Wright State University (WSU)

Students attend Wright State University to “make the most out of their education at a reasonable cost.” Tuition here is “low,” but students don’t have to forfeit personal attention in order to save a little money. Students report that “Since it’s a smaller school, WSU affords the opportunity for individuals to get to know professors in even the largest lectures such as freshman chemistry and biology.” WSU’s faculty is “friendly and approachable, eager to assist and willing to accommodate” students as they negotiate a “challenging academic experience in which one must put forth effort to succeed.” WSU excels in a diverse range of academics fields. It boasts a “very strong theater program, nursing program, and engineering program,” and an “absolutely amazing” business and international education department (business professors are recruited “right out of local businesses, so there is a lot of real-life experience and it gives students connections with those businesses after they graduate”). Students tout focused programs such as “the anatomical gift program, which really allows students to learn more in-depth anatomy” and “a specialized program in the computer science department for bioinformatics…that sets the university apart from others academically.”

The Wright State student body encompasses many groups: “young, old, upper-class, middle-class, lower-class, some come from real farmland, others from urban areas.” There’s a large nontraditional student body as a result of “neighboring an Air Force Base.” “Military professionals and retirees” add to the mix of foreign students (who are “especially from India) and “parents going back to school.” Also, “WSU has a great disability center, which attracts disabled students from across the state.” Traditionally, “Most students are commuters, and this is unfortunate, but WSU is trying to get away from being a commuter school, as more and more campus housing is becoming available.” Until then, “The majority of students come to class and leave.” “As a result of this there is virtually no community at Wright State,” one student says.

“WSU is primarily a commuter school,” although “there is campus housing” to accommodate roughly one-fifth of the student body. As a result, “most students come to campus for class and then leave,” resulting in “not a lot of campus life.” The campus is hardly dead, however. “There are athletic events to attend, a movie theatre and mall less than five minutes from campus, our creative arts college frequently puts on shows, several bars close by (but none on campus), bowling alleys, parks, soccer and softball fields within ten minutes from campus, and the school’s Nutter Center host many concerts and events,” including games for the school’s “very much supported” men’s basketball team. There are party scenes focused on both off-campus residences and a small but robust Greek community, but students assure us that this is “by no means a party school.”