acuradude

Basketball Is King

Basketball is by far the most popular sport at LRC. The team is usually a contender and is relatively well-followed by most. For years, the team was guided by Coach Lang, who went above and beyond as both a coach and a character builder. He passed away unexpectedly in 2010 but will forever be remembered as one of the best in the business.

The school also has baseball, soccer, volleyball, and a few other teams. There is no football team. Although there are plenty of varsity sports, intramurals are nearly impossible to come by. The school used to offer an elective course in basketball but it disappeared in recent years.

There is one gym on campus, shared by athletes and non-athletes. It may not be large, but it offers just about anything you could want, from free weights and machines (for lifters) to cardio machines (a few each of bikes, treadmills, and ellipticals). A large portion of the campus works out; you'll almost always find folks you know when you hit the gym. There are no fees involved and the gym is open exclusively to LRC students and faculty. If you like to run, there is an indoor track. Sadly, the school does not offer a pool.

Athletic facilities are either directly on campus or adjacent to it (in the case of the soccer field and baseball fields). They're pretty comparable to a mid-size high school in terms of seating.

50% Commuter Population Can't Be Wrong

I'm going to refrain from assigning a grade here, as I did not live in an apartment (I commuted from my house, about 2 miles away), but will say about half the school is made up of commuters.

There is one apartment complex directly across the street from the school. This is the only complex in walking distance from LRC. Several other apartment plans dot the area. Choose one on McKnight Road if you are counting on public busing.

There is really no advantage to living on or off campus at LRC provided you live reasonably close to the school. I found myself reasonably involved in various activities while commuting from home, which is common--you'll find a lot of students from Ross, McCandless, Hampton, and Shaler, among other areas in the northern suburbs, who save a lot of money on housing by commuting.

I've heard mixed reviews of the dorms. I was rarely in the buildings over my years at LRC and cannot give a good, accurate review of them nor can I compare living in one to off-campus housing.

The North Hills of Pittsburgh is considered a safe area in general. Use common sense (lock your doors, don't let strangers in) and you should be fine. If there is a problem, the local police forces are excellent no matter which township you live in.

Greek Organizations = Honors Societies

If you ask people at LRC about their Greek organizations, they'll tell you they are in one for their major (such as Psi Chi or Kappa Delta Epsilon). There are no Greek houses, Greek parties, or anything of the like. The Greek groups usually center around academics and service. I recommend joining one if you meet the criteria (usually GPA-based), as it offers networking and career advancement.

Mostly Good

I'll tackle these one at a time:

Library: Renovated in 2010, the library is one of the school's strengths. They have a good selection of periodicals, access to several online databases, a decent selection of books, and tons of study space (both quiet areas and public areas for group review). The librarians are all very helpful. They could use more computers in the library, so if you have a laptop, bring it with you. If you can't find a book at the college library, there is a public library about a mile up the road, which is quite large.

Gym: The workout area isn't huge, but it has pretty much any weight training equipment (free weights and machines) and cardio machine you could want. It's free of charge to use and is extremely popular. There's an indoor track but no pool. The basketball court, soccer field, and baseball field are open to anyone as long as there isn't a game or practice going on.

Student Center: The largest common area is directly outside the cafeteria and take out restaurant. They have a few tables, booths, and couches. The area really isn't that big and is difficult to use as a commons if there is something going on there. Students are permitted to use the piano in this area. There had been a chess set, but I didn't see it there on my last visit. There is a single television in this area which often goes unwatched.

Chapel: The chapel on campus is nice, but if you're not Roman Catholic, you're going to feel pretty much out of place. The school does offer mass and has its own campus minister.

Computer Labs: These have long been a weakness of the school. The machines are frequently broken, the labs themselves have climate control issues, and overcrowding in the labs is extremely common. If you know your way around you can find an alternate lab to use (provided it's not occupied by a class). Most labs have Windows PCs (there is one with Macs) loaded with MS Office and programs used in classes.

Aesthetics: I attended LRC for five years and saw a dramatic improvement in this area over my time there. The school genuinely cares about its upkeep and has made huge strides in beautifying the campus. It may not be all that interesting from an architectural standpoint, but you'll find a few visual delights if you take a walk around campus.

Pleased in General

If I were to do things over, I'd probably pick LRC again if I were majoring in one of their programs.

Most of my professors were excellent and offered one-on-one help if needed. The programs themselves were rigorous yet good. I feel prepared for my profession as a result of what I experienced at school.

There were a few professors who dragged down my overall experience thanks to poor teaching practices, dishonesty, and demeaning comments towards students. Thankfully, the school does read its evaluations and two of those four professors are now gone.

I found many of the organizations to be enjoyable. I only wound up leaving one club out of the four I was involved in. I do, however, wish they had more of a music program. (There are enough opportunities off campus if you play an instrument or sing, but few, if any, at the school).

The lack of a music program was the biggest drawback for me and would be the reason I may pick another school if I were to re-do everything. However, you can't find a better location for a college and given the proximity of my residence to the school, I found the convenience, combined with the other positive aspects of LRC, to be highly instrumental in selecting the college in the first place.