StudentsReview :: Bridgewater State University - Extra Detail about the Comment
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Bridgewater State University

How this student rated the school
Educational QualityA- Faculty AccessibilityA-
Useful SchoolworkB Excess CompetitionC
Academic SuccessB+ Creativity/ InnovationB-
Individual ValueA- University Resource UseB
Campus Aesthetics/ BeautyB- FriendlinessA
Campus MaintenanceB+ Social LifeB-
Surrounding CityC Extra CurricularsC
SafetyB+
Describes the student body as:

Describes the faculty as:

Male
Quite Bright
Lowest Rating
Excess Competition
C
Highest Rating
Friendliness
A
He cares more about Excess Competition than the average student.
Date: Feb 23 2016
Major: Business - Management and Administration (This Major's Salary over time)
I attended Bridgewater State from August 2012 to May 2014 after transferring out of 2 other private four year colleges, mostly because I couldn't afford the tuition. I think attending those other colleges gave me some perspective so I think my experience may differ from someone who attends the full 4 years (or in many cases, longer).

I had a good experience here overall, but I can definitely see how people did not like Bridgewater depending on their major and professors that they chose, but this variance exists at every college. In fact, I heard some horror stories about certain professors in my program but since I handpicked my professors it worked out well for me. Look on RateMyProfessor before registering for classes and choose your professors wisely. There will always be tenured professors at every school who no longer care about actually teaching, but every single professor I had at Bridgewater cared about their job and imparting knowledge to students.

Bridgewater is not a very selective school so you will meet all types of people here, from different backgrounds and even age groups. I ultimately think this was a positive. Students who I felt weren't smart enough for college were few and far between. I feel that the average Bridgewater student wants to do well and isn't here to slack off.

I commuted to school, as many students here do, so I cannot comment on living in the dorms full time. I have been in most of the dorms and they are pretty standard ( the new dorm however looks fantastic). I cannot comment much on student life, but like any school there are clubs that you can join and other ways to get involved on campus.

Bridgewater isn't perfect by any means. Many of the classroom buildings and the library are probably almost a century old, if not older. This is my biggest complaint about Bridgewater but they are slowly working on it. The newer buildings like the Science Center and the Moakley Center are great.

Probably the second biggest complaint is the general education requirements. The other schools I went to had general education requirements but Bridgewater had by far the most. This causes many students to stay longer than four years simply because they cannot get into the classes they need. The other reason students graduate in 5-6 years is the lack of sections for a required class for a specific major. Many upper level classes I took only offered 1 section a year (in the spring or fall), so if you did not get into those sections tough luck. I knew a science major who waited 2 years to get into a required class and delayed graduation by a year because of it. Advisors are pretty much useless so you are forced to map out what classes you need to sign up for in order to graduate on time. It honestly sounds a lot harder than it is but it is still a pain do deal with. On the other hand, it forces you out of your comfort zone and allows you to take classes that interest you but are not part of your major (for instance, I was able to take a guitar class as an art requirement).

For commuters, the parking situation is awful and I would hear complaints from other commuters all the time about this. They removed the central parking lot a few years back and that made the whole situation worse. They have a new parking garage but they put it at the furthest corner of campus with no classrooms even close to it. The spring street lot is much closer to the classroom buildings but you had to fight for a spot in the morning.

I heard many complaints about the administration but I had absolutely no problem at any point getting what I needed from them. I even screwed up my degree application by filing after the deadline but they worked with me so I could attend graduation.

Overall, I think Bridgewater is a very solid school and probably one of the best state schools in Massachusetts, including Amherst. I went to bigger name private schools but I honestly feel like I got a better education here for far less money. I strongly recommend Bridgewater and I would definitely go there again for the full four years if I had the chance.

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