<p>My son is starting the process and casting a wide net. Any knowledge on John Carroll University? Jesuit school of about 4,500 students outside of Cleveland. Never been to Cleveland not heard of this school. Not a lot of info besides the school’s website. Thanks for the help.</p>
<p>Hi, I donnot know of how much help I can be, however, I just recently applied to this school. </p>
<p>Even though it’s a wiki link, here’s some additional information… [John</a> Carroll University - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“John Carroll University - Wikipedia”>John Carroll University - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>Collegeboard also has some pretty good info, too. Ohio residents highly regaurd this school… and although small, it’s very good (from what I’ve observed and heard). What kind of answeres are you looking for specifically? I’m headed for a visit on Tuesday, which will entail a financial aid meeting, campus tour, and one-on-one conference with the Cross Country Coach. So I’ll be sure to update you after the tour! </p>
<p>Oh and on another note, the location, I DO know quite a bit about! JCU is located in a really nice suburb, University Heights. Great shopping, great people, lots to do there. And very safe, too.</p>
<p>Thanks Julzdanceruns.</p>
<p>The things that cold statistics can’t convey - how alive is the campus? Do the students seem happy and like the environment? Are the on campus activities well attended? My son is interested in the sports. He wrestles and D3 seems about his speed. Also the club rugby team. He is intrigued from the website. Is it accurate? </p>
<p>Good luck on your visit and we would love to hear your update. Are you from the area? We are from California. About the only time I see Cleveland is the inside of the stadium when the Raiders play the Browns.</p>
<p>Well, I do have a two close friends currently attending, and they love the campus and school! Students and staff alike, they said, are very friendly and welcoming. The small size adds to the pleasant atmosphere. Both girls came from very large highschools, and love the feeling of being included. Campus activities fair pretty well in attendance, and there’s quite a variety to chose from. Again, a smaller student body makes this welcoming eviroment possible. My friends are also in sororities and have enjoyed this expirience quite a bit. </p>
<p>On the athletic website, recruit forms are available. The coaching staff seems very approachable! I called the Cross Country coach, and had a wonderfully informative conversation with her. They even invited me to a recruit night taking place this weekend. So I’d encourage your son to fill out a recruit form 
</p>
<p>Admissions counsellors there are great, too. I’ve been able to get alot of assitance from contacting them. The website, from my expiriences, is pretty accurate. Be sure to check out the campus tour videos, too, if you get the chance! </p>
<p>Surely I’ll be back to update you after my visit Tuesday… thank you so much for the kind wishes! Best of luck to you and your son!</p>
<p>I live about 30 minutes from John Carroll. John Carroll is definitely NOT highly regarded by Ohioans anymore. It used to be many, many years ago. It actually lost some national acreditations and only recently got them back. (The business school to name one). </p>
<p>Students from here do not want to go to JC. The students that have VERY weak credentials use it as a last resort.</p>
<p>I’m sure that kids who are there may be very happy there, I am not disputing that, but in terms of being highly regarded - DEFINITELY NOT!</p>
<p>Julzdanceruns~</p>
<p>I’m sorry, but you really need to come here and look around. University Heights is a small, mostly residential area (with many immigrants). There is no major shopping there (other than mom and pop type run down strip mall shops). The “great” shopping that you speak of - well the closest is Beachwood Place (about 10 minutes drive from JCU). It is NOT great shopping. Just your run of the mill mall. (Also, is closes at 7 p.m. on Saturday night due to all of the crime that has happend there due to undesirables coming in from Cleveland.). There are only a few mom and pop run down bars scatered around JCU also. No main strip of restaurants, clubs or anything like that. Please look around when you get here so you are not disappointed. Also, there is NOT alot to do here. Cleveland is very depressed, and outside of downtown sporting events and downtown high end restaurants there is really nothing to do.</p>
<p>I dont know much about John Carol but its regarded as a relatively good school, and to my knowledge they have a great psych department. University Heights is a good and safe neighborhood unless you are afraid of immigrants and “undesirables”. Cleveland doesnt have to offer much nightlife wise, so its more about if your son would prefer to go out to clubs or campus parties during his time at college. Out of all the malls in Cleveland, Beachwood Place is considered one of the best with the most selection to fit every budget. About 5 minutes from there is Legacy Village, which is an outside mall. Maybe 10-15 minutes from Beachwood Place is a street called Coventry, which is filled with bars where many locals and college students go (especially Case students since it’s so close to their campus). Another place to go out is Downtown Cleveland, on West 6th (the whole street is bars, clubs, and some restaraunts) and theres also a few clubs on West 9th. There are also a few museums located in University Circle.</p>
<p>OhioMom2 is way off base. Both of my children are JCU grads. My daughter completed both the BA and MA in English. My son completed a BA with a double major in philosophy and sociology. He is now working on an MA in their Institute for Humanities. The comment regarding accreditations is wrong. The Boler School of Business, the Education Department, Counseling Program and School Psychology program are all accredited and have been for some time. JCU also has very competitive D3 sports and a variety of club and intramural sports. The students are academically talented and perform a great deal of community service. There are many opportunities to study abroad and participate in domestic and international service learning experiences. My son has been to Italy, Japan and most recently Nicaragua on school sponsored trips. The faculty is first rate. The University Heights neighborhood is safe and there is shopping nearby. How can you say there is nothing to do? Ever hear of University Circle, Playhouse Square, Metroparks? What’s wrong with a diverse community? I suggest you visit JCU for yourself. The campus is beautiful, in a safe suburb with easy access to the country and the city.</p>
<p>The neighborhood around John Carroll is nice. The campus itself is lovely. There are new looking dorms and athletic facilities (which I have never been inside, just driven by). There are a couple of fun restaurants at the edge of campus. This is considered to be a safe neighborhood. JCU is is a good, regional school. The campus seems lively. Some programs there are known to be very good. </p>
<p>Cleveland is a great college town. John Carroll, CWRU, Baldwin Wallace, Cleveland State and others. The Coventry area is close to JCU and CWRU; the Grog Shop is quite the spot for live music, and there are lots of funky little shops, bars, and restaurants. Lots of culture in Cleveland - University Circle: Severance Hall and the orchestra, the art museum (free admission), natural history museum, auto aviation museum. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The metropark system is beautiful. Lots of great theater in town. John Carroll is close to the Green Line RTA, for a quick train ride downtown for the Indians or the Cavs. Ohio City and Tremont for trendy night spots. Lots of live music venues around town.</p>
<p>re: shopping near JCU- Target and Macys are very close to campus, a mile north of campus or so. About a mile and a half east of that is Beachwood Place, which has Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom and stores teenagers enjoy like H&M; it is a nice mall. Legacy Village is across the street from Beachwood Place. My kids and I like Norstrom’s Rack there (although my 16-year-old son will only go with his 20-year-old sister, not with me). Beachwood Place is open until 9 on Saturday nights (Monday through Friday nights too, for that matter).</p>
<p>If there is a good program in your major at John Carroll, you should come and take a look. I know one undergraduate who is doing a lot of research with professors there, which is nice.</p>
<p>Cleveland Heights, University Heights, and Shaker Heights are vibrant, diverse communities. OhioMom2 is right: there are immigrants in these suburbs. (!!!)</p>
<p>rocket79~</p>
<p>Just to set the record straight - I am NOT wrong about JCU’s lost business accreditation. I would never say that if it weren’t true. Obviously JCU wants to keep it very quiet. Therefore, it is very difficult to find any information about it online.
However, here is a link to the obituary, from November 2009, of the late President of JCU.
[Rev</a>. Thomas P. O’Malley led John Carroll University | Obituaries from The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com - - cleveland.com](<a href=“http://www.cleveland.com/obituaries/index.ssf/2009/11/rev_thomas_p_omalley_led_john.html]Rev”>Rev. Thomas P. O'Malley led John Carroll University - cleveland.com)
Please read it for yourself. You will see that it clearly states this - “He revamped the business school and regained it’s lost national accreditation.”</p>
<p>People deserve to know the truth. The prior lost accreditation is a fact, not my opinion. And many people lost respect for JCU after that.</p>
<p>Also, I am VERY familiar with JCU. My husband went there for one year (before he transferred out due to the lack of things to do there, and also that he wanted a more strenuous curriculum that they didn’t offer at the time). Also, my daughter currently has to go there 3 nights per week for a program that she is involved in there (it is set up through her high school). Lastly, when I was a college student, I would not have thought of University Circle, Playhouse Square and The Metroparks as typical college student hangouts. However, I also realize that everyone’s opinions are different and I respect that.</p>
<p>Well, if I were a planning to go to a college in or very near a city I’d probably assume one of the benefits would be having access to the various venues offered by the city. Students at JCU certainly do have access to everything Cleveland offers – it’s not as if it’s isolated. </p>
<p>Things may have changed since I was last there, but I agree that OhioMom is using a broad brush to negatively characterize the school and surrounding areas. JCU always had a pretty good reputation and was certainly respected locally during my time in the area. I would not put it on par with Case Western, which I think offers the best education in Cleveland, but one can get a very good education at JCU. And University Heights has always been a pretty nice area. </p>
<p>That said, OhioMom’s comments about immigrants and undesirables does remind me of the kind of social myopia that, unfortunately, characterized various communities in and around Cleveland for me when I was there. There are many great things about the area, but it’s never been very progressive, socially speaking.</p>
<p>A good way to get a feel for a school based on students opinions is going to students review dot com. Have to spell it out as they don’t print other websites. If you read all the student comments about a school you can usually get a consensus on the positives and negatives.</p>
<p>Me thinks Ohiomom has an agenda. Not sure what it is…but its not very nice.</p>
<p>John Carroll is a Jesuit college and all 28 Jesuit colleges offer a tremendous education. Some have had greater financial struggles than others. Accreditation issues may have to do with many different factors.</p>
<p>I happen to know an accountant who was educated at John Carroll. He is a very smart man and worked for Fortune 500 companies for years. </p>
<p>I think John Carroll is a fine choice if that is where the OP’s son is looking. By definition, this person is likely not in the Fordham, BC or Georgetown range, but that is okay. The Jesuits pride themselves on educating the whole person, not just one part of that person. They will challenge you, make you think…and teach you how to think, not what to think. You will come out well rounded and compassionate for others, looking to serve humanity and your community, while striving for excellence in what you do.</p>
<p>Bravo for considering a Jesuit college!</p>
<p>ghostbuster~</p>
<p>Yes I do have an agenda and this is it…
To give my personal OPINION about a school that I am familiar with. My agenda is also to make this potential student aware of factors that they may not get from the school’s website. Coming from California would probably be culture shock for this student - and as I said before - they need to come here and see it for themselves before deciding blindly based on information provided by the school. However, I would recommend that for anyone for ANY school.</p>
<p>You can be assured that I have nothing against religious affiliated schools of any type (Jesuit or others).</p>
<p>Thanks for all the info. </p>
<p>My son is just a sophomore and starting to look. He will probably end up with a GPA of 3.5 and I suspect ACT score around 29 or 30. </p>
<p>Looking for a school of 3k - 10k +/-, near a big city, reasonably diverse (the more the better but this seems hard to find in the smaller schools). He loves wrestling and would like to continue in college in a D3 school or as a club sport at a D1 school. Solid academics are the number one criteria (right or wrong we use tier 1 schools in USNW as a academic criteria). Right noe his interest is in international studies, history and languages but who knows where he will end up?</p>
<p>Texas seems to have a few schools that meet the criteria. The jesuit schols in general seem pretty cool. Cleveland has John Carroll and CWRU. Due to time & budget contraints we need to be able to visit a number of schools in a region if we fly out. ANy other schools in the region fit?</p>
<p>Thanks again for all of your input…very much appreciated.</p>
<p>Oberlin is close to the Cleveland airport, just in the opposite direction.</p>
<p>Wooster maybe?</p>
<p>My school sends quite a few kids to JCU every year. I’d never want to go there…way too close to home. </p>
<p>It is a good school with a decent reputation. Not as good as Case, but better than Cleveland State and Notre Dame College. Baldwin Wallace might be slightly better academically, but it is close. </p>
<p>JCU is in a pretty nice neighborhood, kinda close to University Circle. A lot of people think it is the nicest area of Cleveland, but you have to remind yourself…this is Cleveland. But Cleveland is not as bad as people make it out to be. </p>
<p>But overall, JCU is a pretty good school, but visit for yourself to get the best picture.</p>
<p>Don’t know anything about it except that Tim Russert was a graduate.</p>
<p>I agree with the recommendation to visit Oberlin and College of Wooster. Also in Ohio – near Columbus – but, if you are coming all the way from the West Coast, worth the drive – I recommend Denison, Ohio Wesleyan and Kenyon. (Of these, Oberlin and Kenyon would be more selective than the others. You mentioned that you thought your son would be in the 3.5 GPA, 28 - 29 ACT range…Oberlin and Kenyon would be reaches, but the others in the ballpark, esp. with the geographic edge coming from California.)</p>
<p>I can see this will be a very late addition to this thread but wanted to add my 2 cents:
We took our oldest all over the east coast and to every small LAC recommended by Loren Pope in Ohio and PA. He was the kind of kid tortured by high school–found it a drag and couldn’t wait to get out. He graduated with a 3.4 GPA and decent SATs. He was accepted to every school he applied to(including Pitt, Penn State, COW, OWU, Allegheny), but JCU was at the top of his list after his first visit. He loved the beautiful campus and friendly welcome from students and faculty. He wanted to be very close to a city but have a separate campus and JCU fit that bill. He had no idea what he wanted to do and after his high school experience, we were just grateful he did not refuse further education. John Carroll has made a student–a happy, turned-on, excited student out of my son. He loves his professors and enjoys a close relationship with many of them. He has made great friends on campus, the kind that will be life-long friends. He genuinely appears to love his studies and is an avid reader on top of his demanding classes. In addition, he has been very active in a variety of social justice activities & volunteering that is strongly encouraged on a Jesuit campus. He has taught social studies every year to students in the Cleveland Public schools and loves this experience. There are many higher ranked schools, but John Carroll has taken a demoralized, underachieving kid and made an engaged scholar out of him. His confidence, writing, thinking and study skills are far beyond what they were in high school. He just finished his junior year. I could not be prouder of him or more grateful for the kind of well-rounded education he has received.</p>