Villanova University, the oldest and largest
Catholic university in
Pennsylvania, was founded in 1842 by the
priests and brothers of the
Order of St. Augustine and offers a wide variety of degree programs through four
colleges: the College of
Liberal Arts and
Sciences, the College of
Commerce and
Finance, the College of
Engineering, and the College of
Nursing. Though dedicated to its
Augustinian heritage, Villanova welcomes students of all faiths.
Located in a suburban community 12 miles west of
Philadelphia, the picturesque 254-acre campus (designated in 1993 as a campus
arboretum) features more than 60 buildings, including a
library with more than 800,000 volumes, an 11,800 seat
stadium, state of the art
academic facilities, and 26
residence halls. Convenient transportation is also available, as
SEPTA has two train stations located on campus.
Villanova's more than 6,000
undergraduates come from 48 states plus
Puerto Rico and 52 foreign countries. Ninety-two percent of our first-year students ranked in the top 30 percent of their
high school classes. Don't let that fool you, though, most of the students are preppy,
abercrombie wearing,
upper-middle class white folk from
Pennsylvania or
New Jersey. One of the many derogatory nicknames is
Vanillanova, referring to the mostly white student population (another nickname:
Villanofun - a wholly undeserved name IMHO). It is a bit unfair to characterize the
university in this way, as there are lots of unique, good natured souls, but it is far from diverse.
There are 490 full-time faculty members, 90 percent of whom hold the highest degree in their field, teach classes that average 23 students. The student:faculty
ratio is 12:1.
Villanova features 24
NCAA Division I men's and women's
varsity sports teams, as well as A full range of athletic facilities. They are mostly known for their
Basketball team, which won the
NCAA Basketball Tournament in 1985 and the
NIT Tournament in 1994. The
football team went
undefeated a couple of years back, but they still aren't very popular on campus. I never figured out why.
There are also more than 130 campus organizations to immerse yourself in. Their
Orientation for new students is known to be one of the best in the country. Also notable is the Campus Activities Team, which runs events on campus ranging from
music concerts,
lecture series (recent notable speakers:
Toni Morrison and
Lech Walesa, former president of
Poland),
movie series, among many, many other activities.
US News and World Report recently ranked Villanova #1 for the 12th time.
For more information about Villanova, visit www.villanova.edu.