Academics

The teachers on campus are absolutely incredible. Throughout my three years at Centre, I have never had a teacher who was not incredibly passionate about their work. The professors at Centre really take a genuine interest in their students. The teachers here really try to know each student on an individual basis and help them in any way possible. The professors go out of their way to make sure each student has as many resources as they need to learn the material. Centre professors also come in during the evenings before exams and hold review study sessions. The dedication of the professors at Centre has far exceeded my expectations and is one of the qualities of Centre that I am most impressed with.

Athletics

Many students on campus participate in either varsity sports or intramurals. Varsity teams fair pretty well considering we are a D-III school and no one receives any financial support for participating. Although games are not central to social activities on campus, the men's basketball and soccer are usually well attended. In recent years, there has been a lot of success in swimming and diving, cross country, basketball, and soccer. IM sports are important to some people but not everyone. They do provide good motivation for team building or organizations. Even though the school is small, the overall sports scene is a huge part of Centre life. We don't offer extremely diverse sports, but we provide the opportunities for most main stream sports or people can form club sports teams.

Campus Dining

Food on campus has declined over the years, but the administration has been shopping around to make it better. There are basically three places to eat on campus: Cowan (the cafeteria), The Grille, and the Café. The Café is the place to go for fancy coffee drinks

Campus Housing

Dorms at Centre are dorms, plain and simple. The freshman men’s dorm, Nevin Hall, was renovated, and all buildings are in good shape overall. Considering my experiences at other schools, however, I would say with confidence that Centre’s dorms are well above average. Rooms are small but very manageable, and in many buildings bathrooms are shared with as few as four other students. Showers are hot, and water pressure is great. All buildings are well-kept and have nice lounge areas on the ground floor with a television and couches. If there are any dorms to avoid, I suppose they are Acheson and Caldwell. They are far from class buildings and could use renovation. However, the rooms are slightly larger, and the bathrooms have had recent renovation.

Campus Strictness

Drug use is very strict. If you get caught, you're gone from Centre. Drinking policies are more lax. You can't drink out of an original container, so people just put their drinks in cups or water bottles to carry around. They can't say it outright, but as long as you don't have an original container and aren’t acting completely belligerent, you won't get in trouble. Even if you do get in trouble, it's just with the campus’ Department of Public Safety who will probably fine you and give more consequences if you get caught again.

Computers

The network is great for saving papers and printing them elsewhere, or working on different computers with several different programs. The computer labs are crowded twice a semester: midterms and finals. Other than that, you can find a computer pretty much any time you need one. I brought my own laptop to Centre and found it very useful. I could take it to the library for group projects, take it home on the weekends, or take it awayon athletic trips. It is easy to get by without a computer at Centre, but having your own is certainly convenient.

Diversity

The campus is diverse in interests but not really ethnically. A majority of the campus are middle class, but that does not mean that everyone is rich. The college is relatively conservative since it is in the south, but there are a lot of liberals. We have a significant population of homosexuals and bisexuals.

Drug Scene

It's not really that big here. I mean there is a small percentage of people who smokes weed, but that's all based on who you hang out with really. It's not like there are druggies at every corner pressuring you into anything. We don't really have any hardcore drugs at school either. Most people just stick to drinking.

Facilities

All of the facilities are nice, well equipped, clean, and well staffed. The double-decker gym is huge. At my old school, the gym was a fifth of the size of the one at Centre, even though the school was three times the size of Centre. Everything on campus is very central, so if you want a snack while you're at the library, all you have to do is walk to the next building.

Greek Life

When I started college, I was anti-Greek, and I did not want to have anything to do with a sorority, but after my first semester, I realized that all of my really close upperclassmen friends were in one particular sorority, so I decided to do it because I really liked them. I am very glad that I did. It gave me opportunities that I would not otherwise have known about and allowed me to meet some of my best friends.

Guys & Girls

There is an old, sometimes ill-received joke at Centre: 90 percent of the girls in Kentucky are hot; the other 10 percent go to Centre. There is a grain of truth here, but it is, of course, a gross exaggeration. Centre girls, for the most part, are very genuine; the vanity found on mega-state-school campuses is largely absent, and that can be so refreshing after a night at UK or Penn State. Drop-dead gorgeous girls at Centre are about as rare as a solar eclipse, but at least they can count without using their fingers. Most girls are intelligent, intellectually challenging, and have no problem being themselves; it’s a place to meet your wife, but not your trophy wife.

Local Atmosphere

Danville is quite boring: a sleepy little town full of mullets. Although, it does offer us the 24-hour Huddle House, Wal-Mart, and Arby’s for when you get bored at 3 a.m. The thing about most Centre students is that they could care less about the town, because we never go into it. Mostly, we just stay on campus and make our own fun.

Nightlife

The social scene at Centre can get old fast, unless one learns to party creatively. When it comes to parties, there are essentially three options: Greek, off campus (less common), or small/personal. If you’ve seen one frat party, you’ve seen them all, so I say, go with number three, for the most part. The best thing is usually to pre-party, and this almost always means drink furiously with friends, and then go out. Although most frat parties suck, Centre is small enough to make going out and seeing people enjoyable. Of course, this all depends on your interests and definition of fun. If you like grinding and competing with loud music just to have civil conversation, Centre’s social scene is for you. If not, don’t worry, you are not alone, and other options are out there.

Off-Campus Dining

If you are used to a big city, you are in for a rude awakening. Danville has O'Charley's, Cracker Barrel, Applebee's, and about four Mexican restaurants called Guadalahara. You have to drive to get to all of them, but I mean they are only a five-minute drive at the most. There are also several fast food places within five minutes from campus.

Off-Campus Housing

Off-campus housing can be hard to get if you aren’t a junior, but the campus has many apartments near it, so yes, it’s worth it. Oh, and be prepared: buy rat, mice, and fly killer material (I have a cabinet full of these things) if you plan to live off campus.

Overall Experience

My overall experience has been wonderful. Everyone I have met at Centre is an incredible person. The students are extremely friendly, along with the faculty and staff. Centre has been a school that has not only met my academic needs, but also my social and environmental needs. Centre really gives students a feel of what it is like to live in a community of people that care about one another. Even though there are many diverse people and opinions on this campus, we are all able to come together to appreciate and celebrate in Centre.

Parking

Parking can be tough in some places, especially if construction is going on. However, you can usually find parking somewhere on campus, and the most you'll have to walk is five minutes to get wherever you need to go. Freshmen can bring a car, but the freshman parking is some of the toughest.

Safety & Security

Security’s always an issue, but we’ve never had any huge records of high crime. Yeah, there are things stolen, townies harassing the students, but we’ve never had a serial killer, to my knowledge. It’s just about being smart and knowing that the DPS officers are there for our benefit, not to haggle us. I think it’s nice to know they patrol the parties on the weekend, they’re willing to drive you across campus to your dorm or the school buildings if you’re feeling creeped out, that they’ll unlock your door if you get locked out, or help with an emergency involving a resident or fraternity/sorority sister/brother. I feel safe, more so than I do in my hometown.

Transportation

We don't really have a lot of public transportation. They did just start a bus system that goes near campus and takes you around Danville. Most people at Centre know someone who has a car, so we just ride around with each other when we need to go places. I don't have a car, and I've never had a problem going places.

Weather

We have all types of weather. The beginning of the school year and the end are really warm, even hot on days. You'll want shorts, skirts, tank tops—all those warm weather clothes. There are definitely some rainy days in the year, so it's good to have an umbrella on hand for getting to class. Rain boots are a good idea, too. In the winter, it can get pretty cold, so sweaters, long pants, warm coats, hats, and scarves are all definitely helpful.