User Profile

sashapiro

DePauw University '13
Majoring in English Language Studies
Member since 6/30/2011

Academics at DePauw University

B+

One of the Most Active Majors at Depauw

English Literature and English Composition are both extremely active majors on campus. Composition classes are engaging and normally full, so there are a lot of people offering ideas about your writing. Literature classes are led by some of the most intelligent faculty in the Midwest, including the foremost scholar on Jules Verne in North America (Dr. Art Evans). The English program attracts a number of prolific writers, most notably Jennifer Egan, author of A Visit from the Goon Squad. There are a number of ways for writers to get their writing published with two functioning journals at DePauw's campus.

Within the classroom, the curriculum is demanding. If it is a literature class, you will normally be required to read at least six books in their entirety during the course of the semester, with some classes demanding upwards of nine or ten. Most of these classes are discussion based, so you don't have to write a paper about every single one, but most classes involve about four papers and even some projects.

Despite the occasional irrational professor or poorly-timed assignment, the DePauw English program does an excellent job of preparing students for a demanding world.

As a side note, other English professors of note include Nic Pizzolato, author of Galveston, and Istvan Csicery-Ronay, an editor of DePauw's Science Fiction Studies Journal, a nationally respected publication.

Jun 30, 2011

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Campus Housing at DePauw University

B

Hit or Miss

The older dorms at DePauw, including Lucy-Rowland ("Lucy") and Hogate ("The Hoghetto") can have some serious issues at times. I'm a junior and at least four times during my time at DePauw pipes have burst during the winter due to students not completely shutting their windows. The climate control in all of the dorms works on a two fixed temperature system with minor control given to individual rooms. Essentially, it's going to be warm or cold in your room, so bring a blanket or some sleeping shorts.

On the whole, though, the dorms are as good as the people who live in them. While you may have issues with water temperature and fixtures being damaged, the dorm situation for freshmen is above average.

Dormitory housing for upperclassmen is considerably worse though. Several of these dorms are in need of significant repairs. as such, most upperclassmen try to get a duplex, a house, or into the illustrious Rector Village, a series of small apartment-style living units that were built in the early 2000s

Jun 30, 2011

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Off-Campus Housing at DePauw University

N/A

Non-Existent

This isn't trying to be funny or anything. Students at DePauw are required to live on campus. So don't worry about this at all.

Jun 30, 2011

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Academics at DePauw University

A-

Very Good for a Small School

The name DePauw goes pretty far in the Midwest, and you find pretty quickly that alumni are very eager to help other DePauw grads. This comes from a mutual respect for intelligence that DePauw people share.

The professors are, for the most part, gifted in their fields and very good at helping students. Notable faculty can be found on the DePauw wikipedia page.

Curriculum requires that each student take two science and math courses, two social science courses, and two humanities courses, all of which must be from different departments. While this sounds daunting, it really is not: most of these classes are entry level surveys that whet students' appetites for more.

Workload is above average and you'll find that most people stay busy through the year. In a given week, I had 150 pages of British literature to read, plus a report on Innocence Projects and two postings on Moodle that I had to do for my Jewish Writers class. DePauw demands a lot from its students, but the reward comes from knowing that the work being done is actually helping you. The typical weekly workload normally involves one test or quiz and reading for a class.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention Winter Term, or J-term. During the month of January, students can either take one of many interesting classes offered by faculty- anything from learning how to build a canoe and the science behind cooking to studying the apocalypse and the benefits of yoga- or they may take an opportunity to study abroad for a month. In addition to this, many students choose to create their own project. For example, I and two of my friends created our own video game: they, being computer science majors, focused on the coding, while I, a literature major, wrote the script. It was extremely rewarding and definitely helped pad my resume.

Popular areas of study include computer science, English composition, Chemistry and Bio Chemistry, and Economics.

Jun 30, 2011

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Health & Safety at DePauw University

B

You're Safe from Crime... Just Don't Get Sick

Crime is relatively unheard of at DePauw. Recently, people have been stealing laptops from unlocked rooms and study areas, but as long as you're smart about things, you'll be fine. I have no trouble walking alone across campus at two in the morning, nor do my female friends, provided you stay on campus. Again, just keep your doors locked and keep your eyes on your possessions.

The reason I give this a B is due to the Health part of the prompt. The DePauw wellness center, while well-meaning, is not the highest functioning medical center in the world. A number of times, they give generic medicines and are very hesitant about writing prescriptions for just about anything. What is worse is Putnam County Hospital, located about five minutes from campus. They are extremely good at treating alcohol-related illnesses. Other than that, you're seriously better off getting lifelined to Methodist in Indy. Several students I know who work as EMT in training have told me horror stories about some medical mess-ups made by the staff, so I would say proceed with caution.

Jun 30, 2011

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Campus Dining at DePauw University

A-

Unique Dining Options

The main dining halls for students are called The Hub and the Den. The Hub is the main area of campus for food and is located at the very center of campus. Options include a grill, a salad bar which doubles as a breakfast buffet for brunch, a chinese eatery and a Pizza Hut express. They also have some healthier organic choices, but it will put a dent in your meal plan fairly quickly. Just be mindful of what you buy. They even have sushi available and meals that you can microwave later in your room. I normally got a sausage egg and cheese biscuit in the morning, a chicken ceasar wrap with pears for lunch, and a sub for dinner from the best place in the world: the Den!

The Den is located in the basement of Longden Hall (yeah, that's right. you can live directly upstairs from food). The Den only serves hot and cold subs for lunch (with anything from buffalo chicken to BLT to humus wraps), but for dinner they offer a full kitchen, with options like chicken quesadillas, pastas, pizza, and even steaks and burgers. It's a really awesome place.

Vegetarian options would be rated about a 7/10. It can get repetitive, but you have some good options open to you.

Outside campus, you have to try Marvin's, the local greasy spoon. They are one of maybe 3 places in greencastle that stay open past midnight (the other being wendy's and taco bell). They deliver to your dorm and you can pay using your meal plan.

fast food places available (most only by car, unless you want to walk five-ten minutes both ways)- McDonalds, Wendy's, Long John Silvers, Pizza Hut, Dominoes, Taco Bell, Subway, Burger King.

Dining downtown consists of a mexican restaurant and two places well-known at DePauw: Treasures on the Square and Almost Home. Both are the closest to a home cooked meal you are going to get at DePauw

Jun 30, 2011

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