Providence College Top Questions

What are the most popular student activities/groups?

Aleksander

The most popular student activity is Friar Club.

Sarah

The most popular activities are sports and intermurals. Theatre is very big as well. People party often. There are no fraternities or sororities. There are many school-sponsored non-drinking events on weekends, as well. Off campus you can go into downtown Providence, where there is shopping, movies, restaurants, and town events such as Waterfire. Athletic events are fun and very popular, especially the hockey and basketball games. Students in dorms often leave their doors open. People meet their closest friends in dorms and in classes.

Jesse

There is a whole heck of a lot to do around PC. Clubs are fairly popular, and everybody wants the white blazer from Friars Club. Campus Ministry is a huge force when it comes to being involved. There are numerous open houses and involvement fairs, so there's really no excuse for not having something to do. The hub of social activity is definitely in the dorms. The majority of my friends are on my floor, and its awesome to always have someone around to hang out with. Weekends for freshmen can start on a Monday if you really wanted, and go all the way through the week. Most kids go out at least Friday and Saturday, but a lot of people go out Wednesday and Thursday too. Wednesday and Thursday nights are definitely for the bars. Friday and Saturday are also big bar nights, but there are always a few good house parties off campus. Drinking is a big thing, and everybody knows it (Princeton Review ranked #1 Hard Liquor school). For the most part, everyone is responsible and has a good time. A lot of kids start off freshman year not drinking, but by the second semester, you can find them at house parties just as drunk as everyone else. ResLife is really good about providing things to do for non-drinkers. There is some type of social event pretty much every weekend. There are lots of athletic events too, so don't worry if you aren't up for alcohol. School spirit is pretty big. Sports games are pretty well attended, and admission is free/cheap for most games. Overall, a strong social scene and plenty to do for everybody.

Bridget

Students like to stay involved at Providence College. The two biggest clubs on campus are the Board of Programmers and Friars Club. These two groups coordinate the events on campus and give tours to prospective students, respectively. There are many other groups which people can get involved with as well as intramural sports. Many students would probably agree that they are happy with the fact that PC does not have Greek life. Greek life segregates a lot of campuses but because PC doesn't have sororities and fraternities, everyone can be friends with everyone else. PC is a big bar school, whether you are walking from campus or taking the bus downtown. House parties are also big at Providence and you can always find a "late-night" to party even after the bars close.

Rob

There is a lot of organizations on campus, my roomate was a Friar. There is Board of Programmers and Orientation Leaders. I did a program called Urban Action and that is where I met a lot of my friends in the beginning of school. I also joined the Rugby Club though, and that was a great way to meet people. Being a part of a team or club is an easy way to settle into college.

Alyssa

Sports are popular on campus, as well as intramurals. My favorite guest speaker was the real Coach Boone (of "Remember the Titans" fame). It is not uncommon that roommates randomly paired for freshman year will live together all 4 years- the woman who pairs roommates does that good of a job. Civ Scream is a popular event on campus that takes place twice a year the night before the civ final. Streaking and general debauchery are usually involved, though nothing ever gets violent and no one has gotten seriously hurt. Students go out on weekends, including Thursday nights. Those who don't drink have no problem having a good time, though most students choose to frequent one of the many bars surrounding the PC area. Greek life does not exist at PC, but other clubs/orgs take the place of Greek life. Off campus there are many things to do- ice skating downtown in the winter, the many theaters, the huge mall, restaurants, shopping, concerts, etc.

Alex

Board of programmers and Friars club are the two most popular and exclusive organizations on campus. Both of these organizations come with very big time commitments and a lot of responsibility. All organizations on campus, whether it is a club sports team or community service club are very social with their fellow members and they give students the opportunity to meet friends outside of their normal circle. People party and drink a lot at PC. There is a bar on campus that is often frequented Thursday through Saturday nights by the students. All students can get into the bar, but only those who are 21 can get a bracelet to drink. There is no Greek life at PC, but there are house parties off campus hosted by upperclassmen as well many bars surrounding the campus that are extremely easy to get into as a freshman or sophomore if you get there early enough and have a fake id. People party sporadically during the week and all weekend long. PC students work very hard during the week and party harder on the weekends. Campus events and guest speakers generally occur on week nights and are attended depending on the publicity given to the event. Dorm life at PC is very close knit. Everyone leaves their doors open, and you know all of your neighbors after the first week of living there. Sophomore year my floor organized an around the world so we could all get to know each other. We bonded while drinking different themed drinks and then traveled as a group to the Midnight madness celebration to open the basketball season. I have to say that if you like going out and partying, PC is a good school for you, but students still need to be responsible because the academics at PC are very rigorous and you will not survive if you go out every night of the week (even though there will be a few times in your PC career when that will occur). If you do not like to drink, campus organizations plan alcohol free activities for the students to enjoy, but I have never been ot any of them so I wouldn't know if they were well attended. In the winter time there are usually mens hockey games on friday and saturday night right on campus, and everyone goes to them, especially because PC has a lot of hockey rivals. Off campus is downtown Providence and the East Side. Both are very fun and have a lot of things to do during the day.

Tara

Lots of things to do around they city of Providence. Many bars, restuarants, a great mall, and PC hangouts on campus. The off campus houses are not great. They are in a pretty bad area and are run down. Each semester before a civ final there is a civ scream at midnight where kids go to the quad and scream. Midnight madness is on campus and is a big night with dancing and cheering on our bball team. Every year there is some sort of dance. The big ones are Junior Ring Weekend and Commencement week. You can bring dates to these formal events. They are tons of fun! Transportation is provided to all.

Kelly

athletics are very popular- we have top scoring athletes and athletic teams since we are D1 sports. students in the freshman dorms leave their doors open, but in other buildings you have already established a group of friends- most have apartments by sophomore year too. people party hard on the weekends near and in campus, but there are some events that are planned that do not center around drinking.

Allie

Great intramural sports. I recommend Co-ed Kickball, and Ultimate Frisbee. For those few figure skaters out there, we have a great club with two mornings of free ice time. Everyone's welcome and many people have joined that have never skated before. The residence halls are typical for most universities. The Suites and Apartments are pretty nice and really fun, The suites are the best.

Alex

drinkin

Meg

The most popular clubs on campus are BOP- a programming group that puts on concerts and events and Friars Club- the campus tour guides. Tehy are also rivals and you cannot be on one if you are on the other. Freshman and sophmore year dorms are open and people are socialable on their floor but in the upperclassmen years friendship groups are formed and people stick to their cliques. PC does not have a football team and sports are not largely followed, basketball season will bring out fans but only if they are doing well. Orientation and freshman dorms find your first friends and from there you are introduced to other people. People party 7 nights a week, there is something to do every night of the week and something to do it with. PC is a drinking school although there is a drug scene it is not spoken about. There are no frats or sororities so PC is a bar school , a fake ID is a must for this school. In place of frats and sororities sports houses take over the big parties and off campus houses host parties for money but underclassmen are more likely to be welcomed at a bar than a seniors house.

Dylan

Lots of clubs, sports, intramurals; most students are active and athletic; many ethnic and special interest groups; no frats/sororities; drinking consists of pregaming in dorms and house parties but mostly bars around campus; No drugs beside marijuana

Regina

Basketball and hockey games are very fun to go to, and a lot of the student body does. The drama and music departments are well supported by friends and family. My roommate and I didn't like to keep our door open because our hallmates were very nice, but also very loud. I met a lot of my closest friends from the music department - either music theory class or in choir. The others I met through these friends and through living arrangements. If I'm awake at 2 AM, I'm probably wasting time on the internet or hanging out, laughing with my friends. I don't like partying, so my friends and I would go to the movies, hang out in someone's room, go to Slavin, or go out to eat. It would have been nice if PC had more events that were more enticing. There are a good amount of PC weekend events, but they're often not much fun.

Allie

most popular group on campus- friars club- it's like a cult. Students in dorms do leave their doors open mostly. Basketball and hockey games are really popular. i met my closest friends at orientation. if i'm awake at 2 am on a tuesday i'm studying.. but i'm usually not awake that late.civ scream happens the night before a civ final for freshmen and sophomores each year. on st. patricks day everyone gets completely retarded. people party thursday night - saturday night usually. on a saturday night i can go downtown and spend money on food/movies or just hang out in someone's room and watch a movie. off campus you can go to the mall or movies. i've always been a big fan of music and go to a lot of concerts so i started going to concerts almost every weekend as a way to have fun off campus.

Chris

I live off campus, and the social life for off campus students offers little. If you like drinking every night of the week and nothing else for fun, then PC is for you.

Katie

I was so involved in high school that when I came to college I wanted to be able to enjoy my own time without involving myself with a bunch of activities. I would say that the Frairs Club and BOP are the two most popular organizations and the interview process is rather detailed. Students leave their dorm doors open most of the time. Athletic events are very popular as well as the guest speakers and theater. There is a fair share of dating. Most of my closest friends are my room mates or their friends. I have a large group of great friends. If I'm awake at 2am on a Tuesday, I am either studying or coming in from a night out. There is usually a freshman and sophmore ball, then JRW when you are a junior, and commencement when you are a senior. People party a lot and if you feel like going out any day during the week, there will be a great deal of people out. There is no greek life. I wasn't at school last weekend. A Saturday Night that doesn't involve drinking may be spent down town or hanging out with a group of friends. There are also activities that take place on campus that don't involve drinking. Off campus there are parties and such that go on.

Marissa

The most popular (and exclusive) clubs on campus are Board of Programmers and Friars Club. Since we don't have Greek life, our clubs are run by interviews and "who you know." Athletic events are very popular. Nearly everyone has season basketball tickets and gets dressed up or paints their face for games. Red Sox games are played on big screens in the campus bar, McPhail's. Theater is definitely popular within it's own group. The SAIL club emails everyone weekly with events for every day that week, so you will never be bored! There is no dating scene at PC. People may meet at bars and hookup, but there are few relationships on campus. Most students in serious relationships are dating something at a different college that they knew in HS. It's pretty hard to find something to do on weekend nights if you aren't drinking. There are lots of restaurants and things to do in the city, but you'll definitely be woken up at 2 or 3am when the rest of campus comes stumbling back to the dorms! Campus ministry is very popular on campus and the chapel basement is open 24/7 for students to hang out.

Nicole

There are tons of groups or organizations to get involved in at PC. A very open environment, students always have their room doors propped open. Athletic events as well as guest speakers are very popular as are events held in the SLavin Center. I met my closest friends through living together in the dorms or meeting each other out. The party scene at PC is very big--students work very hard and party just as hard. There are no fraternities or sororities.

Dylan

Activities primarily consist of drinking and frequenting the dingy, overcrowded bars around the campus, or spending all free time in Bible studies and service groups. There are few activities designed specifically to promote SOCIAL INTERACTION on campus, and those other activities that do not fall into the above categories do not do this because they either 1) fail to meet frequently enough or 2) fail to encourage interpersonal interaction ABOVE the activity the group is centered around. Intramural sports are limited in scope as well, and fail to provide this also. SPIRITUAL LIFE If you are not Roman catholic, there is no spiritual life for you. End of story. If you are, there MAY be. Religion - CATHOLIC religion - will be forced down your throat at every twist and turn. This school does not give out free condums, as many do. This school incorporates a CATHOLIC mass into most on campus activities involving parents or alumni. Priests are allowed to teach non-religious courses, including Development of Western Civ. Additionally, flyers will be posted all over the place promoting the latest religious initiative. If you are the type of person that is DEFINED by your religion and so happen to be Roman catholic, then you might be happy here. But if you are like the majority that think religion is a secondary concern in the human experience, of another faith, or have NO interest in religion whatsoever, expect to be disappointed and very frustrated. And if you are a casual catholic, this school will likely encourage you to consider converting to another religion. This school is OBSESSED with its “catholic Dominican heritage” and is OVERBEARING to the point of nausea with it.