The Jesuit Colleges

[HouseArrest]

My two cents as someone who is currently attending a Jesuit university:

The environment is generally positive although it’s important to realize that the education won’t involve the same attention per student from the professor as is possible in a small high school (even if the college is small like Fordham).
As for cost, it sucks and unless one is rich scholarships are needed. I wouldn’t be at my college now without huge financial support.
And the fact that Jesuit schools say they are about building up the whole person simply means that they force students to take “core” classes, i.e. taking courses that have nothing to do with one’s major to create a well-rounded person. As a student, I hate this policy. I feel that instead of taking a philosophy class, I could be doing something else closer to my major. If I’m paying good money for this education, I should be able to have more flexibility as for which classes to take. Of course, I’m typing this annoyed by the fact that I have a history exam tomorrow (another core class)

You could have gone to a college that doesn’t require core classes. There are a lot of them out there.

It is important to distinguish education from job training. I agree with the poster that said you’ll be happy in your 40’s with that history class. College is supposed to cover more than your life from 9-5 after you graduate.

 

[HouseArrest]

Thank you for that list, however they only recommend 22 colleges, and none of the many Catholic colleges in the NY Tri-State area made that list.

I do understand that the Jesuits can be quite challenging and pretty liberal at times. That should not however exclude them from the list altogether. From what I understand, they believe in challenging the norms, but they don’t necessarily disagree with the norms, (if that makes sense!) I spoke to a number of Catholic students at Fordham, and they had nothing but good thing to say about the Jesuits on campus, the Catholic clubs and organisations, and Mass is well attended both on weekdays and weekends. Challenge is OK to me, my daughter is well grounded in her faith…

I would like to keep my college students closer to home and wish there were more than 22 choices. I often wonder what, exactly, keeps certain schools off the list.

I hope you are right about Fordham. It is difficult for me to tell when a school is challenging the students faith or undermining it. Good luck in the college search!

 

[FatherOfTwelve]

So my youngest daughter is in her senior year of high school and is in the process of college selection.

Well, what an awakening! She is a product of a very fine, small Dominican HS in Manhattan NY. She has worked very hard there and has done very well. So she is now interested in two Jesuit colleges, one being Fordham in The Bronx, the other being Loyola in MD. Both are seriously fine schools, steeped in tradition and seemingly devoted to building-up the whole person. I have fallen head over heels for Fordham, as my daughter has. But here’s the snag - the Jesuit education does not come cheap!

Even though my daughter received about a half scholarship to Fordham. we are still looking at about $32,000 a year, including housing. Ouch! Now I believe I can handle this bill, but I have to ask a couple of questions -

1 - Why are the Jesuit colleges so expensive?
2 - What are your opinions on the Jesuit schools?
3 - The Dominican run HS education my daughter received was exceptional and well worth the money. Will I feel the same about the Jesuits?

Thanks ahead of time!

Franciscan University in steubenville, OH
franciscan.edu/Admissions/WhyFranciscan/

 

[jimcav]

I would like to keep my college students closer to home and wish there were more than 22 choices. I often wonder what, exactly, keeps certain schools off the list.

Yeah, that list is quite incomplete IMHO. There have to be 22 Catholic colleges in my Tri-state area alone, and none of them are good enough to make that list? I find that a bit hard to believe. We are looking for a college here, not a seminary or convent. Heck, even Notre Dame didn’t make that list?

I hope you are right about Fordham. It is difficult for me to tell when a school is challenging the students faith or undermining it. Good luck in the college search!

I was told that there are about 15 Jesuits on campus and they are always available for help with questions of faith and other issues. And I trust that my daughters conservative Dominican order HS religious education will see her through any challenges or attempts to undermine her faith. I 'm guessing it won’t take me long to sense changes anyway, should they come.

Thanks you!

 

[jimcav]

Franciscan University in steubenville, OH
franciscan.edu/Admissions/WhyFranciscan/

I’ve read and heard great things about this school for sure.

Out of my daughters geographical area however…

 

[jwinch2]

Yeah, that list is quite incomplete IMHO. There have to be 22 Catholic colleges in my Tri-state area alone, and none of them are good enough to make that list? I find that a bit hard to believe. We are looking for a college here, not a seminary or convent. Heck, even Notre Dame didn’t make that list?

You might spend some time perusing the forums on the various schools in your area that claim to be Catholic. As others have noted above, many are Catholic in name only and have regularly promoted things which are contrary to Church teaching. Is it so shocking in today’s work where 75% of those who claim to be Catholic don’t even attend Mass weekly and many who do openly dissent from Church doctrine to see that many co-called Catholic colleges lost their Catholic identity years ago?

There is a ton of good info here on CAF about this situation, how it happened, and what the status of Catholic higher education in America is today. If it were my child, I would want to know exactly why only 22 colleges made the list of the Newman Guide, what their standards were, and how various schools were evaluated before I dismissed it.

cardinalnewmansociety.org/TheNewmanGuide/About/FAQsAboutThisGuide.aspx
cardinalnewmansociety.org/TheNewmanGuide/CollegeSearchAdvice/CatholicCollegesAreNotAlltheSame.aspx

Friendly advice, but its obviously up to you.

 

[llenadegracia]

I’ve read and heard great things about this school for sure.

Out of my daughters geographical area however…

Why would that be out of your daughter’s geographical area?

Also as a sidenote, I looked at the guide that jwinch2 posted a link to…absolutely none of the schools that made it on that list surprised me. I have friends who attend many of those schools and have only good things to say.

As a current college student, I encourage you to really examine where your daughter can obtain a quality education with a worthwhile experience for the least amount of money.

 

[BonSecours]

I’m currently in my freshman year at Fordham (Lincoln Center, not Rose Hill, so I can’t comment much on what it’s like in the Bronx), and I’m liking it so far. I received a full tuition scholarship and probably wouldn’t be going here if I didn’t (but I’m from the Midwest and it would have made more sense to attend a closer school if I was going to have to pay more). Most of my professors have been really great and clearly knowledgeable in their subject areas. They’ve been very helpful when I was struggling with subject material and will make time outside of their scheduled office hours to help you if you really need it. Based on conversations with my roommates it seems like some of the core classes can be hit or miss, but I’ve only had a bad experience with one class while all the others have been great or average. There’s also a lot of activities to be involved in, and more so at the campus your daughter is considering than where I am. Whether or not the education would be worth the money I can’t really say since I’m covered with the scholarship and I only have one semester under my belt, but I know that despite some doubts early in the year I definitely made the right choice and I’m looking forward to my next three years here.

P.S. If your daughter is looking for a very Catholic experience, I’m not sure if the school will be what she’s looking for, but then again I don’t know what it’s like at Rose Hill. Here there seems to be a small percentage of the school that is regularly active in campus ministry, but there is daily and Sunday mass and campus ministry hosts many other activities to be involved in. In my classes I’ve met a surprising amount of “recovering Catholics” considering the fact that it’s a Catholic institution, but based on reading I’ve done that’s typical of Catholic universities. That fact doesn’t bother me (I really like the religious diversity here), but if your daughter wants to be around a lot of people with a strong sense of Catholic faith it’s worth noting. Since she’s looking at Rose Hill you may want to talk to a student from there when you go for a visit.

I missed it earlier, but looking back you said that your daughter likes theater and music. I had a great experience with the acting class for non-majors I took last semester. Even though the theatre department is at Lincoln Center, Rose Hill students can take these classes too. There’s an option for a comprehensive theatre minor that I’ve been considering and there’s always some kind of production going on. I know at Rose Hill they have a student-led group that puts on various productions, many of which are musicals Also I know there’s options to take dance classes for non-majors. Good luck with the college search!

 

[jimcav]

I’m currently in my freshman year at Fordham (Lincoln Center, not Rose Hill, so I can’t comment much on what it’s like in the Bronx), and I’m liking it so far. I received a full tuition scholarship and probably wouldn’t be going here if I didn’t (but I’m from the Midwest and it would have made more sense to attend a closer school if I was going to have to pay more). Most of my professors have been really great and clearly knowledgeable in their subject areas. They’ve been very helpful when I was struggling with subject material and will make time outside of their scheduled office hours to help you if you really need it. Based on conversations with my roommates it seems like some of the core classes can be hit or miss, but I’ve only had a bad experience with one class while all the others have been great or average. There’s also a lot of activities to be involved in, and more so at the campus your daughter is considering than where I am. Whether or not the education would be worth the money I can’t really say since I’m covered with the scholarship and I only have one semester under my belt, but I know that despite some doubts early in the year I definitely made the right choice and I’m looking forward to my next three years here.

Thanks for bringing your experience here!

Wow! A full ride to Fordham! You must have been very, very good in HS to earn that. Good for you, hard work does pay off. My daughter got a half scholarship, and I was very happy that, but I am considering pleading for more money to help us get her there. I figure it can’t hurt.

It sounds as though you are doing very well there and the school is a good fit. I’m glad the professors are good and helpful and I like all of the clubs and activities you can be part of to. As you noted, Lincoln Center is quite different from Rose Hill in The Bronx. Your “campus” is the heart of Manhattan, which is pretty cool for sure. My daughter danced ballet there for many years and loved it, but now campus life is calling her.

P.S. If your daughter is looking for a very Catholic experience, I’m not sure if the school will be what she’s looking for, but then again I don’t know what it’s like at Rose Hill. Here there seems to be a small percentage of the school that is regularly active in campus ministry, but there is daily and Sunday mass and campus ministry hosts many other activities to be involved in. In my classes I’ve met a surprising amount of “recovering Catholics” considering the fact that it’s a Catholic institution, but based on reading I’ve done that’s typical of Catholic universities. That fact doesn’t bother me (I really like the religious diversity here), but if your daughter wants to be around a lot of people with a strong sense of Catholic faith it’s worth noting. Since she’s looking at Rose Hill you may want to talk to a student from there when you go for a visit.

I think she just wants a place where she can grow in her Catholicity, and practice it in an inviting and comfortable setting. I understand, as does she, that there will be other students, even many of them, that are “recovering Catholics”. She sadly dealt with that in her very Catholic HS and yet she still thrived there. She was involved with ministry there and she wants to do campus ministry in college. I think she might actually have a more rewarding experience trying to bring back young people to the faith than being at a place where everyone is already devout.

And for me, I just want a place where my daughter will still be my daughter after 4 years, just a lttle more matured, faithful, and well adjusted and on her way to a fine career…

 

[HouseArrest]

Yeah, that list is quite incomplete IMHO. There have to be 22 Catholic colleges in my Tri-state area alone, and none of them are good enough to make that list? I find that a bit hard to believe. We are looking for a college here, not a seminary or convent. Heck, even Notre Dame didn’t make that list?

I was told that there are about 15 Jesuits on campus and they are always available for help with questions of faith and other issues. And I trust that my daughters conservative Dominican order HS religious education will see her through any challenges or attempts to undermine her faith. I 'm guessing it won’t take me long to sense changes anyway, should they come.

Thanks you!

I wouldn’t call the list incomplete. The Cardinal Newman Society started with a list of criteria that they considered made a faithful Catholic college and listed the colleges that met that criteria. Some colleges that are not listed may have met all but one or two of the criteria, making them a close runner up, and some may have not met any, making them hardly Catholic.

It is a great starting point. You really should look into it. It is free and a wealth of information. The schools are also a lot different from each other. And they are real colleges, with real, live teenage to twenty something students. They are not convents or seminaries.

 

[jimcav]

I wouldn’t call the list incomplete. The Cardinal Newman Society started with a list of criteria that they considered made a faithful Catholic college and listed the colleges that met that criteria. Some colleges that are not listed may have met all but one or two of the criteria, making them a close runner up, and some may have not met any, making them hardly Catholic.

It is a great starting point. You really should look into it. It is free and a wealth of information. The schools are also a lot different from each other. And they are real colleges, with real, live teenage to twenty something students. They are not convents or seminaries.

I hope my comments didn’t come off as being smart or dismissive, especially the convent remark.

I am going over the criteria and I appreciate the listing. I guess it just amazes me that so few schools made this list, and that none of the big schools made it just boggles my mind. It’s doubtful that my daughter will go to any of the listed schools due to their location’s, but the criteria that put them on the list will be interesting to note.