Regis University, Denver, CO

[wintermom]

I'm exploring a couple options for my dd to continue her undergrad in Honours Biology (with the end goal of Veterinary College). She's at a large Canadian university now, getting all her first year sciences and math courses done, and she's doing very well. She isn't loving the large classes, but she's managing. She lives at home, and really appreciates the support. The Canadian university system is to jump right into the sciences for 90% of the classes for the first year, which means she has lectures and labs in bio, chem, physics, calculus and geology this year. It's busy, it's stressful (especially when the lab instructors force group lab reports), and she's fatigued.

We're moving to Colorado Springs this summer for 4 - 5 years. Her primary goal is to carry on striving for admissions to Vet College (possibly CSU Ft. Collins), with or without a BScience. 

Does anyone have any experience with Regis University. We are Catholic, and my fil used to work at a Jesuit university in MASS. I don't really know what this kind of college life would be like, though. I only know what it's like as an undergrad and grad at large Canadian universities. What are the benefits of this kind of university experience? What are potential limitations?

If this were your dd, what would you do?

Edited December 11, 2019 by wintermom

[TarynB]

I don't have any direct experience with Regis Univ, but we just moved to Colorado. DS (current 12th grader) did a campus visit at Regis, applied, and was accepted for 2020-21. He's also been admitted to CO State to an "impacted" major and he's waiting to hear from CU-Boulder. Has your DD ever been to Denver? Regis is pretty urban, as you might expect. Sorry I don't have much to offer, but hoping you get some helpful responses from others with experience at Regis.

So is your DD interested specifically in smaller schools? Have you looked at Univ of Northern Colorado at Greeley? I hear they have strong programs for kids interested in health careers . . . maybe their prep for vet school would be strong too? IDK.

Edited December 11, 2019 by TarynB

[wintermom]

On 12/11/2019 at 5:48 PM, TarynB said:

I don't have any direct experience with Regis Univ, but we just moved to Colorado. DS (current 12th grader) did a campus visit at Regis, applied, and was accepted for 2020-21. He's also been admitted to CO State to an "impacted" major and he's waiting to hear from CU-Boulder. Has your DD ever been to Denver? Regis is pretty urban, as you might expect. Sorry I don't have much to offer, but hoping you get some helpful responses from others with experience at Regis.

So is your DD interested specifically in smaller schools? Have you looked at Univ of Northern Colorado at Greeley? I hear they have strong programs for kids interested in health careers . . . maybe their prep for vet school would be strong too? IDK.

Thanks for your post, Taryn. Congratulations to your ds at being accepted! What is an "impacted" major?

I've been to Denver, and know that it's a big city. I was wondering more of the student and staff culture, and the courses the university would expect their undergraduates to complete. I don't think she'd be thrilled to do a ton of courses not directly related to her major, which seems to be the expectation at US colleges. 

Thanks for the tip about Greeley. I'll look at that.

Edited December 12, 2019 by wintermom

[TarynB]

4 hours ago, wintermom said:

Thanks for your post, Taryn. Congratulations to your ds at being accepted! What is an "impacted" major?

I've been to Denver, and know that it's a big city. I was wondering more of the student and staff culture, and the courses the university would expect their undergraduates to complete. I don't think she'd be thrilled to do a ton of courses not directly related to her major, which seems to be the expectation at US colleges. 

Thanks for the tip about Greeley. I'll look at that.

An impacted major is one where admission to that specific major/department is competitive. More applicants than openings. So admission to the overall university is the first hurdle, then admission to certain majors is the next hurdle. The state we moved from didn't have this, that I'm aware of, but apparently some states/schools do. At CSU, this applies to biological sciences, for kids who want to go into medical or health careers. I've heard of certain engineering disciplines and computer science/information technology majors being this way at some schools too.

Sorry I can't be of more help re: Regis. 

[wintermom]

10 hours ago, TarynB said:

An impacted major is one where admission to that specific major/department is competitive. More applicants than openings. So admission to the overall university is the first hurdle, then admission to certain majors is the next hurdle. The state we moved from didn't have this, that I'm aware of, but apparently some states/schools do. At CSU, this applies to biological sciences, for kids who want to go into medical or health careers. I've heard of certain engineering disciplines and computer science/information technology majors being this way at some schools too.

Sorry I can't be of more help re: Regis. 

Thanks for the explanation. I'm going to need a whole education in the ways of US schools! 😉  

[MysteryJen]

I know Regis grads and a few kids who went there for nursing. All I know is that people seem to be happy with their education and experience there.

Actually, my dad went there in the late 50s!

I wouldn't say it was super urban- Denver is pretty big, but spread out and Regis is not downtown Denver.

Let me know if you are heading into town to check things out! I am north of Denver.

[TarynB]

On 12/15/2019 at 10:55 AM, MysteryJen said:

I know Regis grads and a few kids who went there for nursing. All I know is that people seem to be happy with their education and experience there.

Actually, my dad went there in the late 50s!

I wouldn't say it was super urban- Denver is pretty big, but spread out and Regis is not downtown Denver.

Let me know if you are heading into town to check things out! I am north of Denver.

LOL, I guess everything really is relative. We just moved to CO. Denver feels extremely crowded and dense to me, not spread out at all. The surroundings at Regis, in Denver, felt very different (urban) to us compared to Univ of CO (Boulder), CSU (Ft. Collins), and Univ of Northern CO (Greeley). The "big city" nearest to us in our former state has a population density of around 930 people per square mile; in Denver the population density is 4,520 people per square mile! I was mentally prepared by the stats, but driving in Denver is definitely a huge adjustment for me!

 

Edited December 16, 2019 by TarynB

[Frances]

On 12/12/2019 at 3:56 PM, wintermom said:

Thanks for your post, Taryn. Congratulations to your ds at being accepted! What is an "impacted" major?

I've been to Denver, and know that it's a big city. I was wondering more of the student and staff culture, and the courses the university would expect their undergraduates to complete. I don't think she'd be thrilled to do a ton of courses not directly related to her major, which seems to be the expectation at US colleges. 

Thanks for the tip about Greeley. I'll look at that.

I think information about courses she would be expected to complete would be available on their website, and also some general information about how what she has already done in college and high school might be able to fulfill some of the requirements. 

Since she is aiming for a very competitive grad program and potentially at a top vet school, I think one of the most important things would be finding out the track record of the university in placing students at vet school.  My husband did his grad work at CSU, and I absolutely loved our time in Ft. Collins. Good luck with your move!

[wintermom]

16 hours ago, Frances said:

I think information about courses she would be expected to complete would be available on their website, and also some general information about how what she has already done in college and high school might be able to fulfill some of the requirements. 

Since she is aiming for a very competitive grad program and potentially at a top vet school, I think one of the most important things would be finding out the track record of the university in placing students at vet school.  My husband did his grad work at CSU, and I absolutely loved our time in Ft. Collins. Good luck with your move!

Do you know how to do this? Is there a website for this? It sounds like a good idea, though.

[Frances]

2 hours ago, wintermom said:

Do you know how to do this? Is there a website for this? It sounds like a good idea, though.

As far as I know, there is not one website that does this. Some schools will advertise their statistics for admission to grad and professional programs, so looking on their website under pre-vet or related areas is a good place to start. It is important, though, to make sure you understand any stats they are reporting. For example, I know some colleges use committees to do letters of recommendation for med school and won’t necessarily even do them for every student who wants to apply. So admission statistics at such a school might be artificially high because they are pre-screening  applicants. Ultimately, the best things to do is probably have your daughter talk to the pre-vet advisor at any school she is interested in attending. Some vet schools, such as CSU, might also have admitted class profile information on the admissions section of their website.

[wintermom]

44 minutes ago, Frances said:

As far as I know, there is not one website that does this. Some schools will advertise their statistics for admission to grad and professional programs, so looking on their website under pre-vet or related areas is a good place to start. It is important, though, to make sure you understand any stats they are reporting. For example, I know some colleges use committees to do letters of recommendation for med school and won’t necessarily even do them for every student who wants to apply. So admission statistics at such a school might be artificially high because they are pre-screening  applicants. Ultimately, the best things to do is probably have your daughter talk to the pre-vet advisor at any school she is interested in attending. Some vet schools, such as CSU, might also have admitted class profile information on the admissions section of their website.

Thanks for the tips!