UVI

Hello Jeremy,

Ask the specific questions you have. If you have 10 questions - ask them. Hard to know what you are interested in knowing as any information could be 'are their sharks' to 'is there a starbucks'... neither is important to me but hey it might be to you or another person.

Open ended questions just for tips or random information don't work well, so ask away!!

--Islander

Which island?

I will be in St. Thomas at that campus. The questions that I have are is it an easy transition to UVI from a stateside school, are the dorms nice and clean, is the science dept. top notch(hard classes, etc...)how about the food on campus? How far of a walk is brewer's bay...Would it be a good idea to bring my motorcycle? Is the campus self contained like most stateside schools.(ie....everything you need is on campus)How are the churches?

Jeremy: The biology department at UVI has a good rep. The classes are small so you get to know your fellow students and the faculty. John Brewer's Bay is actually part of campus- the students consider it their own private beach! My contact at UVI loved the dorm food! If you are from the south, West Indian food will have a familiar taste...comfort food! If you are trying to watch your weight, forget it. I do not like motorcycles because they don't offer enough protection from the elements, which include rain, crazy taxi van drivers and narrow roads. The campus is not self-contained, but there are many services near by. Most students live off-campus. A good number of churches of all varieties.

Does the university provide any transport to and from the school.....

Do you mean if you live off campus? No, but there are safari vans that take certain routes. There seems to be a lot of car pooling and hitch hiking, too.

yes in general how is the transit around the island.......

Hello Jeremy,

The transition from your school to UVI depends on you entirely. Of the transfer students that attended the university while I did, many liked it and the transition went smoothly and was easy and there were a few that didn't like it or missed home so of course the transition didn't happen.

The dorms are clean, nice enough as far as dorms go. One of the dorm buildings is newer then the other.

The science dept. is well regarded. The classes are taken seriously... not really slack off type classes. Whether they are hard again depends on your ability/study habits. The school is definately not a party school at all.

The caf. has pretty good food. Nice relatively new cafeteria.

The walk to Brewers Bay from the lower campus (CA Building and Humanities Building and the Marine Center) is about 5 minutes. The walk form the upper campus is maybe 10 minutes down the same stairs you would use to get to the lower campus and then along the main road.

Motorcycles are used by a few residents, but are not the transportation of choice; cars/suvs/trucks are. Bicycles are not either.

No the campus is not self contained, there are no fast food joints on campus, no churches, no bars/clubs where college kids hang out just a walking distance from campus, no coffee shops closeby or on campus.

Churches on island - what religion?

The university does not provide transportation. You can walk pretty much everywhere on campus and off campus you are on your own.

There is a public transporation system, its ok. There are two bus stops on campus, along the main road. You can use the buses to get to Nisky Shopping Center, downtown as well as other main commercial areas and some more populated residential areas. The bus doesn't go everywhere on island. You can also use the $1 rides, which are not regulated, but are taxis that run a discounted fare along the bus route.

--Islander