<p>Some thoughts to add…
I’m a current sophomore too and came in as a freshman, so my experience might be a little different, but here’s my take:</p>
<p>1) Like the last poster said, religious life isn’t really dominating at SU. Only about a third of students identify as Catholic on their applications (which is probably more than actually practice Catholicism), and a bit more than that identify as another Christian denomination. Like dogdoghong mentioned, you’ll have to take two Theology classes, but that can include a world religion course or something more broad . </p>
<p>2) I will warn you that there seem to be fewer merit scholarships for transfer students, but the financial aid counselors are extremely understanding if you actually talk to them. I think that’s been true of my experience with most faculty/staff at SU–everyone’s pretty understanding if you make an effort to make introductions, which isn’t that tough at a school this size with this kind of environment.</p>
<p>3) A big part of Jesuit education is this idea of educating the “whole person,” so not just providing professional training but preparing students to be leaders for a better world and encouraging different types of critical thinking and awareness. Part of that is accomplished through the broad liberal arts base that is the Core. I actually really like the Core. My favorite class so far is one I sort of just took for the Core that I probably wouldn’t have gotten into otherwise–World Poverty (which is either humanities or just a general social science class–it counted for Social Science II).</p>
<p>6) I’ve heard informally from the rumor mill that it’s easier to get in as a transfer than as a freshman. Naturally you should still give it your best, but I really think you’ll be perfectly fine.</p>
<p>4) I’ve thought about this a lot before, and I honestly think it’s tough to peg the typical SU student or to definitively define the labels. I’m sure people say this at every school, but I honestly think SU excels in the diversity of the types of people it attracts, and as far as the social scene and what people do for fun it’s pretty mixed too. Without greek life, it’s not centered around everyone going to the same big parties, but people party. There’s also always other stuff going on around the neighborhood/city and campus.</p>
<p>As far as the types of people, the school’s identity is so much impacted by it’s location: right in the heart of Seattle. Not that everyone at SU is a commuter or is from the area, but the location is a big attraction for people. I don’t know where you’re transferring from or how familiar you are with Seattle, but SU is in the Capitol Hill/First Hill neighborhood of Seattle, touching or close to Central District, Squier Park, downtown, International District… That said, Capitol Hill is known largely for its hipsters and for its gay community. On the one hand, that means SU has its fair share of hipsters and a very active, significant LGBTQ community, and drawing from Seattle and the Northwest coast in general, the population is overwhelmingly liberal and particularly eco-concerned. On the other hand, that also means SU attracts the type of people who don’t want to go to school in a college town sort of bubble but instead the vast types of people who’d rather go to school in an urban environment–whether it’s for the arts and culture, the exposure to different ethnic communities, the internship opportunities, the volunteer opportunities, etc. And I feel like most people are interested in all of those things to some degree–people I would expect to be ambitious business-y types are still a little artsy, the churchgoing crowd has a good number of protesters and hippies, guys who act like bros can be huge nerds at heart, etc. So far, I’m pretty sure Republicans are the most underrepresented social group, and it’s not like the handful of them all stick together.</p>
<p>I’m sure a lot of that sounds like bunch of shameless plugs, but I honestly, legitimately believe that, haha.</p>
<p>Good luck, and if you have other questions, shoot 'em!</p>