PLEASE,
PLEASE VISIT THIS SCHOOL BEFORE YOU GO. I made
the mistake of not visiting and just accepting their offer
of a generous scholarship. A few weeks later, I
found myself at a transfer dinner wherein half of the
faculty in attendance acted like they had never seen a
black person before-and showed no interest in talking to one.
It wasn't exactly a warm welcome. I knew
from that moment that I had made an awful mistake
that was too late to take back. The other
transfer students were acting like they had just gotten into
University of Penn, when in fact most people have never
even heard of this school (for good reason). And
if you say it used to be called Beaver College?
Prepare for snickers, my friends. The orientation? As
an “adult learner” student (I was considerably older than most
of the students) from Philly, I found it to be
an enormous waste of time. I left after playing
an ice breaker that involved throwing a ball around and
answering the questions written on it where my hand landed.
I'm not 12. And I wasn't staying for
seminars on campus safe sex. Again, I'm not 12
lol. And my goodness, there weren't enough men to
say grace over there anyway.
There were some highlights in
the one semester that I stayed. The faculty and
administration were very accessible and helpful, though some profs made
you wonder how the heck they got tenure when they
didn't even TRY to teach. I had a math
class that angered me to the point that I considered
walking out on several occasions. This chick is singing
Sesame Street tunes when we're supposed to be preparing for
a final. My one education class was a JOKE!
All I remember is making cutesy little posters in
class. I had two pretty good classes with professors
that actually taught, so it wasn't a complete waste.
My fieldwork was also incredibly fulfilling but done outside of
Arcadia at a nearby high school.
The social atmosphere left
a lot to be desired. I never stuck around
because there was never anything (worthwhile) to do or anyone
to hang out with. My fellow students, for the
most part, were suburbanites (nothing wrong with that unless you're
closed-minded like they were) who thought that Philadelphia was shoot-em-up
ville and afraid to travel outside the confines of the
campus. If your ideal Saturday night involves board games
with snacks, then hey, go for it. Because that's
the kind of stuff they had available for students.
Thank the Lord I commuted.
Seriously, to each his own!
This university was not for me because I believed
the quality of education was subpar, especially for the ridiculous
tuition rate. I certainly expected to learn more than
I did at the community college I transferred from, but
I didn't. I learned waaaay more from my previous
institution. And AU was a cultural deadzone. I
transferred to Temple University which certainly isn't perfect, but is
a much better fit for ME. For my future
profession as an educator, I need to be adequately prepared
for the field.
This school is
great for athletes, folks who need/like individual attention and small
class sizes and a “laid back” atmosphere that isn't incredibly
challenging. If you're seeking a rigorous education and an
engaging campus life, I wouldn't recommend it. Spend the
extra money and find a better school.
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