Gonzaga University

Gonzaga University has a quality reputation amongst other mid-sized universities in the west. This is well deserved. It is now my second year at GU, and I feel like I understand how the school's values line up. The jesuits are clearly concerned with developing and promoting a curriculum which pushes its students towards individual and critical thought. The requirement for 3 semesters of religion and 3 semesters of philosophy regardless of one's major is a key component to a gonzaga education from this perspective.

College of course is not JUST about academics. The social life at GU is fantastic, despite the fact that Spokane is having tough times economically. Parties are sick and there are plenty of them, people could not be friendlier, and there is a place for every set of values at this school. If you are looking for a blend of going out on weekends (not to mention the occasional thursday) and quality academics, this is your school.

Professors here are inCREDIBLY approachable, even in the engineering department, which is unusual... the few students that say otherwise are often having problems learning the material because they are intimidated and unwilling to go outside their comfort zone to seek help. If they don't utilize the multitude of resources available to different learning styles (including those available to learning disabled students such as myself), but are constantly playing catch up, what can they really expect from their efforts? A good universtiy gives no credit for time spent unlike hi-school... at GU 99% of students understand this and as a result, come out of this school with a unique ability to work around the obstacles they face both in learning new material and in everyday life.

The only people I know who drop out of science majors are the ones who arent willing to push themselves... in other words they don't have a problem with wasting the 37000 dollar annual tuition and squandering their ambitions for something completely different. The majority of students however, maintain a passion for their field of study and understand that the extra work assigned by most professors will pay off in the end.

Oh... and i have yet to meet a professor who does not speak english... mainly because they don't exist here at GU (no joke).

2nd Year Male -- Class 2012

Education Quality: A+, Surrounding City: B-

The strength of Gonzaga is in it's Jesuit education. This means that the core classes required of students strengthens individuals to become well rounded and prepares students for life, not just a certain profession. Being two years out of Gonzaga, I cherish my education and memories now more than ever and have no question I'd do it all again in a second. The quality in the college of Arts and Science is at least a B+ in my opinion. As with any college, there are excellent professors and then there are the occasional duds. I have to honestly say that I can vividly remember stimulating discussions in class and challenging research papers I've written because of the excellent professors I had. Duds are somewhat rare and professors are for the most part very easily contacted for help.

Furthermore, as I continued my Psychology education at the master's level, I was much better prepared in my writing technique (APA) and knowledge of Psychology than my peers at other private and public schools on the West coast. The philosophy, religion, and social justice courses at the time seem to be a bit irrelevant to one's major, but these classes have changed my worldview and strengthened my intellectual abilities immensely. As far as the campus, it is quite beautiful and freshmen are starting to be able to live in nicer dorms (in 2003 when I was a a freshmen, it wasn't this way). The weather is cold, but if you want to go to a school that has nice weather year round, go to Southern California (i.e. Loyola Marymount). The university is always progressing, and a possible negative comment is that it seemed like there were too many students for the infrastructure at the school in the beginning of 2007. Certain aspects of this university is a "mom and pop" run organization that can accommodate 6,000 students quite well, but beyond that I have my concerns. As far as sports, Gonzaga Basketball pretty much brands you for life as a Zag fan. Lastly, the diversity of Gonzaga is not that great. It's changing, but don't expect to find 25-30% minority students in the near future.

4th Year Male -- Class 2007

Individual Value: A, Useful Schoolwork: B-