Villanova University
Responses from the Student Interview
From a student who identifies as Majors: Economics & Business Analytics double major
Minor: None
Student Self Identifies as: Caucasian Straight Female
Summary
I’m part of the NovaRacing Team, Campus Activities Team, and I created my own club. I’ve had leadership roles in all three.
Background
Gender Identity: Female
Race/Ethnicity: Caucasian
Sexual Orientation: Straight
High School Experience: Public high school in Brooklyn, NY with a graduating class of about 1,400 students. There was a culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: Yes
Majors: Economics & Business Analytics double major
Minor: None
Extracurricular Activities: I’m part of the NovaRacing Team, Campus Activities Team, and I created my own club. I’ve had leadership roles in all three.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience? In what ways?
I’ve had leadership roles in all three of them and I’ve met some of my best friends there. For the racing team, we go to Michigan every year. I got really close with a lot of the members there. Especially since it’s a team of mostly guys, us four girls got really close.
Academic Experience
Can you describe the weekly coursework for your major?
There are at least two projects due weekly. For Civil Engineering, there’s homework every night, and probably one test or quiz per week.
Is there anything you feel your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
For especially well, there are a lot of outside resources. The professors are really there for you and want to help you out. Going to their office hours is helpful and they’re good at connecting things to the real world. We have a lot of Thursday periods called flex periods where you do a whole experiment or something involving the real world. You can do land surveying, we did stuff with trusses, and we have a structures lab where do stress tests. There’s a lot of overlap between coursework and how it relates to what we’ll actually be doing for work.
How would you describe the learning environment? Is it particularly competitive or collaborative?
I think it’s more collaborative. People are usually there to help you, and other students will help you out if you’re struggling. It’s not too competitive to where people don’t want you to succeed. I think the professors also facilitate that mindset because they do a lot of group projects so you get to know the people in your major. I think everyone genuinely ends up liking each other and wants to help out.
How accessible are your professors?
They’re very accessible. They have office hours which are helpful. You can even stay after class and talk instead of going back to their office. They’re also accessible in real-life matters. They want to get to know you which is nice. Every professor I’ve had has known my name by the end of the semester.
Why did you pick your major? Are you happy with your choice?
I picked my major because I really liked art and science my whole life. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do with that. Eventually, I found architecture which is artistic but also has a math and science component to it. I wanted something a little more intensive than that, which is why I choose Civil Engineering. You can go to a lot of routes with it like architecture and structures, but it gives you a lot of different pathways to take. My Real Estate minor goes more along the architecture route. I’m happy with my major and I think it’s everything I could’ve wanted. The only thing is that at Villanova it’s hard to switch majors within the engineering school. You have to apply to do so.
Have you used academic accommodations? If so, how helpful were they?
I went to the [Math Learning Resource Center] and that was helpful. The Writing Center is also very helpful. Certain professors will require you to go there, and some will give you extra points if you go there to get your paper checked over.
Reasons to Attend
1) It has a great community and it’s very inclusive.
2) Everyone cares about each other and the aspect of being collaborative rather than being competitive.
3) The professors are really there to help you. We have really dedicated professors.
4) The people. For the most part, they are genuine, caring, and want to be your friend.
5) Basketball is really fun.
Reasons Not to Attend
1) If you’re not sure of your major and are in the engineering school, it’s a little tricky.
2) It could be small for some people. I don’t feel that way, but I know others feel like they know everyone on campus and it feels small.
3) If you want something closer to a city. Villanova does have access to one, but if you want something to do more directly outside of campus within walking distance, you might want to look into the other options around here.
Around Campus
Where have you lived on campus?
Freshman: O’Dwyer Hall with one roommate
Sophomore: Sheehan Hall with one roommate
How was transitioning from Sinking Spring to Villanova, Pennsylvania?
It wasn’t too difficult in terms of the location. I’m only about an hour away so things weren’t too different. They’re both fairly small and safe towns outside of a city.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
I’ve always felt safe on campus. I lived kind of far away from most of the freshmen my freshman year and I would have to walk across a bridge and a path to get to South campus where everyone else lived. I’d do that at 2:00 AM sometimes and felt safe doing it. Off-campus feels really safe too. It’s a small place and is very integrated with the community. The people in the community like Villanova students so you don’t feel uncomfortable going off-campus.
Social Opportunities
What kind of nightlife or weekend activities do you like to participate in?
We usually end up going to parties off-campus. Other things happen on campus too. They have a movie theater on campus, we’ll go into Philadelphia, and there are usually seasonal activities like ice skating or nice restaurants. We’ll go to other colleges and visit friends from other places because Villanova is surrounded by so many other universities. In terms of on-campus things, clubs are usually having on-campus events.
What are your favorite events or activities?
The Villanova Buddies events. Also, Villanova has a lot of random and fun seasonal events. We have a tree lighting ceremony, 1842 Day, and Greek week. Things usually happen in the middle of the campus that you stumble upon. Special Olympics is a big thing a Villanova and almost everyone participates and volunteers. We have a day of service where everyone gets in groups and we go on or off-campus and do a service event. We have two of those during the year. Everyone also loves basketball games.
What is the impact of Greek life on the nightlife?
A lot of the parties are through Greek life, but you don’t necessarily have to be in Greek life to go to the parties. I’m not in a sorority, but I still go to fraternity parties. The only issue is they don’t usually let guys in that aren’t in the fraternity, so it can be hard to go with a big group of friends if you have a lot of guy friends. There are parties thrown by other clubs. You can get involved in a lot of other clubs and activities that have their own events.
How happy are you with the weekend activities or nightlife at Villanova? Is there anything you would change if you could?
I’m happy with it. On a scale of 1-10, I’d say it’s an 8. The thing I wish they’d change is if they let guys come into the parties more easily.
Campus Culture
How did you meet your closest friends?
I met my closest friends during my freshman year who lived in my dorm, or I met them through the outside activities I do like Villanova Buddies. Also, you get really close to the people within my major because there are only about 60 of us.
How would you describe the overall social scene at Villanova?
It’s very inclusive. Everyone wants to get to know you and most people on campus are genuine and care about you. I’d say a lot of people want to make friends even if they’re in a friend group. You can talk to anyone on campus and they’ll be nice to you.
To what extent do people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
From what I can see, I think they mix in pretty well. I have friends from a lot of different races and sexualities. Based on the whole campus, it’s hard to say. [The undergraduate population is 5% Black, 74% White, 6% Asian, and 8% Hispanic.]
How would you describe the student body?
In terms of personality, most people are very friendly, polite, and intelligent. Most people are dedicated to their work, being good people, and making friends.
To what extent do people in Greek life and not in Greek life mix socially?
I think it depends on what fraternity or sorority you’re in. With certain [more highly viewed organizations], they don’t mix as much with the people not in Greek life. The percentage of people in Greek life isn’t super high so I don’t think it’s an issue. For the most part, they will still be your friend and will be nice to you, but they definitely have a heavy connection to their fraternity or sorority. [About 19% of men join fraternities and 39% of females join sororities.]
How do you like the size of Villanova in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How has it impacted your experience? [Villanova has about 6,500 undergraduates.]
I love the size and think it’s perfect. You don’t know everyone so you can still meet new people. There are not too many people that you run out of people to meet, and there are not too few people that you don’t know the people you’re passing by. I’m always making new friends, but it’s nice because I see a lot of people on a daily basis so it’s easy to keep in contact with people. Friendships don’t take a lot of maintenance because you do run into people without trying.
Careers
What have you used the career office for? How helpful have they been?
Engineering has a program called Career Compass where we’ve all done mock interviews and had our resumes approved by the career center. There are job fairs and networking events that we’re required to go to. Through the Center for Real Estate, we had a big networking dinner which helped build some connections. Right now, a lot of us as sophomores aren’t too concerned with an actual career yet.
Have you learned any computer programs or computer languages that will be helpful professionally?
We learned the basics of Microsoft Excel, AutoCAD which is really helpful, we did some ArcGIS, which is a mapping database, we learned how to use research databased, and we worked a little with MATLAB.