Saint Anselm College is a Benedictine Catholic liberal arts school, a "welcoming, safe place where students can receive an amazing education" within the surroundings of a quintessential New England setting. Adhering to the school's service roots, the monks "are a huge part of life on campus, and even teach some classes" and "any courses that fulfill your civic requirement have an aspect called Community Engaged Learning where you volunteer in the surrounding towns as a part of your grade." To help bridge its 2,000 students into the discussion-based, inquisitive learning of its core curriculum, all first-year students take the two-part Conversatio class, where students "explore the connection between ourselves, the world, and the divine through many pieces of historical literature" and "spend most of the time outside lecture talking to classmates and leading discussions on the literature we study."
A student-to-faculty ratio of 11:1 makes it easier to form personal relationships with the "very caring and knowledgeable" professors, who "are always willing to meet with students to help them." There's also an Academic Resource Center that offers further workshops, writing assistance, and peer tutoring. And while some classes may lean heavily on lectures, teachers are praised for bringing in guests who are professionals in their fields to help illustrate the concepts being taught, and the school has a popular study abroad program that seeks to give students first-hand research opportunities. Ultimately, students applaud the Saint Anselm experience, as "no matter what your major is, you will experience a little bit of everything."
