Sacred Heart University

Date: Apr 13 2014
Major: Business - Management and Administration (This Major's Salary over time)
This is a mostly neutral review, which I hope will give you a balanced opinion of Sacred Heart. Im graduating in May and overall, I had a good time at Sacred Heart, I dont regret coming to Sacred Heart, but I think there definitely needs to be more genuine info for prospective students. Ill try to keep this concise.

Housing- A joke. Absolute slap in the face for 50k a year. This is one of the worst aspects of Sacred Heart. This administration has bitten off way more than they can chew. They do not have enough housing for the amount of people they accept, and you can very quickly find yourself in a bad place if you cant find anyone to room with. Unless you can find a place in Fairfield or Trumbull, you?ll end up in Bridgeport. Regardless of what people tell you, there are no nice parts of Bridgeport. It is dangerous and lawless and a place you do not want to be. Your car will get broken into and you will feel like you have a target on your back if youre alone. The school sponsored housing for upperclassmen is falling apart and is disgusting. I was fortunate enough to have an apartment in Fairfield and my friends that lived in Bridgeport were miserable. There are plans to make a new dorm in the North parking lot but thats just trading one evil for another, which brings me to another issue at this school?

Parking-I have never, at any school Ive ever been to, had more anxiety about leaving my car parked, even for short periods. I have seen, on multiple occasions, students crash into, back up into, and damage cars, and simply drive off. I had my car backed up into but was fortunate enough that it happened while I was still in it and had it covered by insurance. The students cant be entirely held responsible though because the spaces here are about a quarter size smaller than normal. Finding a spot at any time before noon is a nightmare, and finding new dings and scratches on your car is pretty common. If youre coming here with a nice car, do not expect it to stay mint for very long. This school does not care if your car gets wrecked by kids that dont know how to park. Would not recommend coming here in anything bigger than a sedan, SUVs do not fit well in most of the spots.

Social Life- Totally dependent on who you are and what you want. If youre a girl and youre even moderately hot, youll have plenty of options. If youre a guy in a frat or on a sports team, your brothers or teammates will always have a place for you to go. If youre none of the above listed things, good luck. Sacred Heart is very polarized, and I say this as someone who was on a sports team and saw enough kids who basically had no access to the social scene because they were either girls who werent very attractive, minorities, or guys with no athletic or greek affiliations. Its sad and definitely not something I like to admit but Sacred Heart is largely for one type of kid: white, privileged, good looking, athletic. I noticed the kids who didnt like it here usually didnt meet that typecast and were not happy, and nobody can blame them. I had fun most of the time at SHU, our spring concerts have always been a blast and most of the kids Ive met have been very chill, outgoing, and friendly, but like I said, theres not much room for people who dont meet the stereotypical SHU kid criteria, which is pretty sad.

Athletics- Not up to par for division 1. The football team did very well for the fall 2013 season and everyone is very happy for them, but the credit for that lies with the players, and not the athletics department. The Pitt Center is not even remotely adequate for a division 1 program and I have frequently heard dissatisfaction with the coaches and athletics department from other athletes. Club sports are also a great alternative for kids who want a chance at division 1 later on or just want to play for fun. If youre a serious athlete looking to make a name for yourself in the northeast conference, this is not the school youre looking for. If you want to be an athlete and live like a popular kid with lots of friends and party all the time, despite barely ever taking home a W, then it is the school for you.

Academics- Largely dependent on your major but overall not bad. The core classes like Art of Thinking are a joke and your GPA will likely suffer the further you go through the general curriculum. Rate my Professor is a must. I was a business major and I was very satisfied with my experience in the Welch College of Business. It is not at the level of Fairfield U or Uconn or even Quinnipiac, but its ranking is improving all the time and is still a better choice than most state school programs. It is currently ranked 84 in Businessweek for national business undergrad programs and that is definitely not bad. I cant really speak for other majors but beyond the business school I dont think I can honestly recommend anything else. Psychology and nursing majors did not seem happy with their programs.

All things considered, I liked Sacred Heart. I liked the people I met at Sacred Heart, and I think it definitely put me on the right track, after being a mostly uninvolved B student in high school. While I am going to pursue graduate studies, I have absolutely no intention of doing them at Sacred Heart. I think Sacred Heart is on its way to becoming a well known and respected school in Connecticut, along with the other private schools like Quinnipiac and Fairfield. Id like to reiterate though, that this school is mostly for kids whos parents are paying the tuition, and if youre someone who will be taking out loans to go to college, you should absolutely consider going somewhere cheaper. Speaking honestly I didnt pay for my tuition, and I largely met the stereotypical SHU student model, and I think thats why I liked it, it leaves a lot to be desired if you are not from a moderately wealthy background and athletic.