<p>Again, any info would be appreciated. Don't know anything about these schools except that they have what my d wants to study, what state they are in and that they are very competitive and what division they are in. So all info is welcome... thanks!!!</p>
<p>I wish I knew more about LaSalle. I know a little. I drive past it a lot, because it's immediately adjacent to my kids' high school, and my admin's daughter teaches in the business program there.</p>
<p>De La Salle Brothers school (obviously). Relatively small, # of students and physically. Inner city location -- the neighborhood is NOT a plus. It's not that bad (and certainly not as bad as you will hear it is from people who don't know the area), because it's part of a microclimate with two large magnet high schools and a major hospital, but if you walk a few blocks in the wrong direction you can feel pretty uncomfortable. More importantly, there's practically nothing to do in the immediate area -- a few cruddy fast food joints and sleazy bars, that's about it. Because of the high schools, and hospital, and LaSalle itself, the area is VERY well served by public transportation, though -- you can pretty much get anywhere in the city in 45 minutes without a car.</p>
<p>The student body is probably very local to Philadelphia. As compared to the many other small Catholic colleges/universities here, it is the most urban location, so it attracts kids who either want or don't mind that -- more city kids than suburban kids, lots of strivers, not a lot of wealth (surprisingly white, though). I don't think it has much of a reputation for partying (compared to St. Joe's certainly). My guess is that half of students are commuters, although it has new, very attractive dorms that are very convenient to the classrooms (and, I would think, pretty safe). Ironically, because it is next door to my kids' high school, hardly anyone from that high school goes there, so they don't really know any students there.</p>
<p>Academically, I think that it is fairly rigorous (compared to other small Catholic and non-Catholic universities in the area), and pretty career-focused, although not by any means a trade school. It is an important part of the educational ecology here -- a valuable route for kids to get educated and to improve themselves. There are some sports. Basketball is big -- Division I, I forget which league it is part of now, since that all changed last year, but it is also part of the local "Big 5" that play each other every year with a lot of hoopla (although, for the last 15 years or so, it has been the weakest of those teams on the men's side at least). It doesn't generate a lot of rah-rah boosterism.</p>
<p>If you are looking at LaSalle, you should probably also look at Temple. Temple is much larger and less personal (and a state school), but also has a lot more resources, and attracts more out-of-area students. It is certainly possible to "get lost" at Temple (much less so at La Salle), but there is probably more upside there in terms of academic quality, too. The neighborhoods are not much different, except that Temple is more centrally located and its sheer size creates more to do.</p>
<p>JHS, Is Temple near La Salle. My daughter had a tournament at Temple and I did not like that area at all. I don't think that would be an environment for her if LaSalle was in the same area. </p>
<p>Thanks for all the info.</p>
<p>Temple is about 4 miles from La Salle. Temple is right on the main north-south street, about 1.5 miles north of Center City Philadelphia. The areas to the north, west, and east of Temple are among the most depressed in the city, but the size (and security force) of Temple, and the expansion of downtown, anchor Temple to the south, and make the immediate Temple campus pretty fine. It is right on a subway line, so if kids live off-campus, it's not going to be a couple blocks off campus, it's going to be elsewhere in the city.</p>
<p>LaSalle is another 3-1/2 miles north of Temple on the same subway line and several long blocks west. The area around LaSalle is nowhere near as bombed-out as some of the areas near Temple -- the houses are all occupied, for one thing. But it's still a transitional neighborhood, a working-class neighborhood in a city with a shrinking working class, and it may even have higher crime statistics than the areas beyond Temple (because it is more populated). And the La Salle campus is pretty small -- really no more than a couple of city blocks -- so LaSalle doesn't create its own security zone to the same extent that Temple does, especially at night when nothing's happening at the high schools that separate LaSalle from Broad Street. </p>
<p>During the day or early evening, I have often taken the subway and then walked to my kids' high school, which is essentially a corner of one of LaSalle's blocks. It's completely fine. However, I wouldn't feel nonchalant about doing that late at night. Two years ago, I was taking a class at Temple that let out around 10 pm. I never felt unsafe walking around the main part of the campus at that hour.</p>
<p>They are both urban campuses. Temple feels more big-city, because it is more built up vertically, because there is an 8-lane street down the center, and because there are more, more racially diverse people walking around. LaSalle doesn't have the same verticality, traffic, or bustle; there is a lot more trees and grass. It feels intimate and nice. But the neighborhood issues aren't that different.</p>
<p>La Salle has a suburban campus in Bucks County, PA also. I do not know the extent of course offerings etc.</p>
<p>Ok.. Thanks soo much.</p>