Report from Providence College!

Yucca and Dak, members of Providence’s invitation-only Friars’ Club, guided a colleague and me around the lovely campus, regaling us with anecdotes about their personal, academic, social, and athletic experiences. The main focus? Providence College is all about community and connection. We heard about it first from Associate Dean of Admissions Owen Bligh, then witnessed high-fives, hugs, greetings, and smiles all over campus. It’s no wonder that Providence is famous for offering the first integrated degree in Public and Community Service in the nation (major or minor) through the Feinstein Institute for Public Service.

A 37,000 square foot Science Complex will open in 2018-not only to accommodate Biology majors (Providence’s most popular) but for all students to complete the distinctive core curriculum: Development of Western Civilization. The DWC is anything but traditional, offering creative interdisciplinary courses, including one examining connections between Politics and Physics. Each Spring, research grants are presented to students in all fields. The new Arthur F. and Patricia Ryan Center for Business Studies offers flex classrooms and a lab equipped with Bloomberg terminals for tracking markets in real time.

Located in the largest city in the smallest state-Providence is the smallest school in Division I’s Big East. Lacrosse, hockey, and basketball draw huge crowds and 80% of students play intramurals.

Our Friars’ Club hosts told us about a Biology major Massachusetts General Hospital internship and other similarly impressive stories. Yucca, a senior, turned an internship at a DC non-profit into an opportunity to work for a previous Secretary of the Navy. He’ll be starting graduate school at Georgetown next fall.

It’s no surprise that Providence College received a record number of applications in 2017-18, dropping the acceptance rate to from 55% to 48%.