Chatham University

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Scholarships & Financial Aid

Students Say - Academics
A small, all-women's college within a university of 2,200 students, Chatham University seeks to create "an empowering environment for women who strive to be leaders in today's world," and, according to most students, the school accomplishes its mission. With 600-plus undergraduates, the school is "so small it's really easy to get to know everyone. Not only do you feel personally connected to campus, but it opens a lot of doors. If there's something that you want to add, attend, dislike, etc., you feel very comfortable asking faculty, staff, students or administration to make changes!" These small class sizes also allow "tons of faculty-student interaction. I had a meltdown where I got really behind in classes and my profs found me, talked me through it and helped me make a plan for getting back on track. I didn't even ask for their help, they just cared enough to do that." The administration could definitely "use a little bit of an improvement" in terms of asking for and implementing student input, but are respected by students for the most part. That said, many students here appreciate that the Chatham experience culminates in a thesis project that "affords an excellent opportunity to truly develop ourselves in a more mature academic format."

Students Say - Campus Life
Chatham is located in Pittsburgh's Shadyside neighborhood, "a residential area where mansions and trees surround most of the campus." The campus offers "a break from the city" without being "completely secluded from the bulk of things" because "Chatham is just a block away from Walnut Street in Shadyside, where all the fun shopping and dining is," as well as "Squirrel Hill on the other side of campus, which is a great place to browse." Best of all, the college "is located near a lot of major universities" that provide "great things to get involved with off-campus with other area college students. If partying is what you're interested in, it's easy to find, but for those of us who don't party, we have our fun, too." Non-party options include "an abundance of organizations to get involved with and activities to partake in." As well as concerts, "hanging out at one another's apartments, going to gallery crawls, and going to on campus events or events at other nearby campuses." Many students also hold jobs off-campus.

Students Say - Student Body
Chatham caters to women primarily from the Western Pennsylvania region, but within that distinction, there's plenty of room for diversity on all fronts, as "the student body really is kind of a potpourri." Chatham has "lots of foreign students who are on top of all of their work, and a good solid section of leftist, queer, or queer friendly students to keep things interesting;" indeed, there is a wide range of nationality and sexual orientation represented here, and the "open-minded" crowd is "loud and like to fight for equal rights." That diversity extends to students' interests: "Walking around campus you will find people who are really interested in art, but they are best friends with someone interested in politics and math. Everyone just fits in." Students here tend to be "politically, environmentally, and socially conscious" women who "care about gender, race, and sexual-orientation issues."

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