<p>Daughter accepted and needs advice on deciding among Marquette, Xavier in Cincinnati, and Univ of St. Thomas in St. Paul. What’s the current overall reputation of these schools. She’s considering Business, but that could change. Thanks for your feedback.</p>
<p>I am more familiar with Xavier because I am Catholic and live in Ohio. Also, I have looked into these schools for relatives of mine.</p>
<p>Marquette is the most conservative socially. That is, the students are relatively conservative, although the Jesuit administration is to the left of center. Overall it is probably a little bit better academically than the other two, but not by a wide margin. Same with its business school, probably better than the others but not hugely so (except in accounting… see below).</p>
<p>Xavier has a more moderate Jesuit administration, but the same with the students. So, less of a gap between the students attitudes and the administration’s. Having visited Xavier, I can say that the campus is sandwiched between a very nice upscale residential neighborhood on its west and a rather shabby commercial zone to the east. The campus itself is clean, orderly, and mostly self contained. Physically, this is a comfortable campus but not special. The business school has a totally new building.</p>
<p>University of St. Thomas is the school that I know the least about. It is generically Catholic, not Jesuit. U.St.Thomas seems to have a more politically contentious atmosphere. Or at least it seems to draw more controversy politically. On the one hand, conservative supreme court justice Antonin Scalia was the speaker at the re-opening of the law school in 2001. On the other hand, in recent years both liberals (Desmond Tutu) and conservatives (Star Parker) have been blocked from speaking. Tutu was allowed to speak after the decision was appealed. Transgendered activists have also been allowed to speak at U.St.Thomas. In short, controversy seems to rear its head frequently here.</p>
<p>All three of these have business schools are accredited by the AACSB, but only Marquette’s has the additional accreditation for accounting. If your daughter has any interest in accounting, this could make the difference.</p>
<p>Marquette is the largest school and the best known. Xavier is the smallest (half the size of Marquette). St. Thomas is probably the least well known.</p>
<p>If you have not visited these schools, then do so. That can make all the difference.</p>
<p>St Thomas is in a thriving city, home to the most Fortune 500 companies in the Midwest, and they make it easy to get an internship. Additionally, the neighbordhood it’s in is fabulous, between a student neighborhood with restaurants, coffee shops, a cool cinema, etc, and a nice historical street not far from the governor’s mansion etc. So, in terms of city life, St Thomas beats the other two hands down.
Cincinnati would be my second choice for a city - really coming back, interesting, and in addition to all the cool venues you find in a city, UCincinnati’s highly selective programs offer countless productions (music, theater, dance) from some of the top performers in the country. Weather-wise, it’s the best by far. 
Academically, Marquette is a little stronger indeed, very preprofessional, athetic-minded. </p>
<p>How would you rate the campuses of Marquette, St. Thomas and Xavier? Any new renovations, new buildings, facilities, dorms, nice landscaping, student centers, etc?</p>
<p>I can only speak about Xavier because it is the only one I have visited. </p>
<ul>
<li>The student center was completed in 2002. </li>
<li>Athletic facilities appear quite good, if not new. The basketball arena, Cintas Center, was new in the year 2000 and includes a conference center and a dining hall.</li>
<li>Some dorms are new, but others dorms appear are older, but I do not know if they have been renovated. Fenwick Place is the newest dorm, and opened in 2011. </li>
<li>The Business School building, Smith Hall, was new in 2010.</li>
<li>Library is very nice, with the core library having undergone recent renovation, plus an expansion which more than doubled the size. </li>
<li>The property is well groomed, but I cannot say that the landscaping is special… simply tidy and well maintained.</li>
</ul>
<p>All in all, a good mix of old and new, with the old being well maintained.</p>
<p>Personally, I consider Cincinnati to be the most interesting city in Ohio. I live in Columbus, but always enjoy trips to Cincy. Downtown Cincinnati is very vital… far more vital than downtown Columbus even though the state Capitol is located there. You can feel the history in downtown Cincy.</p>
<p>By the way, since I have “no dog in this hunt,” it is good to hear about the University of St. Thomas. Sounds like a wonderful place.</p>