I am Justin Forde and my friend Kelete Sherald and I are honored to share our thoughts and experience on Villanova University as participants of Carver’s 48th annual college and members of the Youth Development Program. We are both eleventh graders at Brien McMahon High school – Go Senators!!! As basketball and track athletes we were thrilled to learn that Villanova was one of the schools selected as part of our annual college tour. We were even more excited when their men’s basketball team made it to the final four and then went on to win the NCAA title. As we arrived at the Connelly Center, we envisioned a chance to meet with members of the basketball team. We were out of luck. We did see members of the football team hustling to get students to sign up for bone morrow testing. We were also denied access to the basketball court due to renovations.

Villanova University is a Catholic college founded in 1842 and it is the home of the wildcats. If you are passionate, determined, and academically focused then Villanova is the university for you. Villanova is ranked #46 - Best Colleges 2018, #17 – Best Undergraduate Teaching College (U.S. News & World Report), #1 – Undergraduate Business School (Bloomberg Business Week). Villanova’s Naval ROTC program has produced 22 Navy Admirals and Marine Corps Generals (2nd only to the U.S. Naval Academy).

Admission to Villanova is very competitive, but if you are one of the chosen, you will have strong support from faculty and peers. Most recently, top applicants of Villanova, had a 4.0 to 4.4, a SAT score of 1360 to1600, or an ACT score of 31 to 36. You will be busy if you participate in one of the 265 extracurricular groups and activities on campus. Villanova also offers 44 clubs. Service and giving back is the DNA of this university. Students are required to participate in community service. There was only one issue that brought us pause and it was the lack of diversity among the student population. This would not be a hindrance for Villanova to make it to our list of schools, but it was a concern for a few of our peers.

We really enjoyed touring the campus of Villanova. The students were very friendly and shared time with us while they were in route to their classes. The mood was good and students are overjoyed with the recent men’s basketball championship. The campus store was loaded with championship merchandise, but the cost was a bit high for our budget. We were surprised to see all the merchandise delivered in such short notice.

We really like Villanova and we came to the realization that the four years of high school are critical to your success in college. A solid transcript is your ticket to become a member of the Wildcats family.

Kelete Sherald and Justin Forde are 11th graders at Brien McMahon High School