@IamMoJo we had the same thing happen last week …an update to our financial package with more renewable grants. Xavier has been by far the most generous package and where we hope to see our son end up. He is having trouble making up his mind. He has spring break for the next 10 days so I’m planning on having him sign up for some of the department/major sessions for the two majors he is considering and watch some of the previously recorded student panels. I’ve watched a few since I didn’t get to attend the Explore XU day with him and my husband last fall.
He is a big sports fan so basketball at both schools attracts him, but Cincinnati also has pro sports whereas Dayton doesn’t. Of course, when we stopped by XU on Saturday afternoon, I made sure to head downtown for a drive by of the stadiums and a nice long walk along the river since it was a gorgeous day.
@swimnys coincidentally, just last night he decided to go to Xavier. He is planning to major in sports management/marketing and felt that Cincinnati would offer better opportunities for internships. His XU admissions counselor put him in touch with a senior in that major and they talked last week. She answered a lot of his questions and gave him some great information, not just about the major but about campus life also. Interestingly, she also was deciding between Xavier and Dayton when she applied to college.
He still wanted to think about it over the weekend but last night out of the blue, said he was ready to commit to Xavier. We were excited that he made this choice. Xavier had really gone the extra mile, reaching out to him personally several times while Dayton has been radio silent (sort of expected given it is much larger school, but does speak to the difference of being at a larger school vs. a medium size).
Then, serendipity! Today, a day after making his decision, a box arrived in the mail from Xavier with all kinds of swag, with a note encouraging him to join the Xavier family. Kind of a nice surprise and made him feel he had made the right choice!
Congrats! My daughter committed to Xavier just this week! It really has been so much more of a personal experience interacting with Xavier - made her feel like more than a number. I’ve since joined the Xavier parents Facebook page and wow- so much enthusiasm for the school and the Xavier family in that group, too. She is super excited for this new adventure and so am I!
So many reasons! Yes, definitely visit.
Pros:
*Campus and student body size -not too big and not too small, small class sizes with a lot of personal attention.
*Success team to assure successful college transition first 2 years, then career coach after that.
*Solid departments in her areas of interest - art and entrepreneurship.
*More diverse campus than others she applied to - race/ethnicity wise plus <40% of students in state (we’re out of state), fairly even male/female enrollment (which seems hard to find!).
*Non-Greek campus and not a big party school.
*Pretty campus, decent dorms.
*Cincinnati - proximity to shopping, dining, cultural events. Really neat city!
*Students we met were so friendly and welcoming - real people. We didn’t see any superficiality, which is a real turnoff for her. Definitely a real community “All for One” feel.
*Strong service component - she is drawn to and enjoys community service, helping others and that seems to be important to the XU community as a whole.
*The Art Department and her admissions counselor, for that matter, have been very accessible, ready to answer questions. Lots of personal attention.
*While it is a Catholic school (and we’re not Catholic), <50% of students are reportedly Catholic, so it isn’t required and she doesn’t feel like she’d be singled out as different. No requirements to attend mass or participate in religious activities, though that is an option. She really IS drawn to the Jesuit ideals, esp. development of the whole person/helping others and a well thought-through core curriculum that includes theology and philosophy courses for all students.
*She’s not into sports, but is in band - so having the X Band pep band as an activity option is attractive.
*For us as parents, the financial aid package was attractive.
The only cons - 4 hours from home, so the furthest of the colleges to which she applied. She did have a preference to go somewhere where everyone lives on campus all 4 years, but liked Xavier too much to quibble over that. They do have on campus apartments and off campus apartments/houses nearby for juniors/seniors, so she’ll figure it out.
Good luck with your visiting this summer! Glad things have opened up to make it possible again. We had great visits to Xavier in September and again in March. Made all the difference!
@IamMoJo congratulations to your daughter! I wholeheartedly agree with your list of pros and cons! We are 8 hours away by car and aside from Dayton, it was the only school our son applied that isn’t on the East Coast within a 4-5 hour drive, but at least there are inexpensive direct flights b/w Cincinnati and our airport. But I can’t complain about the distance b/c our oldest goes to college on the West Coast. I also joined the parents’ FB group - definitely some helpful info in that group.
We just returned from our college tours. We visited Ohio U., Miami U at Ohio,University of Dayton, and of course Xavier U. I have to say we were all impressed (my husband, son and I) with our time at Xavier. Although my son is only a Junior, I am glad we took the time to visit. It will definitey be school he will apply to. Thanks for your pros and cons.
@IamMoJo and @4kids4us I’d love to hear how your kids experiences are going so far at Xavier. This is high on my S22’s list after visiting last month. He really liked the friendliness of the students (we visited on X day) and the proximity to Cinncinnati. Would love to hear about the difficulty of the classes (son has a 3.8UW but doesn’t work very hard) and the social life (very social kid who wants to play intramurals and definitely wants the “college social life”). We are from the East coast so only know one kid at Xavier. Thanks!
I would love to know current students’ experiences as well. Although my S23 has a little more time, he ( and us) really were impressed during our visit/tour this past summer.
In a word, good! Not sure I can speak to all your son’s interests/your questions as I’ve got an introverted daughter who has been slower to find her social group. But she’s happy and doing well. We just got back from family weekend, so had the chance to meet lots of other families and their students. There are a good number of students there from the East Coast, I think. We also went in knowing no one there - we’re 4 hours from Cincy in Tennessee. As a whole, a very friendly and outgoing bunch. There are a ton of clubs and activities to suit about anyone Clubs | Xavier University and the Student Activities Council has sponsored outings to Reds games downtown, Kings Island amusement park, a boat dance on the river, and others plus activities on campus - there’s a big Halloween do this weekend. So there are definitely social opportunities, but no Greek life. It isn’t a big party campus, but I think those who are looking for that manage to find it - maybe moreso once they hit junior year and move off campus or if they have a car.
Academics have been challenging but doable - mine also came in with a 3.8 UW GPA. She did work pretty hard in her AP courses in HS, but others didn’t require much effort. Her first semester at XU, she is in two of the core courses (philosophy and theology), 3 art courses (art major), and Italian 101. Art has been time consuming - she does spend weekend time in the studio to keep up. The core courses are going well. but Italian is giving her a time. XU does require foreign language for all students through the 201 level. Fortunately, teachers are really accessible and she also has access to free tutoring once/week. Classes are small and there have been several group projects and papers - personally I think the group projects have been really good for students to get acquainted and I’m glad she isn’t just a number in a humongous class - that would not be a good fit.
So that’s what I’ve got. Hope it helps and good luck to your son as he makes his decision! I know that December 1 deadline will come up quickly now …
Thank you so much. This is all super helpful info that I will pass on to my son. Good to hear about the academics, he is a smart kid that needs to be pushed so I feel like small class sizes and group projects would be great for him. As much as he would like a party scene, I think some great college sponsored events might entice him to do some more wholesome activities as he loves sporting events, theme parks, and outdoor activities.
My son appears to have settled in quite nicely. He is not an outgoing kid, though he’s friendly and easy going, so I was a little nervous how he would do socially, making friends. Sometimes I think it can be a bit of luck in terms of how things work out with the roommate as well as whether your dorm/floor is social. My son is in a suite, and fortunately his suitemates and roommate are kids he hangs out with all the time. Additionally, his RA is “really cool” and has done a great job with planning things for his floor such that my son says his “floor is awesome” and the kids do a lot of stuff together. My son joined the club rugby team and also played intramural flag football with a team of kids from his floor. He also just signed up with some of the same kids to play intramural basketball.
Outside of sports, my son’s social life is a mix of hanging out in someone’s dorm room, going to off campus parties (not sure how he knows the kids since it is mainly upperclassmen living offcampus) and occasionally going into Cincinnati. Comparing his social life to that of my older two kids, I’d say he is probably having more fun than they were this early on in their freshmen years. One of the things he did say to us in the first week or two was that “everyone is so nice here.”
Academically, he is definitely being challenged. He is taking philosophy (core requirement), math, Spanish, Intro to Sports Management and…I forget the other class! Initially he said his philosophy class was really hard but now he’s doing well in that class and instead really being challenged by his math class. But math has never been his strongest. He has made use of both the professor’s office hours as well as used a tutor and said both have been very helpful. He says all of his professors have been very approachable.
We did not make it out for Parents Weekend as we were in the area the weekend before attending a game our older son was playing in at a nearby college. So we took our son and two of his suitemates out for dinner. They all seemed very happy (one is from OH and the other from Philly, the third is from CT but he wasnt there). We are also going out again this weekend to see him play in his last rugby game. I will say, the Xavier Parents Facebook group is also fairly active and informative. Today there were a ton of posts from parents just gushing about how awesome Parents weekend was, how much their kids really like the school, etc. There were even a lot of upperclassmen parents who attended which surprised me as it’s not as big a deal for upperclassmen at my older two kids’ schools. One of the highlights seemed to be Musketeer Madness which was like a pep rally on Friday night in the basketball arena where the men and women’s basketball teams were showcased. My son went and said it was so much fun - he is very excited for basketball season to start.
All in all, he is having a great experience so far.
Thanks so much for the reply. It’s so helpful. Your son sounds a lot like mine, I would say he’s a bit quiet at first but likes to be social and keep busy. The more I hear about Xavier, the more I think it would be a really good fit for him. I like hearing that the academics are challenging as I think he thinks it might be “too easy” for him. Really great to hear about the intramurals as that’s something he’s definitely interested in.
@MAmom111 congratulations! It’s nice to get the merit package at the same time.
Because I know your son loves sports, did he happen to watch the Xavier v. #19 Ohio State bball game last night? My son was at the game and we were watching on tv. He was sooo excited to be there, and was texting us from the game. The school spirit on display was just what he was hoping to experience at college. Of course, it helped that Xavier won!
We are 8 hours away by car and aside from Dayton, it was the only school our son applied that isn’t on the East Coast within a 4-5 hour drive, but at least there are inexpensive direct flights b/w Cincinnati and our airport. But I can’t complain about the distance b/c our oldest goes to college on the West Coast. I also joined the parents’ FB group - definitely some helpful info in that group.