Lycoming College

Date: Feb 10 2010
Major: Psychology (This Major's Salary over time)
I thought long and hard before coming Lycoming. I thought I wanted a small school in a smallish city. Going there made me realize its not what I wanted.

The individual attention you get from most profs is great. Advisors are more available here than at most schools, but not all of them are great. Classes aren't too large, but there are some lecture classes. Some classes are challenging while others are a joke. The language department, however, is run by nazis. You are required to take a language class and take a test to assess your abilities. I guessed on the test and they put me in intermediate spanish. I couldn't understand anything and it took 2 weeks of pulling teeth in order for me to get bumped into a lower level (which was just barely before the deadline). It really should not have mattered because I am not a language major or minor. And in the langauge classes you have outside functions to attend like "conversation tables", "Q&A sessions", and movies. No other programs are so uptight.

Greek life here is somewhat popular from what I've seen. There are alot of parties, and sometimes it seems like if you're not a partier, you're a loser. There are parties almost every weekend, and some on weeknights. With a small student population, rumors spread fast and everyone is in each others' business. Its basically like Highschool Grade 13 …with dorms and alcohol.

The school is expensive, but generous with financial aid if you need it. I would never go here if I had to pay anything near the $37,000 they require.

Campus can become dead on the weekends, a lot of the time because kids are hungover from the night before or they go home. The meal plan is an absolute mess. Freshman are required to get the unlimited meal plan which is far from unlimited. The caf is open at 630 am but closes at 7. You can only have one meal between 11 and 1. You can still go to the caf at other hours but there are only certain hours there is actual food (and not just salad and soda). When the food is out, its not very enjoyable. Granted, most schools don't have great food, but you just get more frustrated with the meal plan. You get $50 flex which you can use at the coffee shop and a grill, but it wears out FAST.

The campus is very small, so its a matter of oppion. Getting to class is very easy and quick but theres also little to explore. You are almost required to live on campus so it can get boring. Williamsport is not much of a city, its really more like a small town. Theres one city-esque street, but alot of the town looks like a slum.

Freshmen are required to do community service, which is a joke. I stood in a park for 2 hours.

Dorms aren't too bad, I haven't seen anything spectacular. Some buildings are loud and quiet hours don't exist. Others are silent all the time. RA's are wildly inconsistent when it comes to rules. Security doesn't really do anything other than issue parking tickets (but they really don't have to do anything else).

This school is not terrible. It just made me realize what I really wanted. The small population can make for some really close friends. It just sucks when you aren't in a group. I'm probably going to transfer, mostly because I want to go to a bigger name school. I figure its not worth it to be unhappy at a school that doesn't seem like it would get me anywhere. This school provided me with some good times and bad ones. It really is what you make of it.