The West Chester University of Pennsylvania

Date: Dec 26 2013
Major: Political Science (This Major's Salary over time)
I'm going into my second semester of my sophomore year. I feel pretty qualified to talk about the university and all that it entails. For reference, I am a Political Science major and have picked up two minors.

Reason I chose this school: First and foremost, the price is unbeatable. In state tuition is dirt cheap, as compared to PSU or UPitt as well as the numerous private schools in this state. PA is known for its excruciatingly high tuition rates at universities and colleges. WCU is definitely a bargain. I also chose this school because of its location. A suburban school setting, WCU is also within easy travel range to Philly and not too far from Atlantic City. Septa runs directly through campus which is convenient to get to Philly. Downtown West Chester is incredibly beautiful, something often described as right out of a movie. Lots of great restaurants and bars.

Academics: While some programs are invariably harder than others, West Chester has some pretty laughable classes that are often required of students to take. This is nice when it comes to gen eds, those pesky classes you have to get out of the way to get into the brunt of your major work. However, I've found that some of my required classes for my major are just as easy. I myself enjoy to be challenged academically in order to learn and grow. I've had a few classes that have provided this, but not nearly enough. I could chalk this up to only being a sophomore and having an aptitude for the types of courses I take, however I wish WCU was a bit more challenging. DISCLAIMER: DO NOT COME TO THIS SCHOOL FOR MATH!!!!

Social: Greek life here is great, but not necessary to be involved. As a member of a sorority, it definitely has its benefits. However, I know many people not involved in Greek life but are very involved elsewhere. There are a ton of clubs and organizations at WCU and are actually active. There are a lot of leadership opportunities as well. WCU is a big party school, however, being a dry campus, it also has extremely strict policies against drinking. Even if you're 21, you CANNOT be on campus with possession of alcohol or under the influence. With that being said, it's not hard to get away with at all. As long as you aren't being ridiculously stupid, you'll be fine.

Athletics: I personally don't know many people who go to games, but our football team is doing really well in our division this year.

Campus Facilities: West Chester's old buildings are really pretty, however, they're falling apart. The school is taking measures to fix this and construction is occurring to remediate the problems. However with this construction going on, there has been a reduction in the availability of classrooms. The school is facing huge issues with scheduling for students. The number of classes being offered and staffing is extremely low. A lot of students can't get into the classes they need to take because they filled up so fast because the school has more students than it can accommodate right now. I have friends who were offered free classes at DelCo (local community college) at the expense of WCU because there weren't any classes that they could take at the University. This is a huge problem that WCU really needs to get sorted out or they will start losing students.

Overall: West Chester is a really great school with some issues but every campus has issues. It's a fun, social school with relatively good academics. It's not a very well known school outside of the state, however, it's accredited and has a lot of really good programs (especially teaching).