I started at Southeastern University during the Fall 2021 semester. I picked SEU to start with because my senior year of high school was during COVID year and my options were very limited.
The best thing: I was able to make really close-knit friendships while at SEU. it seemed like we all had each other's back of when it came to certain things.
The worse, there is a lot: The school has made philosophical ideas become so much, and taking things that are small into something huge, but that's not what today's world is. If you are apart of the LGBT community, SEU is LEGALLY able to discriminate against that population since they have a Title IX waver.
Chapel: Church should not be MANDATORY, but it is at SEU. If you live on campus, you MUST get 30 chapel credits per semester or you will be fined $25 per credit you don't have at the end of each semester. If you are a commuter, you have to get only 10 chapel credits per semester. Church should not be mandatory and charge you for missing a certain about of sessions.
Food: Cafe food is meh, it could be a lot better. There is a Chick-fil-A, Backyard Burger, Einstein's Bagels, Papa Johns, and a coffee shop on campus, but those are all extremely fast food restaurants and cost a lot of money. There is a meal exchange during the hours of Lunch, but they don't come with much; the Papa Johns one has the most value. The Cafe now has a lot of "plant-based" food and if you are a picky eater, you will have a hard time trying to find food you enjoy.
Degree: I study Hospitality at SEU, and it is probably the worse program SEU has to offer. The Whole Business department is the underfunded program of them all, and they are not doing anything to prepare those for jobs. They barely have any good relationships with businesses to offer internships, they have unqualified professors teaching very important business classes (Ex: A legal studies professor is teaching Intro to Accounting this fall). SEU has made their "Zero tolerance on drugs and alcohol" so strict that a Restaurant Management class has to leave all of the drinks side of the class out of it. How does that help students prep for class? Simple, it doesn't. Also, SEU has a hidden requirement of you HAVE to get 40 community service hours before graduation. The business department has NOTHING, ZERO built into their programs to get you hours as early as freshmen year. You are forced to join a club that gives hours to earn them in time. If you get too busy to join the club due to assignments, you have to make time in your schedule in order to complete them in time.
Staff: It was a hit or miss for staff. Some were nice while others were not. I had a hard time with financial services as they never picked up the phone and never gave a straight answer for questions regarding the bill. You also had to watch for time because all of the offices closed at 4:30pm each day. If you arrived at 4:31pm, you were out of luck. Mail room line sometimes went out the door because they don't have the parcel lockers to pick up small packages; all packages had to be picked up at the mail room counter. Professors we're also a hit or miss as well. I had some great professors while at times I had not so good professors. I had to withdraw from a class because the professor was terrible.
Dorms: ZERO dorms on campus have kitchens and they are extremely strict with housing policies. The freshmen dorms are a closet, so small that they are bunk beds that you cannot unbunk because there would be no space in the room. All dorms are separate by gender. If you live on campus, you are forced to get a meal plan. If you have ADA accommodations and/or extreme dietary restrictions, it is best to live off campus in a place where you can get a kitchen to prevent you from having anything bad happen to you.
At this time, I have left SEU and transferred to a different college that has a better program for Hospitality and overall has a better philosophy of certain topics. Church is completely optional. Food in the cafe is decent. Professors and Staff are amazing and are wanting to get to know you better. I am having a better experience at my college now than I had at SEU. read more