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The University of Dallas

How this student rated the school
Educational QualityF Faculty AccessibilityA+
Useful SchoolworkB- Excess CompetitionA
Academic SuccessB- Creativity/ InnovationF
Individual ValueB University Resource UseA
Campus Aesthetics/ BeautyF FriendlinessC
Campus MaintenanceA Social LifeC
Surrounding CityB Extra CurricularsA
SafetyA+
Describes the student body as:

Describes the faculty as:

Female
Quite Bright
Lowest Rating
Educational Quality
F
Highest Rating
Faculty Accessibility
A+
She cares more about Educational Quality than the average student.
Date: Nov 07 2014
Major: Art & Design Department (This Major's Salary over time)
I was painstakingly thorough in my research of colleges and felt certain that UD was the right choice, only to become more disillusioned with every semester there. I finally transferred out, which was one of the best decisions I?ve made. My issues with the school were many, so I can?t write about them all, but here are my main points:

The Administration: UD?s offices are manned by some of the most incompetent and unconcerned people I?ve ever had to deal with. Often, they just want to gossip and can?t even be bothered to pretend they care, let alone actually be of assistance. They can be pretty rude. I once spent an entire afternoon being sent from office to office to office, because nobody wanted to help me with a relatively simple form and kept telling me it was someone else?s job in such-and-such building. Also, in an attempt to cut costs the school merely cut corners. Perhaps they?ve changed since I was there, but the parties, dances, and even graduations were done in such a skimpy style that it was downright embarrassing. I heard a visitor commenting on it once, so I know I?m not the only one who noticed. They seemed to get chinsier even while the price of tuition skyrocketed.

The Rest of the Staff: several UD workers were pillars of wonderfulness, but many of them had a HUGE chip-on-the-shoulder towards the students. I thought I was imagining it at first, but soon realized I wasn?t. They made it no secret that they regarded us as a bunch of pampered brats. A girl in one of my classes made a comment at the bookstore about the price of textbooks, to which the worker replied sarcastically ?aww, spending all of Daddy?s money are you?? (She was paying for them herself, but even if it had been with her parent?s help, this is inappropriate.) I had similar experiences, although they weren?t quite so obvious. But since I was taking out a great deal of loans in order to be able to attend UD, this attitude really bothered me. Also, take it with a grain of salt if everyone seems super nice when you visit. When I was a student, I found it positively stomach-turning how completely the staff transformed from bitter grumps to gooey-sweet-and-helpful people during visitor weekends.

The Student Body + Overall Culture: I met many incredible, wise and lovely people here (faculty as well as students) so I don?t wish to caricature them or put them all in the same bucket. But overall, it wasn?t a comfortable atmosphere for me. At the freaking convocation of our class, a member of campus ministry made a speech in which she observed ?many of you are still virgins, but some of you are not.? Why on earth would this fact be considered relevant? Presumably because those who weren't pure needed to get themselves over to campus ministry ASAP? Then, one of my first nights in the dorm, a girl was loudly lamenting having seen a bunch of students dressing up in ?immodest? togas for a toga party. Apparently, the guys didn?t count?it was the women she was angry about, and she actually said that each girl would be making guys lust, and that (I quote), ?it will be HER fault!? One semester I had planned on participating in a ballroom dancing club, but changed my mind after it was stated that ?we allow girls to dance with girls, but be we have a very strictly enforced policy against boys dancing together.? More than once, I felt judged for liking to wear makeup. Also, shortly before I enrolled at UD, the school hosted visiting artwork by students from another college. One of the pieces on display depicted Mary as a stripper, and students anonymously stole and destroyed it. I had a conversation with one of the art professors about this, and he admitted that many of the offended and outraged students who were protesting against the drawing hadn't even bothered to go look at it themselves, they just jumped on the this-is-profane bandwagon. Considering UDers claim to be all about ?independent thinking? and articulating themselves eloquently, I thought this was an extremely immature way of expressing indignation. What made the incident particularly ugly in my eyes was the knowledge that the students responsible thought that by stealing another student?s property and destroying art they were serving God. I was raised in a conservative and religious-minded environment, so I thought I knew what I was getting into with UD, but ultimately these sorts of things started to add up and bother me a lot more than I expected. (To be fair, there?s also a more laid back side of campus culture.) Lastly, I found many of the students eerily complacent about their worldview; I have no problem with UD being a devoutly Catholic school, but in my experience, there?s next to no exploration of other faiths and attitudes, despite what they claim. No one seemed to have the slightest curiosity about my beliefs, once it was established I wasn?t a Catholic. It could be lonely.

This school is a dream-come-true for many people, so it could be exactly what you?re looking for. And I do think it?s fantastic that they value learning for learning?s sake?I wish more colleges thought that way! Just make sure it?s really what you want. I wish I could take back my time at UD.

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