My son has been accepted at St. Joe's and a number of other schools. Right now, there are 4 in the running, and St. Joe's is at the top, but he is concerned that it is 6 hours away from home. His other very close choice is Providence College. He has done 2 visits (one last year and an experience SJU visit, where he shadowed a student last month). Both of these were very positive visits. The tough thing for him is distance from home. He has visited Providence 2 times and also had positive visits.
The aid package is better from St. Joe's than from Providence, and includes a good scholarship. One other school (Siena) has offered him a better package, but that school is not as high on his list.
He is just looking for the right comment(s) to help him make a final decision.
Any comments, especially from those who have experienced St. Joe's would be welcome. Also, anyone having comments on why they have chosen St. Joe's or decided against it would be greatly appreciated.
Things I liked about St. Joe's:
Beautiful campus & I loved the style of the buildings
The students are extremely friendly!
The Staff are helpful and very personable
Lots of sports!
The student body is a good size, not super small, but not overwhelming
Pretty close to Philly
Surrounding area was quiet, not crazy at all
No pressure to declare a major right away; ease into everything
Oh & the "Hawk Will Never Die" t-shirt that they gave me haha
Things I didn't like:
No football team, but this shouldn't make or break a decision
I didn't feel like their B-School was as prestigious as the school im attending next year
I think your son needs to decide for himself. That way he will be happy and feel responsible for his choice.
I like the fact that there is a ton to do in Philly,
restaurants, movies, museums,
shopping , sports and events.The school spirit is alive for basketball, lax and other sports both spectator and participating.
You can always find something to do, either with sports, volunteering, participating in clubs,
peer mentoring, internships, special interest clubs. and the like.
Most jrs and srs live off campus by choice. But that is the great thing about the SJU campus, the location has a ton of off campus housing all around. Apartment houses and regular houses with a larger number of students living together.
also there are have sororities and fraternites.
Interships during the school year are also possible.
I have always felt that profs were accessable to the students. Many students spend a semester abroad, most in Europe, some in Australia, and you can also apply to programs that are not affiliated with SJU
Also, I forgot to mention, i the scholarship your son was offered, that should make him feel good that he is helping to contribute to the cost of his education.
don;t know where you guys are from, but there are lots of students that are from OUTSIDE the Jersey/Philly area.
Freshman have the opportunity to go on a retreat in early Oct. which is a nice way to reflect on how your college experience has been going to that point.
Once you are involved in activities and studying, you wont have time to think about going home that often.
Last year, the school over enrolled and kids ended up in hotels. Be sure to ask whether that problem has been addressed so it doesn't happen to your son.
To JerseyT and Sarahjo: Thank-you for your comments. They are greatly appreciated. We are compiling all of this for our son to read so that he can make the decision. I am sure your comments will be helpful.
MDMom: Thanks for the info on the housing issue. We are going back next week for a final visit, and I will be asking questions about that for sure. That could definitely be a deal breaker for us. Is this something that happened to your son or daughter? If so, how bad was it for them?
In the fall of 2008 SJU placed about 80 freshman in the Crowne Point Plaza hotel, because of overcrowding issues.
The following year (2009) they admitted less students so all freshman were on campus.
the class of 2013 reports a class size of 1,193 freshmen-approximately 300 less than last year's oversized class of 2012.
They just bought an apartment house in the Overbrook area and this coming up Sept it will be used for upperclassman. The apt building in right next to Wynnewoood dorm. and just across city Ave from Merion gardens.
SJU will be going forward with building a new freshmen residence hall on Gest Lawn starting next spring. (from Hawk newspaper) Looking to add 400 new spaces to handle the demand for freshmen housing.
Sarahjo and MDMom: Apparently St. Joe's has been pretty open about this issue, as my wife was aware of it from the discussion they had with parents at an open house day she and my son attended. That's good to know.
Sarahjo: Thanks. We actually have set up a shadow day for the day after Campus Experience Day so that he can attend a class in his area of interest and we will meet with professors too. He has indicated that his decision is pretty much made, but he just wants to be sure.
Sarahjo: Looks like the visit did the trick. They set him up with someone majoring in bio and minor in business, which is exactly what he was leaning toward. They were well prepared for all our questions and had researched the offerings at Marist for their FOCUS program. They really did their homework. Looks like our son will be a Hawk. Thanks for all your input
Congrats!!! I bet you are all happy that the decision making process is done.
I think that SJU has great students and helpful staff. You are never just a number here.
Tell you son to sign up for the Freshman retreat which is in Oct.
You should get the info over the summer.
Its a great escape for a night, and a way to meet people outside of your dorm and classes.
There are soooo many activitiess here that your son prob wont even have time to go home much.
Flyers, 76ers and Phillie games were some of the sports events that you could go to this year. The RA's plan fun stuff especially for the beginning of freshman year.
