Brevard College

Date: Nov 28 2011
Major: English (This Major's Salary over time)
Brevard does do some things very well; the WLEE program is excellent (from friends of mine who were in the program) and the science department is pretty spot-on, as well as located close to one of the most environmentally diverse areas of the country. Most of the professors are above average and care a lot for the teaching aspect of their profession; they are very willing to work with students. Sometimes this may go too far, and students who don't deserve the help will wheedle their way into passing one course or another. The real strength BC has is in professors who are able to put the questions back on the students and make them think, which is the best thing they can be doing.

Brevard also focuses a lot on what they'll call their "Brevard Common Experience" or "BCE" courses. Most of them do feel like BS, but there's a good intention behind them. The goal is to try to teach students to think critically, to compare things, and to see an issue from multiple points of view. This is the point of the Freshman Forum and LINC courses. The LINC courses take one topic, perhaps Morality and Philosphy, and partner a Religious Studies professor with an English professor to look at the ways the different disciplines have viewed that issue. Some are better than others. There is also a Senior Capstone course that tries once again to hammer in the critical thinking, as well as thoughts on the 'real world' you're supposed to be entering. Once again, well intentioned, but generally viewed as BS.

The administration is far more hit or miss. They've had a lot of turnover in key positions in the past couple of years, and there are rumours of bad management in the past. Admissions will often paint a far rosier picture of the school than it really has, and they go out of their way to assure prospective students that their needs will be met. Really look into the school to see if it has what you need, esp. if you're looking at a fairly intensive prep program for another school.

The Career Center is a bit of a joke. The staff means well, but they don't have the resources or the marketability to really help students in the way a large university does.

At the same time, the atmosphere is a realy cool one. A lot of students are unique and awesome, and a lot of great things can happen here. Of course, this can change or shift, but BC does seem to attract some pretty amazing people, although a lot of them are transfers in from another college, or will transfer out after their sophomore or freshman year.

Don't go here looking for city or night-life. The closest city is Asheville, something like 40 minutes away. It's a great place for camping/hiking, etc. Campus does shut down a bit on the weekends, the bookstore and food court close completely from Friday Night to Monday morning (Well, the foodcourt opens Sunday night).

I'm not a person to ask about athletics because I care very little for them, but it was always my impression the school pumped them up more than they were worth. I also highly disagreed with the decision to bring in a football team, shrugs but hey, I'm out of there now.

In the end, Brevard is a beautiful place with some very caring professors and small classes. It's not as rigorous as most other schools. It's a small college in a small town, with all that means. It also has a divided identity, which means the school doesn't quite know what it's good at or what to focus on. It can be a great place, or it may be the place you need to get out of in a hurry.