Villanova University

Date: Sep 30 2011
Major: Political Science (This Major's Salary over time)
I wrote a review a few years ago, upon having first started at Villanova, and I felt I would be remiss to not offer one now that I am coming to the conclusion of my experience here.

Most of what I've said in my first review remains true, but I would like to expand on some things. To begin, the student body is still largely comprised of arrogant, snotty little private-school brats with absolutely no conception of the real world whatsoever. These are the type of people that get excited over the "Villanova Experience." I still haven't quite figured out what "Villanova Experience" means, though attending the University for the last few years has been quite an experience. There are some cool people at 'Nova, you just have to look very hard to find them, but hey, they are there. Younger students tend to be more obnoxious than older students, in my opinion, but if I overhear another conversation about vacationing in Cabo, I swear to God I'm going to explode.

The Professors are, more often than not, great. I'm not just saying this so appear as if I'm giving a genuine review of Villanova rather than ranting endlessly about how bad it is, I've had almost nothing but good experiences with the faculty. The Political Science department in particular has great educators, you just need to know what to expect getting into each class. Most of the classes are relatively easy in my opinion, but paper writing and research comes easily to me, so if you struggle with that, you may wish to consider another University. I can't really say the same for the University administration, however. Most of the office staff in the various different offices (Financial Aid, Bursars, et al.) are fairly nice, but the way the school is administered is nothing short of terrible. I don't want to go into too much detail, but at various times, I've actually been offended by some of the things required of me and said to me by employees of the University; simply put, Villanova doesn't care about you, the student, they care about the school.

Tuition will go up by a ridiculous amount while you're there, just learn and accept this now. In one of the various magazines they send out (tuition money at work, people), the University touted the

smallest tuition increase in Villanova History!

which was around 10%. After they finally figured out that the economy is in the gutter, we had a more modest 3% raise the next year, but I'm glad that I'm done after this year. After accruing roughly 50k in debt over three years, I'm not sure it was worth it.

I'm sure nobody's reading this by now, so I'll just close with a few comments. If you want your undergraduate work to lead to graduate school in the Northeast, Villanova may be an option, albeit an expensive one, as the University does maintain a reputation, largely due to marketing rather than any actual value. If you want to rely on Villanova to carry you to a job, think about going somewhere with a bigger alumni base. Penn State is a good PA option, and I hear WVU is an excellent school, especially if you're not a top-of-your-class student, but Villanova simply isn't going to be enough unless you want to live in Philadelphia your whole life. Save your money and go somewhere else.