Providence College
Reviews

Fire Safety

PC had a big fire back in the 70's. They are extremelt strict with fire safety and overall dorm safety

Water Fire

Providence has turned in to a great city with lots of events including concerts, sporting events, and night clubs. They also have a water fire which makes you feel like you are in Europe.

Preppy

The school is preppy with most kids from a Catholic, upper middle class family.

Fun

There is always something going on. It may include parties, nightlife, study clubs, sports, but there is always something so if you want to have fun...its easy to do

Terrible

The computers are terrible. The keys are sticky and just in general are slow. Not to mention the wifi here is very weak. Printing is pretty easy

Providence Rocks

The city of Providence rocks. The Ripta is so convenient and is a safe way to travel to and from school. The gym is so nice.

Overall Review

Let me start off by saying that Providence College somehow manages to attract/select some of the best and most genuinely friendly and sociable people each year. For this and many other reasons PC was easily the best 4 years of my life. People who knock it are usually a) students/alums who wanted to go to BC/Notre Dame/a more nationally known private school but didn't get in or couldn't afford it or b) alums/students who realized too late in the game that they would have preferred a more liberal university approach rather than a more conservative one. Spoiler alert: Providence is a Catholic school founded in the Dominican tradition. You will have to take the Development of Western Civilization as one of your core requirements to graduate (a program that I personally found academically rewarding). Regardless of what you believe is the best approach to a university education, the bottom line is that when YOU decide to attend a more traditional Catholic school, you can't then complain all day that the focus of certain core requirements is Judeo-Christian/Western Civ centered. I personally believe that this sense of tradition, morals, and values is an amazing part of PC. It not only fostered my academic growth, but also contributed to a very potent sense of community. PC is a fairly small school with about 1,000 students in each grade. It wouldn't hurt if it were a little bit bigger, but I wouldn't trade the sense of community at PC for anything. You can't walk to class without seeing a few familiar faces and waving to a few friends. Class sizes are generally small which allows you to get to know your professors and classmates and allows for good class discussion. There are tons of activities to get involved in. While you have to interview or "try out" to become a part of the bigger student-run organizations and performance-based clubs (i.e. a capella), there really is something for everyone. It's hard to find a PC student who hasn't been involved in some type of organization or service activity at some point in their college career. The campus itself is pretty but not beautiful, although it's always improving. Definitely exudes a real college-campus feel. While PC may be similar to schools such as Fairfield and Holy Cross, the fact that PC is actually right next to a city definitely gives it one-up socially. The PC shuttle can take you to downtown Providence or East Providence, which is right by Brown University. If you ever get bored on campus, which isn't very often, exploring Providence is a great option. It may be a smaller city but it's accessible and has basically everything you need in terms of restaurants/shopping/bars/coffee shops. The fact that we have a decent basketball team in the Big East also provides for fun "Friar Fanatic" school spirit, although it's no secret that we're not as die hard as Duke fans or anything like that. It would be cool if we were that good, maybe someday. In terms of the students themselves, many go by the mantra "work hard, play hard" or "work hard, play harder" depending on who you ask. PC students are very social and like to go out at the nearby bars, nearby upperclassmen houses, or in the city of Providence itself. There are a lot of fun social traditions that keep things exciting on and off campus. Basically, the people are incredible, fun, and friendly, and by your senior year you have tons of lifelong friends. Yes, it's unfortunate that the tuition has gone up, but unfortunately that seems to be the asking price so to speak of all the private schools in that category. You can't knock PC for raising the price to its competitors. I just hope that the student demographic (genuine, generally intelligent and down to earth) doesn't change because of the price increase. Overall, great school.

Social Scene

Mostly all social events that involve drinking are off campus, which is nice because you get to get away from the school for a bit, and on campus there is also activities and random things going on. So its unique because you get to experience what it is like to live in a campus style school, as well as what it is like to be in a city style school.

Parietals

Providence College is extremely strict in several areas. To begin, they have absolutely no toleration for hard alcohol for anyone of any age. They is no partying on campus because they security guards and R.A's follow these rules so closely, which makes the student population go out off campus on friday and saturday nights. Besides this, at least for the dorm style buildings, they are a parietals rule, in that no one of the opposite gender may be in the dorms past midnight on weeknights and two a.m. on weekends. This makes it relatively difficult to hang out with mixed friend groups in girl/guy dorms. For all the girl freshman dorms, they have a security guard sitting at the dorm, just reinforcing this very strict policy.

Campus Living

The dorms at PC I would say are pretty average, but as freshman no body really knows a difference. It's not until sophmore year and higher that students are able to have a choice of living in an apartment or suite style building, which are wonderful. Although the cost is much higher, some provide full kitchens, and since the campus is relatively small, they are still in a convenient location to classes and dining areas on campus. The atmosphere in these suites and apartments is also very positive because you can fit more people in your room and hang out in common rooms, so it is much more fun.

So Much to Do... If You Take Advantage of It

The city is a short, free bus ride away. There is a mall, great restaurants, clubs, a performing arts center with fantastic plays. Problem is that many students much prefer the bars in the area right around the school and don't take advantage of the many other things there are to do.

People

Providence is a small city with a very youthful culture. This is a result of the many colleges that make up its population. It's mostly clean and the mall is fantastic. People of all different types are to be seen downtown, giving it a diverse feel for a New England town.

Buses Are Good

Since the campus is so small it's pretty easy to just walk to everywhere that you need to get to (classes, dorms, gym, etc...). And the public transportation system in Providence is really easy to work as well. As long as you know the schedule you can pretty much do anything you want.

Pretty Average

The freshmen dorms are freshmen dorms. And really you can't get anything good until Jr. and Sr. year. It's worth the wait but sophomore year the rooms can get small.

Typical College Food

While Providence doesn't have a ton of great places to eat around it does have a lot of cheap, open late places with a lot of options. Golden Crust and Big Tony's are two very popular places for PC students, especially for late night food. They are very close by and Golden Crust is so cheap. In downtown Providence by the mall, there is a Cheesecake Factory, a Fire and Ice, and an Uno's, all popular with students.

Off Campus Housing

Off campus houses offers students the perfect mix between living close to campus without being surrounded by people or RAs. High rental costs are balanced with trustworthy and negotiable landlords.

Dirty

The off-campus houses are disgusting and broken down. The only reason I can see for living in one would be to get away from parietals. Also the houses are not in a very safe area.

Everyone Looks the Same

Even though Providence College is has an overwhelmingly white population, somehow all of the white students just look the same. Comparable to a J. Crew ad.

Crowded at Crunch Times

On an average day, there will almost always be a computer open, but during midterms and finals it gets a little tricky. Most of the student body do have their own computers, but if you don't own one, it isn't a huge issue

Easy Public Transportation

Public transportation is so easy at PC. The bus stops right at the main gate on campus and takes you anywhere in Providence you need to be. It also stops right in front of the train station which makes it cheep and easy to catch a train to Boston, DC and anywhere in between. Plus, the bus is free with a student ID.

All Similar Looks

Good looking student body but everyone seems to reflect what they see others looking like on campus. A lot of Lax Bros and preppy girls but you do get the odd hipster...very rarely. I have hardly seen any overweight people on campus.

Varied

Off Campus there's many places to go such as Admiral Spa, Newport Creamery, La Salle, etc. But there's not many sit down places within walking distance. The best for a proper meal is either Federal Hill (RI's mini-Italy) where there's a plethora of Italian restaurants or downtown where you can find staples such as The Cheesecake Factory, Dave and Busters, Uno or little boutiquey restaurants on Thayer Street.

Night Life

There is never a dull moment at providence college. You will always find something to do.

Facilities

The facilities on campus are very comprehensive. We have everything we need right at our finger tips to achieve our academic and personal goals. Facilities range from a large library to athletic centers and clubs/ student run activities.

Costs Less Than on Campus--I'll Take It

Off-Campus housing is made up almost entirely of houses, as opposed to apartments. From the outside, the houses don't really look that, but almost all of them are very nicely done on the inside. They're very big, so you can live with alot of friends, making it even cheaper. Rent is about average, and much less than living on campus!