<p>Not from each other--from other colleges.</p>
<p>Here are the five espoused characteristics of Jesuit colleges and universities:</p>
<ol>
<li>Dedication to Human Dignity from a Catholic/Jesuit Faith Perspective </li>
<li>Reverence for and an Ongoing Reflection on Human Experience </li>
<li>Creative Companionship with Colleagues</li>
<li>Focused Care for Students</li>
<li>Well-Educated Justice and Solidarity</li>
</ol>
<p>More details here:</p>
<p>[Jesuit</a> Schools Library](<a href=“Jesuits Home - Jesuits.org”>Jesuits Home - Jesuits.org)</p>
<p>My opinion:</p>
<p>There is a religious, service-oriented “feel” at the Jesuit colleges but it is not at all a down-your-throat religous feel, and the Jesuits themselves are interested in your questioning or searching about what you believe or the meaning of life in general. Your overall education and your growth as a person is valued. These are very nice schools. I did not know what Jesuits were until I was well past college age; they are cool people. I am not Catholic but i would be happy if either of the TwoKids_ chose a Jesuit college. </p>
<p>Some other Catholic schools (Benedictine schools for example) in my opinion have more of a Catholic/Catholic feel to them, kind of like a Catholic high school. “OK” for non Catholics; sometimes perhaps a bit uncomfortable for non believers or non Christians. </p>
<p>I hope I am saying this all in a way that does not sound offensive! Religion is always hard to discuss, and anything touchy is hard to talk about with email.</p>
<p>Some Christian schools, some Methodist schools I have noticed, anyway, have such a secular feel that students attending may not notice that the school has a religious affiliation. (Disclosure: I’m a Methodist graduate of a Methodist college at least considering suggesting visits to several Methodist colleges for second of the 2Kids_)</p>
<p>added: just read gadad’s post. It think it might be the “ongoing reflection on human experience” that I like about Jesuit schools. An examined life. :)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Any specific school that strikes you that way?</p>
<p>Just a tiny bit of background–Middle Child has always been a little more difficult to figure out than Oldest or Youngest. I wonder what environment might suit him when it comes to college. MC is oh-so-quiet but actually quite a deep thinker and very concerned with justice/right-and-wrong. I happened upon a post from another thread in which a parent said he still remembers the ethics discussions from 20 years ago at his Jesuit school. I googled the list of Jesuit colleges in the U.S. and realized I know nothing about any of them. Anybody had or aware of good/bad/?? experiences with one?</p>
<p>As someone who went to a public school for undergrad and a Jesuit school for graduate school (Santa Clara University), I would be delighted if my kids went to a Jesuit school for either graduate or undergraduate education. I am not nor are my kids Catholic if that matters.</p>
<p>The climate at Santa Clara is not overtly religious. The vast majority of the courses are taught by lay people - with just a few priests scattered amongst the faculty. </p>
<p>What there is that I so highly value is this sense of morality - questioning what is right and wrong and understanding that it is not clear cut but rather many shades of gray. </p>
<p>As I have said in other threads, the ethics classes I took in business school stick with me to this day - still under my skin and in the back of my brain. The discussions and the gentle probing that went on in the classroom would leave me questioning my thought processes for days afterwards. </p>
<p>Lastly, I have met many Jesuits over the years in many parts of my life - and without exception, they are exceptional people that I am happy to be associated with.</p>
<p>Fine answer, scualum. It was indeed one of your posts I saw earlier today that got me thinking.</p>
<p>I’ve spent a lot of time at colleges, often for extracurricular things for my kids even before they were college aged, as the facilities are often used for outreach programs. For the most part, I did not feel that the atmosphere at Catholic or Jesuit colleges were any different from other colleges in the same category. The exceptions were colleges that were known to be very religious, and that would be the case for any school affiliated with a religion that makes it a prominent part of the school. </p>
<p>What you cannot miss are the religions icons and seals from the “Touchdown Jesus” to stained glass windows. If those things bother you, be warned that they are generally everywhere at Catholic schools.</p>
<p>As a non-Catholic family whose two kids and their father attend(ed) Jesuit schools, I have to agree with most of the previous posters. There is a special spirit on those campuses and they truly care about each and every student. They don’t ask your religion- they accept you. And the emphasis the Jesuits place on education is tremendous.</p>
<p>We are not a particularly religious family, so I found it interesting that D chose a Jesuit school because of the vibe she got when she first set foot on campus. After acceptance, H encouraged her to accept an invitation to be a member of a Jesuit honors program. It was comprehensive and rigorous and she was very glad she did. The other school she would have chosen if she didn’t attend the Jesuit one was Franciscan. I guess there was something about those Catholic schools she really liked.</p>
<p>S started at another Catholic school but then transferred to D’s Jesuit school. Again, a spirit, a sense of being valued, a welcoming environment. He loved his Intro. to Philosophy and Ethics classes - something I never thought I would see in my techie kid. He is getting a very well-rounded education (which he needed).</p>
<p>I have told many people not to overlook Jesuit colleges just because you are not Catholic. The religion is there if you want it, but it is certainly fine if you do not want to take part.</p>
<p>I went to a Jesuit school (U of Scranton) many years ago. I can’t exactly put my finger on what made it different, but I can tell you that while it didn’t have a religious feel, it had an ethical, moral feel to it. I am a baptized Catholic but haven’t practiced the religion since high school, FWIW, and felt no pressure to do so there. It was a comfortable atmosphere for me. I have no idea if that was UScranton or Jesuit schools in general. I didn’t run into a lot of Jesuit priests there, but the 3 or 4 that I knew were outstanding individuals whom I respected a great deal. My father and my DH both went to Jesuit schools (St. Joe’s and Marquette, respectively) and had good experiences.</p>
<p>DD will be a senior at Santa Clara University. She was not raised Catholic. Santa Clara is a wonderful school and we think it is very typical of the Jesuit colleges. First of all…the size is about 4200 undergrads which we found to be very typical of Jesuit colleges…so not too big, but not too small. Yes, it’s a Jesuit school, and there is a religion requirement, but there are about 100 different courses from which to choose. My daughter found these courses to be very interesting. The core course requirements give students the opportunity to explore multiple disciplines before declaring a major. SCU has no grad assistants teaching classes and the professors are extremely accessible. The Jesuit priests are a wonderful group of individuals with a terrific presence on the campus. Scualum mentioned the ethics part of his experience there. That continues to be the case as well as a huge community outreach component. In fact, many of the humanities courses have community outreach as part of their instruction.</p>
<p>The school is Catholic, yes…but also very ecumenical in its views. Yes, there’s a Christmas tree, and a Mission Church…and the Jesuits…but no one there is trying to convert you to Catholicism…and in fact polite dialogue is welcome.</p>
<p>The course offerings in a university the size of SCU (and many of the other Jesuit schools) are plentiful. Individual student advising and counseling is excellent too.</p>
<p>DD also applied to two other Catholic colleges (not Jesuit) and they definitely had a more religious “feel” to them than SCU. </p>
<p>We are delighted with this particular Jesuit school and what it has offered our daughter in the last three years.</p>
<p>And…oh yes…if you’d like an almost perfect climate…SCU has it.</p>
<p>Quote: Benedictine schools for example
Any specific school that strikes you that way?</p>
<p>St Vincent in Latrobe, PA strikes me that way. Benedictine colleges tend to be smaller and that may contribute to the more Catholic feel.</p>
<p>Recently visited a Benedictine and a Agnesian school with goaliegirl. Very different from each other. Benedictine school had a dedicated hour on every Wednesday morning for reflection (no classes, office hours, clubs, or any other school activity) as well as a community service requirement. The Agnesian school had an Art, Music, and Theology requirement. Benedictine school had a very unusual setup in the sanctuary with the seating done in the round with the Mass led from a chair in the first row in the middle.</p>
<p>Benedictine school was about 2000 students. Agnesian about 1300.</p>
<p>Not meaning to sound difficult, but perhaps to dial it in a little more, there are many small schools and also schools where the kids take their honor code seriously. I understand if there’s a “can’t quite put my finger on it” kind of feel, but I’d love to hear from people with experience at a Jesuit school as well as perhaps a more traditional LAC. (And I’m not concerned with proselytizing. Because of my personal biases, I wouldn’t steer a kid toward a Catholic school but have always heard the Jesuits are not overly religious but all about the learning.)</p>
<p>Ingerp, are you familiar with Davidson College? It’s a small school outside of Charlotte NC. THe students there are very tight and take the honor code very, very seriously. It is so evident when you visit the school. The academics are impressive as well.</p>
<p>I’ve heard nothing but good things about Davidson, although I believe it would be a reach for this particular child. (I think Elon will be on our list, however.) (And I wouldn’t consider it a safety at all.)</p>
<p>RE: how are the Jesuit colleges different? Many posters have mentioned the main aspects. I would also emphasize Jesuit colleges desire to liberally educate their students. People have mentioned the theo/philo requirements, but for many of the Jesuit colleges liberal education also includes math, science, history, foreign language, social science required courses regardless of students’ major. At my Jesuit alma mater, (many yrs ago) about 2 yrs worth of course work was in the general education areas - the remainder was for your declared major and elective courses. Not everyone who wants to be a doctor or scienctist, for eg. will want to study a foreign language or history. So the coursework is broad and rigourous.</p>
<p>Also, Jesuit schools try to develop men and women for others - the service aspect mentioned. This can be very strong on each campus with many, many activities that revolve around service. Recently many colleges have combined them with college courses for a service-learning component that can be integrated with your academic career.</p>
<p>Finally, I believe that many of the Jesuit schools also try to educate, mind, body and spirit. With the “body” component, many of these schools field fairly competitive intercollegiate athletics programs! Some even compete on the Div I level despite their smaller student populations - Gonzaga, Marquette, BC & Georgetown to name a few :-)</p>
<p>All these things can add up to a wonderful college exeperience for many students. They are also located throughout the US - so hopefully you can find one that fits your student’s location criteria.</p>