Philadelphia schools — what about Saint Joseph’s?

[Anonymous]

Seen a bunch of talk about Temple and the actual center city Phila schools but what about St. Joe’s. What is the overall impression and safety thoughts?

[Anonymous]

It is. wonderful school that has such a nice community vibe and everyone gets behind their sports teams.

[Anonymous]

Strong alumni presence.

[Anonymous]

My child looked there and we loved it. Some programs seemed really strong. I loved the Jesuit presence (which felt authentic and consistent, not like it was hitting you over the head). GREAT co-op opportunities for business. I have friends who are teachers who say St. Joe's education students come in very well prepared. My kid chose the total opposite -- Penn State -- but I was kind of rooting for St. Joe's.

It's small, but fairly diverse -- more than I was expecting.

[Anonymous]

Oh, safety -- the neighborhood is much, MUCH nicer than Temple's neighborhood. But it's not exempt from crime. It's on a busy road with a lot of dingy shops and restaurants ... doesn't quite have a cute college town vibe, though the campus itself is beautiful.

[Anonymous]

We found it super religious, which my daughter was not expecting. It could have just been our tour guide, but he mainly stressed the 6 Jesuit mandatory core class requirements, the Campus Ministry and the daily and weekly mass. Community felt really close and engaged, just wasn't a good fit for my daughter (we are Jewish by the way.)

[Anonymous]

Hahaha Catholic college after yesterday’s addition to the ongoing abuse scandals.

Cut it out people there are bigger issues in the world.

St Joe’s is a perfectly fine school if it fits your kid. My very Catholic Opus Dei neighbor hated it for her kid. But my non practicing Unitarian family neighbors loved it. I know plenty of lax players that went there.

It’s an ok school for B students

[Anonymous]

I can understand how someone who is not Catholic might hear the words "Jesuit core" and incorrectly assume they are all religion classes (if you didn't listen the words that followed describing regular core classes); or hear "daily mass is held" and assume is was expected or highly used (btw many non-religious colleges also offer daily Mass in the Catholic center; very few lay Catholics under the age of 80 attend daily Mass); or understand that Campus Ministry is a small group of people who organize the optional religious activities of a campus (and most colleges have a variety of campus ministries for different religions, or one that covers them all).

A lot of Catholics do not fully appreciate how much misinformation and disinformation is out there about Catholics generally. I also think that when a large group of people have a shared cultural experience that is not yours, it can be difficult to feel totally comfortable and fit in. It isn't usually fun to be the one who doesn't get the lingo or the inside jokes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can understand how someone who is not Catholic might hear the words "Jesuit core" and incorrectly assume they are all religion classes (if you didn't listen the words that followed describing regular core classes); or hear "daily mass is held" and assume is was expected or highly used (btw many non-religious colleges also offer daily Mass in the Catholic center; very few lay Catholics under the age of 80 attend daily Mass); or understand that Campus Ministry is a small group of people who organize the optional religious activities of a campus (and most colleges have a variety of campus ministries for different religions, or one that covers them all).

A lot of Catholics do not fully appreciate how much misinformation and disinformation is out there about Catholics generally. I also think that when a large group of people have a shared cultural experience that is not yours, it can be difficult to feel totally comfortable and fit in. It isn't usually fun to be the one who doesn't get the lingo or the inside jokes.

Well, they should do their research beforehand, then -- or pipe up during the tour itself and ask a question. "Are the Jesuit core classes all religion classes?" That's not too difficult to ask.

By the way, there aren't even six "Jesuit core" classes required at St. Joes's. There are two "Jesuit Tradition Common Core Classes" -- one philosophy class, and one theology class. That's it. The other four required classes, none of which is theology, are called "Cultural Legacy Common Core Classes" and are history, English, etc.

If you're gonna come on here and say you wrote off a college based on its core requirements, you should make sure you know what they are first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can understand how someone who is not Catholic might hear the words "Jesuit core" and incorrectly assume they are all religion classes (if you didn't listen the words that followed describing regular core classes); or hear "daily mass is held" and assume is was expected or highly used (btw many non-religious colleges also offer daily Mass in the Catholic center; very few lay Catholics under the age of 80 attend daily Mass); or understand that Campus Ministry is a small group of people who organize the optional religious activities of a campus (and most colleges have a variety of campus ministries for different religions, or one that covers them all).

A lot of Catholics do not fully appreciate how much misinformation and disinformation is out there about Catholics generally. I also think that when a large group of people have a shared cultural experience that is not yours, it can be difficult to feel totally comfortable and fit in. It isn't usually fun to be the one who doesn't get the lingo or the inside jokes.

Well, they should do their research beforehand, then -- or pipe up during the tour itself and ask a question. "Are the Jesuit core classes all religion classes?" That's not too difficult to ask.

By the way, there aren't even six "Jesuit core" classes required at St. Joes's. There are two "Jesuit Tradition Common Core Classes" -- one philosophy class, and one theology class. That's it. The other four required classes, none of which is theology, are called "Cultural Legacy Common Core Classes" and are history, English, etc.

If you're gonna come on here and say you wrote off a college based on its core requirements, you should make sure you know what they are first.

I keep trying to write you off as a troll, but then you keep demonstrating deep knowledge of St. Joe's. So now I've come to accept that you're just a terrible representative of the school, which is a shame.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We found it super religious, which my daughter was not expecting. It could have just been our tour guide, but he mainly stressed the 6 Jesuit mandatory core class requirements, the Campus Ministry and the daily and weekly mass. Community felt really close and engaged, just wasn't a good fit for my daughter (we are Jewish by the way.)

You obviously went into your visit without an open mind -- maybe because you are Jewish?

St Joe's is not "super religious" at all.

The 6 "Jesuit mandatory core class requirements" that you deride only have ONE theology class: "Faith, Justice, and the Catholic Tradition." The other core classes are philosophy, English, history, and the First Year Seminar (which has nothing to do with religion).

Get real.

I mean, she did also say that the other two things (out of three) that the guide stressed were "the Campus Ministry and the daily and weekly mass." I can certainly see how an open-minded kid could come away with the impression that a school was "super religious" after a tour like that.

Two out of three my ass. Nobody at St Joe's goes to daily mass. Cut me a break. She went into the tour with an attitude, and she completely misrepresented the core requirements consistent with that attitude.

Wow, I'm Catholic and I see no evidence to assume she went in with an "attitude". I thought her response was perfectly reasonable, but yours was not. St. Joe's is a fairly religious school. There are plenty of "St" schools that are not-- "St. Olaf's" isn't particularly nor is "St. John's" but St. Joe's is an actively religious school. Nothing wrong with it, but it's understandable that a kid taking a tour might be surprised by it. And saying she "misrepresented" -- it's someone on a tour--they're not going to fully understand what is meant by their core requirements. And that a tour guide mentions the mass schedule and campus ministry tells you it's fairly religious. My kids who are Catholic thought it was too religious for their tastes too. Your defensiveness is really off-putting.

[Anonymous]

I'm from outside of Philly and have a beach house in NJ and my observation is that the St Joe's alumni network is really strong. When we're at the beach we're often surrounded by St Joe's friend groups and they're successful, lovely families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can understand how someone who is not Catholic might hear the words "Jesuit core" and incorrectly assume they are all religion classes (if you didn't listen the words that followed describing regular core classes); or hear "daily mass is held" and assume is was expected or highly used (btw many non-religious colleges also offer daily Mass in the Catholic center; very few lay Catholics under the age of 80 attend daily Mass); or understand that Campus Ministry is a small group of people who organize the optional religious activities of a campus (and most colleges have a variety of campus ministries for different religions, or one that covers them all).

A lot of Catholics do not fully appreciate how much misinformation and disinformation is out there about Catholics generally. I also think that when a large group of people have a shared cultural experience that is not yours, it can be difficult to feel totally comfortable and fit in. It isn't usually fun to be the one who doesn't get the lingo or the inside jokes.

Well, they should do their research beforehand, then -- or pipe up during the tour itself and ask a question. "Are the Jesuit core classes all religion classes?" That's not too difficult to ask.

By the way, there aren't even six "Jesuit core" classes required at St. Joes's. There are two "Jesuit Tradition Common Core Classes" -- one philosophy class, and one theology class. That's it. The other four required classes, none of which is theology, are called "Cultural Legacy Common Core Classes" and are history, English, etc.

If you're gonna come on here and say you wrote off a college based on its core requirements, you should make sure you know what they are first.

The poster didn't say they wrote off the college due to its core requirements, but because they got the sense it was more religious than they originally thought. Last I checked, this was a free country, where everyone is entitled to their opinion. OP asked for impressions and one was given. Move on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can understand how someone who is not Catholic might hear the words "Jesuit core" and incorrectly assume they are all religion classes (if you didn't listen the words that followed describing regular core classes); or hear "daily mass is held" and assume is was expected or highly used (btw many non-religious colleges also offer daily Mass in the Catholic center; very few lay Catholics under the age of 80 attend daily Mass); or understand that Campus Ministry is a small group of people who organize the optional religious activities of a campus (and most colleges have a variety of campus ministries for different religions, or one that covers them all).

A lot of Catholics do not fully appreciate how much misinformation and disinformation is out there about Catholics generally. I also think that when a large group of people have a shared cultural experience that is not yours, it can be difficult to feel totally comfortable and fit in. It isn't usually fun to be the one who doesn't get the lingo or the inside jokes.

Well, they should do their research beforehand, then -- or pipe up during the tour itself and ask a question. "Are the Jesuit core classes all religion classes?" That's not too difficult to ask.

By the way, there aren't even six "Jesuit core" classes required at St. Joes's. There are two "Jesuit Tradition Common Core Classes" -- one philosophy class, and one theology class. That's it. The other four required classes, none of which is theology, are called "Cultural Legacy Common Core Classes" and are history, English, etc.

If you're gonna come on here and say you wrote off a college based on its core requirements, you should make sure you know what they are first.

I keep trying to write you off as a troll, but then you keep demonstrating deep knowledge of St. Joe's. So now I've come to accept that you're just a terrible representative of the school, which is a shame.

And you'd be wrong. I have no connection whatsoever with St Joe's. None. But when I read her post I knew right away that it was totally off base, and I remembered I had access to this thing called "Google." All I had to do was type in "St Joe's core requirements" and less than a second later there they were.
In other words, I did more research about the school in two seconds than that poster ever did before posting her misinformation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We found it super religious, which my daughter was not expecting. It could have just been our tour guide, but he mainly stressed the 6 Jesuit mandatory core class requirements, the Campus Ministry and the daily and weekly mass. Community felt really close and engaged, just wasn't a good fit for my daughter (we are Jewish by the way.)

You obviously went into your visit without an open mind -- maybe because you are Jewish?

St Joe's is not "super religious" at all.

The 6 "Jesuit mandatory core class requirements" that you deride only have ONE theology class: "Faith, Justice, and the Catholic Tradition." The other core classes are philosophy, English, history, and the First Year Seminar (which has nothing to do with religion).

Get real.

I mean, she did also say that the other two things (out of three) that the guide stressed were "the Campus Ministry and the daily and weekly mass." I can certainly see how an open-minded kid could come away with the impression that a school was "super religious" after a tour like that.

Two out of three my ass. Nobody at St Joe's goes to daily mass. Cut me a break. She went into the tour with an attitude, and she completely misrepresented the core requirements consistent with that attitude.

Wow, I'm Catholic and I see no evidence to assume she went in with an "attitude". I thought her response was perfectly reasonable, but yours was not. St. Joe's is a fairly religious school. There are plenty of "St" schools that are not-- "St. Olaf's" isn't particularly nor is "St. John's" but St. Joe's is an actively religious school. Nothing wrong with it, but it's understandable that a kid taking a tour might be surprised by it. And saying she "misrepresented" -- it's someone on a tour--they're not going to fully understand what is meant by their core requirements. And that a tour guide mentions the mass schedule and campus ministry tells you it's fairly religious. My kids who are Catholic thought it was too religious for their tastes too. Your defensiveness is really off-putting.

She did zero research before coming on here. That's clearly the case. I just proved it. And, again, I have no connection to St Joe's.