An Alumnae View of Point Park College

Point Park College is a small liberal arts college in downtown Pittsburgh. There is no real campus, so we like to say that Pittsburgh is the campus. The college itself consists of Academic Hall, Thayer Hall, Lawrence Hall, Point Park College Playhouse (formerly the Pittsburgh Playhouse) and the Library Center. About 3000 students attend classes at Point Park, half of which are part-time. Of the full-time students, about half live in the dorms.

Point Park offers many majors, the most popular being dance, theatre, and journalism and mass communications. Other majors are engineering, education, natural sciences and even mortuary science. A lot of Point Park graduates have done very well for themselves. Many are on Broadway, in movies, on television, in broadcasting and in dance companies in major cities. Some graduates you may know are Dennis Miller (journalism and communications), Angela Jones (theatre) from Pulp Fiction and Curdled and Melina Kanakaredes (theatre) from NBC's Providence. Our graduates also work for local television and radio stations, most notably, Bob and Bruce Pompeani from KDKA-TV.

Now that I've covered many of the facts, let me tell you some real stuff. First, I am a 1999 graduate who majored in journalism and communications. I lived in the dorms for four years, and I used to do work-study in the library. I also tutored in English and journalism. I have helped out at high school journalism workshops at Point Park, and I am also an orientation aide during freshman orientations. I had an internship at the office of the Girl Scouts of Southwestern Pennsylvania during my junior year.

I must tell you, I really like Point Park. One thing that made me choose this college was the fact that my professors know me by my first name. I can even consider some my friends. I liked the location, too. Point Park is smack dab in the middle of Pittsburgh. Even the University of Pittsburgh isn't really in Pittsburgh. It's in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh. It's easy to find and travel to internships. Many are even within walking distance, like mine was.

I graduated from a small rural high school, so the city was something to get used to. Downtown shuts down at 5 p.m., with the exception of CVS, which closes at 7 p.m., McDonald's (2 a.m.), 7-11 (11 p.m.) and Smithfield News (open 24 hrs.) These places get frequented a lot by bored and hungry Point Park students. They know us...

I'm not saying there's nothing to do. If you're over 21, there's a lot of bars and dance clubs you can go to. Also being in a major city, Pittsburgh has many concerts by major musical acts. The concert stages are the Mellon Arena and A.J. Palombo Center. During the summer there's also Star Lake Ampitheatre and I.C. Light Ampitheatre. There are also three major sports teams, the Steelers, Pirates and Penguins. If you are 18 and over, there are some 18 and over nights at some clubs. This is something I like to do, as long as I don't have class in the morning. If you like theatre, there are several stages to fill your need, including our own Playhouse. Admission to shows at the Playhouse is free to all full-time students. And being that theatre is a major, you actually get terrific performances!

Student Activities also provides a lot of entertainment. Twice a month there are movies in the JVH Auditorium. Admission is free to all full-time students. They also plan trips to various places including Sandcastle Water Park, Kennywood Amusement Park, Washington DC, South Park, Pirates games, etc. They also sponser events such as Karoke and Casino Night, the Masquarade Ball, the Sno-ball, Mardi Gras, and the Spring Fling.

It's hard going to college the first few weeks. Before you leave, you're all excited and you say you aren't going to get homesick. Well, guess what, you do get homesick. I called my mom several times just to talk, and I call my best friend more that a few times, crying. But the homesickness goes away. If you live in the dorms, you get roommates, and a lot of times, they become your instant friends.

Speaking of the dorms, two of the buildings have dormitories, Thayer and Lawrence. People always ask which are better. It depends on whether you'd rather have air-conditioning or a private bathroom. Thayer is a tradional dorm. It has air-conditioning, but community bathrooms. Lawrence used to be a hotel, so they have a bathroom in each room, but no air-conditioning. I like Lawrence. I live in a triple, so we actually have two bathrooms in our room. Also, if you can live with two people, get a triple because they're a whole lot bigger than the singles and doubles. Something about the dorms that I often get asked at freshman orientation is about curfew. I laugh, there is no curfew. Just be sure when you come waltzing in at three in the morning, that you have your ID. If you don't have your ID, the security guards won't let you in, and you have to sleep in the lobby.

I haven't spoken about the classes until now. I don't know what to say. Classes are classes. If you're a performing arts major, you're more likely to spend most of your time in Lawrence Hall. That's where the Fine, Applied and Performing Arts Department is located. There are several dance studios in Lawrence Hall as well. If you are an academic major, you're most likely to spend most of your time in Academic Hall. This is where most academic classrooms are. The classes themselves aren't that bad. The only problems I had were all my fault. I didn't do my homework, and things like that. If you keep up with your homework and study, you'll have no problems.

I guess that's all I can think of. Visit Point Park College's homepage for more information on applying and financial aid.
E-mail me to ask questions, and maybe I'll be able to come up with a FAQ page soon!

Beth a.k.a. Bffer
Washington, Pennsylvania
bffer@hotmail.com

This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page