Tour report: Gonzaga University

Parents Forum
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<p>Apologies in advance: this will not be nearly as comprehensive or “cool”-sounding as a report by someone like carolyn, but seeing as I’ve never seen a report yet on this school, I guess I’ll say what I can :)</p>

<p>We visited this school on May 27th (day before Mem day weekend) and did the tour. I actually grew up in Spokane, so I am VERY familiar with the city, but the funny thing is that I think I had set foot on Gonzaga’s campus all of 2 or 3 times my entire life. So I did have a somewhat “new” experience on this tour.
There were probably about 10 students on the tour (with some parents and siblings tagging along). I was the only person taking notes :rolleyes:
I was surprised that all were from out of the area: the kids were from Seattle, Sacramento, Lake Tahoe, etc.<br>
We began in the main adm building, which still has classes taught on the 2nd and 3rd floors. I think the 3rd floor was originally dorm rooms for the boys when the school first opened.
We then looked at most of the buildings, the COG (like a student union), and peeked at the Bing Crosby museum (which holds his academy award). We couldn’t go into the new athletic bldg where the famed basketball team plays, but we did go into another athletic facility where the student gym/rec center is. They are building a new student center and have a fairly new library, which I believe was completed within the past 5 years.
The freshman class is usally about 950 students. All freshman and sophomores are required to live on campus. There is no Greek system, and the campus is dry. Gonzaga is a Jesuit school, although only 45% of the students are catholic and it seemed to be pretty welcoming to everyone.
They do have a fairly good engineering dept (which S is going into), and the students will have the same profs for all 4 years. I guess that could be good and/or bad!! :wink: All classes are taught by profs. I didn’t write this in my notes, but I seem to remember them saying about 75% are phd and about 25% masters. The students might have TAs helping out in labs, but that’s it.
Also, most class sizes are small (10-25 students) with a few of the core classes being around 45.</p>

<p>We had a brief meeting after the tour with an admissions counselor. He indicated that S would likely qualify for 7-9k in merit aid based on SAT and gpa. </p>

<p>That’s all I can think of at this point. :)</p>

<p>I didn’t ask about the law school at all as S has no interest in that.</p>

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<p>Great report! This is a school that doesn’t get mentioned much here, but that is an excellent choice for kids looking for a medium sized private university on the west coast that is not extremely competitive in terms of admissions.</p>

<p>One question I have is — are there religion course requirements? And, did they mention how many students are non-Catholic?</p>

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<p>Here is some information on one scholarship they offer:
Cataldo Scholarship awards $5000 for 4 years to 10 graduates from Catholic high schools. Applicants must have minimum grade average of 3.5. This scholarship is guaranteed renewable for 4 years with minimum grade average.</p>

<p>Frequently the Jesuit colleges have special scholarships available for kids from Jesuit or Catholic high schools. Probably the best one is at Marquette. For further info here is the link:
<a href=“http://www.uofdjesuit.org/college_counseling/jesuit_scholar.htm[/url]”>http://www.uofdjesuit.org/college_counseling/jesuit_scholar.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>One of our recent medical graduates is a Gonzaga alum. She loved it.</p>

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<p>I believe they do have to take a few classes (like comparative religions, maybe?) and about 55% are non-Catholic.</p>

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<p>I totally forgot to include this in my report :o sorry!</p>

<p>The admissions guy said they don’t include the writing portion of the (new) SAT…only math and verbal.</p>

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<p>i am looking to attend a good school for engineering, and some news on Gonzaga showed up. To be honest I have liked much ive heard about it except for the fact that its religious. My family and I are not religious people and were wondering if this was required. I had heard that there was some kind of mandatory religion/psychology classes each week. I this true?</p>

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<p>George: any of the Jesuit (Catholic) affliated colleges will require that you complete 2/3 semester-long courses in theology, philosophy or both. That is the extent of your requirement - 2 or 3 classes during your 4 yr education.</p>

<p>If you are thinking of mandatory religious or chapel services each week, that may vary according to the religious affliation of some schools. I don’t know if Protestant or Quaker colleges have any mandatory requirements. But, in the case of Catholic or Jesuit schools like Gonzaga, though Catholic Masses are offered weekly, no one is “required” to attend those services.</p>