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Hi - my child is considering Xavier and hoping someone can provide insight. She is not on a sports team, is not Catholic / religious, and noticed there is no Greek Life. My other kids found their “family” either with sports or in the greek system and I’m slightly concerned finding her “tribe” will be more challenging. Can anyone comment on that? Thanks.

Hi @Finalthree, my son is a freshman at Xavier. Although his college search was largely guided by wanting to go to a big SEC school with a great football progam and an active Greek life, he eventually turned down an offer from Auburn in favor of attending Xavier. He liked the strong support systems and felt like the administration and faculty cared about the students; he didn’t feel like he’d “get lost.”

My son is a low-key guy, but he’s found a small, but good group of friends and seems to have adjusted well to life at Xavier. He has joined a couple of clubs, and will look into intramural sports once he recovers from a recent injury. He’s excited about the basketball team (a real campus unifier, although he wishes they were doing better this season!) He really likes Cincinnati and, so far, is surviving the weather (quite an adjustment from Florida!). I don’t think there’s much of a party scene, although there are off-campus parties and alcohol seems easily accessed for those who are interested.

Our family is Catholic, and there’s defintely a Jesuit presence, but my son doesn’t go to mass and that’s no big deal. Other faiths are represented, too. As for finding one’s “tribe,” Xavier heavily touts its freshman orientation program, Manressa, which takes place over several days and gathers students in small groups that, from all accounts, provide a great base of future friends. If feasible, you and your daughter should attend X Day, the orientation day for accepted students. Your daughter will be grouped with other prospective students and follow her own day-long information track, while you will have a chance to attend multiple panel discussions with current students, faculty and administrators. Both my son and I found it incredibly informative.

I wish you and your daughter the best of luck with your college decision!

/\ Oops, the correct name is X Preview Day. I wrote a post on this forum last year about our experience at this event; it might help you.

Thanks for the info, @grimss. She really loved the school and vibe during the tour, and will def. apply. It’s the first school she’s really visited so will be interested to see how it compares to others. She want’s that goldilocks “medium sized” school.

@Finalthree My son is a sophomore at Xavier, he selected it because of the PPP Honors program, size of the school, and for the access to professors. He has found a great group of friends and I’ve noticed everytime I visit him how inclusive and wondeful all the kids are. We live in the south, and he grew up with one group of friends his entire life so going somewhere new could have been overwhelming, but as mentioned by @grimss, by the time they’re out of Manressa, they are ready to go. From a parent perspective, I am very pleased. The professors are truly committed to these students, the campus is always so clean, and people just seem genuinely happy.

@threeforthree - Thanks for posting. Xavier is a serious contender at this point and I love to hear from happy parents. We have all been very impressed with the school so far. Does your son feel that the school clears out on the weekends? I had never heard this before but the other day somebody mentioned that this may be the case.