Bucknell University Top Questions

the campus is nice

the best thing about bucknell are the people you can choose to surround yourself with, including professors. i was lucky to meet my best friend our freshman year, but the monolithic social life at bucknell presents you with a lot of challenges - well, coming from my own experience. my social life was really miserable, and my professors were understanding enough to help me through the transfer process with really frank advice, but i decided to go abroad for a year instead. people at bucknell sometimes it isn't people from the most coveted greek chapters that make the most of your experience, but it happens to be a group of very few people 5-10 maybe that define it. i gave up greek life and drugs to afford time to hang out with people i actually like and to do things that interest me and along that path, i made time to meet people who i hope will become life-long friends. and there are things to do in the general Lewisburg area - i'm surprised when i read this. i think you have to be either unimaginative, boring, or an alcoholic to think like that.

Bucknell life is termed "the bubble" for good reason, because most activity is usually contained on campus. Rarely do we venture out into neighboring areas of PA. There is a "downtown" portion of campus (not technically campus), where students live in single townhouses and it is here where many weekend drunk festivities are held. Also downtown is market street, which is a quaint road that has many cute shops and restaurants, including CVS and Bull Run, our school's favorite nearby pub. There is also a wallmart less than 3 min from campus, as well as a Wendy's McDs, Pizza Hut, Subway, and the FREEZE! (that was said with the enthusiasm that every Bucknell would show for their beloved ice cream hut! Nearly everyone has been to the freeze and claims it serves a Lot of great ice cream at a low price). Selingsgrove, a neighboring town is 20 min down the state road and has a target, best buy, bed bath and beyond and a mall. So even though Bucknell is in a rural area, you will always have a place to find things that you need.

The best thing about Bucknell is its size: to me, it's not too big or too small. It's rare that I can walk across campus and not run into at least one friend, but I can still find anonymity when I need privacy. With the exception of ASTR101, all of my classes so far have had less than 35 students, most of them averaging at 15 or less. Thus, students and professors really get to know each other, which helps with your social, academic, and soon-to-be professional life. When people who actually have heard of Bucknell hear that I go there, they seem happy and impressed. It's a shame that Bucknell isn't as well-known as I think it should be, but it's getting there. I'm extremely proud to be a Bucknellian. I love everything about my school... Except, of course, for its giant price tag. And if tuition and room and board weren't enough for you, the food here can be pretty expensive as well. Market Street, too, is more of an upper-middle to upper-class main street, so prices there aren't too forgiving either. Oh, and I also don't like how very liberal faculty and staff can be, but I'll write about that later.

The Best thinig about Bucknell is the attmosphere, we are a small tight knitt community, although one thing I would change is the amount of diversity. For me, Bucknell is just the right size, not too large or too small. When I tell people that I got to Bucknell, they have either not heard of it or very impressed. When I am on campus, I spend most of my time doing school work and then hanging out with my friends. Lewisburg is definitly a college town, there is main with lots of cool shops, most of the professors live in town and the community really supports the school. The biggest controvery, I think has been back in September when someone (a townie, not a student) painted a swasitka on outside wall of our Student Union Center. There is a ton of school pride at Bucknell, everyone has tons of Bucknell appearal and comes to Basketball games in full force.

The best thing about Bucknell is the faculty. They are paid to teach first and do research second. They are always there to help, and a good faculty to student ratio makes for a great balance.

The student population is the perfect size -- not terribly small, as you can meet new people whenever you want, but not so big as you never feel like you belong. It's pretty much guaranteed that you will see someone you know everytime you walk around campus. It's the same exact case for the town we're in, too, however, which gets a little boring when you're tired of being on campus.

The school is the right size, and my relationships with professors have been great. They're all really interested in helping students. The administration, however, only pays lip service to student needs. They run the school like it's a for-profit business, and the students are just like pawns in their game. They also have some really sexist policies, especially for the Greek system. Greek life is really big here, but not all of the organizations are the "typical" animal house type sororities and fraternities. I've found my Greek experience to be really valuable.

I think the friends I've made on the XC and Track teams is my favorite thing about Bucknell. I also like that I've been able to organize a number of service projects easily with lots of campus support. If I could change one thing, I'd allow for more options in classes, so that students can take a few more classes just out of interest rather than by requirement. Size wise, it's just right for me. I spend a good portion of my time at BU at the fieldhouse, library/computer labs, and my room. I wouldn't think of Lewisburg when I think 'collegetown' (which is more like a penn state or uga to me), but it's a good college atmosphere. I like small towns, so it works for me. There's a lot of school pride, and the alumni I know are always excited to hear about the latest BU news. Not a fan of some of the administrative politics, but whatever. Biggest controversy lately...arming public safety i guess. There are so many experience I will always remember. Calling my hs coach and telling him I placed at the league meet in the steeple will always be one of favorites. Great weekends relaxing with friends are at the top of the list too.

Bucknell is not too big or small. Class sizes are small, so it is really easy to get extra help from a professor when you want it. My some of my favorite things about Bucknell are the beautiful campus, and the great caf. No really, the caf is really good!

Its just right in terms of size. They think its a good school my room or dana engineering building what? it sucks ass guns on campus for the police. Fuck the police from the underground. Viva la revolution! a bit did i mention the bucknell bubble? Rather crazy parties I am a man, i am a son of a man. I dont complain. Some engineering professors suck big time.

Bucknell is a small school, but this is maybe it's biggest asset. You really get to know and interact with your professors and the students in your department. You're a name and not just an identification number. It's nestled in a small but pretty town in central Pennsylvania. There's not tons to do, but there's fun to be had if you look around for it, and there are a lot of on-campus activities. Unfortunately, much of the social life revolves around fraternities; if you're not Greek or you don't like large parties, finding friends and things to do can be difficult -- but certainly not impossible. When I'm not studying in the engineering building, I spend a good amount of time hanging out in friends' rooms or at the on-campus cafe, which provides both delicious drinks and a nice atmosphere for studying, reading, or chatting with friends. The Bison, one of the eating establishments, is also a nice place for meeting up with friends. Overall, I'd say there's not tons of school pride -- certainly not more than at other schools. Our basketball team made it to the NCAA tournament two years in a row; that generated a brief period of school pride, but that's about it. That's not to say students don't like the school -- overall, they're apathetic about a lot of things.

My favorite things about Bucknell are the scenery and the people. Bucknell has a gorgeous campus in Spring - Fall, but winter is not so amazing. I wanted to go to a small school, but since Lewisburg is in a small town in the middle of Pennsylvania, the combination makes for a slightly dry social life. That is why most people go "Greek" at Bucknell (around 50{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of students!). It also explains why people party and drink so much - cause there really isn't much else to do! Most of my time is spent with my friends doing whatever: Usually going to dinner downtown or hanging out in someone's dorm or going to 7th St. Cafe. Like I mentioned before, there isn't much exciting in Lewisburg, so it's nice to make friends with someone who has a car so you can get off campus once in awhile. The basketball team at Bucknell did really well in the 2006-2007 season, so school pride was pretty high! The games are always fun! Another memorable experience at Bucknell is the candlelight service in December. It is held in Rooke Chapel and they have a choir and bell ringers. Most things at this school are overpriced. Go into the bookstore and you'll find batteries three times the price of what you could find at a local store. Even in the cafeteria or "Bison" the cheapest meals usually come out to around $8 and the food does not taste that amazing.

I think Bucknell is just the riht size - big enough that there is a big variety of classes, people, and point of views to get to experience alot of new things, but small enough that its not uncommon to have classes with 8 people on them. I spend most of my time working at the Weis Center/ for Performance Services and I love my job. Bucknell is somewhat of a college town (since alot of students like to rent houses in town and frequent a few of the restaurants on main street), but you can mostly get anything you need on campus, so it's not really necessary to venture into town much. Though I don't know very much, from what I've heard and see I think the administration spends too much money on things that don't necessarily benefit the students (fancy dinners for alumni and other guests) and to make ends meet tuition is now going up, making us the 3rd most expensive school (tuition wise) in the country. There are also alot of disappearances within the administration (people who either "leave" or are fired) and general turnaround without much explanation (bordering on secrecy) of why.

Sometimes political groups might not be the friendlies toward each other, but that's usually based on misunderstanding or unwillingness to listen by individuals who mar the group's reputation. Religion is very open here. I never expected that I would feel so free to be active in my faith when I came to college. It's an opportunity for growth that I had not anticipated. People are open about you and your experiences. Being the first person in my family to attend college, I was intimidated here at first because of my working-class background. I was able to meet lots of friendly people, however, and that faded. I was also able to consider lots of aspects of my own diversity through academics, like in my Foundations of Education that I took freshman year. Athletic teams tend to eat together in the cafeteria, but that's mostly based on their similar schedules. There aren't noticeable cliques in the cafeteria. Freshman year it is common to eat with your hallmates. After that, the gender most commonly seen in dining halls is female since many males join fraternities and eat at their houses.

One thing I can't complain about was the education I got, for the price I had to pay (I've been on almost full scholarship for the past four years). As a double major in the liberal arts, I was able to avoid most of the "bad" faculty (East Asian studies, Biology, and International Relations, some in the Engineering school, to name those of which I've heard). As a senior now, I've realized the considerable amount of academic growing I have gone through. As for the size of Bucknell, I think that as an undergraduate institution, it was the right size. Maybe I'm a bit biased, but small, it seems, is better for undergraduate. Sure, you run across that awkward guy you hooked up with a few weeks ago more often, but *shrug* such is college. Most people still don't know about Bucknell. If they do, it's usually because we ruined their bets during March Madness of 2005 or they read somewhere that we're the 3rd-most expensive college to go to that doesn't carry as much academic clout as others in the same price range (read, the Ivies). "What college town?" Lewisburg is really nice and quaint, but it really isn't a college town at all. There's nothing to do. Sure, there's stuff going on oncampus, but really...not so much going on. On nights when I go out with my friends and try to find something to do, we usually go off campus or just end up doing what everyone else does: get drunk. It's really depressing sometimes that that's the only thing we can do here, since we're so much in the middle of Nowhere, Pennsylvania.

Bucknell is a good size for me, but I am looking at a bigger grad school. After three years, it's beginning to feel a little cramped. Bucknell's administration cares about improving their image, not the students, faculty or staff. Our president is not at all approachable or accessible. He doesn't make an effort to get to know his students, like I've heard about other college presidents. Bucknell does offer great career and networking opportunities. They are some alums in prestigious careers and the Career Development Center (CDC) helps to put you in contact with him. The CDC is one of the best resources we have. Their strength is in finding careers for the management, finance, business, and engineers. As far as liberal arts goes, you're out of luck. But they do make an effort to try if you reach out to them.

One thing that Bucknell emphasizes, and fits me quite well, is balance in many different regions of life. It is fairly rare that a student's activities are concentrated in only one region, which I personally believe is a strength. One personal complaint could just as easily be a praise from another student: the "Bucknell Bubble" phenomenon. I love the quaint, Central Pennsylvania atmosphere of Lewisburg, the neighboring town, but admittedly there is very little to do past 6th Street and St. Catherine's after about nine in the evening. Due to this, there is something of a love-hate relationship between the town and the university. Borough residents will cheer on Bucknell in every possible sporting event as much as the Sojka Psychos in a basketball game, but they hold many of the stereotypes about which I wrote earlier. The Bucknell community has a tendency to look down its collective nose at the "townies", so perhaps we deserve the labels the outside world gives us.

God, Bucknell is my life. I LOVE this place: the campus is gorgeous, the professors are amazing, classes are interesting, we have an AMAZING gym, its small enough to be intimate and large enough that I still meet new people. Students tend to be engaged (there are duds though). There are millions of extra-curricular activities and the school does its best to provide weekend opportunities that keep people away from alcohol. I wish students actually took advantage of all that Bucknell offers, there is soooo much for everyone: bingo, comedians, bands, orchestras, speakers, bowling, poetry readings, competitions, dinners, wine-tastings, trips to NY, skiing, outing events, awareness clubs...the list goes on; and I feel that students in general are missing out. Because we are in the middle of nowhere (its such beautiful country and the amish are interesting), Bucknell as an institution has to keep over 3500 students entertained. There is a huge party life here though, and that can be interesting. Greeks are everywhere, although I am not and I am reminded every week just how lucky I am that I did not join a sorority. Uphill parties are fun, downtown is not so much (but others feel the exact opposite). There are only 2 decent bars. I can't really comment on the admin: I don't pay enough attention; but professors and my boss at the theater really hate the new administration. They spend too much money on worthless things? Not sure. I think their priorities are different from the faculty. They recently tried to down-size/stop the Vagina monologues from campus, and that pissed off tons of people. Who are they to say what should/should not be promoted on campus? Its an important feminist event and they have every right to have the freedom. Campus was in an uproar about that one. Oh, yeah, and everything is ridiculously expensive on campus. Food is outrageous. Like I said, they assume rich white kids with dad's money (well, could be mom's these days) which is a huge problem for those of us that don't have our parent's money. They really really have to do something about that. Oh, not only that, they raised tuition just to stay competitive, thats just rude. We were labeled as the third most expensive school in the U.S. Now I LOVEEE my classes, but I have to ask myself if I am getting the third best education in America? I would like to hope that the administration thought about that before increasing the tuition. There is a lot of school pride, especially for basketball, but I have always regretted that my school isn't one of those crazy school-pride schools like Penn State. Now that's school pride. We could use some more, thats for sure. But to be honest, I just assumed that everyone was in love with B.U; it has only been recent that I have realized that there are students that don't like it here...What the hell is their problem?? Memories? experiences? Jeeze...too many to tell you. One word: Houseparty.

I came to Lewisburg from New York City, so it was really a very dramatic change. I was worried at first that I wouldn't like living in the middle of nowhere PA, but I found that the fact that there isn't really much outside of Bucknell to be more of a bonus than a problem. Because there is so little off campus, everyone lives on or very close to the school, so your friends are always there and there is ALWAYS something going on. Usually, this something is free. There aren't so few people that everyone knows everyone else's business, but there aren't so many people that you are overwhelmed and don't feel like a community.

bucknell size is just right for me because i hate the city. when i go to bucknell, everyone is surprised and excited that i'm at such a good school...but they always ask if i'm an engineer... i spend most of my time in my room or at 7th street cafe. IT ROCKS! biggest controversy: arming public safety i'm proud that i go to bucknell. i can't imagine being anywhere else...i'm very blessed to be here

One thing I would change about Bucknell is moving it closer to a major city. It is the perfect size, as everyone has the ability to stand out but still has the opportunity to meet new people all the time. People are impressed with the Bucknell name, as it has an excellent reputation. Lewisburg as a town is nothing without Bucknell's campus. There is a lot of school pride when it comes to men's basketball games.

- If I could change one thing, I'd change Greek life. People are so involved in Greek life that they don't get involved as much in other clubs. - I think the size of the school is good. I don't think it should be too big. We definitely live in the "Bucknell bubble" and aren't involved that much with the community. - I don't particularly agree with the way Bucknell is run. I think it's unfair to have to pay Bucknell tuition even when you're abroad. Bucknell does it to get the additional money. - I guess there is a certain amount of school pride. You see a lot of ppl with Bucknell sweatshirts or pants around campus. - I have gotten to know some of the professors and staff at Bucknell quite well. I don't know if that's typical. I usually tend to take smaller classes and go to office hours, but the conversations that I have with them are always very interesting and the professors are really helpful.

The best thing about Bucknell is the size and the comfort of your friends here. I spent a lot of time at 7th street cafe and I go to the gym a lot too. I loved orientation, it was a lot of fun with color wars and the like. Students complain about the food prices a lot and about the administration.

Homogenous, but they want to change it, and are willing to let students do their part any way they can. Liberal faculty, Conservative administration Great size, enough to feel comfortable and know someone in a room, but still be able to meet new people - even in your senior year!

The best thing about Bucknell is our professors. They are not only incredibly intelligent, as one would expect professors at an institution with Bucknell's reputation to be, but are also dedicated. They come onto campus on weekends, schedule hours outside of class to help you, and are, to put it plainly, visibly devoted to their jobs. One thing I would change about Bucknell is the homogeneity of our campus. I do not come from a rich family, and I consider myself to be very down to earth, and although I have definitely found my niche at Bucknell, it was honestly much more difficult than I would have liked. It is disheartening to see students looking down upon those that hold an on-campus job, or upon those of us that are not in a sorority. One gripe I have regarding the administration is its lack of concern for current student concerns. Our administration at the present seems to be more concerned with building an endowment and getting donations from alumni and parents, that it ignores many student needs. Too many times have I appealed to a member of the administration only to be shot down without even a "well, let's meet and talk about it."