I know that it’s not possible for a school to be perfect for everyone.  And I know not everyone is going to love the same things, but there are so many things to love about Villanova; it’s hard to understand why some people disagree.  

    I’d like to start with one of the Villanova stereotypes: Everyone dresses preppy.  I think this is better translated to “more people dress nicely here than at other colleges.” Personally, this is one aspect of this school that I’ve grown to love because it’s really refreshing to see students who cares about how they present themselves to each other.  And people definitely do tone it down on the weekends—I’ve been to the Spit in pajama pants on more than one Saturday morning (and I wasn’t alone).  So what if Villanova students dress up?  There’s nothing wrong with wanting to try a little for class.  

    People may not think about this one as often, but location!  Villanova is actually unique in that it is in an affluent as well as central location.  Many of the top schools in the US are in dangerous neighborhoods or bad parts of cities, but Villanova sits proudly on the Main Line and only fifteen minutes from Philadelphia.  Both of Villanova’s neighboring towns, Bryn Mawr and Wayne, are home to countless stores and restaurants that Villanova students use all the time.  

    And maybe even more importantly, we’re only 15 minutes away from one of the biggest malls in America.  King of Prussia is so large that we probably would’ve been fine without everything Bryn Mawr and Wayne have to offer, but we get the best of everything, and all in a safe neighborhood too.  

    Not only have I never felt unsafe, but I’ve never felt trapped in a “college bubble” either.  If I’m craving Chipotle, it’s 10 minutes down Lancaster.  If I want to see a movie, it’s 10 minutes down Lancaster. 

    If I want to go even further than the surrounding neighborhoods, there are two train stations on campus that would be happy to help me with that.  Villanova couldn’t be in a more perfect location in Pennsylvania.  

   This one may be more debatable, but one of the best things about Villanova is its size.  With just under 7,000 undergraduate students, there will always be new people to meet in addition to the familiar faces.  I’ve only been here for four months, but everywhere I go on campus, I see somebody I know in a crowd of people I’ve yet to meet. I think it would be pretty lonely to have to walk through campus all day and not recognize anyone, like a lot of my state school friends describe as their daily routines. 

     And on the other side of that, it could be kind of sad to know you’ve met everyone there is to meet at a really small school. It’s exciting to know that you may not have even met your best friend here yet, or your future roommate, etc.  Another plus to the size of this campus is that it is possible to walk everywhere.  

    Depending on your walking speed (and your luck at the crosswalk), you could get from the furthest side of West Campus to the furthest side of South Campus in around 30 minutes. 

    There’s no hassle of having to take trains or buses to other campuses and I think this is a big part of why Villanova has such a great reputation for community; it’s hard to have a close community at a school where you have to take a bus to see your friend from the same school.  

        Speaking of community… community!  Why is there such an air of kindness and generosity at Villanova?  

       It’s not like there was a question on our applications that asked if we hold doors (under any and every circumstance), and yet that’s just how the students are.  One time I was passing the mailroom and I saw a very small girl struggling to carry a box that was almost as large as her.  

    The guy leaving the mailroom behind her ran up and told her to carry his box instead and he would take hers back to her dorm—they were definitely strangers, too. 

    I remember thinking I never would have seen that happen in my high school or hometown and I was now at a magical place where all the good people left in the world gather to study.  

   Freshman Kristen Michael says her favorite thing about Villanova is the community because “we all strive to do our best and look out for each other,” which I definitely think is true. 

     A lot of students here may take this sense of community for granted just because they don’t know anything else. 

    But, there really is something special about the student body at Villanova, something that other schools don’t have, and every day I’m so glad I chose to come here and be a part of it.