Immaculata’s Small Size Helps You Achieve Big

Picture yourself walking into a classroom on your first day of school and sitting down surrounded by 200 other students. Imagine waking up an hour and a half before class because your classroom is literally a mile away from your dorm. This was my experience in my first year of school, and I found it to be a bit intimidating and difficult to thrive in a bigger university. I found myself at a crossroads of staying at my big school or trying to find a new place to pursue an education. Luckily, Immaculata reached out to me, and when I transferred, I realized how much this school has to offer. Immaculata’s small size helps you think, aim and achieve big.

As a freshman, I decided that I wanted to go to a well-known school. I was interested in the opportunities living in a new city brought. I had moved from Baltimore to Philly and found a great group of friends pretty quickly. I found the “journey” around my new campus to be fun and satisfying to my eye. I enjoyed all of the packed sporting events and opportunities of a Division 1 school. The social life was great, and there were parties and other fun activities for kids my age to participate in. These were all of the big draws of my year one university, but if you hadn’t noticed, I did not really consider the academic aspects that matter to me now.

I quickly found myself falling behind for various reasons. I had picked my classes on my own after a mass email was sent from an advisor that I had never met. I had no clue what I had signed myself up for and discovered that when I fell behind, I was just one student in an ocean of other students. I could not schedule time with my professors because there were always 90 other students ahead of me. I ended up missing classes because doors locked at the start of class, and I was coming from a mile away during my 15-minute grace period between classes. I also have severe ADHD and did not realize the school didn’t offer additional resources for students who may need extra help.

When I had finished a semester, I decided it was time to look elsewhere. To my surprise, I got an email from the head basketball coach at Immaculata University, in which he expressed interest in my attendance at the school. After a little bit of contact with the school, I decided I would walk through the campus, and what I found was almost like a haven in comparison to my first school. The first thing I noticed was that there was a learning center for kids with disabilities, which has been an amazing experience for me. I was also taken aback when I saw this school really takes a chance on whoever decides to do the same for them. I came in with a low GPA, two years of not playing basketball and no real proof that I could find motivation within Immaculata. Not many schools would put you on their athletic teams, provide academic support and most importantly, give you an advisor who cares. Having an advisor who actually cares about my path as a student has been extremely helpful.

The campus itself has also been an extremely positive difference for me since transferring. As mentioned earlier, I struggled making all of my classes because of the distance between them. Here at Immaculata, it is physically impossible not to get to class on time, because all of the buildings are right next to each other! The class sizes are small enough that I am able to develop relationships with my peers and more importantly, my professors. I’ve now been here for two years, formed great friendships and found connections that can improve my future life. Our career center has made sure to provide me with the tools I need to find an internship, which is an important and competitive part of our later years in college. I have professors who have helped me create a LinkedIn profile, classes that offer opportunities to develop a digital portfolio and an overall campus that is tailored to each student’s dream.

Immaculata truly sets itself apart from other schools because of the willingness and dedication it possesses to find each of its students an opportunity after graduation. Everyone has certain expectations of what they want from a school, whether it be social life, academics, career development or any other options a college should offer. Immaculata has turned me from an unmotivated student to a confident, productive and explorative person. There are not many schools out there that let you bet on yourself and then make an extraordinary effort to guide and assist you in the way that Immaculata does for you.