The Best Catholic Colleges in the U.S

[Joe_5859]

So how was BC in catholicity? I just went to their home page and there’s no mention of Catholicism there and it looks like they don’t have Mass on campus. Is there more there than the eye can see?

BC has Peter Kreeft…but then they also have Thomas Groome.

If you’re at all familiar with Voice of the Faithful (that lightning rod of a dissident Catholic group who coined the slogan “Keep the Faith, Change the Church”), take a look at their list of supporting theologians. There are nine from Boston College.

I’ve never been there or known anyone who has gone there, but I am familiar with some of their professors and it seems to be a bit of a mixed bag (with more bad than good). Nonetheless, First Things still ranks them as the 7th/8th best place to study graduate theology saying this:

Two problem children rank seventh and eighth: Boston College and Yale University. Both schools have ample resources and many fine professors, but both lack robust theological cultures.

Boston College has a large faculty, made even larger by the recent absorption of the Jesuit faculty of the nearby Weston School of Theology. There are plenty of professors who are fine scholars, and among them Khaled Anatolios shines the brightest. His approach to the Church Fathers trains aspiring graduate students to think theologically.

The corporate personality at Boston College isn’t always congenial. Since the 1970s the Society of Jesus has thrown most of its weight behind the liberal Catholic project in theology, and the programs at Boston College suffer from the soft authoritarianism that has arisen to prevent a younger generation from deviating. Don’t be deterred, however. I know some very fine young theologians who have emerged from Boston College, suggesting that the vast resources of the school can be mobilized to support good work.

 

[A_Fortiori_33]

It’s not the non-Catholics that worry me. I just don’t want to pay tens of thousands of dollars for Catholic faculty to try to undermine my kids’ faith.

So how was BC in catholicity? I just went to their home page and there’s no mention of Catholicism there and it looks like they don’t have Mass on campus. Is there more there than the eye can see?

You have the choice not to pay 50K a year for your kid’s college. How snarkey can you be about the home page.

 

[A_Fortiori_33]

BC has Peter Kreeft…but then they also have Thomas Groome.

If you’re at all familiar with Voice of the Faithful (that lightning rod of a dissident Catholic group who coined the slogan “Keep the Faith, Change the Church”), take a look at their list of supporting theologians. There are nine from Boston College.

I’ve never been there or known anyone who has gone there, but I am familiar with some of their professors and it seems to be a bit of a mixed bag (with more bad than good). Nonetheless, First Things still ranks them as the 7th/8th best place to study graduate theology saying this:

Two problem children rank seventh and eighth: Boston College and Yale University. Both schools have ample resources and many fine professors, but both lack robust theological cultures.

Boston College has a large faculty, made even larger by the recent absorption of the Jesuit faculty of the nearby Weston School of Theology. There are plenty of professors who are fine scholars, and among them Khaled Anatolios shines the brightest. His approach to the Church Fathers trains aspiring graduate students to think theologically.

The corporate personality at Boston College isn’t always congenial. Since the 1970s the Society of Jesus has thrown most of its weight behind the liberal Catholic project in theology, and the programs at Boston College suffer from the soft authoritarianism that has arisen to prevent a younger generation from deviating. Don’t be deterred, however. I know some very fine young theologians who have emerged from Boston College, suggesting that the vast resources of the school can be mobilized to support good work.

Your post hints at what I believe to be good about BC. They present arguments that lead to critical thinking skills that leads to a better Catholilc. Why is anyone so afraid of questioning the Truth. It will bear itself out no matter what the argument. Truth is Truth.

 

[Corki]

You have the choice not to pay 50K a year for your kid’s college. How snarkey can you be about the home page.

Yes, I do have that choice and fortunately there are several very good universities in a different price range.

I wasn’t being snarky at all. It was an honest question since you seem to have some personal experience with BC.

I have two kids in high school and the three of us have spent hundreds of hours researching, visiting and speaking to reps from various colleges - Catholic and not. I looked up each of the colleges mentioned in this thread. BC stood out because there is not one word on its home page that hints at it being a Catholic university. That just struck me as odd since most Catholic universities have some mention of their Catholic history, spirituality or, at least, a picture of someone in a collar. BC has none of those.

 

[Alan55]

I was at Boston College for a couple of years. There are Catholic masses on campus and at St. Ignatius, a Jesuit-run parish adjacent the parish and an active Catholic ministry to students. It has one of the finest theology departments in the country, offering both undergraduate majors and minors and graduate programs, and is supported by an excellent philosophy department (where Peter Kreeft has his appointment). Students who want a Catholic-only faculty and student body should look elsewhere, but most Catholic students will find BC a great education and a vibrant Catholic community.

My vote for best Catholic colleges? I’d vote for Notre Dame, Boston College, and Georgetown in no particular order.

 

[Ender]

My vote for best Catholic colleges? I’d vote for Notre Dame, Boston College, and Georgetown in no particular order.

If you are talking strictly about academics you might have a point but there is a reason Georgetown is near the top of the list of Least Catholic Catholic schools. I’m rather sure that the percentage of Catholics leaving those schools is a good bit smaller than the percentage who arrived as Catholics.

Ender

 

[A_Fortiori_33]

If you are talking strictly about academics you might have a point but there is a reason Georgetown is near the top of the list of Least Catholic Catholic schools. I’m rather sure that the percentage of Catholics leaving those schools is a good bit smaller than the percentage who arrived as Catholics.

Ender

Do you have actual facts or are you making this up?

 

[A_Fortiori_33]

If you are talking strictly about academics you might have a point but there is a reason Georgetown is near the top of the list of Least Catholic Catholic schools. I’m rather sure that the percentage of Catholics leaving those schools is a good bit smaller than the percentage who arrived as Catholics.

Ender

I’ll ask again. Do you hae any facts to back up your statement?

 

[dixieagle]

Yes, I do have that choice and fortunately there are several very good universities in a different price range.

I wasn’t being snarky at all. It was an honest question since you seem to have some personal experience with BC.

I have two kids in high school and the three of us have spent hundreds of hours researching, visiting and speaking to reps from various colleges - Catholic and not. I looked up each of the colleges mentioned in this thread. BC stood out because there is not one word on its home page that hints at it being a Catholic university. That just struck me as odd since most Catholic universities have some mention of their Catholic history, spirituality or, at least, a picture of someone in a collar. BC has none of those.

I’m a B.C. grad (dark ages - 1974.) The B.C. home page is an ever-changing collection of “news snippets”, not a description of the school. You click on the headings on the home page to get the school description, etc.

Click on the “About B.C.” heading at the top of the home page and you’ll see the word “Catholic” right there in the first sentence. : bc.edu/about/

 

[Mumbles140]

I’m a B.C. grad (dark ages - 1974.) The B.C. home page is an ever-changing collection of “news snippets”, not a description of the school. You click on the headings on the home page to get the school description, etc.

Click on the “About B.C.” heading at the top of the home page and you’ll see the word “Catholic” right there in the first sentence. : bc.edu/about/

Coming from a school that’s lacking in its Catholic identity, I still do have to agree with dixieagle. The homepage at stjohns.edu only has one line about being Catholic: ‘A Vincentian University: Learn more about St. Vincent de Paul’ in the top corner of the page. However, on the “About Us” section, the word ‘Catholic’ is in the first sentence, and there are plenty of links to information about faith, Mass, Campus Ministry, and other pieces of my alma mater’s Catholic identity.

Again, not saying that these schools deserve to be on the list of the Best Catholic Colleges, but the home page is just like a book cover, so…

 

[lizaanne]

I have someone close to me who goes to John Paul the Great Catholic University in San Diego - jpcatholic.com/

It is a media school, three year Bachelors program, so it is year round school with no huge summer break. They are SOLID Catholic, and the curriculum is challenging. It is not a liberal arts school, it is a specialty school which focuses on media arts - broadcasting, film, journalism.



~Liza

 

[Joe_5859]

I have someone close to me who goes to John Paul the Great Catholic University in San Diego - jpcatholic.com/

It is a media school, three year Bachelors program, so it is year round school with no huge summer break. They are SOLID Catholic, and the curriculum is challenging. It is not a liberal arts school, it is a specialty school which focuses on media arts - broadcasting, film, journalism.



~Liza

Does your friend like the school a lot? I have not known anyone who has gone there, but the school sounds very interesting to me. It’s definitely a much needed area for an authentic Catholic voice.

 

[Corki]

Again, not saying that these schools deserve to be on the list of the Best Catholic Colleges, but the home page is just like a book cover, so…

Well, that’s my point. A book cover gives a book reader an idea of what the point is of a book. When it comes to a college or university, the home page gives you a good idea of what the school thinks is important to highlight in the school’s identity. It tells you a lot about what **the school **wants you to take away as a first impression. I am not saying that there is not more under the surface. The question is why a supposedly faithful Catholic school would want its Catholic identity to be under the surface and not “front and center”.

I wouldn’t dismiss a school outright because of bad marketing but such a presentation would raise at least a “yellow flag” and cause me to ask some pointed questions.

 

[lizaanne]

Does your friend like the school a lot? I have not known anyone who has gone there, but the school sounds very interesting to me. It’s definitely a much needed area for an authentic Catholic voice.

She LOVES it there!!! Has made great friends and she loves her professors and that the school is solid Catholic with no exceptions. They have very high standards of behavior and expectations of the students, and the curriculum is growing/expanding every year.

~Liza

 

[Joe_5859]

She LOVES it there!!! Has made great friends and she loves her professors and that the school is solid Catholic with no exceptions. They have very high standards of behavior and expectations of the students, and the curriculum is growing/expanding every year.

~Liza

That’s good to hear. If I run into someone who is looking to get into media/social communications, I have a place to recommend now.

 

[Mumbles140]

I respectfully disgree with you, Corki. The home page is for faculty, staff, current students, alumni, parents, and potential students. One could even argue that the home page is maintained the least for potential students because almost every college home page has a special link for prospective students, which is normally a combination (or, at the very least, provides links to) the ‘About Us’ section, application procedures, and sometimes general fact sheets/FAQs.

A quick scan of several well-known non-Catholic colleges (Duke, Syracuse, UVA) shows no mention of mission or purpose on their home pages (the first 2 are private, UVA is public, and this information isn’t even presented). Also, a scan of other Catholic colleges (Notre Dame, dePaul, and Xavier) shows similar lack of a Catholic mission statement or some other definitive Catholic identity. Granted, the schools at the top of the ‘Best’ list say ‘A Catholic University’ or something of that sort, but Mount Saint Mary’s only lists ‘faith’ on its homepage.

My point is that I don’t think it is a warning sign for the word ‘Catholic’ to not be on the home page because that information is still readily available on their websites, specifically the information geared towards prospective students.

 

[Corki]

I respectfully disgree with you, Corki. The home page is for faculty, staff, current students, alumni, parents, and potential students. One could even argue that the home page is maintained the least for potential students because almost every college home page has a special link for prospective students, which is normally a combination (or, at the very least, provides links to) the ‘About Us’ section, application procedures, and sometimes general fact sheets/FAQs.

As I mentioned earlier, we are “in the game” right now. With two kids in high school, we have talked to more college reps and attended more college fairs than I ever wanted to in a lifetime. These institutions spend millions on their image, including their online presence. Every institution points prospective students to their home page. The “first impression” of potential students is definately one of the things they keep in mind when deciding what to emphasize there.

A quick scan of several well-known non-Catholic colleges (Duke, Syracuse, UVA) shows no mention of mission or purpose on their home pages (the first 2 are private, UVA is public, and this information isn’t even presented). Also, a scan of other Catholic colleges (Notre Dame, dePaul, and Xavier) shows similar lack of a Catholic mission statement or some other definitive Catholic identity. Granted, the schools at the top of the ‘Best’ list say ‘A Catholic University’ or something of that sort, but Mount Saint Mary’s only lists ‘faith’ on its homepage.

A quick scan of some colleges known for their orthodoxy (Ave Maria, Franciscan, Belmont Abbey, Catholic University) shows an immediate interest in making sure that a visitor to the home page knows they are Catholic.

My point is that I don’t think it is a warning sign for the word ‘Catholic’ to not be on the home page because that information is still readily available on their websites, specifically the information geared towards prospective students.

It’s not about a word (Catholic) but about emphasis. For example, Belmont Abbey’s home page doesn’t use the word Catholic. But it has links to the Adoration Chapel, the monestary, a picture of one of the monks and a Benedictine quote on the homepage. No one could go to that homepage and not know that they emphasize their Catholicism. We visited this school and I would say its homepage accurately reflects its Catholic emphasis.

Maybe schools like BC, dePaul and Xavier do a better job of Catholicity during a campus visit. Who knows? I am just saying it’s hard to tell from the internet.

 

[Corki]

I can’t seem to access the “least” list since I am not a subscriber. Can you share?

ok, I’m still not a subscriber but the various lists from the First Things article are starting to percolate in the blogosphere.

The Least Catholic Catholic Collleges are (drum roll ) with some of the commentary:

LEAST CATHOLIC CATHOLIC SCHOOLS

1. DePaul University Chicago IL
2. University of Detroit Mercy Detroit MI
3. Seattle University Seattle WA
4. Niagara University Niagara Falls NY
5. University of San Diego San Diego CA
6. Lewis University Romeoville IL
7. Georgetown University Washington DC
   S. D’Youville College Buffalo NY
8. Molloy College Rockville Centre NY
9. Lourdes College Sylvania OH
   11 Quinsy University Quinsy IL
10. University of San Francisco San Francisco CA

The right balance of least Catholicity is hard to strike. Is the
school actively opposed to the teachings of the Catholic Church,
or utterly indifferent? For instance, purely on opposition,
Georgetown scores high, but allow almost any level of unconcern
to enter the calculation, and DePaul immediately leaps up the
list.

On DePaul’s website, for instance, you’ll find no use, in any
easily accessible place, of the word Catholic, and, as one current
student told us, “You might as well be at Purdue or Northwestern,
for all the Catholic presence’” at the large, Midwestern school.
Concerned, Chicago’s Cardinal George inaugurated a Catholic Studies
program, with Peter Casarella chairing the department. But Catholic
Studies programs at Catholic schools are, in essence, an admission
that Catholic identity no longer has any footing left in the
curriculum.

thefreelibrary.com/Degrees+of+faith%3A+a+First+Things+survey+of+America’s+colleges+and…-a0240185038

The other lists are here too.

 

[Mumbles140]

A quick scan of some colleges known for their orthodoxy (Ave Maria, Franciscan, Belmont Abbey, Catholic University) shows an immediate interest in making sure that a visitor to the home page knows they are Catholic.

In all fairness, these schools cater towards Catholics, mostly orthodox Catholics. Schools such as BC, St. John’s, and others have large non-Catholic populations, so putting this information front and center on the webpage could be a turn-off to many potential applicants. Excluding it from the home page doesn’t mean they are hiding their identity.

That being said, I think it’s obvious that the orthodox Catholic schools will express their Catholicism outright, and I’m all the happier for it. But larger Catholic universities will not have that same ability for orthodoxy which smaller ones do, and therefore it may not be as prominent on their web page, but this shouldn’t be a ‘yellow flag.’

As for selecting a college, it all depends on your child(ren)'s intent. Obviously, if you are deciding based on ‘how Catholic the school is’, the schools on the list will win hands down. But if you are looking for a school with sufficient opportunities for one’s Catholic faith to learn, grow, and participate in activities with other Catholics one’s age, the lack of specific information on the home page should not be worrisome. Now, if that information were not readily available through links or contact information, I could understand a ‘yellow flag’ being raised.

 

[JKsoren]

Wednesday, 20 October 2010 17:13

The First Things list of “Most Catholic Schools” in the U.S.:

1. Ave Maria University, Ave Maria, FL
2. Christendom College, Front Royal, VA
3. Franciscan University of Steubenville, Steubenville, OH
4. Thomas Aquinas College, Santa Paula, CA
5. Benedictine College, Atchison, KS
6. Belmont Abbey College, Belmont, NC
7. Thomas More College, Merrimack, NH
8. University of Dallas, Irving, TX
9. Providence College, Providence, RI
10. Mount St. Mary’s University, Emmitsburg, MD
11. College of St. Thomas More, Fort Worth, TX
12. University of St. Thomas, Houston, TX

aveherald.com/news/712-amu-ranked-as-qmost-catholic-catholic-schoolq-in-america.html

The thing about this list is that it is probably a terrible idea to attend any one of these colleges, save maybe Providence College, insofar as these are not what we might want to call good colleges or universities.

Now, we might ask ourselves why people go to college in the first place and the answer we should probably get to is that it is a good place to acquire requisite skills for a professional life. Isn’t that the hope? Go to college, acquire applicable skills and then seek our entry level positions, internships or go to professional school?

This being the case, the reason I say that these schools are not “good” is because they don’t fit the intended model above very well. So while they might have some theology faculty who are actual practicing Catholics this really ought not concern students very much.

Besides, this list is only relative to other Catholic universities with regards to faithfulness and in no way presupposes the kind of perfection we would all want from a Catholic school. Franciscan University has a very large portion of faculty, staff, and even high level administration that are not in fact representative of the sort of Catholicism we would want to believe permeates the school in every way. Indeed, many are not even Catholic at all. Just examine various departments, outside of theology/philosophy, and you will see that most professors are just Ohio steel valley locals in need of a job.

Since not even these schools offer what we’re looking for, in this respect, they should not be regarded as being very desirable for us or “good”. Indeed, I think that Franciscan is a kind of scam and that your a sucker if you fall for it. I fell for it! (Worst mistake of my life)

People have a needless fear of state schools and higher ranked private schools but they shouldn’t. Your children, now adults, are going off to start their professional lives and not attend a religious retreat. They need to be able to learn to take Christ with them where ever that may lead them because once they are out of college they are going to enter a highly hostile world as it pertains to religion. It is better to learn about that world and how to wrestle with it sooner rather than later. You can always study your Catechism on your own time!