We’ve all heard the exaggerated stories of college. But what is college like for a typical college student?

Jack Willerton, a junior at University of Dayton and a history major (he also happens to be this reporter’s brother),  has the inside details.

A key factor that led Willerton to select Dayton  was size, “It’s not huge like IU – Bloomington but it’s not tiny like Holy Cross College.” Receiving decent amount of financial aid from Dayton certainly helped him make his decision with more confidence – aided by his high school record of good grades, maintaining a 3.9 GPA at the end of his senior year.

Willerton also cited the fact that Dayton was a Catholic university, something he was looking for.  He went on to explain that it threaded religion into the university without forcing it on students,  noting that a decent chunk of students do not even attend Mass. Dayton does require all students in the CAP (Common Academic Program) to take at least one religion class regardless of major. But the CAP also requires Willerton as a history major to take science and math classes.

Willerton highlighted Dayton’s “Up The Orgs”-  an event at the start of fall semester where all the clubs and organizations set up tables and students can just walk through and sign up for any clubs and extracurriculars they want to. Dayton offers the ability to get a job on campus, which he also explained as an easy process. Another convenient resource is Handshake, a website that makes setting up job interviews easy. He said that being a student at Dayton does give you a certain level of respect that local jobs appreciate. In short, Jack believes that getting involved at Dayton is a fairly easy process.

Willerton, however, does show some regret towards some early decisions. Citing that during freshman year, he “should’ve gone to more parties and been more outgoing.” COVID-19 hit during his freshman year, but he adjusted to college life well. Digging deeper, Jack explains in detail a nerve-wracking side of college: majors. Looking back, he says “I would debate going into sports management if I went back to freshman year.”

Nonetheless, Willerton believes being a history major has been a good choice for him. ” I personally feel more connected to humanities over business, so I think history makes more sense for me.”

His parting words of advice were what he called cliché, emphasizing the importance of making college the best experience of your life. Willerton’s experience does not speak for all college experiences, but it definitely offers a perspective into the doubts of college.