficult, but then again I have just started my second semester here. I'm working on filling my areas on inquiry rather than anything I'm actually interested in, so these classes are long and mundane, and most of my teachers have mandatory attendance policies. If your education is something you're attending school for, rather than just a series of easy As and Bs, I'd recommend going somewhere else. Some of the teachers, however, truly care about their students as well as their work, and those are the ones you should look for when signing up for classes. Ratemyprofessors is every college kid's best friend.

The student body itself is mostly Caucasian, Christian, conservative, and upper/middle class. I am one of just a small minority of more liberally minded students, and although this creates problems occasionally, for the most part my ideas are respected by the people I choose to associate with. Some other students in my classes, however, quickly shout down my opinions when I voice my viewpoints on

hot political topics

I'd advise anyone who considers themselves liberal or is a non-Christian to look elsewhere if they want to be around a more diverse group of people.

The campus is, excluding the constant construction, fairly attractive. The York East and West dorms are particularly nice (anyone who signs up for a learning community will end up in West, and PLP students live in East) as is the new McMurran building. The food is hit or miss; sometimes it is fantastic (see Caesar wraps, curly fries, churros) and sometimes absolutely terrible (avoid the quesadillas; they look good but taste disgusting). Since there's some variety every night, you can usually avoid the worst choices. By the way, if you live in York East/West and your suitemates lock you out of the bathroom, you can open it again with a coin.

PLP sounded like a great deal when I was offered a place in the program. Having priority registration, priority housing, and a guaranteed spot in the York River East Residence Hall freshman year are some really big pluses. I don't really mind the community service either, I actually enjoy that. However, being required to take the Leadership minor is a big downer. The class is entirely pointless. I can say with confidence that I have learned nothing so far in my first or second semester classes, and it is a really big waste of my time. My roommate is in the Honors program as well as Leadership—she is actually a Canon scholar—and is therefore receiving the $5000 scholarship. They dropped the major she was considering the year we enrolled, and so she is contemplating transferring to a different school sometime in the future. I would definitely recommend NOT accepting the canon leadership scholar unless you are planning on staying at CNU for the full term. My roommate has had nothing but trouble in regards to her scholarships—the honors program is set up in such a way that if you transfer, you have to retake all of the basic courses at whichever school you choose, effectively starting from the beginning. The honors program will tell you that you can skip all entry level courses in favor of one seminar per semester (the honors seminars, by the way, are always scheduled at the most inconvenient times and are difficult to work into schedules). This perk does NOT transfer to other universities. If you are in both honors and PLP though, it is possible to drop PLP and still retain your scholarship as long as you remain in honors. The Cambrige trip, by the way, is only offered to the canon scholars, and it involves a lot of work. Just something to keep in mind.

While my experience here has been pretty favorable, I will be transferring to a more liberal campus for my junior year. My biggest problem is the limits imposed on the classes—the course catalog is filled with different classes one can take, but many are not offered every semester. I know plenty of other people who adore CNU—I understand it is a great fit for theater majors—but this school is just not for me.

By the way, try your best to attend the earliest Setting Sail session you can—I went to the 3rd one and most of the good classes were gone by then.