Valparaiso University

There are two redeeming factors of Valpo. The professors and your friends. Party scene blows, of the three fun frats two have been kicked off in the last 8 years (RIP STG/Theta Chi). Since you cant live off campus until your a senior, the house party scene also sucks. But I got awesome friends. So depends on what you want.

2nd Year Male -- Class 2015

Faculty Accessibility: A+, Surrounding City: F

The comments on this site about Valpo are all over the board, and I think this is indicative of the school. There are lots of good things, but there are some bad things too.

First, the positives. The education quality is pretty good; Valpo consistently ranks as one of the best small universities in the Midwest. The town isn't big and super exciting, but it has everything you would need as a student as far as stores and things like that, and it is actually a really nice town. The campus is beautiful. I personally chose not to join Christ College, but I have friends who are in it who really like it and get a lot out of it despite the heavy added workload that goes along with it. The food at the Union is great, as far as college food goes. The study abroad program is excellent.

However, there are negative things. The social life is a bit of an enigma. TONS of people go Greek, which isn't bad if you're into that kind of thing, but as a kid who does not partake in drinking or drug use and enjoys being independent, it makes it kind of hard to find things to do on the weekends that don't involve frat parties. If you don't go Greek or don't play a sport (I do ultimate frisbee), you are gonna have a rough first few weekends until you find a solid group of friends. Valpo is small enough that a lot of kids seem to try to perpetuate the whole "stuck in high school" thing. Anyone who has been to college will know what I'm talking about. They're caught up in being popular, showing off their money, catching up on the latest gossip, being seen with the "cool" crowd, and so on. Not everyone is like this, but it is one thing that I wish Valpo did not have. The university claims to administer lots of individual attention, but this is only really true within the individual academic programs. For instance, your adviser and professors for your major will really help you out a lot, but administration offices like Residential Life or the Registrar don't care about you. They will not help you unless you physically go to talk to them and explain your problems to their faces. Valpo is a tad overpriced (40 grand a year), but they give out pretty good scholarships if you're a good student. The student housing situation is an absolute joke. With the exception of maybe two buildings, the dorms are God-awful. Valpo's recently high acceptance rate has kind of marred their otherwise glowing reputation, and a lot of the kids here are either really smart and well-rounded students or just plain stupid rich kids from the Chicago-Northern Indiana area who didn't want to go to school far away from home. Also, if you're looking for a die-hard Christian school, look elsewhere. Valpo claims to be a Christian school, but this really doesn't ring true, other than if you look at the massive Chapel on campus, the popular Wednesday night worship service, and the Theology class requirements. There are a few small Christian organizations on campus, but they don't put on any big events or anything. The athletic facilities are terrible, much worse than a lot of big high schools. BOTTOM LINE: I love Valpo, really do. There are things I would change about it, but I have met some great people and professors, and I have received an awesome education so far. I tried to be as unbiased and transparent as possible in this review, because I know that when I was looking at colleges to apply to, it was annoying to have to weed through all the overly-negative and overly-positive reviews. Hopefully this helps!

1st Year Male -- Class 2015

Campus Aesthetics: A+, Social Life: C-

I would say that a lot of people at Valpo are friendly and there are people there who are idiots and I have no idea how they got into college. While some people majoring in their chosen degrees others seem to major in alcoholism and drugs and have a master degree in stupidity. Overall I love being at Valpo. So far I have had only had one professor that I really did not like. I love the music program but I have noticed it tends to be really political.

1st Year Female -- Class 2015

Faculty Accessibility: A+, Collaboration/Competitive: F