As a senior here at Nazareth, I’ve learned what is and isn’t important when looking for a college to attend. I decided to create a list of what I’ve found to be important after three years of living here at Naz to help you through the process. You can check out my last blog here, for the first part of this series. Here’s Part 2!
1) Campus life: I didn’t realize until going home and listening to my friend’s stories about their colleges how much cultures can differ from college to college. Some are much more academic based where everyone hides in their room and studies most of the time. Some are much more open and free where everyone talks to everyone and it’s like one big party in the dorms all the time. Naz is somewhere in between. There are plenty of places to sit down and find a quiet place to read or study whenever there’s a big test coming up, but, in most of the dorms, people keep their doors open and anyone can walk in and say hi whenever they want. There are also a lot of free or cheap activities to do on and around campus all the time. Whether it’s a day trip to Boston, spending half the night at Dave and Busters, or just playing trivia with your friends while scarfing down some free chicken wings, Naz makes sure there are constant activities being held for everyone’s interests.
2) Campus set-up: This one also goes back to conversations I’ve had with my friends from home. The way college campuses are set up varies greatly from school to school. Some are so big that there is a bus that goes around campus because it would take 20 minutes to walk from one side to the other. Some have multiple campuses where you might need to travel miles down the road just to get to your next class. Naz on the other hand has a pretty compact campus, meaning it would take about 10 minutes to walk from one side to the other. With the cold winters we get here in Rochester, that short walk is very appreciated by people like me who get cold easily! Something unique about Naz is our tunnel system. It connects some of the dorm buildings to most of the academic buildings. The tunnels are especially great for cold, snowy winter days.
3) Dorms: Your dorm is where you will be spending the majority of your time, so it’s important to choose a school with dorms you like. I visited many schools when I was searching for colleges and the dorms were one thing I always made sure to pay attention to; for me it could make or break the school. When looking at dorms, you want to look at their size, how the rooms are set up, what comes in each dorm, and what each dorm building looks like. Naz has 11 different residence halls to live in all four years of school. These dorms range from singles, to doubles, to suites, to on campus apartments, however, some are only available for certain classes. Kearney is the only all freshmen dorm on campus, which is a great experience that I would definitely recommend to all incoming freshmen. The campus apartments are only available for juniors and seniors and are a convenient way to feel like you’re not living in a dorm, while still not having the commitment of an actual apartment or the hassle of a morning commute. The rooms are all spacious and have plenty of storage space. The closets here at school are actually bigger than my closet at home!
There are so many factors to think about when looking for a school to attend. Keep on the lookout for Part 3, where I’ll finish my list of elements important to finding the perfect college match for you.
Check out the rest of the series!