John Carroll University

Date: Apr 28 2015
Major: Business - Management and Administration (This Major's Salary over time)
JCU is definitely not for everyone. I have had a terrible first year here and I am 110% not coming back next fall and will be transferring to a different school.

First of all, I have had a very difficult time making friends here. There is absolutely no diversity here. The school is pretty much filled with washed up popular kids from high school that are very close-minded and unoriginal. Most of the students here play on one of JCU's division 3 sports teams and think they're royalty when in reality they play on a DIVISON 3 SPORTS TEAM. Everyone pretty much wears sweats to class and you will stick out if you put any effort into your outfit or dress the least bit different. The school is extremely cliquey and if you don't make friends the first week of school you're kind of screwed. Most of the students I've met here are extremely close-minded and are and quite boring. A lot of people here are quite childish and it feels like I'm going to high school all over again. I mean the fact that there's an "A side" and a "B side" to the cafeteria goes to show how immature the students are here and how they never mentally grew out of high school. (But don't get me wrong, if you look hard enough you will find some pretty cool people here but you have to look really hard).

The academics are another reason I'm not a fan of JCU. Yes, I understand there has to be a liberal arts core but the one here is out of control. If i stayed here I wouldn't be able to take classes for my desired major until Junior year, and that's just the 101 course! I wouldn't be able to take the chunk of classes for my major until Senior year. This was a huge turnoff since I am going to college to learn about my intended career! I am very interested and passionate about my intended career and the fact that I would be taking only 6 classes for it my entire college career really upset me. Not to mention, the teachers here aren't great. Don't get me wrong there are some great ones here but also really bad ones. A lot of them are kind of "show offs" and brag about their achievements. Some classes are a total joke and you can get an easy A without putting much effort. Yet you will find some teachers who just make tests and assignments way too difficult for a school with an 80% acceptance rate. Overall, the academics here are okay but nothing the school claims they are.

The food and dorms are awful here! The cafeteria serves the same things everyday. Their food is extremely low quality and is usually under or over cooked! It's impossible to eat healthy there, they put a glob of butter on everything they make! Even their fruit and salad is awful and you could probably get better quality fruits and vegetables at a fast food chain. There's an Einsteins on campus and another place where you can use dining dollars but these places are barely open and are way overpriced! The freshmen dorms are disgusting! I have visited several other friends at their colleges (since there is absolutely nothing to do here on the weekends) and every dorm I've been to has been 10x better than the ones here even if they claim theirs is awful!

The social scene here is awful! The city of Cleveland is only 20 minutes away, yet nobody here is interested in city nightlife! Instead they all go to over crowded house parties with no music/dancing/beer pong/etc. Usually these parties get busted by the cops after an hour or so. People also go to local bars around here in the suburbs which aren't that great. It's really difficult to meet people here who want to do things beside go to lame house parties or just stay on campus and watch Netflix. I've tried to find people who want to go to concerts, museums, festivals, coffeeshops, markets, etc. and nobody is interested! They'd all rather stay on campus and hang out in a 10x10 dorm room. Also, it is extremely boring to go to school here if you don't have a car!! The campus is extremely small and there's little here to do in walking distance so if you don't have a car here you will be extremely bored!!

I've had a very negative experience here and I am so excited to transfer! However, there are some people who really seem to love it here! There's a small greek life community that I've joined that is kind of fun! There's some sports teams to join and a few clubs and stuff. Overall, if you liked high school then this place is for you! It's just like a continuation of high school!! But if you're someone like me who is more mature for their age, wants to surround themselves with interesting open-minded people, and strive for more than average I suggest going somewhere else!