Providence College Top Questions

Yes and no. It is true that the majority of students are white, upper-middle class kids, but that doesn't create a problem in my opinion. Diversity comes from a lot more besides race and class. While a lot of kids are very similar to eachother, obviously everybody is different in some way. When it comes to racial or social diversity, there is definitely a good representation across the board, and the school is working on improving this.

Yes- both girls and guys are concerned with their appearance and almost everyone likes to go out and drink. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays are must-go-out nights and there are plenty of other things do to the rest of the week.

For the most part.

A lot of PC's students are upper-middle class white students. Vera Bradley, Vineyard Vines, North Face, Ugg, and J.Crew gear are seen everywhere on campus. PC students know how to have a good time, but academics are rigorous and professors expect a lot out of their students, both in and out of class.

Concerning a large majority of the student body they are, but there is a group of people for almost everyone at PC.

I definitely think that PC students drink a lot and like to party. I think that PC is now becoming more diverse.

Unfortunately for the intellectual, creative individual searching for an interesting circle of friends at PC, this stereotype is generally accurate. Though there are exceptions, smart, funny and original people are hard to come by here.

yes

Unfortunately, there is a big problem with a lack of diversity but the school is making an effort to attract more students from various racial and socioeconomic backgrounds. Many undeclared students are tentative to attend a school like PC, which has such a demanding core curriculum. However, having experienced this undeclared anxiety myself, I can say that the Career Center and your personal advisors offer plenty of guidance to help you design a schedule that allows you to both meet core requirements that interest you and help you discern what area of study you enjoy most.

yes, but thats not entirely a bad thing

yes

Mostly

-It's true that PC is too homogenous. -I've seen too many uggs and North Face jackets for my liking, but there is definitely variety in the personalities of the students. I like to be more origninal and creative, and i have found friends with the same preference. -Masses are beautiful but ALWAYS optional. We are taught western religion in DWC, but from an unbiased and completely factual standpoint. The Catholic community is certainly present at PC, but only for those who choose to be a part of it.

some of them are

yeah, for the most part.

Yes, in fact, it seems even worse than that. Providence College is so racially one-sided that in a recent letter home to all parents of undergraduates, the president, Father Shanley, blamed the lack of ethnic diversity as one of the major reasons for the problem of underage drinking on campus. It is sometimes cruelly, but accurately, joked that PC only accepts minority students for their athletic teams.

I would say that most of the students at PC do generally look alike. But there are people from all different family income levels and money doesn't matter, especially if you are in the right group of people. We're far from stuck up and just enjoy going out and having a good time with our friends. It is a party school if you are into that. If your not, you can find other things to do.

Although you can see the religious influence on campus, be it from decor or the theology requirements, it is not overbearing. The Friars teach theology and philosophy in a way that is very objective- their mission is finding truth through the combination of faith AND reason. You are never expected to blindly believe anything. We are fairly conservative but also acknowledge the liberal. For example, you cannot get birth control at the health center, but they will give you the number for a clinic down the street. We have a bar on campus for of-age students. Students are free to create clubs or demonstrations for whatever they want. We may have curfew for having the opposite sex in the dorms, but there are definitely ways around it. In the apartments and suites you can easily have the opposite sex stay over if you wish. The guys' dorms are less strict that the girls'. A large portion of the student body may be from New England and be preppy, but they are certainly not snobby. We have many international students from sports teams and elsewhere. Anyone can find their niche with all the extracurricular opportunities! This year, my RA was from Zimbabwe and my roommate was from Seattle! Students do drink a lot on the weekend but there is very little drug use. You can find kids partying on "Messed up Mondays," Brown night at Fishco (a bar) on Tuesday, PC night at Fishco on Wednesday, and Thirsty Thursdays...but everyone has slaved away in the library all day long to finish their work first!

I think that these stereotypes are accurate. Although many people are different and bring different things to the table, most of the students from PC look the same and it is definitely lacking ethnic divresity.

In MOST cases yes, but there are a few good people there that you'll have to look for.