Catholic U of America or U of Dallas?

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Hello everyone. I have recently been accepted to the Catholic University of America in DC and the University of Dallas. My first choice was the former because I will be majoring in philosophy and they have a Ph.B program along with one of 3 the only separate Schools of Philosophy in the country. Another reason why I’m attracted to it is because of it’s location. I would be able to attend a myriad of scholarly events going on in the different Universities and elsewhere in DC. Not to mention the Library of Congress.

That being said, my dilemma entered when I was also accepted to the University of Dallas. They sent me a large gift package to congratulate me and welcome me to their institution, but it wasn’t until I read George Weigel’s lofty praises of the school that I felt thrusted into a quagmire. Apparently its a fantastic, rigorous Catholic school, “The best Catholic college in America” according to Weigel.

I would love any pertinent comments and suggestions considering the situation.

Thanks to all!
 
I have many friends who went to each of those schools and I have to say it depends on what your priorities are. My personal choice would be Dallas because they are authentically Catholic and intellectually rigorous. The overall culture there seems great as well–everyone I know who went there is a warm, interesting, wonderful person and they speak highly of their time at UD. Another major thing to consider is the cost–are either of them offering you financial assistance?

I lived in DC for about 7 years and it was fun, but it gets old very fast. It’s very very expensive and people don’t stay in the area for very long so it’s hard to ever feel at home. That’s just my person take on it though.
 
Thank you very much for the response Schieffelin. I will take it into serious consideration.

I couldn’t help but notice also that you’re a Melkite. I actually attend a Melkite parish for Divine Liturgy almost every sunday, and I go to a catechesis given by a priest by the name of Fr. Damon every Thursday. I owe so much to the Eastern Catholic Churches, particularly the Melkites that I had to mention these things. I’ve also been thinking about transferring my rite to the Melkites but I don’t want to act rashly. Anyway, it was interesting that the first responder to the post should be a Melkite!

God bless you and yours friend.

Jonathan
 
That’s great, Jonathan! I was raised Roman Catholic but switched to the Eastern Church in college. If you love the Melkite tradition then I should let you know that one of the best Melkite parishes in the country is located right outside of DC. Just another thing to consider when making your choice 🙂
 
I have lived near and had many friends go to both places. I have personally visited both places.

Both places are located close to a ghetto and are not in the best parts of town. I would give the edge to University of Dallas because housing and food is overall much cheaper. If in DC, I would try hard to be able to either walk, take the bus or metro to campus. Parking is a real pain in DC and at CUA.

CUA has the more beautiful campus and is more nationally known and recognized whereas University of Dallas is more well known in conservative Catholic circles. If I personally had to decide, I would go with CUA because of the urban location with a beautiful campus and great public transport to get around the city. Overall, it depends on what your expenses are, your age and what kind of philosophy you are studying.

If you want extremely conservative Catholic philosophy and theology, I would take University of Dallas. CUA is pretty faithful to the Church but like all major universities it has a certain secular and non-religious faction that University of Dallas will not have.

If you go to University of Dallas, a car is really mandatory and the university is fairly isolated from the rest of the DFW area. People go to Dallas simply for the conservative education not for the nice campus or access to a nice area. Dallas is close but you don’t have the same easy access to the whole of DC like you have with CUA.
 
JoeofCupertino said:
I have lived near and had many friends go to both places. I have personally visited both places.

Both places are located close to a ghetto and are not in the best parts of town. I would give the edge to University of Dallas because housing and food is overall much cheaper. If in DC, I would try hard to be able to either walk, take the bus or metro to campus. Parking is a real pain in DC and at CUA.

CUA has the more beautiful campus and is more nationally known and recognized whereas University of Dallas is more well known in conservative Catholic circles. If I personally had to decide, I would go with CUA because of the urban location with a beautiful campus and great public transport to get around the city. Overall, it depends on what your expenses are, your age and what kind of philosophy you are studying.

If you want extremely conservative Catholic philosophy and theology, I would take University of Dallas. CUA is pretty faithful to the Church but like all major universities it has a certain secular and non-religious faction that University of Dallas will not have.

If you go to University of Dallas, a car is really mandatory and the university is fairly isolated from the rest of the DFW area. People go to Dallas simply for the conservative education not for the nice campus or access to a nice area. Dallas is close but you don’t have the same easy access to the whole of DC like you have with CUA.
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When choosing a University to attend, you first have to decide what you want to do upon graduation. Obviously, if your intent is to major in Philosophy, you likely intend to pursue a graduate degree, since an undergraduate degree in Philosophy is not conducive to getting a job in the business world. If that is the casem then choose the CUA, since its degree will open more Academic doors than one from the U of Dallas.
In addition, attending a University in an urban setting will expose you to a wider range of cultural pursuits than are available in a more restricted setting.
If, however, you are possibly looking towards working for the Church, either in a lay capacity or as a Cleric, the conservative religious nature of the University of Dallas may be of advantage. In addition, if you are going to make your adult career in Texas, then a degree from U of D might give you a slight edge.
In the final analysis, as to overall quality of the overall cultural atmosphere and the academic quality of the educational standards of the two institutions, you might consider that CUA is the Major League team whereas the U of D is a Class AAA minor league team.
 
You seem to have started two versions of this thread. I already commented on the other, but I thought I might as well put my two cents in here as well.

Well, I can’t comment on CU. I did, however, attend UD for grad studies in philosophy for one semester.
I didn’t particularly like the location - the immediately surrounding areas weren’t all that attractive. Plus, I didn’t like Texas - at least not that part of the state. I’m from Western Massachusetts, so I’m used to New England Autumn, being within 20 minutes of a good hiking mountain (and several brewpubs I might add ), and the like. I ultimately left because I was homesick for my own corner of the world.

However, as far as the school itself was concerned, I liked it. It’s a somewhat smaller university, which was nice (at least for me - it’s what I’m used to. I graduated from Holy Apostles College in CT, which is rather tiny - not that UD is as small as HACS by any means). And the philosophy classes I took there were very good. As far as academics is concerned, I would definitely recommend UD as a good choice. I’ve wondered a few times if I made the right choice in leaving.
 
JoeofCupertino said:
If you want extremely conservative Catholic philosophy and theology, I would take University of Dallas. CUA is pretty faithful to the Church but like all major universities it has a certain secular and non-religious faction that University of Dallas will not have.
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My son is a freshman at CUA, and my niece is a sophomore at University of Dallas. I agree with your assessment.

That being said, there is a very healthy spiritual life on the campus of CUA. The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is on campus, and there is ample opportunity for Mass, confession, etc. The student body participates in the life of the Basilica! Which is one of the truly great churches in the world.

Jy3pr, If you wish, my son would be willing to email you to give you his perspective and answer any questions you have. I’ll ask my niece the same. Contact me by private message and I’ll give you his email address. BTW, they both take their faith very seriously.

Good luck with your decision!
 
Is this for undergrad or graduate studies? This is important because you shouldn’t do both degrees at the same institution. So, for example, even if CUA is the superior and better ranked school than UD, going to CUA for undergrad will close off CUA as an option for grad school.

This is critically important if you want to become an academic. The ratio of doctorates to jobs is 4 to 1, so you need to get your doctorate from a highly ranked institution to even have a chance of succeeding. If I were you, I would choose undergrad in regards to likelihood of getting accepted to doctoral programs which are highly ranked enough to give you a shot at employment. Some of this depends on the type of philosophy you want to go into and which programs are highest ranked in that specialty.
 
George_Stegmeir said:
When choosing a University to attend, you first have to decide what you want to do upon graduation. Obviously, if your intent is to major in Philosophy, you likely intend to pursue a graduate degree, since an undergraduate degree in Philosophy is not conducive to getting a job in the business world. If that is the casem then choose the CUA, since its degree will open more Academic doors than one from the U of Dallas…
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This (i.e., what you plan to do with your degree) is super-important. Also, as another poster said, please consider the cost. Please consider that employers might not be falling all over you with job offers.

Good luck.
 
I just have to give my two cents for UD, though I’ve heard good things about CUA as well. I am a graduate of the University of Dallas and loved my time there. My classmates were amazing people–academically, spiritually and socially (regarding their maturity and depth). The professors care about their teaching and about each individual student. Like most of UD’s students, I was able to experience a semester in Rome with all of my good friends, which deepened the reality of my Catholic faith tremendously. Many people worry about the school’s cost, but UD’s financial aid office was very generous with helping me out, including during my stay in Rome.
 
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