SJU Student Accepted By Harvard, Columbia, Duke ..

Made my week! What a wonderful young man that we can call a fellow alumnus. I an so proud of StJ for seeing the potential in a young kid who had some issues, for taking a chance, like they did for years with many of the rest of us. Like many of our crowd, he has delivered the goods. Good for him. He will do great things for all of us..
I hope he still roots for the Johnnies when completes his studies at those other great institutions! :)
 
Made my week! What a wonderful young man that we can call a fellow alumnus. I an so proud of StJ for seeing the potential in a young kid who had some issues, for taking a chance, like they did for years with many of the rest of us. Like many of our crowd, he has delivered the goods. Good for him. He will do great things for all of us..
I hope he still roots for the Johnnies when completes his studies at those other great institutions! :)
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Great kid. Great story. Nice to see someone who is destined for a distinguished career appreciate the help he got (especially at SJU) along the way.

My son (who will kill me if he reads this) also graduated summa from SJU and couldn't be happier that he chose to go there.

I can't understand the alums who make it a habit of speaking derisively of the institution.
 
I can't understand the alums who make it a habit of speaking derisively of the institution.
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This IS a great story of a kid who has battled a disability that would be crippling to many kids and excelled in the classroom.

As someone who began their career at St. John's and taught there also, while I support the school financially, there are still many reasons to be disappointed in the leadership and overall quality of student they are admitting. I can go chapter and verse, but overall the past 25 years, SJU has slipped considerably behind other Catholic schools overall in the type of student we attract. This isn't an overall indictment of the student body - our pharmacy and allied health college and law school, for example, continue to attract some top flight students, and across the university there are many qualified students - your son sounds like one. But, the school has expanded admissions by lowering standards, in part resulting in an abysmal 6 year graduation rate, understafffs the infrastructure both in quantity and most importantly quality, and has an alumni base that contribute far less as a percentage of the alumni population than almost any private school of note. Why should this be a concern? To me at least, a college degree is a pedigree of sorts. The more prestigious the school, the more career opportunities will exist for its alumni, especially in the early stages of a career in a tough job market. SJU must employ leadership with a broad vision, charisma, and talent to lead the school forward and elevate (or at least restore) things like graduation rate, retention, and quality of faculty and administration. Your son may have had a great experience at SJU, and that's fantastic for him. However, he also has no point of reference, and cannot measure the talents of his peers as compared to the 70s or 80s at St. John's. The campus has certainly been beautified, and there is a lot to be hopeful for. However, to be critical of those critical of the school, is off-based, especially when those critiques can be qualified.
 
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