We visited St Joe’s. My daughter loves to write, loves theater etc. She is not preppy. Prefers a down to earth, artsy vibe.
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, with a focus on creative writing. Any imput appreciated!
@marycate I’m in a similar situation. My S19 is a down-to-earth band and stage crew kid who wants to focus on English and creative writing in college. He’s in a small Catholic high school and hangs with a small group of fellow comics/anime/gaming kids.
My husband and I attended the same Jesuit college (not St. Joe’s) that was on the preppy side back then and still is. The education we received there was top notch. We are planning to have our son visit Saint Joe’s, U of Scranton, and Loyola Maryland. But I have been wondering if such schools would be the right fit for my nerdy creative son. Glad to hear that your daughter liked St Joe’s!
Thank you for the response! We visited Fairfield last week. School was gorgeous but definitely not for my daughter, too preppy. Fordham (Bronx) is a nice mix of types. Fordham (LC) is of course a lot of theater, dance types. We are going to visit Loyola as well, but I think it will be too conservative for her. Right now St Joe’s and Fordham are the Jesuit schools in the running. Have not seen BC or Holy Cross yet. My daughter would love the “social justice” side of the Jesuit schools.
@marycate My husband and I attended Loyola Maryland. So much for trying to be all aloof. LOL! I’m curious about the impression you have of the school being conservative. That was not our experience at all. Which is why I am encouraging our son to consider Jesuit schools. Loyola is definitely on the preppier side of things though. Not sure my kid will be into it.
Not surprised about Fairfield being too preppy for your daughter. I would love for my son to consider Fordham for the reasons you mentioned. More of a mix. But he wants to stay within two hours of home (we are in PA) and Fordham is about 3.5 hours from home. Maybe I’ll take him for a visit anyway.
We will definitely visit Saint Joe’s. On an interesting note, U of Scranton has a Gaming Club that meets on Friday nights. That’s what put it on the list. I know my kid’s’ “people” are already there. 
Thank you for the feedback! Ok so I was trying to be aloof as well. I graduated from Fordham at Rose Hill and loved it. Of course it was 30+ years ago. It was a great mix of people. Fordham is still the same. My nieces went to Loyola, absolutely loved it. But they are definitely preppy, didn’t need to have jobs, don’t qualify for financial aid. I apoligize for using the word conservative. Didn’t mean politically or socially. Just meant the kids that go there that I know are preppy (no blue hair or piercings…lol). I’m going to encourage my daughter to look at Scranton. If they have gaming maybe they have Quiddich (sp?). I love the Jesuit schools.
A few random comments:
My S went to Fordham - Rose Hill (graduated 5 years ago) for business and really loved it. When he was at Fordham there was a gaming club there as well but you would need to check what is at the college now.
Siena (near Albany) might be another very good option – it is Franciscan, not Jesuit but very similar vibe. A plus of Siena is that they give an admissions decision very quickly (like 2 weeks after the application is complete) so my S was admitted by the end of October which took a lot of pressure off the process and it also saved us money by not applying to colleges he liked less than Siena. He liked UScranton as well.
For some reason St. Joes didn’t resonate with him as much as the others, but we all thought it was a very fine school (I think he didn’t like that there was only on campus housing guaranteed for 2 years and that there was a road going through the campus – pretty minor things really). We also caught it on a not so great day (our 3rd college visit in 3 days, cold/rainy day). I went to college in Philly and love Big 5 basketball!
And FWIW my D played Quiddich in HS but felt it was much rougher in college so she didn’t pursue it. Then again she is a 98 pound girl LOL.
@marycate Ah yes, by your definition, Loyola MD is most definitely preppy/conservative! Seems there is a Magic the Gathering club there now. If anyone was playing D&D there 30 years ago (like my son does now), I didn’t know it. I arrived on campus back then in black tights and Doc boots wanting to write. But I had a thing for preppy guys so I was in the right place. Met one while on campus and ended up marrying him.
I was more like your daughter and my son. And I loved my Jesuit college experience. So there is definitely a place at one or more of the Jesuit schools for our kids.
Also -
–My S felt Fairfield was way too pretty for him as well. Couldn’t wait to leave.
–And FWIW our tour guide at UScranton had purple hair!