Bucknell University

Date: Jul 26 2006
Major: Biology (This Major's Salary over time)
Administration: I got here the same year as the new president. President Mitchell is a pretty ok guy - if you want to get to know him there are opporunities and if he knows you he will write you a recommendation for grad school, etc. He does focus more on the business side and fundraising, which is because that is a major part of a university president's job. The deans generally are pretty good - fair and friendly.

Professors: We have some great professors. Freshman year biology courses are too big to get to really know your professor, but it is possible to have a relationship with them (and by too big I mean about 100 students). Research options for science majors abound. Professors will tell you straight out if they think for any reason they can't give you a good recommendation.

Classes: Some are challenging, almost none are really easy. Most are a moderate amount of work, enough to keep you showing up each day, but not enough to make you go insane with stress.

Facilities: Dorms are generally pretty nice (worst is Swartz but even it's better than most at the MD state schools). A few have air conditioning. Upperclassmen have a ton of options, including apartment style houses, modular home style housing, dorms, or off-campus. There are a good mix of singles and doubles available on campus so if you don't want to be crowded in a room, we have lots of options.

Food: Better than average, but it's still school food. There are vegetarian options (that aren't just, eat some salad) and healthy options. The freshman meal plan sucks if you don't eat a lot of meals a day, but then you can go to declining balance which is a pay-as-you go system. The caf has pretty good hours, but food in-between peak lunch and dinner times is a little sparce.

Social Life: Greek life is big, but as a non-Greek I still manage to be out whenever I want and have tons of social opportunities. I know that there are substance free options with the substance free living and club, as well as coffeehouse house nights (no beer or liquor in there), alcohol free dance parties, and concerts. Personally, I like our party scene. There are registers (where you need to be on the list to go in…or else go very late), mixers (where a frat and sorority are exclusively having the party until after 12 when it's opened up), and dorm events (mostly freshman year). It is hard for freshman guys to get into parties, but it's not hard to find an upperclassmen to buy alcohol, so generally they party in the dorms. Freshman girls have it easier, but still cannot get into everything. By sophomore year you either have friends that will make you an honorary member of their group or are in a frat or sorority yourself so its easier.

To address the current (7/26/06) policies on drinking: They are stringent if you get caught, but many RAs even freshman year look the other way. If you want to be substance free there is an entire substance free dorm and a group on campus called CALVIN AND HOBBES. There is talk of changing the alcohol policy to one that is even more lenient for this upcoming year.

Students: Preppy and conservative is the trend at Bucknell. That doesn't mean we don't have some liberal people, but the BUCC (Bucknell Conservatives Club) is HUGE on campus. It is countered with some strong liberal groups, but expect if you are voically liberal to be offended and attacked at times by the BUCC. Girls do dress up for class (a nice thing if you graduated from a high school with uniform policies) and guys generally look acceptable. You can't get by with pajama pants and a hole-y tee shirt every day, but that also helps to prevent people from falling asleep in class and make the class look professional (we are, after all, training to eventually have professional jobs where you can't roll into the office in what you slept in last night). People can be a little snobbish, but as one of the poorer kids at Bucknell I've never felt pressured to have a designer bag or shirt. Looking good (and taking pride in your appearence) is more important than what designer you're wearing - since for every group that loves one designer an equal number of people hate that designer.

Campus Jobs and Work-Study: Campus jobs are totally accessible at Bucknell, but many people do not have them. This is due to the upper-middle class predominance at Bucknell. If you have a job, expect friends to occassionally ask you why you can't skip it. If you want a job you can skip apply to 7th Street Cafe or the library, they are pretty lenient about hours.

Overall: Bucknell is well known on the East Coast and in CA. It is also becoming more renoun in other parts of the country. If you live on the East Coast and go to Bucknell, everyone you meet will have some relative or friend that graduated from there. Academics are great and networking opportunities abound.