Alvernia University
Alvernia University (visited 5/27/21)
Alvernia is a lovely little campus tucked away on the outskirts of Reading and often overlooked. Students looking for a moderately selective, affordable, Catholic (Franciscan) University where they won’t get lost should take a look at this one.
Currently with 1500 undergrads (and another almost 1500 grad students), they’ve been expanding. “We’ve seen lots of growth but remaining true to core values of the university. We’ve been growing so much that we’re trying to add a sport and a major every year.” They pull about 30% of their students from outside Pennsylvania (the majority of OOS students come from NJ, MD, NY, and DE). Not surprising for a smaller Liberal Arts institution, they skew slightly higher female (55%); they’re doing a decent job with ethnic diversity with 34% of students self-identifying as BIPOC. They’re also relatively religiously diverse: “Most students don’t identify as Catholic or even any religion.” However, as a Catholic institution, they do require 1 philosophy and 1 theology class as part of their Core: “the Theology class is geared more towards the history and background of Catholicism. We aren’t trying to indoctrinate people.”
As part of the Franciscan Heritage that involves community outreach, they’re doing what they can to integrate the university into the larger Reading and Berks County communities. “We’re fulfilling our mission by returning downtown and uplifting the city.” Berks County Residents with a 3.5 GPA get scholarships worth up to 25K a year (scholarships for other students are worth $18-24K) with an additional $1000 for Catholic High School students or siblings. They’ve also recently built Reading CollegeTowne that will house classes and resources for the business and engineering degrees. Phase 2 will increase resources for the Health Sciences where they plan to include a whole floor for clinicals. “We see this as a Student-centered, entrepreneurial direction for the university that will increase the experiential learning opportunities.” Housing will be similar to LLCs and include apartment-style living for upperclassmen.
About 80% of freshman live on campus; 66% stay all 4 years. Housing is guaranteed but not required after the first year, not surprising since they rank in top 10% for 2021 Best College Dorms in the country Options include traditional, suites, apts, PODS, and townhouses. However, students say, “Parking isn’t the greatest! If you don’t find one early in the morning, it’s harder and you may need to walk more.” The upside is that parking is free. Shuttles also run around campus every 15 minutes.
Almost half of the undergrads are athletes. “We’re pretty heavy on sports here,” said the rep. They just added eSports (the only “athletic” team that gives scholarships since Alvernia is DIII). They just added women’s bowling, triathlon, wrestling, and will be adding crew at some point. The equestrian team is varsity and practices about 20 minutes away. Basketball is the big sport that draws crowds (there’s no football yet); their rival is Albright (also located in Reading). One of their big traditions is the Gold and Maroon night when the 2 play.
For a school this size, they have an impressive array of academic offerings; they tend to be a big more Health Care and STEM heavy but that’s not the entirety of it! Some of their programs worth mentioning are:
- Accelerated 6-year Doctor of Physical Therapy
- Addictions and Mental Health Treatment
- Athletic Training (including a 5-year accelerated Masters Program).
- Biology-Medical Lab Science
- Community and Environmental Sustainability (minor)
- Engineering (Industrial, Mechanical, or Electrical)
- 5-year MBA option
- Digital Media Marketing
- Accelerated 3+3 MA in Clinical Counseling
- Criminal Justice Administration
- 5-year OT and PA programs
Their PLEX building (both recreation and academic spaces) is one of their newer facilities. “It’s a really awesome space.” Many of the Health Science classes are here, including 4 virtual cadaver labs. Their competition level track, courts, and other rec spaces.
© 2022
campus encounters 