<p>For those at a Catholic university who looked at mainly Catholic universities (and for those of you, like me, who are HS seniors looking at Catholic colleges):</p>
<p>I'm undecided about many things concerning what college I want to go to, but I'm pretty certain I want to go to a Catholic college. Here are some of the ones I've been looking at (many based on my state of residence):</p>
<p>The Catholic University of America
Mount St. Mary's College
College of the Holy Cross
Loyola Marymount University
Georgetown University
Creighton University
Villanova University
Marquette University
Pepperdine University (not Catholic but still looking at)
Boston College
Santa Clara University
University of Notre Dame
University of San Diego</p>
<p>(not in any particular order)</p>
<p>They are all pretty different, but for those of you who applied/will be applying to any or all of these schools:
*Which schools and why?
*Pros and cons?
*If you had a similar list, which university did you pick over another and why?
*etc.</p>
<p>Feel free to mention any other Catholic universities as well. </p>
<p>The only Catholic college my d looked at (and eventually chose to attend) was The University of Dallas. She chose it because of their Core Curriculum, the semester in Rome, the merit scholarships, and because it is authentically and faithfully Catholic. Other reasons were that she could get a liberal arts education while being a science major and still be involved in artsy endeavors such as choir and opera, and most of the students are truly excited to be studying works such as the Illiad, Plato, philosophy, etc.</p>
<p>As far as I know, I don’t need a ton of financial aid. My parents haven’t given me any limits on tuition; they are pretty much just telling me to look at colleges I like. I’m guessing they don’t want money to be a limiting factor in my education. But yes, some aid would be nice. ;)</p>
<p>I do want a core curriculum so that I am taking history and english classes (planning on majoring in math and/or science) throughout my years in college. But I think most universities have that for at least the first year or two. After you mentioned it, I researched more on liberal arts schools and I’m not sure if that’s right for me. </p>
<p>I play sports, but I don’t think I’m good enough for D1. I am interested in intramural sports, though. </p>
<p>I don’t really want to go to a school that’s over 15,000 undergrads. I’m mainly looking at schools that have between 5,000-10,000 students, give or take. </p>
<p>I could see myself in any type of area: urban, suburban, or rural.</p>
<p>My son chose Fordham because he loves NYC and he wanted a midsize school with traditional campus as well as a strong business program. Couldn’t have been happier with his choice. He attended Notre Dame for grad school and it was a very different experience which he enjoyed as well.</p>
<p>Most colleges have general ed requirements or distributives (or called something else), which is ~6 courses outside your field or major.</p>
<p>A true Core curriculum, such as required by Boston College (Columbia and Chicago) require a common core of classes which includes math, science, history, english, lit/hume, and even VAPA. Much different.</p>
<p>My question about sports was not whether you could be recruited, but whether attending games and school spirit was important to you. And perhaps intramurals?</p>
<p>Then of course, what are your grades+test scores? (Marquette and Creighton are much easier to get into than Georgetown, ND and BC.)</p>
<p>Can you recommend any GOOD Catholic colleges that specialize in pre-med or biochemistry? I want to go to a Catholic university (to stay dedicated to my religion) but still get my degree at a somewhat selective or at least medium-selective Catholic college. Any help? Thanks!</p>
<p>happy1: I’ll take a look at Fordham; thanks!</p>
<p>bluebayou: I’ll look further into the core curriculum stuff, thanks.</p>
<p>Sorry. Yes, I would be interested in attending D1 games, especially if the atmosphere is amazing, like how it is at ND. Both my parents went there and I grew up cheering for the Irish. If a college has spirit like that, I’d go to games. I’d be interested in football, hockey, and soccer.</p>
<p>I have a 4.0 UW/4.55 W GPA; SAT: 2050, ACT: 29 (first and only time I have taken them (so far), and I essentially took them cold, so I know I can do better).</p>
<p>In terms of US News rankings among the national universities — those that offer a full range of undergraduate and graduate degrees and do grand-breaking research — the University of Notre Dame leads the pack at #19. Georgetown University is next at #22. In the top 100 are Boston College, #31, Fordham University, #53, Marquette University, #82, St. Louis University, #90, and the University of San Diego, #97.</p>
<p>In the rankings for liberal arts colleges — those that “emphasize undergraduate education and award at least half their degrees in liberal arts fields” — College of the Holy Cross ranked highest at #29. St. John’s University (Minn.) and Thomas Aquinas College (Calif.) tied for #71. The College of St. Benedict (Minn.) tied with St. Mary’s College (Ind.) for #90. St. Michael’s College ranked at #99.</p>
<p>Georgetown is a good school. My mom and three uncles went there. I don’t know much about the specific programs or anything but one of my uncles is a successful doctor now.</p>
<p>Hi! I go to Notre Dame and I absolutely love it! It has solid academics, an excellent reputation, a unique residence life program, and a fantastic spirit on campus. It’s full of students who really care about their academics and their faith, but also have fun between sports and parties and such! If your parents went there, than you probably have a good idea of what it is like anyway! If you have any questions for a current student, let me know! :)</p>
<p>Loyola Marymount for size, location and its ranking in the location, and also the television program, even though son switched to engineering.</p>
<p>He went to a really “Christian” school from pre K through 12, so this was a bit of a compromise for us. We didn’t want to pay for any more “Christian” schools, and he thought Catholics were practically heathens.</p>
<p>Sorry post got cut off for some reason, I was going to say that it was a good fit, location classes, curriculum, nice campus, all these factors are important</p>
<p>Gonzaga - initially interested because DD is a big basketball fan and GU has great men’s and women’s teams. We know lots of happy and successful current students and graduates. More selective than the state schools she was considering. People know how to have fun, but it doesn’t have a party school reputation, which she was apprehensive about with WSU. Nice size - about 5000 students.</p>
<p>Hates hot weather and isn’t wild about travel. So U San Diego, Loyola Marymount, Santa Clara were out. Prejudiced against St. Mary’s of California because it’s the West Coast Conference rival of the Zags - the school Zags fans love to hate. U San Francisco gives mostly or only need based aid, which wasn’t going to be enough. Seattle U. - campus is lovely, in the city and compact, but just wasn’t interested (too close to home, and just getting back into D1 basketball, and the games are held off campus at the Key Arena.) UPortland - in a residential neighborhood where there are no funky shops, cafes etc. nearby. Carroll College, Helena MT - too small.</p>
<p>Gonzaga gives good merit aid guaranteed for the full 4 years (assuming SAP), is in the city but with a largish nice campus. A short walk along the river to downtown Spokane with Nordstrom etc. if the desire to shop happens. (She isn’t a shopper, but wants it to be there just in case.) Great school spirit, very active intramural sports, majors she’s interested in. Older sister is a senior at GU, so if freshman daughter gets nervous or has an emergency, sister’s available, but if not she can ignore her. Five hours away from home, so ‘away’ but not plane ride distance.</p>
<p>Parents like that it has more required religion and philosophy classes than some of the other Catholic colleges, and we’ve enjoyed the Jesuits we’ve met on campus. We’ll watch for our kids in the Kennel Club student section when the Zags basketball games are televised - and most of the men’s games are, at least in our region if you have ESPN etc.</p>
<p>Hi Cherry, I’ll be attending Notre Dame this fall, and it sounds like this might be a good fit for you. They’ve got great intramural/club sports, an incredible sense of community, and obviously superb academics. You’re a double legacy, so that’ll definitely help with getting in, but I’d also ask your folks to give you their take on the school. </p>
<p>Last year, I also looked at Georgetown and Boston College. Those are also great schools. While BC is a lot like ND in the sense of the big sports culture and strong Catholic character, Georgetown seems to be a bit more focused on the arts and is a bit less vocally Catholic. That’s just my opinion, btw–make sure to visit the schools if you can and decide for yourself :)</p>
<p>Best of luck with your search, and God bless.</p>
<p>I can agree with spencerg011’s statement that BC is less vocal about being Catholic. You’ll also realize that it’s a party school as well (not too crazy though).</p>