Going to college vs. entering the seminary

[skallal]

Curlycool has a point that priests and seminarians need to be grounded in practical reality. Still I’ve got to agree with Br. Matthew, and I’ll add something else as a reason to “want to” get ordained early that has nothing to do with “completing the process”:

People are counting on you!

Full disclosure, I also spent 3 years studying bioengineering at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign (the program is now called “biomedical engineering.”). The reason I was there for 3 years was not to gain life experience. Life will give you plenty of that. The reason I was there, was because I wanted to be an engineer so I could

1. 
   *]study the truth
   *]help people
   *]do something great: specifically, genetically modify plants so they would produce cheap, easy-to-administer medicines
   
   When I fell in love with Jesus, grew in that love, and realized that a priest does all that to a greater degree than any engineer, making the switch was natural. The fact is this: many people are waiting for a good priest to touch their lives. If you’ve got a good reason to wait, or are just plain in the dark like I was, ok. But if you know what you’re supposed to do, do it. Those are my two cents.
   
   God bless,
   
   Fr. Scott, AVI
   Apostles of the Interior Life

 

[L_Marshall]

Don’t take anyone’s word as law. It depends on the person. Some will function better in a college seminary environment. Some will not. For instance: I had the option of attending a college seminary, but I thought it was too homogenous for me at the time. I’m finishing up my freshman year in college living on campus.
Next year, I’ll be living at the Diocese’s House of Studies and studying at the same college. I believe this is best for me, because I’ll be surrounded by priests and other seminarians at the House of Studies, and have frequent exposure to the Blessed Sacrament there; but I’ll still be able to be surrounded by the eclectic community that a (Catholic) college has to offer.

Talk to your Vocations Director! Read To Save a Thousand Souls by Fr. Brett Brennan! Pray!

 

[MPSchneiderLC]

A lot depends on the maturity you have and where you are in your own discernment. I think most of the time, once you have reasonable probability of a vocation and a reasonable degree of maturity, you should join the seminary. Most who are in high school, and open enough to post on a public form like this are probably ready. However each one needs to talk to a spiritual director and get individual advice that can’t be given here.

Taking cooking for instance (since it was brought up), I knew how to cook from scratch by the time I was 16. Then I went to college and living in residence, I could have gone 4 years eating out of the cafeteria (or Mac&Cheese which barely counts as cooking). Another example: I remember in college some kids who were worried about going down to serve at the homeless shelter since it was in a bad area, yet I had done a bus transfer every day when I was 14 only two blocks away.

 

[Capuchinfan1337]

As a high school senior with the same question, I have decided to go to a four year school for at least year to help with the discernment as it will give me more time to discern. My great uncle went into the seminary right after high school in the 1940’s. My advice would be to find a spiritual director, talk with your family and then to pray the rosary at the moment. In the summer request information on different orders and your local diocese. Remember your are on God’s time and not Earth’s.