<p>I don't know a lot about Xavier, but i am interested in Jesuit schools and it is about the right size. So far i have been accepted to Loyola Chicago, but i am waiting on decisions from College of the Holy Cross, DePauw, Marquette, and UMich. how does Xavier compare academically to these school, especially loyola. are they generous with aid (merit and need-based)? what is the social scene like? I am pretty confident i can get in and it is free to apply so i might.</p>
<p>I don’t know enough about the schools you mention to compare Xavier to them. Our feel was that it is a small, but not too small campus, a student body with some diversity, but also many students who seem to come from the traditional Catholic high school environment.<br>
Sports (obviously basketball) are big at Xavier and it sounded like intramurals were big as well. </p>
<p>The highest merit aid available (depending on GPA/test scores) is $15,000. There are a few other scholarships that are highly competitive and only a few of them. Not sure of the need based aid - will find out when we get our fin aid package!</p>
<p>Xavier is on par with Marquette and DePauw but nowhere near Michigan and Holy Cross</p>
<p>If you applied, were accepted, and decided to attend Xavier, and have any questions about living on campus or whatever, let me know and I’ll be happy to answer! I will be a senior there this year, and I love going to XU.</p>
<p>XU - Xavier is on DS list, but it’s too far for him to visit before acceptance. How is the neighborhood around XU as far as places to go, eat, shop, etc.? Are there places within walking distance? Is it student friendly?</p>
<p>Because it is a Jesuit school, it is not in the best of neighborhoods. However, that does not mean the neighborhood is necessarily dangerous, so long as common sense is used. There are only a few places within walking distance, and most of the shopping requires going farther than within walking distance, however, the Metro bus is fairly reliable, and the 51 line runs directly past campus, going up to Hyde Park and Center City, where there are plenty of places to eat and shop-Target, Meijer, Kroger, Whole Foods, Biggs various fast-food, Penn Station, Panera, Potbelly, JoAnns Fabrics, Michaels craft store, ACE hardware, GAP, DSW, etc. Also, freshmen are allowed to have cars, and it is currently $120 to park on campus if you live in one of the residence halls, so there will always be one person your child will know who has a car (likely the RA). Most people around XU love the students (hate the construction, which is understandable), and there are many events hosted at XU which involve interaction with the surrounding community. On campus is very friendly, and most people know each other by their sophomore year through classes or clubs. In case you were not aware, there are over 100 clubs on campus, and there is also a Club Day at the beginning of the year showcasing most of the clubs out on the Greenspace. Campus is beautiful, and people hang out on the Greenspace when the weather is nice. The campus police are on duty 24/7, and there are “emergency boxes” all over campus which has a button which can be pushed in an emergency and CP respond in 15 seconds or less. Students are encouraged to have the CP number (513-745-1000, or simply ext 1000 if calling from an on-campus phone) handy; I have mine listed as “Aaa Campus Police” in my cell phone contacts so it is at the top of the list and readily available, though the most I’ve used it for is on-campus apartment issues when Physical Plant was off hours. There is also a shuttle which runs on campus and slightly off campus, depending on the day and time of day.</p>
<p>I can’t think of what else to say, but if you have any more questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.</p>
<p>Oh, I almost forgot, Manresa, the new student orientation program which takes place the weekend before classes begin, is a really great opportunity to participate in. What year is he going to be starting at XU if he decides to go there?</p>
<p>Thank you for your response, XU. DS will be hs senior this year, so will start college in Fall 2011. Is there anything in particular that you would say sets XU apart from the many other catholic colleges of comparable size on DS list (ie. Gannon, Canisius, Niagara)? I realize you may not be individually familiar with all of them, but just speaking from what you have experienced and heard?</p>
<p>I think XU is unique in providing large-university opportunities yet keeping the small-university feel. I am not familiar with any of those other colleges listed, so I can’t say anything for them, but I just love the feeling I have at Xavier that we are a big family.</p>
<p>And not everyone is necessarily Catholic at Xavier. I believe its between 60-70% are, and the rest of are other religious backgrounds. We have a faith and justice department, which assists students in finding places of worship nearby campus and connects them with ways to get there. We also have an interfaith group, and a few faith discussion groups, Navigators (Christian group), Life After Sunday (Catholic group), and Koinonia (my personal favorite, a loosely Christian group where you remain with the same small group of people all four years and creates very strong bonds). We have a freshman only retreat called GetAway that I highly recommend, and Bellarmine chapel serves the community around Xavier as a parish, as well as having two student-run masses at 4pm (more traditional) and 10pm (more contemporary) on Sundays.</p>
<p>The application is free, so it never hurts to apply, and in the spring there are plenty of opportunities for prospective students to get a feel for the campus, if that is possible. For instance, you can schedule for him to stay overnight with a Xavier student over his spring break (which more likely than not will be when we have school) and stay in a real residence hall room and attend a real class. I believe there are also a couple virtual tours on the website, xavier.edu, and I know for sure there is information on the new construction happening, which will be finished by the time he is attending, to my knowledge.</p>
<p>Also, if there is a specific major program he is going into, I can give you any information I have and if I am not familiar with the program, I likely know someone in that program and can ask them about it.</p>
<p>If there are any concerns or more questions, I will be more than happy to answer them. Personally, I was set on going to University of Dayton then visited Xavier and decided it was a better fit for me. I am a volunteer tour guide during the school year so I can tell you whatever you want to know, and even e-mail you a list of notes based off the onilne campus map, kind of like a mini-tour except without getting to see things on the insides of the buildings.</p>
<p>Hey xaniamom!
Just giving some of my input on the topic.
I am also about to be a senior in high school. I visited both Xavier and U Dayton, which are both big catholic schools in ohio. Honestly, Dayton is by far my favorite university that I have been to. Xavier and Dayton seem to be great matches for particular students.
What i liked about Dayton:
- The size is slightly bigger than Xavier, about 7,000 students
- The campus was wonderful, everyone was SO happy, they are ranked very highly on princeton review for happiest students and best overall experience, i really felt that when i was there.
- There is a huge emphasis on service and community which was very nice
- The facilities seemed very up to date
- Dorms were great, and over 90% live on campus, due to the awesome student neighborhoods.
- Great Green Space, and adding more</p>
<p>As for Xavier, it was just a bit too small for me, I didn’t get that beautiful campus feel that I am looking for, to be honest the buildings were rather bland, they are tan brick with a strange pattern imprinted. The facilities also seemed to be rather old, for example the pool is extremely run down compared to other schools i have visited. However, i really liked that it was located in proximity to Cincinnati, that offers a lot of opportunity. </p>
<p>I visited both on rather bland days. During my UD visit it was cold and rainy, during my XU visit it was windy and grey. Both schools were set up really well, it is very easy to get around campus. Both of them aren’t in the best areas of town, but both of them felt like their own bubbles, as long as you stayed there you were safe. </p>
<p>When it comes to religion, both of them are Catholic, i have to admit that it felt a bit more religious at UD than Xavier, but I have no idea what It’s usually like during the school year, and neither school forced it upon anyone, I just saw more religious culture and sculptures at UD. </p>
<p>If your DS is looking into Xavier he should definitely at least look into UD. They have an awesome virtual tour on their website, just go to “Visit” and click the virtual tour. </p>
<p>both schools would be great for students, but those are just my opinions after I visited.</p>
<p>PM me for any questions!</p>
<p>I also visited both, and liked the feel of the Xavier community better personally. And I had been dead set on going to UD before I visited Xavier. I admit that we are not a campus of huge flashy buildings, but we are renovating majorly in recent years, and Campus is getting bigger and looking nicer. As to the grounds, the only time I have ever seen them look anything less than perfectly landscaped and green has been this past winter when the weather was especially harsh.</p>
<p>I have now been at XU for 3 years and am going into my 4th, and I know a lot of the professors and students on campus, and they know me as well. It has a truly family feel to me, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. My offer still stands to give you a private “virtual tour” of XU.</p>
<p>XU - do you know anything about the honors programs? Are you in one of them?</p>
<p>I am not, and do not know much, and I know you mentioned not being able to visit before acceptance, but if there’s any way you guys can make a trip down in the spring, there is a day hosted by the admissions office called “Xavier Preview Day” ([Xavier</a> University - Undergraduate Admission - Xavier Preview Day](<a href=“http://www.xavier.edu/undergraduate-admission/visit-xavier/preview-day.cfm]Xavier”>http://www.xavier.edu/undergraduate-admission/visit-xavier/preview-day.cfm)) in which accepted students can come sit in on a mock class with an actual Xavier professor, and go to sessions about different activities and clubs, one of which being the honors program.</p>
<p>Another helpful resource is the admissions counselor assigned to the student. If you go to this website you can figure out who that person is, and shoot him/her an e-mail. They will be able to answer every academic question you may have in far more detail than I could: [Xavier</a> University - Undergraduate Admission - Meet Your Admission Counselor](<a href=“http://www.xavier.edu/undergraduate-admission/admission-process/counselors/index.cfm]Xavier”>http://www.xavier.edu/undergraduate-admission/admission-process/counselors/index.cfm)</p>
<p>I hope that helps. There are many excellent resources on our school website, and if you have any trouble finding anything there or have more unofficial questions, more about life as a student, resident life (I am part of the resident student association, which is different than the resident assistants, but still deals with residential issues), or the natural science or psychology departments (I started as a natural science major and am now a psychology major) I know I can definitely be of assistance. =) </p>
<p>Does DS know what major he wants to go into? If not, it’s perfectly alright, and many people end up deciding within their first year.</p>
<p>Here is the website for the honor’s program: [Xavier</a> University - Honors Program](<a href=“http://www.xavier.edu/honors/index.cfm]Xavier”>http://www.xavier.edu/honors/index.cfm)</p>
<p>DS is interested in Theology at this point (probably a dual major in philosophy). If he got a good scholarship, he would be able to come for a visit in the spring. </p>
<p>The question I have about the honors program: Are students who are NOT in the Honors Program, but who are capable and who are interested in a particular honors COURSE allowed to take a course designated as an Honors Course if there is enough room? Or are those classes ONLY for Honors students?</p>
<p>As far as I am aware, they are reserved for Honors students, but non-honors can take them after honors students have had their shot at signing up if there is room. I know Honors students get the first pick of classes. (The pecking order goes: Senior honors, Senior non-honors, Junior honors, Junior non-honors, etc.)</p>
<p>Personally I have not tried to take honors courses, though usually there is a non-honors version of those courses available.</p>
<p>And as long as he is moderately involved in his high school and community and has a decent GPA and SAT score, he should get a relatively good presidential scholarship. I was involved in a couple clubs pretty actively, and did an average amount of volunteering in high school, got a 1270 on the SAT (on the old scaling system where 1600 was the max), and had around a 3.7-3.9 weighted GPA, taking one AP class my senior year and getting inducted into NHS at the end of my senior year. I have a $10,000 per year presidential scholarship, and the maximum presidential is $12,000 I believe. There is also the Francis Xavier scholarship that is worth up to $15,000, I think, and if he is very involved in service he has a good shot at that one.</p>
<p>Oh, and on a side note, if DS is a fitness buff, our Rec center just got about 25 pieces of new equipment and was getting updated and beautified this summer. =)</p>
<p>I really do highly recommend checking out the Preview Day as well as his doing an overnight and staying with a student (which can be set up with the Office of Admissions) visit if possible. Preview Day is not something which existed for me, though the overnight visit was what really changed my intentions from going to UD to going to XU. </p>
<p>Another good thing to do is, after acceptance, to go on the Road to Xavier site for accepted students, and try to connect with other accepted students.</p>
<p>And looking far far down the road, if he does go to Xavier, you have move in day to look forward to, with a bunch of people like me dressed in highlighter yellow move crew shirts taking all DS’s stuff to his room for you (sadly, only a freshman luxury, but still nice).</p>
<p>Any other questions, feel free to ask and I will tell you everything I know! =)</p>
<p>XU, thank you for your responses, and for starting up a Xavier thread. DS has a gpa about 3.7 (not sure about the weighted thing), SAT 2200, ACT 34. He will be an Eagle scout, and has a few other EC’s as well. We have been in email contact with the rep from our area, who will probably be able to talk with DS when she comes this fall.</p>
<p>Actually, I didn’t even start this thread, I just hi-jacked it cause it was the only thread under the Xavier University forum. But I am glad I could help. As to the SAT, I have NO idea how the new scores translate from the old scores, but based on the ACT and GPA and ECs, it sounds like he has a decent chance at the $10,000 presidential. If you guys do decide to come up for spring preview day, let me know. If I have my admissions events straight, I think there is a tour option on that day, and if not, I can send you a PM with my school email and I can give you an unofficial private tour of campus that day after the event is over if you’d like.</p>
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<p>XU - Thank you for such insightful information on Xavier. We are very interested in XU and UD. Took a tour last spring and were very impressed with both.</p>
<p>micawber, if you have any questions about something I didn’t cover, feel free to PM me. If your S/D is a senior this year, I would highly recommend the Spring Preview Day and overnight opportunities I mentioned above.</p>
<p>I am certain my DD will apply. We will then have to see what the financial packages look like. She has a decent ACT (33) and will be a NMF. I am just not sure if that is enough to get attention from the scholarship/financial team at XU. We will give it a try and pray! We hope to come for another visit in the fall or possibly in the late winter/spring.</p>
<p>Tell me a little bit more about campus life? Especially on the weekends. What does a typical student do? Is the campus very greek? What percentage of students would you say head home quite often?</p>
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