Congratulations! You’ve just received admittance to one of the top liberal arts colleges in the nation. However, maybe you’re not sure if you’re ready to put down that deposit quite yet. You may be choosing between other great schools, or you’re just not sure if Bucknell is the perfect place for you. To help make this important decision easier, here are four reasons to consider making Bucknell your home for the next four years!
1. You don’t have to change yourself
Many people like to joke, “Oh, you’re attending Bucknell? Start buying some Vineyard Vines and Lily Pulitzer!” Bucknell tends to get the rep that everyone is uber preppy. If this is your style, then by all means you’ll rock it. However, there are so many different types of people on campus. As a Jewish gal from Long Island, I personally fed into this unrealistic fear that I’d have to change my style to fit in. And while “preppy” brands are certainly notable here, no one will bat an eye if you wear graphic tees.
2. The comfort of a small campus
It’s much easier to feel at home when you’re able to fully navigate campus by the end of first semester freshmen year. Admittedly, at times it can be a little underwhelming being on a relatively small campus in a small town. At sporting events, you sometimes can’t help but wish the stadium was just a wee bit bigger. However, a larger school doesn’t necessarily mean more school spirit. As the Patriot League champs, Bucknell knows how to come together and get rowdy to support our athletes. The town of Lewisburg, while small, is jam-packed with almost anything you could possibly need in a college town. Various restaurants and stores make Market Street the hotspot. It just happens to be situated in the middle of farmland, with the nearest big city a decent trip away.
3. Accessible Professors
Along with the small size of campus, most class sizes are on the smaller end as well. Compared to many schools that have big lecture-style classes with up to 200 students, the largest class I’ve taken thus far had approximately thirty students. This automatically makes building relationships with your professors a lot easier. Learning can be a more engaging experience when you actually know the professor and classmates, and they know you. Many professors not only make their office hours known, but really encourage you to speak to them. One professor I had last semester held a class session in her house, and made us all breakfast. This is the kind of approachable faculty you can find at Bucknell.
4. The social scene
As you may have heard from current students and alum, or you discovered while viewing our online ranking as a top party school, Bucknell knows how to have a good time. The infamous Super Saturday (our weekly day party, held on, you guessed it- Saturdays) is always a fun way to unwind with friends, enjoy the outdoors, and get Insta-worthy pictures. While frat parties are definitely not for everyone, it’s a prominent aspect of social life. If that isn’t your thing, there are other ways to have fun around campus. You just probably won’t be able to avoid irritating encounters with loud drunken students (but isn’t that true at most colleges?) 7th Street Café is a chill spot to hang out and get delish milkshakes, with the added bonus of live music every so often. As previously mentioned, downtown has plenty of good restaurants and stores to browse. Sometimes, the best thing to do is to grab a few friends, and just lay out on the quad on a warm sunny day.
If you’re still undecided, don’t worry. Everyone has their own idea as to what constitutes the best college fit for them. Be sure to weigh the pros and cons of attending whichever schools you are torn between, and go with your gut. Besides this, there is no real way of telling how you’ll like a school until you are actually attending it. As difficult as this decision may seem, everything works out in the end. Be thrilled that you just got into a great school! RAYY!!!