I’ve been trying to find a college that I would be a good fit for, and came across Saint Josephs. I don’t see a lot about that school on these boards, or really anywhere and I was wondering if anyone has any experience with it, or knows of anyone who attends or attended?
Specifically, I was wondering about the safety, dorm situation, academics, and social life? I am not a big “partier” in the sense that I don’t want to drink but I AM social and do want to meet people and have fun. I would like to be at a school where the students are serious about classes and their futures, but also not TOO serious. If anyone has any insight I would appreciate it!
I forgot to mention that I would be a psychology, pre-law interest major, with hopes to go into the FBI someday. My grade point average is a 4.0 on a 4.0 scale with many AP classes, and a 1280 on my SAT’s so far, lots of EC’s also.
Bump. My S is also interested in St. Joes.
I don’t think St. Joes is talked about a lot on here, I don’t know why, but if you find out anything please let me know, and I will do the same
A family friend attends. She absolutely loves it. I don’t know a lot of details other than she is happy with the academics and the community.
@Regretful Thanks for your comment! It is helpful.
@DrLisa Will do and good luck!
I grew up in Philadelphia and now live about 45 minutes away from SJU. A lot of people in this area like St. Joe’s. High achieving students appreciate the merit available, with “regular” kids making up the rest of the students. The Business School is well regarded (especially a unique major that is called Food Management or something similar). The kids that I know who are attend (nephew, neighbor, classmates of my kids) seem like friendly, nice, bright kids.
The campus is fairly self-contained and pretty, with some traditional stone buildings and some newer buildings that they’ve done a nice job integrating with the old ones. A main entrance is on a busy street with lots of strip shopping centers running a mile or two north of the school. Students can walk south to the train station to catch a train into Center City Philadelphia (I’d estimate it’s a 15-20 minute trip but have never boarded there, so not sure).
The area is pretty safe, but whether you consider some of the neighborhoods nearby to be sketchy likely depends on what you’re used to. It is certainly not what I’d call an “unsafe” campus.
I think parties are pretty prevalent (as at many colleges) but I haven’t heard it referred to as a “party school.” The basketball arena is on campus and that seems like a big deal.
Schools I’d say it’s like are Scranton, Xavier, and, to a slightly lesser degree, Loyola Maryland (all Jesuit schools). SJU is characterized as a regional university, so I don’t know how many students come from more than 3-4 hours away. It was too close to home for either or my kids to consider, but definitely visit if feasible. You will probably find a lot to like.
@LuckyCharms913 Thank you for the detailed response. Do you know if it’s a suitcase school? My S would be an oos student.
@LuckyCharms913 would probably be able to answer better, but it appears SJU has dedicated plenty of resources toward housing in recent years, meaning more students coming from a greater distance. A large new dorm opened in the last 3/4 years and the expansion across City Avenue has given the school lots of space. It’s an attractive, safe campus with lots of spirit, IMO.
Not a suitcase school as far as I know. Sample of one: My neighbor’s kid comes home every 2-3 weeks, but just for a few hours (gets home at noon Sunday, does laundry, hangs out with his dog and his family, eats a big dinner at 4, and then heads back to campus). His mom says that he hates to come home and stay overnight because he’s afraid he’ll miss something fun.
Some local kids probably go home overnight more frequently, but there seems to be more than a critical mass who are around most of the time. Mid-semester break or 3-day weekends might be times that your S would think the campus seemed a little empty, but that happens at lots of schools to kids who are too far away to go home for anything less than a week.
Thank you for all of these responses! It is really helping me. I’ve made an appointment to visit on Friday and I am excited to see the school!
We have a friend there now a senior) and she loves it. Does not come home often. She was sort of shy and totally blossomed. She has also done a lot of foreign study. Philly is a fun city for young people. I hope you like it!
The feedback is so helpful. @DrLisa please let us know about your visit Friday. My D toured a few years ago and did not like it at all. Her brother was a sophomore and tagged along. He liked the campus and now its his turn. St Joes is on his list.
I went yesterday and I really loved it!! It is in my top 2 college choices now. The campus was beautiful and I liked how it seems like it sits near the edge of the city, but the heart of the city is so close. We saw a dorm, but it was a mock-up, standard dorm. I liked what they had to say about the internships and coops, and I felt like it was a safe campus. I’m going back in a few weeks for an overnight stay (athlete) but it is definitely high on my list.
Hello! My son is a senior in HS and has verbally committed to play a sport for SJU. We visited a ton of schools and met with a bunch if coaches, and at the end of the day he choose to be a Hawk. The determining factor was that everyone he talked to who went/goes to SJU (andwe know many…we live less than an hour away) absolutely loves it- I mean everyone!
Their Business school is top notch and is a very respected academic school with a good reputation.
Good luck in your search!
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I am going this Sunday-Monday for an official visit, and I am really excited to be on campus with students and the team and see what it would be like to be a Hawk!!
We visited St Joe’s. My daughter loves to write, loves theater etc. I was really surprised how much she liked the school. We are Catholic, but more secular. I attended a Jesuit school and loved it but didn’t want to push it on her. Honestly, the only reason we went to the open house was that we happened to be in the area that day. Also, we have a relative who graduated 15 years ago and LOVED it. We’re going to revisit it this fall. The other schools we’ve looked at are more “artsy” . Yet, she still talks about St Joe’s. She will be an English major,any imput appreciated!
St. Joe’s is my daughter’s top choice She isn’t even sure what she wants to study. We just loved the vibe when we were there. Student’s seemed to positive, so much school spirit, great location! We visited three times and each time liked it more.
My D18 visited and really liked the overall feel and campus. The students seems engaged, polite and friendly. She ended up dropping her SCEA school to RD (giant reach) so she could apply EA here. We went on a whim and are glad we did. Fingers crossed for admission with some merit.
We are praying for significant merit too. It’s my daughter’s #1 choice but with another child also starting college in the fall, SJU is out of reach without $$. Fingers crossed…