I went to St. Norbert College for my first year of undergraduate in 2007-2008. I only stayed for my first year of undergraduate, and three months into that I had made the decision to transfer elsewhere. The school has a new president, so maybe some good changes have been made, but I don't care enough to find out.
The school prides itself on being a more liberal-oriented Catholic school, which I believe and I believe that the faculty would be more vocal about some things if they weren't restricted by the strict guidelines of the Catholic church. Since I'm a liberal and an atheist, it was a very nice way of easing into understanding Catholicism. That said, I'm still both of those things at the end of the day.
The school campus is gorgeous: settled on the banks of the Fox River, there are few schools that can match the beauty that St. Norbert College can offer. Going out to the gazebo and studying on a cool autumn day was so nice and watching couples getting married at the church on campus and having their pictures taken on the docks in the spring was so fun to watch.
The academics, however, are something that's worth criticizing. The school is worth going to if you're A. loaded, and B. an education, communication arts, or business major. If you're not really any of these things, you can get a better and cheaper education elsewhere. The school cost ~$25,000 a year for tuition alone when I attended--there's no reason for that, especially when most of the graduates go on to work for companies like Schneider Trucking or other small companies that have alumni within the school. I've heard plenty of stories about people graduating and getting a job--but not one they wanted nor in their field of study.
I made some decent friends here that I hope to keep with me because they're just fantastic people, but like any other college--it's kind of difficult to gauge the people that go there because it changes every year and no two classes are really the same. However, when I attended, most of the people I met were upper middle class, white, Wisconsin-born/Chicago-born, Catholic, and really, really liked to party. Since it's in Nowheresville, De Pere, WI--that's not altogether too surprising. There's not a whole lot to offer here on the weekends so I can understand.
They guarantee you graduate in four years provided you follow the guidelines they set out, but--c'mon. Like any place, the time frame you get out depends on whether or not you've made up your mind in a manner that meets your goals.
Overall, SNC isn't a terrible school--it just wasn't for me. read more