My daughter isn’t Catholic. I am so confused about the Catholic orders and am trying to figure out what is at the heart of LaSallians, I barely understand Jesuit and this is all confusing.
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Non-Catholics go to Catholic/Jesuit schools. My kids wouldn’t - but there are many that do.
Here’s the tenets of Manhattan College.
Would your student be ok with religious symbols on the various campuses? I saw your other post.
Are you looking at non-religious as well?
Good luck
PS - I think at each school, your student can ask to speak to a student ambassador and can ask any questions to ensure comfort.
Good luck
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The Lasallian world is marked by the diversity of its cultural and religious experiences, and by the unity of its shared identity. Differences in country, culture, religious or spiritual traditions, economic status, gender, etc., have never deterred children, adolescents, young adults, and adults from claiming La Salle as part of a shared identity. This identity arises from the appropriation, integration, and sharing of common educational principles and emphases that are essential to the Lasallian heritage. Distinctive elements of other religious traditions can also contribute to the religious understanding and spiritual traditions that are essential to Lasallian education. While everyone may not fully embrace the entirety of Lasallian identity or its spirituality, all will know that they are valued within its circle.
The best way to learn about Lasallian spirituality is to be part of an authentic Lasallian educational community. This means interacting with teachers, students, and administrators; visiting classes, athletic events, and other activities; participating in its interpersonal and community dynamics. Education is a human learning journey, a lifelong activity, an abiding interest for all. Lasallian education permeates the human learning journey with priorities, perspectives, and deeply held convictions that bear a living history, a worldwide identity, and a vision of what education is able to be. The pedagogical approach of Lasallian educators, the administrative styles and priorities, and the organizational climate and the values of the educational institution best demonstrate its Lasallian Catholic character. “We believe that another world is possible, and that education is a fundamental force for building it. Our educational perspective aims to build societies where peace, equity, social justice, civic participation, the raising up of common dreams, and a respect for freedom and difference are possible. We visibly demonstrate our commitment to the building up of a more democratic and just society, as well as our option for an integral and sustainable human development that benefits everyone. To educate for peace is to educate for justice and solidarity.”
We looked at a few Jesuit colleges, two LaSallian colleges and a Franciscian College. We did not note meaningful differences between them from the tours/information sessions we attended. FWIW we were not particularly looking for a Catholic college, but S gravitated towards mid-sized universities with undergrad business schools, preferably in an urban location (suburban was OK) and these schools fit his preferences.
He ended up at attending Fordham and had a wonderful experience. He had friends of different religious as well as atheists/agnostics who were happy there. The Jesuits are educators first and foremost and do not force religion on anyone (religious outlets are available for those who wish to partake).
That said, to be comfortable at any Catholic university I think one should; 1) be respectful of religion; 2) have no issue with seeing religious symbols on campus (ex. crucifix); and 3) look at the core curriculum for each school (can be found online) and be fine with the idea of taking any required philosophy/theology courses.
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She is looking at many non-religious schools but is trying not to rule schools out based on religion. I had ruled out Catholic schools and she added them to the list. I went to Seton Hall but commuted, I was Catholic at the time but the only religion I dealt h with was a morals class for religion (it’s different now), crucifixes where there should have been clocks and a prayer before graduation. But I don’t know if it would have been different living there. My daughter is fairly oblivious to religion and thinks she will be ok with it but honestly I don’t know. I don’t see her going to any of these without a major merit offer, BC might be her top choice if they offered more scholarships but right now she might not even apply.
Same here. She’s looking at all sizes but seems to mostly like mid-size and is also looking for an undergrad business school. She would prefer no religion but doesn’t want to rule out good schools.
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That was great. I’mstill left wondering the difference between the orders though because that seems so similar to Jesuit. I feel so dumb trying to understand this because I feel like Tom matter how much I read I don’t understand any more.
Well the Hall gets a pass for the great hoops tradition. PJ Carlesimo, Mark Bryant, Terry Dehere :).
Hopefully you can visit some schools, talk to students and then your daughter will have a better idea if the symbolism or requirements will bother her. Or perhaps she’ll thrive.
Since you’re looking for merit, have you look at U Denver, Butler, Miami Ohio is a bit bigger. Bryant. College of Charleston, Binghamton and other SUNY,American, Miami, UAH, UNH, U Maine, Elon, Bentley/Babson, etc.
What is she looking for in a school ? Geography, weather, etc.
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She loved Bentley, American has been in her list (she prefers GW but knows it’s unlikely to be financially possible), and when she visits Marist we will drive through New Paltz but don’t have time to tour it that day. Funny enough she’s ruled out most NY schools for distance and weather yet is looking at Canadian schools. I think she could do Miami as far as distance and the school but she really wants a city for internships and social/entertainment.
She is looking for something close enough to a city or in a city so she has things to do outside of the college and good internship options. She mostly seems to like mid-size schools but isn’t ruling out bigger or smaller as long as it very small. She is very interested in higher ranked schools but is being smart about casting a wider net so she can weigh her options. She has zero interest in sports and when schools talk up their D1 schools she tunes out, she doesn’t care if it’s there but really prefers a school where she won’t feel like an outcast for not liking basketball or football (at Seton Hall people acted like I had three heads for not knowing who Dan Hurley (Bobby Hurley’s brother) was back in the 90s). She wants a strong business program with access to quality internships.
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If you would like to consider this structurally, you can think of Lasallians as a teaching order of predominately lay Roman Catholics. Jesuits are similar to Lasallians in some important ways, but rely on ordained priests for the administration of many activities. Jesuits also tend fo act more broadly, serving both within and outside of the field of education. Nonetheless, within an educational setting, the values and practices of these two orders may seem quite similar to a student.
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OK - if she likes Bentley (which is a very focused college) and not sure how merit is but she’s ok with a business focus - then there’s Babson too - harder to get into and to a lesser extent Bryant in RI. Does she have a sub area of interest in business?
As for internships, unless she’s planning to intern during the school year, I’d have zero concern about location. She’ll be able to find internships all over the country - school location won’t be a limiter. Obviously, for social/entertainment, then being in a city is better - so maybe a U of Denver - depending on stats, you can get $30K merit and have it in the 40s, Miami in the 50s…don’t know anything about the student or the financial needs.
As for access to internships - that will be on her moreso than the school. If she has grit and fortitude, she’ll find. If she doesn’t, she’ll struggle. It’s a different world today with many roles being found on line - indeed, linkedin, etc.
There’s also Honors colleges - so in some regards, shrinking the bigger school…at least in some aspects.
A GW but smaller and “urban” so around things is College of Charleston and depending on her grades, etc., you can do well.
Mine is a Charleston Fellow and we pay no tuition. Her merit is a bit more than tuition (OOS). And she’s in DC this Fall through the U of SC Honors College (all the state Honors college do DC through U of SC) and I just got a check for $2K more than tuition and room - so - it’s a trade off - but if you’re a top student, you can get low cost.
I personally don’t buy the entire - the school is getting most internships. It’s not reality. My son in engineering busted tail to get and he did - and many job offers from a non-rated school (Alabama) and my daughter had 7 internship opportunities this Fall in DC with 5 paid and is at a top Think Tank helping with their meeting operations and her school isn’t a highly ranked name - and she chose it…in fact, both chose safeties - after looking at all their acceptances, those are the schools they preferred over highly ranked programs.
So find the right school - and that includes location for her day to day enjoyment. But unless she wants a school year internship, location wouldn’t concern me - and if she hustles, she’ll be fine.
Good luck
Since you mentioned Manhattan, I posted this last year - it might interest you.
Is St. Joseph’s one of the schools under consideration? It’s in Philadelphia, so tons of options there for fun and for internships. It’s a Jesuit school, which you seem to have some familiarity with already, and it’s well-respected for its business programs. Plus, I haven’t heard any talk about their basketball (or other sports) prowess. Of course, there’s tons about college sports that I don’t know. 
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Some great basketball history (Jameer Nelson, the great Jack Ramsay) and great coach Phil Martelli, but I agree - no in your face sports.
My former neighbor did undergrad there and med school at Vandy and speaks about St. Joes with reverence.
But they are very religious…I don’t know the religious aspect of the school or any of them…but I suppose that’s what OP is trying to find out.
Other mid size where OP will see money but not knowing their stats, etc. - Quinnipiac, URI (a bit larger), U Rochester (doesn’t want NY it sounds like).
FWIW, GW can be generous with merit aid. If I remember right, they offered my S the Presidential Scholarship at $25k/year. He was a high stats student. Good luck!
On reflection I have one more thought. I expect that the “designation” of being a Jesuit, LaSallian, etc. college is likely more a historical matter – which order happened to found (and continues to run) each school rather than being a marker of meaningful philosophical differences in educational/relgious policies.
The priests/brothers at these colleges are educators at heart – and there are fewer and fewer on campus as their ranks shrink. FWIW at Fordham I think my S had just one Jesuit professor and the school now has a female president.
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Truthfully I don’t think the whole Jesuits/LaSallian distinction matters.
Our family was in the same position as yours was 2 years ago when we were considering schools, and like you I worried what all these distinctions could mean. But having gone through the process, my advice is that it is best to just check out the vibe of each school individually. This is true for schools from just about any Catholic order. I think it depends more on the school itself than any label attached.
Our family is atheist and our S22 is LGBTQ+, so at first we thought we shouldn’t consider Catholic schools at all and only had secular schools on the list. But Fordham LC was a great fit in other ways (location, major, and cost after merit) so we put it on the list after all…with some trepidation. And in the end, Fordham LC is where he landed! He is thriving, and the Catholic affiliation has been a total non-issue. Like someone joked “I doubt I’ve found 2 Catholics to rub together here.” His classmates are everything: atheist, Jewish, secular Buddhist etc. I don’t think any of his professors have been Catholic-- or if they were they never said so. Many of his professors are LGBTQ+. Yes, the core requires a theology class–but it is more like philosophy or history of religion, not at all actually religious.
I have heard that Fordham’s Rose Hill campus is slightly “more Catholic” in the sense that more of the students there come from Catholic families or attended a Catholic high school. But even so, the vibe is not super Catholic, in my opinion.
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