University of Saint Mary (KS) (USM)

The University of Saint Mary is a tiny liberal arts school rooted in Catholic tradition. In addition to offering thirty majors and plentiful “unique leadership opportunities,” students find that there are “many resources available.” Advisors “make sure the students are well taken care of,” and there’s “free tutoring on campus and online as well as skill shops to strengthen learning skills.” Overall, the school “emphasizes faith and strong core values,” ensuring students “are all very eager to learn and always seem to be engaged in the courses they are enrolled in.”

An eleven-to-one student-to-faculty ratio means there’s “a lot of face time for all students” with professors who create a “positive classroom environment.” Faculty “are willing to help outside of class” and are “very personal and great at what they do.” One student says, “Every teacher feels like a person I can reach out to at any hour for class help.” They also “try to incorporate more innovative learning techniques,” including “field trips, group projects,” “trips to businesses, and guest lectures.” Classes also feature “a lot of interactive open debates … that encourage learning.”

This is a “small community of students working towards excellence both inside and outside the classroom.” In either setting, they are “very helpful, outgoing, and always trying to achieve the best”—and of course that extends to their sporting events: they “love to support one another at our games.” With “a diverse student body for such a small school,” a lot of people “come from out of state and far away from home” (less than half of the school is from Kansas). As one student describes, “Everyone is from different backgrounds but somehow found themselves at a small school in Kansas.” They make up a “very social” campus that “is friendly and understanding of all lifestyles and perspectives on life,” which makes for “a good vibe to be around.”

The school requires all students to live on campus until their junior year, but “living on campus is great.” One student says, “There’s almost always something to do, whether it’s watching a team sport or attending some sort of presentation.” And speaking of sports, “athletics tend to bring everyone together.” Some people practice in the morning, and “then everyone is going to classes … during the day.” And while most students on this “truly beautiful” campus “fill their days with studies, sports, and/or working,” other campus happenings include “events in the library and cafeteria that often include t-shirt giveaways or free food.” Off-campus opportunities vary since Saint Mary is in a small town. “But most students don’t ‘go out’ to Leavenworth,” tending instead to head to downtown Kansas City, “which is only a thirty-minute drive.”