Mansions by the sea

Salve Regina’s oceanfront campus uses Gilded Age mansions for administration, classrooms, and dorms. The mansions come with stories, too. The History Club has led lantern-lit ghost tours through the halls. Founded by the Sisters of Mercy as a women’s college in 1934, Salve is coed and modern, with majors that range from the fine arts to nursing. A degree from Salve Regina yields a strong return on investment; Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce ranks Salve in the top 6 percent for lifetime ROI.

A mission of mercy

The Sisters of Mercy instilled a service ethos in the college. As it says on the website, Salve is  “guided by their vision to work for a world that is harmonious, just and merciful.” Days of Service are built into the calendar, and even business students are drawn to nonprofit work.

There’s also a close relationship between the school and Newport, and living on campus through junior year makes the community even tighter. Average class size is 18.

Finding your way with the Salve Compass

I picked up a small compass from the Salve booth at an IECA conference, and when I attended lunch in Annapolis with admissions representatives, they explained the Salve Compass concept. I suppose it’s a fitting symbol for a college perched on the coast of the sailors’ town of Newport, Rhode Island. It’s also a fitting metaphor for the guidance this small liberal arts college provides.

The Salve Compass uses life design to help students explore and connect to the world beyond campus. Its hub is on the library’s first floor, bringing together career services, academic support, internships, and experiential learning. It gives a liberal arts education a very practical guide toward career. The president said it’s the most important program on campus. It’s built around a one-credit class each year.

Year 1: Foundation

Freshmen connect to the community and complete Odyssey Planning with Compass advisers to explore your values and goals. You’ll meet your academic adviser the summer before you enter and weekly with a peer mentor.

Year 2: Exploration

Sophomores begin building personal and professional skills with career advisers and consider how to make a positive impact in the world.

Year 3: Immersion

Juniors have experiential learning opportunities, including internships, community service, field work, and study abroad.

Year 4: Integration

Seniors pull together all the personal and professional skills they’ve learned, ready to launch into career or graduate school, and wrap up their year with celebration.

Admissions

Admissions wants to get to know you personally, and they’ll listen to counselors who go to bat for their students. You don’t need test scores, even for nursing, and Salve plans to remain test optional. Students outside the Northeast can get a fee waiver to apply, and Salve offers an honors program for those invited to apply. Nearly three-quarters of Salve students are female, reflecting the school’s strength in nursing, education, and psychology, which typically draw more women than men.

Nursing is the most competitive program and the only direct-admit major. Nursing applicants typically have a 3.8–3.9 GPA and compete with about 1,500 applicants for 100 spots. Fine arts majors need a portfolio or audition. About a third of students start undeclared, and double majors and minors are encouraged, except for nursing.

Programs to know

Here are a few of Salve’s programs:

Arts and creative fields

• Art and studio art: ceramics, graphic design, illustration, interactive media arts, painting, photography
• Creative writing and publishing
• Theater arts: acting, musical theater, technical theater
• Music

Other popular programs

• Psychology
• Education
• Business, including hospitality and tourism
• Health care administration

Science and health

• Direct-entry nursing (clinicals begin sophomore year)
• Medical laboratory science
• Data science

Pre-professional advising tracks

• Pre-law, pre-med, pre-vet, pre-dental

Combined bachelor’s/master’s

• Creative writing and publishing (BA/MFA)
• Psychology (BA) with behavior analysis (MS)

For a full list of majors, concentrations, minors, and combined programs, see salve.edu.

Student life

About a third of students play a varsity or club sport. Salve competes in NCAA Division III as a member of the NEWMAC and offers 20 varsity sports, including equestrian. Sailing has to be big in Newport, just as it is in Annapolis, and Salve’s varsity sailing team competes against some of the strongest programs in the country.

More than 800 Salve students take part in recreation, with 20-plus offerings that include club sports like rugby, gymnastics, golf, and swimming, plus intramural leagues in basketball, volleyball, Spikeball, and cornhole. You can borrow a bike, sign up for wellness classes, or take a ski trip. And just outside class is the Cliff Walk, a public path about 3.5 miles long with the Atlantic on one side and the Gilded Age mansions on the other, so there’s always something to do.

Is Salve right for you?

If you’re looking for a close community that cares about the world, a liberal arts education with an eye on career, and a stunningly beautiful New England location, Salve Regina could be for you.