I spend a lot of time on this blog talking about the application review process and how we as an admission staff really work to make the process as personal as possible. And that personalization is something that carries over to the PC experience once a student enrolls on our campus, both inside and outside of the classroom.

There are many factors to consider when choosing an institution to spend your next four years at, but I hope that academics will play a major role in your ultimate decision. And as we talk about academics at PC, we definitely need to talk about our faculty members. There are a number of stats that I can throw at you about our faculty (such as... over 90% have the terminal degree in their field) and class sizes (the average class at PC is 22 students and the student to faculty ratio is 12:1 - I couldn't help it... I like stats!), but I think one of the most important things for you to know about our professors is that they are extremely accessible to their students. Obviously, having small classes helps with that - it's a lot easier for professors to learn their students' names in a class of 15 than it is in a class of 150.

But I think it goes well beyond the small class sizes... When I was a student at PC, I found that my professors were truly interested in my academic success and also what I was looking to do after graduation. The best way I can describe the student-faculty relationship here at PC is like this: first and foremost, PC professors are here to teach and work with undergraduate students. Yes, they are doing the other things that all professors at all schools do - writing books, conducting research projects, etc... but their main focus is on teaching. And by the way, when faculty members are working on research projects, much of the time they are collaborating with undergraduate students! For me, the faculty's dedication to student success really made PC's education stand out.

I remember on my own Day Visit experience (8 years ago when I was a senior in high school - yikes!), sitting in on two classes and in both cases staying after the class had ended to chat with the professor about my interests for a few minutes. It had a big impact on me then as a prospective student - these professors were taking the time to talk with me and I wasn't even a PC student yet!

My own relationships with faculty members only grew stronger from there, and to this day I am still in frequent contact with a number of my professors, especially the English professors who I spent a lot of time with as an English major. But don't just take my word for it - look at what our student bloggers have to say about their classes... check out our faculty profiles on our Teaching That Transforms web pages... and most importantly, come to campus and meet our professors for yourselves! To our seniors who will be visiting campus through our Day Visit program: ask your Admission Ambassador host to introduce you to their professor after class and spend a few minutes asking that professor any questions you might have about your potential academic interests. To our seniors who have been accepted Early Action and those who will be accepted Regular Decision: come to campus on our accepted student visit days (PC Up Close in February and Family Day in April) and you'll have the opportunity to meet faculty members from multiple departments. These will be the people teaching your classes, so I strongly encourage you to take advantage of the opportunities to get to know them!