Saint Anselm College Admission
Saint Anselm College Undergraduate Program
Saint Anselm College Application

The Facts

Saint Anselm College is a rather small, private traditional liberal arts college affiliated with the Benedictine Catholic church located in the town of Manchester, New Hampshire, and is home to over 1,875 undergraduate students. The school is perhaps best known for its emphasis on a rigorous and thorough liberal arts education blended with several unique preprofessional programs including programs in pretheology, predental, prelaw, and premed, as well as renowned nursing and engineering programs. The school also requires that students complete intensive general education requirements including courses in philosophy, theology, English, and history. The school offers its students more than 25 degrees in a wide variety of areas, however, some of the most popular with students include majors in the areas of business, nursing, psychology, criminal justice, as well as English.

Admission to Saint Anselm College is not terrifically competitive numerically, however, the applicant pool is usually comprised of students who were at the top of their high school classes. Last year, over 3,000 students applied for admission to the school, and approximately 2,110 of those students were accepted. Eventually however, only about 580 of the admitted students actually enrolled for the coming Fall semester. The admitted students had an average combined SAT score ranging from 1020 to 1200 and an average comprehensive ACT score ranging from 21 to 25. Additionally, more than 47% of those admitted were ranked in the top 25% of their high school graduating class with an average high school GPA of about 3.07.

Saint Anselm College has a very manageable student to faculty ratio of about 14:1, and in general, professors get high marks from students in terms of accessibility and willingness to help students out, however, some students do complain that their professors assume that theirs is the only class that students are taking, and give them way too much work.

The Social Scene

The town of Manchester, New Hampshire isn’t exactly cosmopolitan, but it offers students quite a bit in the way of entertainment including various concerts, bars, clubs, cafes, and shops. Students have an affinity for the town, and say that the residents are extremely friendly to students in particular. The Saint Anselm campus itself is quite picturesque, and has plenty of green space and trees for students who love to bask in the lovely New England nature.

The school is known for being a bit strict, and the religious quality tends to seep into the social lives of students; for example, males and females are only allowed to visit each other’s residences on specific hours of the weekend, or in a specified student lounge. As a result, there isn’t really much partying, and most students spend their weekends studying and hanging out in small groups. There are also many student run clubs and organizations, that run the gamut from theater groups to debate clubs.

The dating scene is certainly a chaste one; with the strict rules about the mixing of the sexes, you’ll need all the luck you can get.

What’s Good

“The liberal arts education here has got to be one of the best in the nation; you really feel you’re learning how to think here.”

“The campus is just gorgeous, and just walking from class to class is a real treat.”

“The values here are really strong, and it’s a perfect place for people who aren’t into the whole party scene.”

What’s Bad

“It’s impossible to do anything slightly naughty here. It feels like ‘big brother’ is constantly watching you.”

“There is no party scene here, and it’s really easy to forget you are actually a real college student instead of a monk or a nun.”

“The academics totally take over your life. You have no time to do anything for yourself here.”

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