We have two kids in their teens. One is a junior in high school and the other is a freshman in high school. We attended a few meetings with a guidance counselor and she recommended that we start looking at colleges. So we were looking at some of the Universities in Kansas City MO and decided to visit Avila University. This is their website. It is located at 11901 Wornall Rd, Kansas City, MO 64145. If you need to contact them, they can be reached at 816-942-8400. We left from our office at clean as a whistle llc and it took us about 25 minutes to get there in non rush hour traffic This is how we got there.
When we first got there, we were surprised how new all the building were. When I went to college at a state university, there were lots of very old buildings and I think many were over one hundred years old! So we met with a tour guide and took the tour. Here is a video about a walking tour of the University we found on YouTube.
Some of the interesting facts that we learned about Avila are below:
Avila University is a private university that with Catholic based and the St. Joseph Sisters of Carondelet are said to be the sponsors. Initially we were very concerned about this as our family is Christian based but not Catholic. We discussed this with our tour guide and found out there were two required religion classes but they were not Catholic based. We also learned that the classes were not taught by Nuns or Franciscans which we were relieved to hear.
The enrollment at Avila is around two thousand students. More than half of that group are commuters, while a lower percentage live on campus. There are four dorms for housing students. Our kids were interested in these because they did not want to live at home after they graduated from high school — LOL imagine that! But, I actually agree with them as for me, living away from home and learning to manage my own time and deal with and live with other people was a huge learning experience for me as I came from a very protective upbringing.
We were amazed that there were over sixty areas for majors that were offered here as well as having graduated programs in six different areas of study. Our kids are not sure what they want to major in but as a parent, I have discussed the very important facts that they need to be able to make a living for themselves so going into a field where they can get a job and for that matter a well-paying job is hugely important. We always liked things like business, computer science or something in a medical field. We did learn that there is a large nursing program and also a top rated x-ray technology program there. Our daughter at one time expressed an interest in nursing.
There are LOTS of Athletic programs at Avila and it is a member of the NAIA. In addition, Avila is a member of the Heart Of America Athletic Conference. Our guide told us that NAIA associated schools are allowed to give athletic scholarships and that NAIA are usually associated with smaller colleges and universities, while NCAA are associated with larger colleges and universities. We also found out that there are LOTS of athletic scholarships given out, both for men and for women. Men’s sports include Basketball, Baseball, Football, Cross Country, Track & Field and Soccer while women’s sports include Basketball, Volleyball, Cheerleading, Track & Field, Cross Country, Softball, Soccer and Dance! So they actually have a lot to offer.
The cost of attending Avila shocked us. For the 2018 academic year, tuition, books and fees is $19,900 and typical room and board is around $7200.00 making the total cost per year of around $27,000. Fortunately we learned that Avila is a large provider for both athletic and academic scholarships making this a bit more tolerable.
We found out that the health related fields were very strong and that there were many pre-professional areas of study including Pre Med, Pre Dental, Pre Chiropractic, Pre Optometry and a bunch of others. We really liked that.
The people and the staff we met there seemed very friendly. Most of them were local Midwesterners like ourselves so had similar values and attitudes, which we really appreciate. Oh and also, Avila is a dry school, which means there is no alcohol allowed —- This was a great plus for us as we have friends that have kids that have gone wild into the party scene at school. Why we feel that we have raised our kids properly to know what is good and what is not good, we were college students at one time and know the temptation will always be there.
To sum this up, we were impressed with what Avila had to offer. It is a nice private university offering a great curriculum and had nice people and up to date facilities. We still have at least another year to decide for our junior in high school but we are glad we went!
Hey if you get time, please check out our other posts about life in the Kansas City Area:
KCMO Local Casino
WW 1 Monument
Nelson Art Museum