Allegheny College

In all Allegheny is a good college, and I find it hard to say anything bad about it. Class size really depends on your major and the classes you take. I'm an English major, but I have also taken art, science and history. The English classes are about a 10:1 on most days, with art taking the majority with a large 17:1 or a small 8:1 depending on if its a lecture class or a studio class. Overall the housing is nice, they are old buildings so their is always something up, but they keep it well in hand and up to date when they can. (they meaning the school) Social life depends on you, if you are a party person, you just have to look for one, and if your not there are a lot of other things that go on around campus. Most people are very friendly and would love to get to know you. But keep your head down during finals, mostly around upper classmen. The stress is palpable and you do not want that kind of energy. Sports are sports and a little hard to explain. Its like clicks, kind of like high school, but without the mean aspect, sometimes. Most people don't segregate themselves into their sports groups unless they are at practice, so you can still be social and not on a sports team. It does get cold there I have to say, very cold. Bring winter boots, umbrellas, warm coats and socks. Winter hits around late November and stays until February, and fall is not nearly as kind as you would think, but the building are heated and the campus is not to large to walk, even in the cold. Overall it is a great place to learn and get to know yourself as well, just know its going to be cold. I am a senior this year and have loved my time at the college and I'm grateful that I made the choice to go.

I think Allegheny for me personally is slowly starting to feel at home to me. The people there are so nice and understanding so it make the experience there even better. The professor are always there making sure were doing okay and are there to help you when you need it. The Allegheny community is so great and I'm happy to be apart of it.

It is a great school with great professors and a very caring and dedicated administration. The professors and administration were absolutely amazing, very liberal and very progressive. Compared to staff and faculty, the student population could be a little ignorant sometimes especially towards minorities. A friend described it as a \"literal night and day contrast\". During the day you were surrounded by free thinkers (professors, staff, etc) but at night it was not uncommon to be met with a disrespectful comments by a student who had not really been exposed to diversity. You get an an amazing education but it is a very remote campus with no access to city life so that can be challenging at times. There are plenty of opportunities for study abroad etc, and the office of career services, faculty, staff will move mountains for you to help you achieve your dreams to make up for the seclusion of the campus and the lack of diversity. You just have to take the initiative to knock on the doors and they will not only open those doors for you but do whatever it takes to help you.

Ah Hellegheny. The worst turned best decision of my life. If you are bullied and threatened by your assigned roommate, they will make YOU move to another room. In the process you may be assigned to a temporary “safe” room that doesn’t even have a lock. Administration LOVES bullies. Thankful that I withdrew after five weeks and got most of my money back. Now the same money I would’ve lost on a no-name Hellegheny education has paid for undergrad and graduate school at top state universities. Steer clear if you value your safety, mental health and money.

I think Allegheny College is great in terms of education. I truly do feel as though the professors that I've come in contact with are active and want the best for us. But there are always things that could be improved. Unfortunately, some of these things aren't within reach.

I love this school. The campus has a very historical but modern feel. The buildings are brick but the insides make you feel like you're in a lab where great things will or have happened. The food is great, the staff that makes it is even better. The housing is somewhere a potential and hopeful student would feel comfortable and at home. The sports teams are not too big of a deal, but the fact that they aren't absent either makes a difference to me.

If I were a history expert, I would write about the interesting history of Allegheny: how it started in 1815 in a single building and has grown to the beautiful campus it is today. I would write about how President McKinley once attended Allegheny and how Rosa Parks visited our chapel. But I’m not a history expert, I just love my school. I choose Allegheny College for the academic opportunities it offered that would prepare me for my future better than any of the other schools I liked. They had amazing scholarships that made my dream of a great college at a great price a reality. When I got to campus, though, it became so much more. At Allegheny you can find a group of people who will become your best friends, whether they are similar to you or the complete opposite. The college is small, but the diverse population is exciting. With many international students and students from across the country, I am always meeting new people who have experiences so vastly different from my own. At Allegheny, the dining hall employees know students by name, and they will always take the time to talk to you. Students in sports, fraternities and sororities, arts, and political organizations mix freely, without judgement. At Allegheny professors will email you if you aren’t in class for a couple days because they want to make sure everything is alright. I know that this school will prepare me for my plans after college, and the friendships I have made here will last forever. At Allegheny, I found a home.

I love Allegheny and am looking forward to attending and being apart of the class of 2023. I love that everything is so inclusive and it has a very comfortable environment. The staff is so so encouraging and they’re always willing to fit students into their office hours to talk about something that’s not working.

I went to Allegheny for 2 and 1/2 years. I went because to Allegheny mostly because they offered me the best scholarship deal. I did visit the campus for 2 days before I attended and I you don't really realize how desolate Meadville is until you have been there for a few months. It is hard to not be over the moon excited with being a Freshman and moving away to college and I think that gave me rose tinted glasses on my early impressions of the school and location. Once I got over that after a few months or the first year I was pretty unhappy with Allegheny. For starters you are almost 2 hours from any city in what is almost Amish country. And if you come from a major city like NY, LA, SF etc neither Cleveland or Pittsburgh is going to be very inspiring as they are not even in the top 50 cities in the US by size. So not only were the cities far away but I found them disappointing as far as cities went and little reason to make the drive than get to the airport. The surroundings, particularity, Meadville, just started to depress me after awhile. There is just nothing to do. Not even a decent mountain anywhere nearby to make use of all the snow for skiing or boarding. And there will be hell of a lot of snow starting early November usually. If you like hard academics the school does have that. But since I wanted to transfer it was basically hell for me because getting a good GPA here is difficult which made transferring difficult. And it isn't like the school has the kind of reputation that the GPA carries any weight anyway. I ended up ditching Allegheny and got straight As at an easy community college so I could transfer to a school better than Allegheny. Allegheny wasn't only terrible but trapped me there and their terrible courses allowed me to transfer relatively few credits to me new school. That said, I think part of the reason it is hard is that many teachers are poor. Being a hard teacher does not make you a good teacher and I have had vastly better teachers overall since I left. I don't imagine Allegheny's location in the boonies helps them attract top talent. Many did not seem like happy people either compared to my later professors. One of the good things about I can comment on is the general openness of the social scene. The school is not that big and since there is nothing nearby to do people let anyone and everyone into their parties and are friendly. The social scene isn't big enough to turn people away which is a nice change compared to what you'd find at a lot of big party schools. I felt the only way to not be bored to tears at the school was to join a fraternity; which I did. That said a lot of people get really drunk and take drugs since there is so little to do anywhere nearby and you can only party with the same people in the same place so many times before drugs start to look really fun. It is really hard to find a balance at Allegheny being trapped inside by the cold for over half the school year, and nothing to do when bored anyway. Lots of people slip into bad habits easily as a result. I have to comment the administration of the school also struck me as especially terrible. If you are ok being kinda in a depressing middle of nowhere small school that is way more difficult academically than its reputation really justifies with sub par teachers then Allegheny is the school for you. It certainly was not for me and I have to say going here is one of the biggest mistakes I've made in my life.

Allegheny can take some getting used to, but once you do it's great. There's plenty to do on campus if you join clubs or find fun things to get involved in. There are good and bad food days but for the most part, McKinley's is always a safe bet. Housing is much nicer as you become a junior.

I love the school, the people, the academics and the professors! Like any college campus there are upsides and downsides, but if you’re more focused on the education you’re getting than socializing, drugs or alcohol, it’s the right place to be. there are unique opportunities for students wishing to study abroad and great classes to take!

Allegheny is an amazing college to attend. It is a private university which means they give you really good financial aid packages. There are many opportunities academically and you will get your moneys worth of education. The people there are very nice and the professors are sometimes hard with the work but they are very understanding. They are available anytime you need them. The food there is not so great but no college food is good.

Allegheny College is one of the best small liberal arts colleges in Pennsylvania (west of the Allegheny Mountains). There are tons of clubs and opportunities to get involved in all kinds of things from playing with clay to tackling people in club sports. Sports are present on campus, but do not overshadow the student body and are more fun than work (although athletes work super hard to balance both). Academics are a priority here and students are always studying, but there's room for fun if one is able to manage their time wisely (which is what college is all about). Making friends is not a problem as people are open and a small coffee shop on campus facilitates all kinds of conversations as well as activities organized by a group of student leaders to bring the campus together. As a first year I can only recommend everything Allegheny has given me, and I cannot wait for the next semester.

I love the atmosphere at Allegheny. Everyone is friendly and helpful on campus. Professors are easily accessible and are very helpful during both class times and office hours. You get to know your professors and they know you, often times each and every student by their first name. Its nice to be in a small classroom environment where you know everyone around you.

It's a good place to be if you have no idea what you want to do, but you know you want to go to college. Not having to decide your major until the end of your sophomore year and then not having specific graduation requirements makes it easy to pick up more than one major or minor and still graduate early. Getting involved is super easy.