<p>Par72 - Thanks.</p>
<p>Pardon my ignorance, but would a higher giving rate translate into a more helpful HC alumni network if my son wanted to find a job on Wall Street after graduation? I have often come across GU or BC alums at Wall Street or City (London) evening functions, but do not know any HC alums working in the finance industry. Thanks again. Jack</p>
<p>Now I’m going to BC this fall so I’ll give you the low down on it since its the one I’m really knowledgeable about.</p>
<p>BC’s education is great, and the core curriculum gives a basis in everything (not sure if Gtown and ND have cores or not though they likely do).</p>
<p>The campus environment from what I’ve seen (since I don’t actually attend yet) is great, football is big in the fall and hockey is in the winter. People rally around the sports, but even during the off season people are out and about and having fun. Also, having Boston right there is a major plus for quality of life as theres so much to do there.</p>
<p>Logan airport is in Boston, BC is in (or right on the edge of) Boston, with the T (public train system) having stops at BC and Logan, so no problem there.</p>
<p>BC has 9,000 undergrad.</p>
<p>There are no frats at BC whatsoever (something that I, like you, like.)</p>
<p>So BC sounds good for you, though ND, Gtown, and HC would also likely be good fits. Definitely take into account the type of Catholic atmosphere you want, whether it be Jesuit or another.</p>
<p>Also, I’d take everything par72 tells you with a grain of salt as he is on like every thread pushing for HC like no other.</p>
<p>Personally, I’ve never been much of a fan of alumni giving – it bespeaks the wealth of the student body going in. Dartmouth, for example, has a 99% giving rate of its graduating seniors. Since they are still students, they are really just giving ‘daddy’s money.’</p>
<p>Plus, a 50% giving rate of 700 grads/year is a much different than say, a 35% giving rate of 2500 grads per year. Which indicates a “larger” active alumni? hmmmmm</p>
<p>Bloomberg’s 2011 Payscale college ranking had ND in the top10 and Holy Cross at 21or 22 with Duke, Dartmouth,and Colgate also highly ranked. HC also has tailored alumni functions to alumni in finance(Wall Street etc), technology, medicine and legal profession. Dartmouth, Colgate, Williams, and Holy Cross have legendary alumni networks that help in job placement in weak economic times.</p>
<p>Pete Hayes, Managing Director at BlackRock is an HC alum.
William (Bill) Glavin, Chief Executive Officer of OppenheimerFunds, Inc. is a HC alum.
There are many others.</p>
<ol>
<li>Notre Dame</li>
<li>Georgetown</li>
<li>Boston College</li>
<li>Holy Cross</li>
<li>Villanova</li>
</ol>
<p>Kcombs - Thanks, BC sounds like a great school.</p>
<p>Also, were there many international students at the admitted students event that you attended? Generally, I would be more comfortable sending my “British” kids to schools that had at least a reasonable number of other students from overseas.</p>
<p>Jack:</p>
<p>you can find a wealth of data on IPEDS. But for International undergrad populations, </p>
<p>Georgetown 9%
Boston College 4%
Notre Dame 3% (some athletes?)
Holy Cross 1%</p>
<p>Given GU’s strong grad program in its School of Foreign Services (SFS), GU has even more internationals on campus.</p>
<p><a href=“http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/[/url]”>http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/</a></p>
<p>ND and HC also have higher endowments per student and in weak economic times the alumni networks of ND and HC are a big plus.</p>
<p>Ditto post #46. Look at U. Dallas and Thomas Aquinas College (CA) for Catholic atmosphere and strong liberal arts curriculum.</p>
<p>I spoke with a girl from Hawaii (I know not foreign, but very far off) while there, and someone asked a question during a Q&A with a British accent, though whether they lived in the US or UK I can’t say.</p>
<p>BC statistics say that they have about 500 foreign UG students, and about 500 more grad internationals. I definitely understand that you want your kid to have a reasonable number of fellow foreign students; however, the percentage of internationals at BC as compared with that of others schools I don’t know.</p>
<p>Thanks for the helpful responses.</p>
<p>Bluebayou - How do you find international undergraduate information on Ipeds. I couldn’t figure it out. Thanks</p>
<p>Jack:</p>
<p>It’s under the Enrollment tab/link, “Non-resident Alien”. Of course, this means that any Resident alien international, i.e., parents in the US in process for their a Green Card, would show up in the other categories. Thus, the data on total internationals (born somewhere else) would be somewhat understated, but it provides a general picture.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>[The</a> Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System - Glossary](<a href=“http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/glossary/index.asp?id=419]The”>http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/glossary/index.asp?id=419)</p>
<p>btw: if you can afford the trip to Boston, it’s worth visiting the colleges themselves. While many love HC, my kids and their friends did not like it enough to even apply. Different strokes…</p>
<p>Bluebayou - Thanks. We have looked into Holy Cross a bit and to be honest, I am not impressed. When I was growing up in NJ, the kids who couldn’t get into 7 or 8 other Catholic colleges ended up at HC, although I realise things have changed dramatically from the late 1970’s! Also, the city of Worcester looks depressing. This is what I found on Wikipedia:
QUOTE The median household income is $35,623, and the median family income is $42,988. Males had a median income of $36,190 versus $28,522 for females. The per capita income is $18,614. About 14.1% of families and 17.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.6% of those under age 18 and 11.6% of those age 65 or over. Of the city’s population over 25, 76.7% are high school graduates and 23.3% have a bachelor’s degree. UNQUOTE</p>
<p>Going to Boston College would seem to win hands’ down over HC, based on my analysis. We are planning on doing a New England college tour next autumn.</p>
<p>Thanks again,</p>
<p>Jack</p>
<p>This 1962 Time magazine on the Catholic Ivy League shows that Holy Cross has always been in the top tier of Catholic colleges. BC reached parity with Holy Cross only after the Doug Flutie era in the early eighties. Prior to then, BC was a commuter school and far less selective than HC. I cannot defend Worcester. It is a former manufacturing city in decline after industry went south then overseas. It has gotten some spillover economic benefit due to being within an hour of Boston. BC is in a very wealthy suburb of Boston. [Education:</a> BEST CATHOLIC COLLEGES - TIME](<a href=“http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,938328,00.html]Education:”>http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,938328,00.html)</p>
<p>My S felt the town of Worcester was too depressing to warrant getting out of the car to look at the school! We do have a relative currently attending HC who is very happy there though. And another happy relative at Providence.</p>
<p>Of your list, JackUK, my Class of 2014 S applied and was accepted to Fordham, BC and Fairfield Honors so I can wholeheartedly recommend you visit all three when you do your New England tour. We also looked into Villanova briefly but they did not have an undergraduate major in his field so it was eliminated immediately. My S just finished his first year at Fordham and couldn’t be happier. :)</p>
<p>I think that you have a good number of schools on your list and you are probably at the point where what other people think in terms of “ranking” the schools should not matter. It’s time to start narrowing based on fit.</p>
<p>Allow me to give you some info on Fordham. First, there are two campuses, one in the Bronx, Rose Hill, and the other, where my S is, in Lincoln Center, Manhattan. You will have to do some research on which campus is right before applying because they are not only very different college experiences, one urban and one traditional, but also some majors and courses are only available at one campus. If your S is interested in the Gabelli School of Business, for example, it is located at Rose Hill in the Bronx and students graduate having completed a Liberal Arts core, a business core and their major. Additionally, new facilities are set to open Fall 2012.
[Gabelli</a> School of Business - Fordham University](<a href=“Fordham University”>Fordham University)</p>
<p>Fordham does a really great job of utilizing New York City and all it has to offer whether it is through internships or assignments outside the classroom. IMO sitting in a classroom in an Art History class viewing slides just doesn’t compare to a visit to the Met!</p>
<p>Fordham also offers merit $$ to top applicants although there are certainly plenty who feel they “deserved” more. </p>
<p>I wish you luck in finding the right school for your S and I recommend that you consider posting your questions in the forum for each individual school you are interested in to get some “inside” information!</p>
<p>Required details - Thanks for digging out that great article. I stand corrected (although I definitely remember friends of my brother choosing Fordham, Catholic U and Villanova over Holy Cross!)</p>
<p>Sandkmom - Thanks for your comments.</p>
<p>BC and Villanova are both “hot” schools in my kids’ crowds. I love Holy Cross, but two of my kids turned it down. Fordham is a great school, in my opinion as is Fairfield. </p>
<p>I’m not familiar with many of the other Catholic schools in the midwest and other areas other than DePaul which I though was a great environment and Loyola in Chicago. Right now when it comes to merit money, the Catholic schools, other than the most selective 3 or 4, are good bets.</p>
<p>deleted post</p>