St. John's University Forbe's rated #15

I've been touring Catholic High Schools in Manhattan with my daughter(an 8th grader) and several of the schools have partnership programs with St. John's where by seniors and Juniors are able to earn up to 18 college credits in Economics and Spanish while attending college-level classes during the regular school day. If they are accepted to St. John's University, they are immediately offered $8,000 in scholarship money. One school in particular had a big St. John's banner hanging in the lobby during an open house.  Not sure how long this program has been in place but it certainly helps promote St. John's image at the schools we've looked at. But sadly, as has been expressed before, catholic colleges such as PC, Siena, Marist, etc. all are perceived as being better academic institutions then St. John's. I also have a son who is a Junior in High School, and as much as I would love for him to follow in my footsteps and attend St. John's, I really want him to have the experience of going away to school.
 
It's painfully obvious that the university, in some respects, has a serious perception problem as it pertains to high school students and their parents. This needs to be addressed.

A first step, IMO, is to create new TV commercials.

The current one's are old, stale and not particularly persuasive.

It's not like Providence R.I. can be called the South Beach of the North.

Siena (which reminds me a lot of PC) is in Albany, not exactly Malibu.

Neither has a big time football team

Goldman or Google isn't rushing to either school to recruit.

What's the big attraction for either school ???

Their alumni (overall) are certainly not more accomplished than ours.

Why is St. John's perceived as "not up to snuff" by some ?

 
 
Re your (Beast of the East) comment about how kids from Brooklyn, Queens and L.I. would wind up at St. John's, I have a friend who had 3 kids go to St. Anthony's High School on Long Island who didn't even consider St. John's and wound up at PC and Siena. They felt St. John's wasn't a good school. Take it for what it's worth. It's not like they were going to Columbia.
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JSJ, SJU has long had a mentality of quantity over quality. With 40% of students Pell eligible, you get the feeling that the group as a whole doesn't have high academic qualifications. I've said before that I prefer Catholic schools, and with a students population of about 50% Catholic SJU is no longer primarily a Catholic School. PC has much higher academic entrance requirements than SJU, so does Siena.
 
Re your (Beast of the East) comment about how kids from Brooklyn, Queens and L.I. would wind up at St. John's, I have a friend who had 3 kids go to St. Anthony's High School on Long Island who didn't even consider St. John's and wound up at PC and Siena. They felt St. John's wasn't a good school. Take it for what it's worth. It's not like they were going to Columbia.
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JSJ, SJU has long had a mentality of quantity over quality. With 40% of students Pell eligible, you get the feeling that the group as a whole doesn't have high academic qualifications. I've said before that I prefer Catholic schools, and with a students population of about 50% Catholic SJU is no longer primarily a Catholic School. PC has much higher academic entrance requirements than SJU, so does Siena.
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100% Correct.
 
Certainly agree that the size of the undergrad student body works against St. John's. That said our top 4,5 00 students could easily compete with those at PC and Siena.

Here's some stats from U.S. News to chew over:

Providence:

4,371 enrolled
67.2% acceptance rate
Average High School GPA : 3.4
SAT Critical Reading 25th-75th Percentile: 520-630
SAT Math 25th-75th Percentile: 530-640

Siena:

3,371 enrolled
60.2% acceptance rate
Average High School GPA : 3.5
SAT Critical Reading 25th-75th Percentile: 510-610
SAT Math 25th-75th Percentile: 530-630

St. John's

15,720 enrolled
45.5% acceptance rate
Average High School GPA: 3.2
SAT Critical Reading 25th-75th Percentile: 480-590
SAT Math 25th-75th Percentile: 490-620

As has been rehashed on this site, over and over, it's the bottom third that arguably prevents the university from enjoying a more favorable academic reputation.

 
 
Certainly agree that the size of the undergrad student body works against St. John's. That said our top 4,5 00 students could easily compete with those at PC and Siena.

Here's some stats from U.S. News to chew over:

Providence:

4,371 enrolled
67.2% acceptance rate
Average High School GPA : 3.4
SAT Critical Reading 25th-75th Percentile: 520-630
SAT Math 25th-75th Percentile: 530-640

Siena:

3,371 enrolled
60.2% acceptance rate
Average High School GPA : 3.5
SAT Critical Reading 25th-75th Percentile: 510-610
SAT Math 25th-75th Percentile: 530-630

St. John's

15,720 enrolled
45.5% acceptance rate
Average High School GPA: 3.2
SAT Critical Reading 25th-75th Percentile: 480-590
SAT Math 25th-75th Percentile: 490-620

As has been rehashed on this site, over and over, it's the bottom third that arguably prevents the university from enjoying a more favorable academic reputation.

I'm a little perplexed by the SJU acceptance rate. Do they really only accept 45.5% of the kids who apply to undergrad school? Seems very low to me.

 
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Certainly agree that the size of the undergrad student body works against St. John's. That said our top 4,5 00 students could easily compete with those at PC and Siena.

Here's some stats from U.S. News to chew over:

Providence:

4,371 enrolled
67.2% acceptance rate
Average High School GPA : 3.4
SAT Critical Reading 25th-75th Percentile: 520-630
SAT Math 25th-75th Percentile: 530-640

Siena:

3,371 enrolled
60.2% acceptance rate
Average High School GPA : 3.5
SAT Critical Reading 25th-75th Percentile: 510-610
SAT Math 25th-75th Percentile: 530-630

St. John's

15,720 enrolled
45.5% acceptance rate
Average High School GPA: 3.2
SAT Critical Reading 25th-75th Percentile: 480-590
SAT Math 25th-75th Percentile: 490-620

As has been rehashed on this site, over and over, it's the bottom third that arguably prevents the university from enjoying a more favorable academic reputation.

I'm a little perplexed by the SJU acceptance rate. Do they really only accept 45.5% of the kids who apply to undergrad school? Seems very low to me.

 
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Based on over 50,000 apps, that appears right.

http://www.usnews.com/education/bes...0-colleges-that-receive-the-most-applications
 
 That bottom third mostly fails out or leaves by the time they're juniors. One thing that it's tough to measure is the city school vs rural school. At a city school, you may get more of the local crowd but the internships you can get and exposure to companies is HUGE...especially when we're talking about New York! That's always my argument to friends who say I went to a bad school.
 
 That bottom third mostly fails out or leaves by the time they're juniors. One thing that it's tough to measure is the city school vs rural school. At a city school, you may get more of the local crowd but the internships you can get and exposure to companies is HUGE...especially when we're talking about New York! That's always my argument to friends who say I went to a bad school.
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If you don't mind me asking, what was your major at St. John's ?

Specifically, why do your friends think you went to "a bad" school ??

Do you think St. John's was "a good" school for you ?

Where did your friends go to college ??

What do you wish you knew about St. John's before you enrolled, that you know now ?
 
 That bottom third mostly fails out or leaves by the time they're juniors. One thing that it's tough to measure is the city school vs rural school. At a city school, you may get more of the local crowd but the internships you can get and exposure to companies is HUGE...especially when we're talking about New York! That's always my argument to friends who say I went to a bad school.
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If you don't mind me asking, what was your major at St. John's ?

Specifically, why do your friends think you went to "a bad" school ??

Do you think St. John's was "a good" school for you ?

Where did your friends go to college ??

What do you wish you knew about St. John's before you enrolled, that you know now ?
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Freshmen retention is about 80% which works against us in the U.S. News rankings, as you may know.
 
Source:http://www.stjohns.edu/about/strategicplan


Latest SAT figures I could find for individual colleges at St. John's are from Fall 2008:

St. John's University overall : 1087

St. John's College: 1091

Pharmacy: 1229

Professional Studies: 1017 (Queens) and 990 (S.I.) Only college that broke it out by campus.

Could not find SAT scores in the strategic plans for CBA or Education.


 
 
Additional information, especially for those currently pricing colleges, is available in Kipplinger's personal finance magazine. Every Dec., they rank private colleges, with a separate category for liberal arts schools, such as Holy Cross. In January, they rate the state schools. The website lists the top hundred in each group, using both academic and financial considerations. Neither STJ or DePaul were listed. 
 
I think most expect Fr. Harrington will not retire until 2020 at the earliest, when St. John's celebrates its 150th anniversary.

It's amazing all that has been accomplished under his tenure.

That said, would be great if, at the very least, plans were on the drawing board for the creation of a College of Nursing before he retires.

Not only would this initiative attract a pool of well qualified students, it would also prepare them for a great career.

St. John's is never going to abandon its Vincentian Mission (i.e. Pell grant students), nor should it, but I would not be surprised to see the university take a serious look at rationalizing its course offerings and campus locations over the next several years. 

I think it would be a great thing if Fr. Harrington had a very strong narrative to share with us about the future of the university and what he see's as his legacy.

If this was expressed with passion and clarity, I am certain it would be embraced by all those that care about St. John's.

Fr. Harrington has plenty of time left on the clock and I am sure he has plans to enhance the reputation of the university before he retires.

Now that he has built the necessary physical infrastructure, I would think he would like to continue his mission of improving all aspects of the university.
 
I think most expect Fr. Harrington will not retire until 2020 at the earliest, when St. John's celebrates its 150th anniversary.

It's amazing all that has been accomplished under his tenure.

That said, would be great if, at the very least, plans were on the drawing board for the creation of a College of Nursing before he retires.

Not only would this initiative attract a pool of well qualified students, it would also prepare them for a great career.

St. John's is never going to abandon its Vincentian Mission (i.e. Pell grant students), nor should it, but I would not be surprised to see the university take a serious look at rationalizing its course offerings and campus locations over the next several years. 

I think it would be a great thing if Fr. Harrington had a very strong narrative to share with us about the future of the university and what he see's as his legacy.

If this was expressed with passion and clarity, I am certain it would be embraced by all those that care about St. John's.

Fr. Harrington has plenty of time left on the clock and I am sure he has plans to enhance the reputation of the university before he retires.

Now that he has built the necessary physical infrastructure, I would think he would like to continue his mission of improving all aspects of the university.
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Excellent recommendation Jersey regarding a school of nursing! Afield of study that will always be in demand and it would fit the SJ mission well.
Many do not realize that a mere 5 minute walk away from the residence village is a public high school with very good ratings. That school is the Queens Gateway for health professions.
Queens Getaway is a school for high school age kids who are considering the medical field as a future option. An interesting feature is the school has hospital rotation with new Queens Hospital Center which is 6 blocks from the campus.
Talk about an opportunity! Could some members here make this recommendation to Father H?
 
I think most expect Fr. Harrington will not retire until 2020 at the earliest, when St. John's celebrates its 150th anniversary.

It's amazing all that has been accomplished under his tenure.

That said, would be great if, at the very least, plans were on the drawing board for the creation of a College of Nursing before he retires.

Not only would this initiative attract a pool of well qualified students, it would also prepare them for a great career.

St. John's is never going to abandon its Vincentian Mission (i.e. Pell grant students), nor should it, but I would not be surprised to see the university take a serious look at rationalizing its course offerings and campus locations over the next several years. 

I think it would be a great thing if Fr. Harrington had a very strong narrative to share with us about the future of the university and what he see's as his legacy.

If this was expressed with passion and clarity, I am certain it would be embraced by all those that care about St. John's.

Fr. Harrington has plenty of time left on the clock and I am sure he has plans to enhance the reputation of the university before he retires.

Now that he has built the necessary physical infrastructure, I would think he would like to continue his mission of improving all aspects of the university.
Click to expand...
 

JSJ, Fwiw I attended P.A. School at Catholic Medical Centers on utopia and Horace Harding. It housed the P.A. School, Radiology Tech School, Emt/paramedic, and the School of nursing. St. John's bought the Physician Assistant Program from C.M.C. when they bankrupted. My assumption is that if SJU wanted to they could have continued it. I'm guessing they went in a different direction? This is the building that was bought and now houses all the same programs. The Nursing program was the only one dissolved.

http://www.stjohns.edu/academics/undergraduate/pharmacy/bartilucci
 
Source:http://www.stjohns.edu/about/strategicplan


Latest SAT figures I could find for individual colleges at St. John's are from Fall 2008:

St. John's University overall : 1087

St. John's College: 1091

Pharmacy: 1229

Professional Studies: 1017 (Queens) and 990 (S.I.) Only college that broke it out by campus.

Could not find SAT scores in the strategic plans for CBA or Education.


 
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In 2010 I toured the college of Pharmacy with Dean Mangione, who told me that the freshmen pharmacy class averaged 1350 on the SAT.
 
I think most expect Fr. Harrington will not retire until 2020 at the earliest, when St. John's celebrates its 150th anniversary.

It's amazing all that has been accomplished under his tenure.

That said, would be great if, at the very least, plans were on the drawing board for the creation of a College of Nursing before he retires.

Not only would this initiative attract a pool of well qualified students, it would also prepare them for a great career.

St. John's is never going to abandon its Vincentian Mission (i.e. Pell grant students), nor should it, but I would not be surprised to see the university take a serious look at rationalizing its course offerings and campus locations over the next several years. 

I think it would be a great thing if Fr. Harrington had a very strong narrative to share with us about the future of the university and what he see's as his legacy.

If this was expressed with passion and clarity, I am certain it would be embraced by all those that care about St. John's.

Fr. Harrington has plenty of time left on the clock and I am sure he has plans to enhance the reputation of the university before he retires.

Now that he has built the necessary physical infrastructure, I would think he would like to continue his mission of improving all aspects of the university.
Click to expand...
 

JSJ, I'm not sure what area schools offer a BS in Nursing, and how the antipcated demand in our area compares with the numbe or annual nursing school graduates. I do know the school has estbalished a degree in clinical informatics, where there is a tremendous demand. I have reached out to the school now on 4 different occasions, was most hopeful in my correspondence with them just before Christmas, but it appears they have dropped the ball once again - this time in my reuqest to review the curriculum and for the school to identify outstanding candidates for an internship and possible career with my company.
 
I think most expect Fr. Harrington will not retire until 2020 at the earliest, when St. John's celebrates its 150th anniversary.

It's amazing all that has been accomplished under his tenure.

That said, would be great if, at the very least, plans were on the drawing board for the creation of a College of Nursing before he retires.

Not only would this initiative attract a pool of well qualified students, it would also prepare them for a great career.

St. John's is never going to abandon its Vincentian Mission (i.e. Pell grant students), nor should it, but I would not be surprised to see the university take a serious look at rationalizing its course offerings and campus locations over the next several years. 

I think it would be a great thing if Fr. Harrington had a very strong narrative to share with us about the future of the university and what he see's as his legacy.

If this was expressed with passion and clarity, I am certain it would be embraced by all those that care about St. John's.

Fr. Harrington has plenty of time left on the clock and I am sure he has plans to enhance the reputation of the university before he retires.

Now that he has built the necessary physical infrastructure, I would think he would like to continue his mission of improving all aspects of the university.
Click to expand...
 

JSJ, I'm not sure what area schools offer a BS in Nursing, and how the antipcated demand in our area compares with the numbe or annual nursing school graduates. I do know the school has estbalished a degree in clinical informatics, where there is a tremendous demand. I have reached out to the school now on 4 different occasions, was most hopeful in my correspondence with them just before Christmas, but it appears they have dropped the ball once again - this time in my reuqest to review the curriculum and for the school to identify outstanding candidates for an internship and possible career with my company.
Click to expand...
 

Demand for nursing is high, but tuition for nursing schools are relatively cheap. This could have factoid into their decision not to pursue that avenue. Tuition per semester of nursing at other programs is not the level of SJU tuition. Not even close. Maybe they figured that it wouldn't be worthwhile financially.
 
Tuition at Villanova's College of Nursing is $40K a year. That ain't cheap.

I would think it must be the same (or higher) at BC and G'Town. 
 
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