College Visits: Bucknell

First of all this is a very late post so unfortunately I may not remember every little aspect of the school but hey, NO ONE READS THIS ANYWAY We were fortunate enough to go to Bucknell on an open-house for juniors so they day was centered all around selling the school. When we first came to the school, I noticed the slews of students standing in front of the auditorium entrance, wearing their Bucknell blue and orange, screaming "WELCOME TO BUCKNELL" as a bison danced on gleefully. Five minutes later, Bucknell was able to completely win me over with delicious snacks and an amazingly persuasive lecture. The following lecture and the student session were absolutely informative and interesting, I found out a lot about Bucknell's different programs (most importantly to me study abroad) and a little about student life. I really liked how many of the students at Bucknell can major, minor, or double major in many different and seemingly unrelated topics (for example, our tour guide was a double-major in chemistry and Spanish). For someone like myself, who is relatively undecided about what I want to do with my collegiate life, Bucknell was perfect in this regard. After this we had a lunch/information session and then a tour of the campus. The campus is gorgeous and spacious, and has just the right touch of an old campus feel without looking decrepit. All in all, Bucknell did everything right for their open house. My only complaint is: location, location, location! but even then, there are plenty of opportunities the school offers to get off campus, trips to New York, Philly, and DC should easily alleviate any cabin fever a student might have. So far, Bucknell has been my favorite college!

College Visits: Lehigh

On the same cold, rainy April day that I visited Villanova, I also journeyed out to Bethlehem, PA and saw Lehigh. Overall the campus was one of the prettiest I've ever seen, and although it is on one giant hill, the walking isn't half as bad as it looks. The campus tour guides were all friendly, but for the most part not the most outgoing bunch, but they did answer any questions posed to them on the tour. Oddly enough, I got the only outspoken tour guide, which is a serious understatement because she was practically shouting the whole tour, and quickly lost her breath during our many treks up and around the campus. While on the tour, like any respectable school, they showed us some of the more grandeur buildings, at Lehigh, this would most definitely be the library. If you like libraries that literally transport you into a scene from Harry Potter, Lehigh is the school for you. The library was one of the coolest places I have ever seen, and looks like a great place to study when the weather's too cold to be outside on one of the many lawn's of Lehigh. Overall I thought Lehigh was a very nice school, although it is too focused on business and engineering for my taste. Some of the older buildings and commons areas inside the Dorm Rooms are in dire need of refurbishing, and I'm not a fan of their school color; Brown (it does nothing for my complexion)

College Visits: Villanova

Villa-no-fun? Villa-so-fun! I visited the Villanova campus on a cold, rainy April day, so my expectations for enjoying myself were a bit low. However, I was pleasantly surprised that the wind and weather didn't tarnish my views of the school. Not only is the campus BEAUTIFUL, but it is ever so close to the city of Brotherly Love (Philadelphia) and even shorter if you take the subway. The tour guides were very friendly and helpful, answering all my inane questions and not acting a bit annoyed, and the insides of the buildings were almost as beautiful as the outsides. Now I may be slightly biased, seeing as I look good in the color blue and have a penchant for coffee (Villanova has these Holy Ground's Coffee Shops all over the campus, and it taste like the sweet nectar of the god's). My only complaints about the school would be their ridiculous core curriculum, and dorm rooms that are a little on the small side. The dorm room situation mainly has to do with some of the older building not being quite up to date yet, and although the core curriculum sounds intense, it's an intense school, so it's a nice fit. All in all, I liked Villanova, and I recommend anyone considering it to take a visit up there and see it for themselves, If you don't like it, at least you still get to spend the weekend in Philly!