Walking through a mansion once occupied by royalty and presidents is now a place where students can flourish academically, on a beautiful college campus. Salve Regina University, perched right on the Cliff Walk in Newport, Rhode Island, is a college that feels like home.
Rhode Island is a state neighboring our home, Massachusetts, and is where many may find a college. Rhode Island offers 13 universities and private colleges within its state, and a beautiful location to go with it. After spending a long weekend in Newport, and touring four different colleges, the Triton Voice can give you the scoop on each.
University of Rhode Island- Kingston
URI is the largest college in Rhode Island, with anundergraduate enrollment of 14,653. Their class sizes have a 17:1 student-to-faculty ratio with over 100 majors and minors offered. (Source)
Campus- If you’re interested in a more secluded, and spread-out campus, URI would be for you. With buildings from modern and contemporary to more Renaissance-style and vintage, the diversity is widespread. The downside I found about this was there was nowhere to walk off-campus, since it’s not located near a downtown or beach. For me, this campus was a pass, as I was hoping for a campus that wasn’t super spread out and one that was on the water.
Dorms- These dorms were my least favorite. The freshman dorms were older, with no air conditioning, and are almost outdated. I didn’t find them very appealing or welcoming. With the darker atmosphere from the lighting, the cement brick walls, a few basic brown pieces of furniture, and blue and white aged tile flooring, I couldn’t imagine myself calling that place ‘home’. The suite-style bathrooms were also not up to par, as they had older, almost yellow-tinted sinks randomly in the room, and the toilet and shower in another place. I found that the design choice was quite odd, and not very functional.
Overall- This college did not match my expectations and was lacking several things I was looking for. I would rate it a 5/10.
Johnson and Wales- Providence
Located in downtown Providence, is JWU, with 3,952 undergraduate students enrolled. (Source). This college is best known for its famous culinary arts program, with a complementary harborside campus in Providence.
Campus- The Providence campus is fitting for someone who likes more of the downtown/city setting. Instead of being a secluded campus, JWU is spread out along the downtown, having to walk blocks and streets to get to the different academic buildings. It is on the smaller side, but the interiors of the academic buildings are very modern and high-tech. Additionally, there is a second part of the campus, a short ten-minute bus ride from downtown to their harborside campus. Here, there is more housing, and it is where the majority of the culinary classes take place. One of the biggest benefits I found interesting was that all students, including freshmen, can have cars on campus.
Dorms- If having your private bathroom as a double your freshman year in college doesn’t sound appealing to you, I don’t know what will. This is a huge bonus in housing. The dorms on the downtown campus were average, with your basic tan cement walls, and pale tile flooring, the only thing that stuck out to me were the bathrooms. The downside of the private bathrooms is that they have to be maintained by those living there, so unlike community bathrooms, you would have to pay for toilet paper and make sure that you keep your living space clean. On the harborside campus, students have the choice of having their single dorms, along with the view of Narragansett Bay. The room sizes and bathroom options vary, but the housing at JWU is very customizable to each student who dorms.
Overall- JWU definitely has many perks that other colleges don’t have, and checked most of my boxes. I would rate it an 8/10.
Roger Williams University- Bristol
The second biggest school on our list is RWU, with 4,103 undergraduate students. Roger Williams offers 50 majors, with the most popular being Criminal Justice- Law Enforcement Administration.
Campus- Roger Williams is perched on the shores of Hope Bay, with views walking from class to class. The campus is a blend of modern and contemporary architecture and buildings with casual and typical college brick buildings. They offer a big green space, and a lot of room to include nature and the environment in everyday education. Unlike some other colleges, it is not close to many surrounding downtowns or malls and would need transportation to get off campus. Some buildings, such as the art building, had an eerie hinge to them, with the walls being spray painted and it being an old tan color. The walk up and down campus is a bit longer than others, but with the scenery, the walk is worth it.
Dorms- Ugly on the outside, pretty on the inside, these dorms weren’t what they presented themselves to be. I was able to tour the Cedar residential hall and the Maple residential hall. The outside of the buildings was not appealing to me. They reminded me of a jailhouse in a sense, but the inside of the dorms were big, modern rooms which I believe could be made very cute and homely. They had large windows, looking out onto the water, with a mix of built-in furniture, and your average wooden stand-alone furniture. In comparison to the upperclassman housing, they wouldn’t even come close. Upperclassmen have condo-like suites with views of the ocean. These condos are located towards the bottom of campus, with enough space to feel as if you’re living independently with your roommates.
Overall- RWU offered a beautiful location, and academic perks that I was interested in. Other than those two criteria, this college didn’t feel like home to me. I would rate it a 6/10.
Salve Regina University- Newport
On Rhode Island’s famous cliff walk, you’ll find the small, coastal school, Salve Regina. Known for its nursing program, social mobility program, and value, it’s home to 2,135 undergraduate students.
Stepping foot onto campus, you are engulfed in the most beautiful views and architecture.
Campus- As soon as I got to campus I was in awe. This by a landslide was my favorite college of the weekend. The scenery was incredible, with the ocean being right outside your front door. The campus also includes one of the stunning breaker mansions, which is a staple of Newport. These mansions were built by Cornelius Vanderbilt II, one of the richest man in America. The mansions entertained royalty, presidents, and guests from all around the world for more than 125 years. Now, they are preserved and visited by thousands of people a year, being a big tourist attraction within Newport (Source). The campus itself gives off more of an old-elegant feel, with many brick buildings and diverse architecture. It holds an Italian Renaissance style, with Roman influences that can be found in each building. The campus itself felt large enough to not feel stuck in but small enough that it was not miserable trying to get to classes on a snowy day.
Dorms- One of the main freshman dorms, Miley Hall, includes the dining hall, book store, and a Starbucks all in your new home. It also consisted of many doubles, triples, and some quads with private bathrooms. They were very spacious and didn’t give the “jail cell” feel. They have various housing choices to fit all freshman’s needs, whether you’re looking for a lot of roommates, just one, a community bathroom, or your own. The thing I found most interesting was that upperclassmen housing can be in homes the University owns. Along the streets near campus, you’ll see various houses, which are all housing for students. They are stand-alone houses ranging in various sizes, fitting from 10 students to 38 students, in single, double, triple, and quad rooms within the homes. I thought this concept was unlike any other college,and would give students a feel of what it’s like to live on their own in homes with roommates.
Overall- Salve checked practically every box I had on my list, and felt at home. I would rate it a 10/10
College is what you make out of it, not just what the school has to offer, and what colleges others might find “amazing”, might not be the best fit for you. Out of all the schools, I believe that Salve Regina came out as the reigning champion.
