Western Carolina University
 

Does anyone know about this university? They have a Master's program that I am VERY interested in. I know they aren't ivy!

Also, if anyone knows, is admission to their grad programs extremely competitive?

I guess I'm looking more for a comparison...for example, I know UGA. How does WCU compare to UGA?

I know some friends who did grad work at WCU...it's a small school in a remote area. Not much at all going on in that part of the world. Most people I knew did not enjoy their time there, just glad they got a degree. It's not widely regarded as a "good" school within the state either.

I went to UGA and I can't imagine that WCU would come close to anything like your experience there.
Hope that helps a bit, maybe someone else knows more.

I'm with Speechpath. WCU competes in the same conference as Elon in sports, but I've never visited over there. My uncle went there for a semester and hated. I've heard nothing but negative things about WCU.

What program are you looking at?

Just chiming in to agree with Speechpath. It's a small school in the middle of nowhere in the mountains of NC. It is not one of the better state schools in North Carolina.

Also, for what it's worth, I've heard that because it's in such a remote location, they have a lot of problems with binge drinking and partying.

I'm pretty sure there's someone from GC who goes there, either an AXO or AXiD.

I would say UGA is definitely leaps and bounds over WCU academically.

I went to Western! Feel free to PM me! :) There's also another GCer (carebearwcu) that's currently an Alpha Chi there, and there's an Alpha Xi on here too (AXiBeBe or something).

Yes, there is LOTS of drinking and partying, as there is nothing else to do in the mountains. I swear -- it's like going back in time twenty years. But the administration is trying to do away with that, esp. now that most of the fraternities have chosen to live in the new on-campus Greek Village.

Not everybody is going to give it a negative review, either. I had a great time there as an undergrad. It just depends on your personality.

I think Western's reputation has improved in the past several years. I've heard from some people that it isn't a very good school, and I've heard from other people that it's a great school. It just depends on the program. I know that my undergrad degree program in Business Admin & Law is the only one in the state, and it's an excellent program. It IS in the NC university system, which makes it as good of or even a better school than some of the top schools in other states.

UGA is definitely academically superior to WCU. However, I'm sure tuition at Western will be way lower, since Western has the lowest public school tuition in the state of NC.

ETA: The campus is BEAUTIFUL! I had a friend from back home visit another friend of ours at Carolina, and she was pissed when he told her that my campus was way prettier. :)

ETFA: In addition to trying to clean up the drinking environment, the administration is really stepping up their efforts to "raise the bar" acadmically, as they have been since I started there in '97. They currently have the only graduate program in Entrepreneurship in the country, which is being used as a model for many other schools, and I know that they beat some other top schools (such as Harvard) in a recent entrepreneurship competition.

I just did some brief research and found that it is very similar to East Carolina. I'm also thinking that the grad side will not be as rowdy as the undergrad side!!

Besides, I'm in SEMINARY right now! LOL! There will be no partying going on.

For those who were wondering, I'm looking at the M.A. in American History, Cherokee Studies Track

(http://www.wcu.edu/cherokeestudies/index.html)

I don't want to leave the east coast and this is the only school that provides eastern Cherokee language through fluency!!! Cherokee studies is my dream come true. :) Plus the fact that the people I worked with as an undergrad were from the Eastern Band - plus I visited the Snowbird Reservation and had the honor of meeting some of the elders.

I just about cried when I saw this website because MY OWN FAMILY is somewhere among the Eastern Band. I just have to find them. We got separate during the Trail Where They Cried.

I think if you're looking for something that's going to be anything like UGA, Western Carolina is not it. BUT, I do have 3 friends who went there and they loved it. I went to USC, though, and the one friend cannot understand why my world stops on a home game day (like there's anything to UNDERSTAND!) I think if you're looking for something in a remote area in the mountains, and you'll just stay away from the partying that goes on, than go for it. Just trying to give another positive response (not that I'd go there... it's not for me) so AXiD is not alone. I'd go up there and look around, though, and see if you like it.

One reason why I chose Western was b/c I knew I would experience a different way of life. Growing up on the beach I LOVED vacationing in the mountains, so college was like a really long vacation! ;)

But yes, Cullowhee is about ten minutes from Sylva, and all there is in Sylva is a brew-through and a Wal-Mart. :p Well, not completely all. There are a few gas stations and some fast-food restaurants too. Haha, seriously though, there are lots of great little shops/restaurants/other businesses that are out-of-the-way; you really have to know where they are to find them when you first get up there. You will definitely be exposed to Appalachian culture if that's something that interests you.

And of course, as I mentioned in my PM, Cherokee is about 15-20 minutes away, and the casino is a big draw for many people.

Western is definitely NOT a big football school, but there are a few of us who do get excited about game day (and I'm one of them! :) ). But I was in marching band, so that comes w/ the territory.

I graduated in '02 with a BSBA in Computer Information Systems from WCU. Like all schools you'll find your pluses and minuses to both the school, the area it's located, and the individual program. Western is definitely an isolated university; Asheville is the closest city at about a 40min drive. So if you require a big city night life for partying and such then you should look otherwise. If you love the mountains and the outdoors and such then it's a great choice.

At any rate, I knew of some people from other classes that were involved with the Cherokee program. Everyone seemed to love the professors and where else should you learn about the Cherokee Nation than in Cherokee. The professors tend to load up on papers but from what I heard they were all generally incredibly short at 5-7 pages. The bad thing is that I'm sure there are lots of them. The only negative thing I ever heard was that mid-way through the semester it gets boring driving to the Reservation where lots of the classes are taught. Otherwise it’s supposed to be an awesome program that is getting quite a bit of traction and attention from other universities.

Mike

Mike - thanks for the information!! I wanted to say, for the record, that I'm the Coordinator for Writing and Research in the Academic Success Center at Nyack College. I'm also teaching a writing course this fall at the College. I LOVE writing! So this really appeals to me.

To all posters: Thank you so much for the quick responses! You've actually convinced me that, at this point, this university is a good fit for me. Of course, as suggested, I'll be visiting...and of course there's the matter of me getting in!