A post was merged into an existing topic: Colleges your child crossed off the list after visiting, schools that moved up on the list. Why?
FWIW, twoinanddone specifically noted that they checked the CC academic calendar and confirmed they were not there on one of the inter-block weekends.
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@mo4620, I just wanted to say that your post gave me all the feels; I literally have tears in my eyes and the telling of your son’s experience at the visitation day has truly warmed my heart. I know that admissions offices and visitation days are all about trying to attract students and putting their best foot forward, but I truly wish that ALL students ended up feeling the way your son did after his experience with Siena. May everyone’s kids end up at schools where they feel welcomed, comfortable, and truly seen.
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I wish that for every student and their families as well! Every kid deserves to feel like they are stepping into something that’s “just right” for them - whatever that means for them. And as a parent, there’s something very special about getting to watch it happen.
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— Coleridge
— a traveller, from Shelley
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Considering that Colby has a pretty traditional red brick campus the “Dubai” comparison seemed a little strange. It reads more rural New England than modern skyscrapers in the desert (to me at least).
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Given the design and scale of the new sports complex (and the lavish throwing-around of cash it embodies), the description sounded spot-on to me: Dubai in the woods, heebie-jeebies and all!
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That building is definitely very modern looking but it is on the edge of campus and is far from representative of how the campus looks overall. Of course, Colby isn’t to all tastes - there are many reasons that it wouldn’t work for kids - too homogenous, too preppy, too remote, too cold etc, etc, etc I just thought the architectural focus was a little unusual since most of the campus is pretty traditional New England.
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To me that is a liberal arts education & a positive.
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The point of the long ago post was the housing change at SJU announced in the fall of 2023, which no one thinks is a positive. My boys attend (and will attend) LAC’s so clearly I am a fan of the educational requirements.
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Didn’t notice the date of the post. The dorm flood last year was a setback & I think the merger has those students living on campus now so yes, housing is tight.
Someone mentioned crime if you don’t commute from a far away apartment. I disagree. If you’re near the campus then it’s similar to being outside anyway near the campus. There are pockets I would avoid but nothing compared to that area abutting Temple. Imo of course.
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I think most would agree that the area is better than Temple, although, on the parent page, the chatter is that Temple’s security does a better job than SJU’s. The issue that current families have is some students want to live on campus, be it for convenience, security or to keep the housing grant. By announcing in the fall of 2023 that juniors and seniors cannot live on campus that changes what some families were told when they started at SJU.
Most upperclassmen students choose to live off campus, but some would like to stay. I do think the new dorm will help and maybe that will have a trickle down effect for the older students.
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Indeed it is for some students although many if not most current juniors now live in apartments which they would have found in Spring of 2023. Same for seniors.
Yes. It’s changing the game midstream but the real game changed was for the USciences students. The merger could have been more considerate of those students who enrolled with the expectation of attending USciences & then continuing enrollment due to being told most things would not change. The rollout of the merger could have timed certain aspects in a more respectful manner for these kids.
I don’t know if Temple does a better job at crime containment. Does that apply to stepping off of the campus? Because …
PS The parents page is full of helpful information but like all of these pages, people are giving opinions & maybe even facts through the lens of their background.
You are spot on. The kids who really did get the short stick are the UScience students.
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I don’t want to discourage anyone on here from going to St Joe’s especially for a major like marketing where i think the school does well & has good connections for internships but the USciences situation was mishandled impacting the lives of those kids.
I’ve lived here my entire life, and I’ve never thought about crime at St. Joe’s in the same breath as the crime at Temple. City Line Avenue isn’t “Main Line” posh, but it’s a world away from the area surrounding Temple.
I don’t know about now, but at one time Temple had the largest University Police force in the US.
As for “stepping off” campus, the patrol area extends a bit… supported by the 5 police stations on the campus.
The neighborhood is improving, but comparing its urban footprint with the suburban setting for St. Joe’s feels like apples and oranges to me.
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I was going to say the same thing and I don’t even live there. Just from visiting.
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This is a big factor in my daughter’s decision. She likes Temple and St Joes for different reasons but to me you can’t even compare the areas. We have a shadow day at St Joes on the 18th and then Temple’s accepted students day on the 24th. Maybe we will have a decision by then! I do think Temple is trying to focus on safety given all the concerns but they are up against a lot. It’s too bad that it impacts so many people’s decision on attending because it does have so much to offer.
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I would consider the area around St. Joe’s much safer than the area around Penn, let alone Temple.
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Temple is trying, and I’d say the area is improving. When you visit, you’ll head up Broad Street from Vine most likely. I can tell you in the 80s, by the time you got to Girard Ave (a few blocks)… things got noticeably “tougher”. Now, there is a new Giant supermarket, the streets have been redone with lights, and there is a lot of activity in the neighborhoods. We know a lot of young, recent graduates who live in Fairmount (half way to Temple on the left going north). I met my daughter for a cup of coffee there a month ago, and there is a ton of investment, lots of places to eat, and in general, it feels very safe. My daughter’s boyfriend lives there, and she would consider moving to the neighborhood from the “safe” confines of Old City (it’s a city…so safety is always relative).
As you get a bit further north, you’ll pass The Met. It is an old opera house that was renovated and has some great shows. I’ve been there a few times, and it feels safe (with the crowd, I wouldn’t want to be there alone at 2am).
For all of the good, here is a link to an interactive map of Philly gun violence. If you sort to last year (2023), and look at the area that is outlined on the Temple map I posted yesterday, I count 3 fatal shootings, around a dozen non-fatal shootings, and a lot of activity on the borders of the Temple map.
There is no doubt that the area remains a more dangerous place than most colleges for violent crime. If you look at the St. Joe’s campus (which sits on the edge of the Philly map and is only half covered on the map)… there was no gun violence within 8 or 10 blocks last year. There was a shooting on the edge of campus in 2021, and a murder a few blocks away in 2020, but any comparison to Temple is unnecessary…they are worlds apart.
Safety has a lot to do with the individual. One of my children I believe could navigate Temple in relative safety, the other, I’d worry a lot more about. I worry about them living in Philly now…but at some point, experience needs to be part of their education as well. Our daughter lost a close friend in college who slipped while walking in the woods. You never know. Good luck with your visits/choice.
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