Christopher Newport University Reviews of Bachelor's in Biology

"I cannot express this enough, please do not go to this school. Don’t be fooled by the pretty campus. I am currently a student at CNU and just finished up my freshman year and I simply cannot wait to transfer for a couple of reasons: The dorms are great... if your a plp or honors student. If you are in their president’s leadership program or honors program you get the beautiful dorms on campus right next to the library and other buildings. If you don’t know what your going study, you get shoved in slightly less pretty dorms with three or more people. If you don’t know what your major is you get stuck in one of the worst dorms I’ve ever seen with no less than 3 people. Honors and PLP also always get to choose first for housing as well so your always fed the scraps if your just a regular person trying to get a degree. Also dont expect to get to live on-campus unless you are in the Honors/President's Leadership Program because they don't have enough housing for even all of the sophmores sometimes! Choosing classes is a terrible system. They have EXTREMELY limited space. Seniors get to choose first then Juniors etc.. if your PLP or honors you get to choose a day before your piers. I have had to make 2 or 3 schedules only for all the classes to be taken up. You then have to stand in a very long line at the registers office to fight for classes your majoring in. They just refuse to put you in classes you need to take for that semester because they just want to keep the student teacher ratio low and that’s all fine and good but don’t accept that many people into the school if you cannot handle them. Getting books is also terrible. The bookstore has no book, not a single one in store. Although most people do buy them online, a lot of my professors want specific books that you can only get at the CNU bookstore. If you do order, it takes weeks to come because of the orders and half the time the professors don’t even tell you what books to get until the day of the test. The drinking culture is terrible ( which you may or may not like). I’m not a big fan myself. There’s little to no regulation with alcohol. I’ve seen mini fridges stocked with white claw in freshman dorms. There’s parties on Thursday nights and throughout the weekend. My roommate would come back wasted and wreaking of beer. This is especially obvious in Santoro ( the bad dorm). I swear there were cop cars every other night over there due to underaged drinking or smoking or pot which the halls always reek of. There are also a few minor things that just make like annoying: Your advisor your paired up with most likely knows nothing about your major or anything else outside their area of interest. I got paired up with a theater professor and I’m a biology major. Pay close attention to what you need to fulfill your degree because the academic advisors do not always know which classes you should be taking. The registers office only have two people so when you have to change classes, expect to wait an hour There is no diversity. It’s a very Caucasian campus. Parking is terrible if you are commuting from off-campus housing or even have a car There are only two dining halls to choose from, and the one with better food has crappy hours, especially on the weekends Everything is always under construction, there’s boarded off areas everywhere. There is NOTHING to do on the weekend, the campus is always dead and everyone is rather wasted or taking a trip home. I’ve seen students cry after Rush week because of the stress and don’t get me started on what the fraternities do for rush, it’s simply disgusting I know this sounds like a complete attack on the school and yes, I know many friends who do love the school but as someone who is paying for this kind of service, it’s just disappointed. If you want a small college in Virginia on the coast that has a decent party culture, go ahead, I really do hope you enjoy it, but for those who just want to get an education, please don’t waste your time"

"I believe Christopher Newport is a very safe and beautiful campus that offers students a great space to earn their education. I believe the only issue with Christopher Newport is their large emphasis to pursue professional schools such as law school and medical school because of its competitive nature. I believe this often is a disservice to other students, as their passions are often minimized because the prestige does not compare to higher level fields. Overall it is a great university for students to attend, and I recommend students pursue their passion and continue to question the establishment."

"I loved attending CNU for my undergraduate degree. It has not only allowed me to work at a local hospital, but it has prepared me for graduate school. I am currently enrolled in graduate school at Hampton University, where I am pursuing a Masters degree in Medical Science. My goal is to attend medical school and give back to my community by opening up a clinic in the rural and undeserved areas. This has always been a dream of mine and my dedication to the medical field can be shown in my 10 years working in the field at a local emergency room."

"Christopher Newport University was the best decision I had made when I was deciding where to go. The class sizes are small and professors take the time to get to know their students. All of the buildings are new and state of the art with many amazing features. It is an ever building campus, every year a new building is built."

"I loved my time at CNU. I felt the professors I had were interested not only in my success in the classroom but also life after college. I am currently a first year in a cell biology doctoral program and I feel the courses I took and research experience I have had prepared me, more than many of my peers, to be a successful scientist. It was challenging and also a lot of fun. Additionally, while I don't know from personal experience, my friends who were computer science, psychology and Spanish majors would say very similar things."