College of the Holy Cross

If you're like me (Ohio) and not from New England or from the Mid-Atlantic, HC is a fairly challegning hurdle to jump. Most of the school's student body naturally is from Boston area Massachusetts or surrounding middle to upper class New England (NH, VT, CT, NY). In the first year or so, breaking into this culture can be somewhat of a task, especially if a student comes from a more lower middle class economic background. Get used to arrogance, apathy, and affluence. A lot of students you meet at HC are from high class backgrounds and are at Holy Cross more for its reputation for being a solid ticket into high paying jobs in the working world than for making close, life lasting friends or relationships(although interestingly enough, a majority of student alums have wound up getting married to other alums!). You get to know and recognize a lot of people easily enough due to HC's small size, but getting to know people genuinely can prove a difficult task. The name of the game at HC is booze and books. Because students work hard and play even harder, finding conversation with people outside those two realms is not the most common event. HC people tend to be very driven and fast paced individuals. If you're looking for a close-knit, laid back, personal atmosphere then don't come looking for it here. Friends and relationships can tend to be on the fleeting side, if secured at all - most of the college life at HC in the mind of a typical student merely represents a time to pass before moving on to a high profile profession or graduate school.

The academics coincidentally are stellar. If you put the effort into your coursework and step forward to form relationships with the professors, they will return the favor and then some. Professors make themselves overly accessible to students, and even if you are a mediocre student in a class, you'll still find it a challenge for a professor not to know your name by semester's end. HC definitely offers the best Catholic liberal arts education for a school of its size. It is generally accepted as on par with most Ivy league institutions in terms of it academic excellence and reputation. An HC student who gives their effort to their academics makes the ridiculously high tuition cost worth its weight.Life on campus tends to be somewhat routine to the typical student. Student programs tend to sell short, and the snow that buries the campus for 3/4 of the year tends to limit social activity to dorm drinking on the weekend with occasional ventures to crowded off campus houses. When the weather is warm at school year's beginning and end, life tends to seems 100 times better. Spring Weekend before spring finals tends to be a highlight of student programming and one of the most fun events on campus all year. Community service programs are provided and organized for the large number of students that usually are interested, and religious services and direction is readily available to those who are interested.

2nd Year Male -- Class 2007

Faculty Accessibility: A+, Surrounding City: D