BY MIJAI LEWIS
VN SPECIAL WRITER
For three straight years, freshmen undergrad enrollment has increased at Detroit Mercy.
Aside from recruitment efforts, what’s drawing these students here versus another college or university?
The Varsity News asked five freshmen why they chose Detroit Mercy.
Megan Karjo is a freshman majoring in biology. She wants to become a dentist and have her own practice.
“I chose University of Detroit Mercy because of the dental program and (because) it’s a private Catholic college and I’m very religious,” she said.
Karjo assumed that because the campus is small, professors would get to know the students more. She has found that to be the case for most of her classes, but in one case she believes the professor would rather not get to know the students.
Karjo said people are friendly here. Even if she doesn’t know them, they still smile and wave at her, she said.
She is involved in two school organizations and is looking forward to this year.
Phillip Robie is an architect major who received acceptance letters from Lawrence Tech, Michigan State and Ohio State.
He chose Detroit Mercy, not only because the architectural program is one of the best in Michigan, but because he wanted to run track.
Robie expected his professors to be strict but has found them to actually be friendly.
His program requires a lot of work and is very demanding, but he still enjoys it, he said.
His classes are going great and he plans on working at an architectural firm someday.
Tayler P. Lurry, a business major, was drawn to the McNichols campus by the top-notch reputation of the business program.
To get into the program you must have a GPA of 3.2 but she wants to maintain a 3.5 or higher.
She also likes the fact that her classes have no more than 15 students.
She said that once her sophomore year starts she will be taking business calculus.
“It’s not hard right now but I know it’s going to get challenging later on,” she said.
Felicia Hughes is majoring in pre-law with a minor in political science.
Scholarship offers led her to pick this university over others.
Hughes said her classes are manageable so long as she keeps up with homework, which she doesn’t mind.
Some professors are more helpful than others, she noted.
She likes those who try to get to know the students.
She also appreciates the professors who clearly explain what they want students to do.
Hughes plans on becoming a lawyer.
Darius Brittion is another freshman majoring in architecture.
Brittion said he received many offers from other colleges but chose Detroit Mercy because of its academics.
He said class sizes are small, and that works great for him. But he said he can also manage in a large class.
He plans on being an architect but not owning his own firm.
Once fully established, he will set his sights on becoming a grand master in chess.
Harjassingh Dadiyal, an international student, is majoring in robotics. He chose UDM because most colleges don’t offer robotics.
Dadiyal is required to maintain a strong GPA in order to keep his scholarship.
He also said that in robotics the higher your GPA the better the job you can get.
Dadiyal explained that his classes are going nicely – but that it is still early in the semester.
Loreal Salter-Dodson, a communication studies major, had many offers but liked Detroit Mercy’s scholarship incentive.
“The professors are real cool. If I need anything, I know I can come to them,” said Salter-Dodson.
As for the class size, it is small but she enjoys that because the professors can work with you.
