University of Cincinnati
College review by Lisa Bleich
University of Cincinnati (UC) surprised me by its beautiful and compact, yet expansive campus. While the campus is right in the heart of the city, it is a self-contained campus built on multiple levels with interesting architecture and a fair amount of open, green space. UC converted the campus from a strictly urban campus to a pedestrian campus several years ago. Freshmen are divided into 20-25 learning communities where they work on projects for the entire year. These two initiatives have increased retention and made the campus feel more like a community.
UC is best known for its outstanding College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP), health sciences, engineering, information technology and business programs. All students must participate in experiential learning, which can include undergraduate research, coops, community service or study abroad. Many majors include a robust Coop program integrating paid coop (on average $8,000 per coop) positions into the education. As a result, many of the programs are five years long including a year of paid work experience.
UC houses an impressive sports and recreation facility with its football stadium right on campus. We saw some non-athletes practicing their football moves on the turf field right in the center of campus. The students we met were practical, no-nonsense, down-to-earth, urban, and professional in their demeanor. We met, John who is majoring in physical therapy and he had transferred to UC from Ohio State, which was too big! (It’s all relative since UC has 22,000+ undergraduate students!). He loved the spirit of the campus and the great opportunities. He and a fellow PT student felt as if UC prepared them very well for PT graduate school. Another student was majoring in nursing and she had a great experience pairing up with a nurse preceptor who let her follow her schedule for a semester and experience what it is like to be a nurse. Finally, we met a student in the business honors program. He participated in three service trips to South and Central America as well as an honors seminar in Paris.
Admissions
UC admits by major, so if you only want one specific major put it down three times in the options or you risk getting into your third choice major. On average, accepted students have a 3.44 unweighted GPA with a 22-28 ACT or 1000-1280 SAT in the critical reading and math. The individual school handles admissions separately such as CCM, DAAP, Nursing and Business. The acceptance rate for CCM is largely based on talent as well as academics. CCM claims to have the most graduates on Broadway! For nursing, admissions wants to see evidence that students know where they are headed through volunteer work in the medical field. It is important to understand what nursing is about and have a compelling reason why it attracts you. On average the nursing students have a 3.0 GPA with an ACT in the low 20’s or SATs 1000+ (CR/M) and strong math scores in classes and standardized tests. Admission to DAAP is based on grades and test scores, no portfolio is required, but on average they look for a 3.3 GPA and 26+ ACT.
Summary
UC is an outstanding option for students who know what they want to major in and want a vibrant campus with a lot of options for real-world experience.
University of Cincinnati
2600 Clifton Ave
Cincinnati, OH 45220
(513) 556-6000
Photo gallery for University of Cincinnati
