Our family visited St. Joseph’s and thought it was a great school. I was surprised to read some of the bad comments below…ie. kids transferring out, school not spending the money it needs to, discipline issues, unsafe, terrible food, and many other issues. I would like to know if these things have improved Thank you very much!
I joined CC just to respond to your post. I was in your shoes just two years ago, distressed after reading the negative reviews (albeit most are from a single poster). The poster did have some valid points…at that time (2014) SJU was in crisis. However, since 2015 Dr. Mark Reed has taken over the helm as President of the university and has seemingly turned things around. I invite you to read the following article in the local newspaper/website http://www.philly.com/philly/education/two-years-in-st-joes-president-making-the-grade-20170730.html.
After visiting twice, Saint Joe’s is my daughter’s #1 choice.
St. Joe’s is a fine school, no less safe than any other urban campus (and a good deal safer than many). The kids I know who go/went there (friends and classmates of my children plus a nephew; we’re about 45 minutes away) seem to like it quite a bit. I personally don’t know of any kid who’s transferred out (of course some do, but doesn’t seem like it’s rampant). The school has a lot going for it, although I don’t know if the food is any good. 
Thank you both!
A friend 's D is a senior there and has thrived!
She said she thought a big part of how happy people were as freshmen was whether they were “lucky” in who else was on their hall. I think this is true everywhere to some extent.
Agree! It’s luck of the draw in a lot of ways. You can have a horrible roommate and group of people and it can put a cloud over how you feel about everything or visa versa.
SJU is my daughter’s top choice as well. We’ve visited three times and like it more each time we go there.
My friend’s daughter is a sophomore, and loves it there!
In my experience, people are much more prone to write a negative review than a positive one. If things go south, they want the world to know, to place blame on someone else. If things go well, they’re more prone to pat themselves on the back for their good judgement, and not write the review.
Trust your gut.
@100lucky1, thanks for posting that article. This school was on our radar but not top of the heap,but they offered our son the Presidential Scholarship, so were looking closer at it
Great, so glad it helped you @VikkiG5.
My daughter currently goes to SJU and loves it. She is in the honors program studying pre-med. She got a 4.0 her first semester but also made some great friends and is involved on campus. It was the perfect fit for a full, well-rounded college experience. She was accepted to a lot of great schools but chose SJU. She could not be happier!
@momofvet thank you so much for posting! What kinds of activities is your daughter involved in on campus? My daughter will be a biology major, not a partier, but excited to experience all that Philly and SJU has to offer.