La Salle University

La Salle University is clearly not for everyone. I will try and break down diferent aspects of the school for those looking to attend.

Students: A great deal of the student population are commuter students. As a result, the campus will seem busy from roughly 9 AM to 2 PM, but after that, the campus is as dead as Michael Jackson. Furthermore, many of the students that do choose to stay on campus commute home for the weekend, and that further dries out the campus. Most of them seem friendly enough, but the students really lack pride in the school. The proper word to describe the student attitude is "apathetic". The average student is fairly bright, but if you are looking to find a group of intellectuals to discuss current social / political / cultural matters then you are clearly out of luck. Students tend to not get involved in extracurriculars, and this has lead to a decline in clubs and groups to the point where they are almost non-existent. Sport events have nearly no student spectators, and for the most part, most students don't even know how the sports teams do.

Faculty: The faculty at LSU is better good- most of them are knowledable about their subject and are happy to help answer any student questions. However, the professors in my major were atypical of professors at LSU. Opporunities exist for students to get involved with professor's areas of study, but such opportunities are extremely rare and should not be counted on.

Surrounding area: The immediate surrounding area is BAD. I don't mean like, "there's a couple of run down homes down the block", I mean like, "the neighbors will break into your house, steal your stuff, and then beat you up for not having enough good stuff to steal". Off campus break-ins and muggings are frequent. I recommend checking spotcrime.com to see what sort of crime occurs in the immediate area- I'm not making this up. The area is downright depressing. LSU doesn't have a very large campus, so if you're looking to go for a stroll you'll have to go elsewhere. I can't empthasize enough how terrible the surrounding area is- it's why all the students stay in their dorm rooms. However, Philadelphia is only a subway ride away (provided you can make it to the subway safetly), and that's convient for going to concerts and other events. Nevertheless, there's no resturants in the surrounding area- if you want a bite to eat you're going to have to travel for quite a ways.

Campus / Events: It's well maintained and fairly pretty, but there's no students on it after 3 PM so it looks like a ghost town. Additionally, a student was mugged this year ON campus in front of the administrative building. The school hardly holds any events, so if you're looking to be engaged you can put that hope aside. There's a market on campus, which is nice, but it lacks real food after about 5 PM. The library is a good place to study; it's very clean and spacious. In short, the campus is a boring place to be- not much going on in general. North Dorms, EnF, and St. Neuman are run down and decrepit- expect to lose hot water frequently and be prepared to share your bed with coachroaches and ants. St. Basils is nice, but it tends to be rather loud and full of "bros" and the like.That's my short review of the school. If you're looking to go to school in Philly I would recommend going to Temple or St. Joe's over LSU- Temple costs twice as less and has a far more active student body.

2nd Year Male -- Class 2012

Individual Value: B, Collaboration/Competitive: F

La Salle can be a good experience for the right person under the right circumstances. If you're an above average student (GPA/SAT), consider applying to the honors program and for some of the larger scholarships. I would not have gone to La Salle for sticker price, but as a middle class kid from the region who went to a crappy high school, this was a good place to transition before graduate school. Unlike future colleagues who went to "prestigious" schools, I felt much more grounded and self-sufficient. Like many experiences in life, La Salle is what you make of it. The resources are there for a bright and assertive student, but a slacker or mediocre student will probably be better served by a different atmosphere.

4th Year Male -- Class 2014

Faculty Accessibility: A+, University Resource Use/ spending: C

La Salle is not for everyone... visit the campus before making your decision. Make sure you meet with the head of department of your intended major.

Male -- Class 2000