Why are jesuit colleges highly regarded?

InigoMontoya
Sat, 15 Jul 2017 14:10:26 +0000

You can’t generalize all Catholic colleges, and I don’t think anyone here is trying to do that. I also don’t think anyone is trying to disparage Franciscan, Dominican, Holy Cross or other orders (I graduated from a school run by the Holy Cross order which was very liberal and inclusive and welcoming to all). Different Catholic orders have their “thing” that they’re noted for, and for Jesuits their “thing” has always been education. The Jesuits have a long and well deserved reputation for excellence in education that goes back hundreds of years. It’s not chasing “prestige”, it’s a well-deserved reputation of excellence. That in no way demeans schools of other denominations or other faiths (there are many excellent Lutheran, Quaker, Jewish and other universities).

I do think you can talk about Jesuit universities as a block because they tend to be consistent in the face they present to the world. If you look at other schools, they can differ from institution to institution. Franciscan University of Stuebenville is a very conservative environment that would possibly make certain students feel very uncomfortable, which sounds very different from the Franciscan U that @mom2twogirls attended. I know the Holy Cross college I attended was very different and much more liberal than Notre Dame.

For those who admire the educational tradition but are hesitant about the Catholic aspect, generally speaking a Jesuit school is a good choice. Other orders the level of comfort is going to differ by the individual institution.