Boston College: Heaven On Earth

wJust last weekend I traveled to Boston to visit some colleges. My main purpose was to visit the College of Holy Cross in Worcester, but I decided to see other colleges as well. We flew in on Sunday morning and met up with my parent's friends. The man asked us what we wanted to see and I said "Boston!" I had never been there before and was eager to see the city. Driving through, I was amazed at how clean and nice Boston seemed. Everyone seemed so nice. We drove past Fenway Park and then by Harvard and Boston University.

After our tour of Boston, we decided to head to Boston College. The daughter of the man we were staying with happened to be a sophomore at BC. He said she would have no objection to giving us a tour. We finally arrived at her dorm, which was actually really nice. She is in the Honors Program, so she got primo housing this year. We walked in and I first noticed how there was a common area in the middle of the dorm. The dorms were coed with girls on one side and guys on the other. The dorm rooms were the nicest that I have seen so far and I was very impressed.

She took us around the campus and first showed us the athletic center. We weren't able to go inside, but I was able to see the stadium which was awesome. She also told us how there was an amazing ice hockey arena and how the basketball games were huge. From there, she showed us the freshman dorms where she stayed last year, and they weren't nearly as nice as the ones she was in the year. There were these houses in the middle of the whole freshman dorm area and it had pool tables, TV's, and places to just relax.

Our "guide" then took us to the school store, which was really nice and had a wide selection of BC fan fare to choose from. Our last destination was the library, which was huge. There were about 5 floors for the student to study on. There was a tech station where someone could bring there laptop and have it fixed in a flash. I was very pleased with BC's campus and liked it the most out of all the colleges I had visited. One thing that was very appealing was that it was so close to Boston and a student could literally hop on the tram and take it 15 min before being downtown.

Boston College has about 9,020 undergraduate students and is located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. The cost of BC is about $46,000, with room and board. It may seem steep, but you are getting everything out of it. BC has a great athletic program along with amazing academics. Boston College is very selective, but if one has the grades to get in, I would strongly recommend it.

So You Want A Great Liberal Arts School? Lehigh is Just For You

Beautiful campus, great people, wonderful athletic facilities, what's not to like? Lehigh University is a top-notch liberal arts school, which is well-known throughout the nation. As one of my top college choices, Lehigh provides everything that a student needs. The atmosphere is awesome and makes everything seem so peaceful. Lehigh, unlike other schools, does not have a religious affiliation so students will not feel like they are obligated to practice a religion.

Located on 27 Memorial Drive West lies Lehigh University. The school was founded in 1865 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The school has a medium to small student body with about 4, 743 undergrads. Lehigh is located in a nice urban area, so there is plenty to do on the weekends. The cost of Lehigh per year is pretty hefty at $38,000 not including room and boarding fees. U.S. News ranked Lehigh number 31 on the list of Top National Colleges and Universities of 2008.

Lehigh has much to offer including a wireless network system. This means that a student can be pretty much anywhere and be able to access the internet with just a wireless card on his or her pc. This is a great advantage. Say one wants to have some coffee at the on campus coffee shop. He could go there, relax, and access the internet all at once. A lot of colleges offer this, which is very beneficial for the student.

About 70% of the students live in a college-owned or affiliated building. Meaning, that many students live in dorms. Close to 35% of male undergrad students join fraternities, which is actually a large number. For the other gender, about 38% of female undergrad students join sororities. This just shows that the greek life on campus at Lehigh is rather important, so if one is wanting to join a fraternity or sorority, then go for it.

Lehigh also has great athletic facilities and a good athletics program. The athletics participate in NCAA Division I. I know many people that are going to Lehigh for sports and are ecstatic. One of my friends visited and said that the fields and facilities were gorgeous and could not wait to play on them. Many sports are offered for men and women. Lehigh is an all around great school that can provide students with great resources.

Villa-No-Fun?...I Think Not

I recently heard from several people that Villanova University was coined with the name "Villa-No-Fun." However, after visiting Villanova in Philadelphia, that nickname does not seem like it would apply. Villanova is a private university that has a Roman Catholic background. The motto at Villanova is "Veritas, Unitas, Caritas," which means truth, unity and charity. Villanova, is a small to medium sized school and has about 7,300 undergraduate students. The tuition at Villanova ranges from about $35,000 to $37,000.

A couple weeks ago, I visited Villanova and was not sure if I was going to like it or not. I had just looked at Drexel, Bucknell, and Penn State and was ready to look at another school. As I approached the campus, I saw fairly new restaurants and shops that were literally less than 5 minutes away from the school. The first impression I got of Villanova was that it looked beautiful. The old style Romanesque buildings overwhelmed me. I walked up to the admissions office and talked to a senior who was really nice and gave me some general information on the school. She said that most people live on campus for the first three years, and then by senior year, many decide to live off campus. I then decided to walk around the school and just see what it had to offer.

First, I went to this hangout area that had many couches and comfy areas to study. There was also a little coffee shop where one could get drinks or snacks. There was also a huge room with pool table, ping pong tables, and other fun stuff. After that, I walked around the campus and everyone looked like they were having fun. I headed to the athletics building and took a look at the stadium. It was no Penn State, but it was still very nice. Villanova's athletics are Division I and seem pretty good. As I was leaving Villanova, I called up my mother's friend who graduated from Villanova to see if it was really "Villa-No-Fun." He told me that he had a great time and that whoever calls it that does not know what happens at Villanova. That made me feel good and I had a very positive outlook on Villanova as I was leaving.

Villanova is now one of my top college choices for 2008. The medium sized student body, athletics, and atmosphere all blend together to form a top notch university. The people were really friendly and begged me to come there. The only setback is that the fraternities are located off campus, so if someone's looking to visit a notorious frat party, he/she will have to walk a little while. My view of Villanova University changed ten-fold after I visited there. My advice to anyone is to go visit a college before applying to see the actual life on campus. Go to Villanova soon and decide for yourself if it's really called "Villa-No-Fun".