Help on Choosing a Catholic University

[7discerning7]

Hi!

I’m a devout Catholic and I am currently looking for a truly Catholic university (majority of students or faculty are Catholic or has a religious order on campus) that I can apply to. There are two universities in California (LMU and USF) that have Catholic roots and have the majors/concentrations I’m looking for but when I visited them over the summer they didn’t seem very…Catholic. I am also discerning so I think I would greatly benefit from going to a Catholic university.

Do you know of any universities that are Catholic or how I can search for them?

Would there be a difference (in my discernment) if I go to a public university instead?

Thank you so much for your help!!

 

[Bookcat]

Faithful to the Church -like Steubenville.

Here is your guide and website :cardinalnewmansociety.org/TheNewmanGuide/RecommendedColleges.aspx

 

[midori]

I know someone who’s going to Steubenville as well.

You might try checking the Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic College. They have a ton of great resources on their website that you might be able to take advantage of regarding your specific preferences, geography, budget, and general situation.

 

[PaulfromIowa]

Discerning a vocation to a religious order and picking a college are, I think, somewhat separate issues. Most private colleges are incredibly expensive and most of their students incur very significant debt. That debt would make it very difficult for you to enter a religious order. I would try to discern before taking on serious debt.

 

[lax16]

Hi!

I’m a devout Catholic and I am currently looking for a truly Catholic university (majority of students or faculty are Catholic or has a religious order on campus) that I can apply to. There are two universities in California (LMU and USF) that have Catholic roots and have the majors/concentrations I’m looking for but when I visited them over the summer they didn’t seem very…Catholic. I am also discerning so I think I would greatly benefit from going to a Catholic university.

Do you know of any universities that are Catholic or how I can search for them?

Would there be a difference (in my discernment) if I go to a public university instead?

Thank you so much for your help!!

What are you wanting to study?

 

[mamlukman]

You might look at Christendom U. in Front Royal, VA. christendom.edu
I know a couple people who went there, and they were happy with it.

Having said that, unless you intend to become a cloistered monk, I’m not sure you’re doing yourself any favors by surrounding yourself with like-minded individuals. You grow by being challenged. You grow by taking criticism of your faith seriously and investigating the reasons behind certain beliefs. You also have an opportunity to be an example to a wider community if you are in the general population rather than a select group of believing Catholics.

If you go to a cloistered university, you are probably (not certainly, but probably) limiting your ability to work with a wide variety of people after graduation. And you are creating a question mark in the minds of employers–let’s say you go to Ave Maria U. in Florida. Terrific! But then you apply for a job, and the boss is Baptist. To be fair, if I were an employer and someone with a degree from Bob Jones U. came to me applying for a job, I’d have a hard time being positive about that. But do you see the issue?

I know in my own education I was lucky enough to have a fair number of teachers who were world experts on their subjects (authors of various chapters in Cambridge histories, political figures, people who had first hand high level experience with both Nazis and Communists, etc.) I would say that contact with 1 of those types of people for one class is worth four years of mediocre teachers. So that’s what I would concentrate on–are there any scholars and/or authors you admire? Where do they teach? For example, say there is a philosopher at Texas A&M who gives a wide variety of courses to undergraduates. I would make sure (e-mail him!) he’s going to be around a while, and go to Texas A&M. If you don’t have individuals in mind, spend some time on the web sites of universities you are considering–they almost all have short biographies or curricula vitae of professors. Are these first-rate people or third-rate? Do they have publications published by Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Chicago, etc. or are they published by places you never heard of? Look through the subjects they have published about–are they of interest to you?

For help, I would go to a professor at a local college in the subject area that interests you, and ask advice. Usually they will be up to date on what universities are currently the best in certain areas, and they will have gone to conferences to hear various professors give papers. If someone stands out, they will (or should!) know.

 

[on_the_hill]

As my daughter is looking at colleges, I’m realizing how many there are in Pennsylvania. Granted, it’s quite a haul from Cali.

But as lax16 mentioned, what’s important in a college is what you want to study. You might find the perfect Catholic college, but if it doesn’t have a degree in what you want, what’s the point?

This list of Pennsylvania Catholic colleges is from collegesimply.com/colleges/pennsylvania/catholic-colleges/

There are some well-known schools among them, like Villanova and St. Joseph’s.

Alvernia University
Cabrini College
Carlow University
Chestnut Hill College
DeSales University
Duquesne University
Gannon University
Gwynedd Mercy College
Holy Family University
Immaculata University
King’s College
La Roche College
La Salle University
Marywood University
Mercyhurst College
Misericordia University
Mount Aloysius College
Neumann University
Rosemont College
Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary Overbrook
Saint Francis University
Saint Joseph’s University
Saint Vincent College
Seton Hill University
University of Scranton
Villanova University

 

[Cath4life]

Hi!

I’m a devout Catholic and I am currently looking for a truly Catholic university (majority of students or faculty are Catholic or has a religious order on campus) that I can apply to. There are two universities in California (LMU and USF) that have Catholic roots and have the majors/concentrations I’m looking for but when I visited them over the summer they didn’t seem very…Catholic. I am also discerning so I think I would greatly benefit from going to a Catholic university.

Do you know of any universities that are Catholic or how I can search for them?

Would there be a difference (in my discernment) if I go to a public university instead?

Thank you so much for your help!!

The newman guide is a great starter for looking at FAITHFUL catholic colleges.

If you are really searching for vocation discernment, attending an open house with the different orders would be the best way to discern. However, if you are not ready for that step, then a faithful catholic college is better (IMHO).

It is easier to be in a more virtuous environment than to be exposed to so many different modern philosophies and then be confused

Some of us have a long journey back to the faith: I was raised Catholic and attended Catholic elementary school. My mother could not afford a catholic education and so I ended up in secular schools and a secular college and with lots of atheist friends that led me to lots of confusion. By the grace of GOD!!, I was slowly brought back to the faith and ongoing conversion

Continue to pray to the Holy Spirit to guide you during this time.

This website link below was a great read on discernment. Hope you like it!!

religious-vocation.com/discerning_religious_vocation.html#.Vikdn8uZ50h

In Christ through Mary,

 

[JimR-OCDS]

Hi!

I’m a devout Catholic and I am currently looking for a truly Catholic university (majority of students or faculty are Catholic or has a religious order on campus) that I can apply to. There are two universities in California (LMU and USF) that have Catholic roots and have the majors/concentrations I’m looking for but when I visited them over the summer they didn’t seem very…Catholic. I am also discerning so I think I would greatly benefit from going to a Catholic university.

Do you know of any universities that are Catholic or how I can search for them?

Would there be a difference (in my discernment) if I go to a public university instead?

Thank you so much for your help!!

If you’re discerning a religious vocation, you could contact the vocation director of your dioceses to find out what colleges he recommends.

Jim

 

[on_the_hill]

There’s also Mount. St. Mary’s, in Maryland, which has both a regular university and a seminary.

 

[7discerning7]

@Bookcat, midori_, and Cath4life: Thanks so much for the website. I didn’t know such a thing existed! I’ll definitely check it out.

 

[7discerning7]

Discerning a vocation to a religious order and picking a college are, I think, somewhat separate issues. Most private colleges are incredibly expensive and most of their students incur very significant debt. That debt would make it very difficult for you to enter a religious order. I would try to discern before taking on serious debt.

If the college offers need-based scholarships and/or financial aid, I think I’ll be fine with going to a private college. I come from a low-income family.
As for taking on debt before entering, I have decided that I’d become a doctor (so that in case one of the sisters gets sick I can help) and will practice to pay off any debt I have.
^.^

 

[7discerning7]

What are you wanting to study?

Pretty much anything related to medicine so pre-med (obv), pre-pharmacy, Biology, Biochemistry, Human Biology, etc.
I’d also like to minor (or possibly double major if I can handle it) in Music or Theology.

 

[7discerning7]

As my daughter is looking at colleges, I’m realizing how many there are in Pennsylvania. Granted, it’s quite a haul from Cali.

Nice – good luck to your daughter!

But as lax16 mentioned, what’s important in a college is what you want to study. You might find the perfect Catholic college, but if it doesn’t have a degree in what you want, what’s the point?

Yeah, that’s true.

This list of Pennsylvania Catholic colleges is from collegesimply.com/colleges/pennsylvania/catholic-colleges/

There are some well-known schools among them, like Villanova and St. Joseph’s.

Alvernia University
Cabrini College
Carlow University…

There’s also Mount. St. Mary’s, in Maryland, which has both a regular university and a seminary.

Whoa… so many schools! Thank you so much!

 

[7discerning7]

You might look at Christendom U. in Front Royal, VA. christendom.edu
I know a couple people who went there, and they were happy with it.

Cool, thanks!

Having said that, unless you intend to become a cloistered monk, I’m not sure you’re doing yourself any favors by surrounding yourself with like-minded individuals. You grow by being challenged. You grow by taking criticism of your faith seriously and investigating the reasons behind certain beliefs. You also have an opportunity to be an example to a wider community if you are in the general population rather than a select group of believing Catholics.

Ohh I see. I guess it is better to go to a non-catholic school then.

If you go to a cloistered university, you are probably (not certainly, but probably) limiting your ability to work with a wide variety of people after graduation. And you are creating a question mark in the minds of employers–let’s say you go to Ave Maria U. in Florida. Terrific! But then you apply for a job, and the boss is Baptist. To be fair, if I were an employer and someone with a degree from Bob Jones U. came to me applying for a job, I’d have a hard time being positive about that. But do you see the issue?

Ahh yes, I understand.

I know in my own education I was lucky enough to have a fair number of teachers who were world experts on their subjects (authors of various chapters in Cambridge histories, political figures, people who had first hand high level experience with both Nazis and Communists, etc.) I would say that contact with 1 of those types of people for one class is worth four years of mediocre teachers. So that’s what I would concentrate on–are there any scholars and/or authors you admire? Where do they teach? For example, say there is a philosopher at Texas A&M who gives a wide variety of courses to undergraduates. I would make sure (e-mail him!) he’s going to be around a while, and go to Texas A&M. If you don’t have individuals in mind, spend some time on the web sites of universities you are considering–they almost all have short biographies or curricula vitae of professors. Are these first-rate people or third-rate? Do they have publications published by Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Chicago, etc. or are they published by places you never heard of? Look through the subjects they have published about–are they of interest to you?

For help, I would go to a professor at a local college in the subject area that interests you, and ask advice. Usually they will be up to date on what universities are currently the best in certain areas, and they will have gone to conferences to hear various professors give papers. If someone stands out, they will (or should!) know.

Will do. I never thought about checking professors. Thanks so much for the tip!
^.^

 

[7discerning7]

If you are really searching for vocation discernment, attending an open house with the different orders would be the best way to discern. However, if you are not ready for that step, then a faithful catholic college is better (IMHO). It is easier to be in a more virtuous environment than to be exposed to so many different modern philosophies and then be confused

A vocation open house? Cool. I’ll see if I can find one in my area. Although I’ve stayed with a few convents already, that would definitely help in my discernment.
And yeah, that’s true. mamalukman made a pretty good point though about Non-Catholic colleges:

You grow by being challenged…by taking criticism of your faith seriously and investigating the reasons behind certain beliefs. You also have an opportunity to be an example to a wider community if you are in the general population rather than a select group of believing Catholics.

Some of us have a long journey back to the faith: I was raised Catholic and attended Catholic elementary school. My mother could not afford a catholic education and so I ended up in secular schools and a secular college and with lots of atheist friends that led me to lots of confusion. By the grace of GOD!!, I was slowly brought back to the faith and ongoing conversion

Wow what a story! Congrats!

Continue to pray to the Holy Spirit to guide you during this time.
This website link below was a great read on discernment. Hope you like it!!
religious-vocation.com/discerning_religious_vocation.html#.Vikdn8uZ50h

Thanks for the website!! I had been looking for a website on discernment for months! :getholy:
:nun2:

 

[7discerning7]

If you’re discerning a religious vocation, you could contact the vocation director of your dioceses to find out what colleges he recommends.

Ok, thanks!

 

[at9009]

With regard to looking at colleges. The most important thing is to go to a school that feels like a good fit for you. That means visiting if possible. Some people like big schools, others like small schools with a almost family feel to it.

With regards to premedicine, that is a pretty open route so you can almost major in anything. Speaking as a current medical student, medical schools love diversity and unique stories, so if you want to also major in music, go for it. All you need for medical school is a certain number of classes and the MCAT (everything else is discretionary). Pharmacy is slightly and you can apply to some programs directly out of high school. (check out Duquesne Pharmacy program for a Catholic school with a good reputation)

With regard to money. Even if you think a school might be too expensive, I’d say apply anyway. Many schools go through the common app which is either a low rate or free (for some schools). Also you may qualify for a waiver for the application fee. Additionally, often private schools have larger endowments so even if it has a higher tuition, the school itself gives out more aid. It was cheaper for my brother to go to a 50k private school (ended up being 13k/year versus the instate public school (18-20k/year).

Also the school doesn’t necessarily have to even be a Catholic university. Just see if it has a vibrant and active Newman ministry and a good local parish. That is really all you need and sometimes the secular schools have a larger religious population anyway.

Good luck and if you have any premed questions feel free to message me