Duquesne: The Big Picture
Duquesne is the perfect size, I think. Everywhere I go I see someone I know, but I always meet new people and see new faces, too. Campus is beautiful and small, but there are lots of places to hang out and people around. Pittsburgh is a great college town, although being "right downtown" is really overrated. I wouldn't trade our actual campus for a better location, though; I love the campus and isolation, and yet that you can still see city buildings past the landscaped lawns and trees. People in Pittsburgh react positively when I tell them I go to Duquesne. People from home, around Philadelphia, usually don't know what I'm talking about, though.
Duquesne Academic Life
Academics vary greatly depending on your major, I think. Some programs are highly respected, others are not as academically demanding. I am under the impression that pharmacy, nursing, and education are really good programs. Class sizes are generally small and even science lectures are small compared to other schools. For example, I had a physics class of around 100 students freshman year. Most of my other classes are around 20-30 students, and smaller for my Honors College classes and the professional preparation classes for the School of Education.
I have a love/hate relationship with the School of Education. Everyone's experiences vary greatly, depending on a person's class year, specific major, professors that you get, and even the semester that you take specific courses/blocks. There are a few of the best professors I have ever had within my program. My favorite class was Educational Psychology, even though it required up to 40 page papers and tons of work. I still keep in touch with the teacher I had for that class 2 years ago.
Duquesne's Student Body
Duquesne students do tend to "dress up" for class. Girls look cute despite the gross weather, and wear heels despite all the hills. It's not uncommon to see people in sweatpants, though. Athletes and students from other countries tend to sit together, but people mostly just sit with their friends at the dining halls. There are lots of small tables and different places to eat.
Duquesne Student Activities + Social Life
Student Government is fairly popular but you will find it is dominated by the same group of people, but it's really not that important. Fraternities and sororities are pretty prevalent, but I would never feel out of place not being in one. You notice their presence and they have parties and you see people wearing letters, but it's not really a big deal. The theater companies are small, but they put on good shows and people support their friends and watch them.
I think a lot of people leave their dorm doors open, although they always advise us not to. My neighbors in my on campus apartment building always left their doors unlocked, and though we just met each other that year, we walked into each other's apartments all the time. I met my closest friends from living on their floor freshman year or through class.
I am always up at 2am, I feel like. Usually studying on a weeknight, or if I don't have as much to do that day, chatting with friends, dancing around, or watching movies. People party a lot freshman year I feel like and then again once they turn 21. You pretty much have to go off campus to party, and Duquesne "owns" the nearby Southside. On campus, some people take advantage of the Nightspot which offers programs on the weekends, but I almost never go there. Occassionally I'll go when they show a good movie and get free popcorn with friends.
