King's College (PA) (KC)

Tiny, Catholic King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania offers small class sizes, “hands-on laboratory work,� an “Honors program core that revolves around discussion,� and “many helpful places on campus for individuals in need of any type of assistance.� Everyone at King’s “is helpful and mindful with any problems that a student is facing,� and students rave about “how committed staff is to one-on-one assistance and learning opportunities.� The physician assistant, nursing, and engineering programs are standouts, but almost all majors boast a high job placement rate and plenty of notable alumni; King’s has a great career planning department, “especially for accounting majors.� The school has “so many recruiters coming onto campus to interview for internships or full-time positions,� with a goal for students “to have a full-time offer before starting [their] senior year.�

Professors are “outstanding,� “typically resourceful,� relate material to “how the real world works,� and “are always making sure the students know about their office hours.� They teach “how to think beyond the information that is laid out in the textbook,� “are down to earth and like what they do,� and “are active in seeking out students who need help.� Classes are structured with a “flexibility that gets you ready for the professional world,� and some classes are service-based and have students “go out into the community and help them instead of just learning about it in class.�

At King’s, students “overall care about their academics and putting happiness before everything.� Every student “seems committed to studies and doing the best that they possibly can.� The Catholic mission is apparent, and everyone here is “accepting and welcoming to fellow students who come from diverse, multicultural, and differing backgrounds.� Many students here are commuters, so the library acts as a de facto hangout spot, as does the campus game room (which has pool and table tennis), but fear not: “There are many commuters that participate in after-school activities and are very involved in multiple clubs on campus.� At King’s, “people have their close friends groups,� which “usually come from sharing the same sports or the same major.�

The King’s College atmosphere is apparent from the moment you set foot at the school: everyone is “so welcoming and friendly,� and it makes the college “feel like a home away from home.� Students say the campus, located “in a nice part of Wilkes-Barre,� gives people “the city feel they want� while still being in close proximity to “endless hiking trails and lakes.� King’s is a fairly small school “so it is easy to make friends the first few days,� and most days are filled with “going to get food with friends, work, classes, homework, and then extra activities.� “Weekend activities are slim to none,� so students usually just visit friends. “It can get boring at times on campus so we go off campus to find stuff to do,� admits a student. Typically after class, most people “have either practice or work, then dinner, then a good amount of students will spend time studying/doing homework for the remainder of the night.�