Rachel
I love that St. Joe's is near a big city. There are plenty of things to do constantly. Because of its location and small size, there are not as many house parties as at other universities, but there is always somewhere to go around town, and plenty of bars that are leniant with I.D.'s. The school is pretty small, and it has its pros and cons. Because of the small size, it sometimes can be frustrating to meet new people, and all of the programs are on a smaller scale than at bigger universities. I do like the size though because its not too small, you can always meet someone new, but you will see people over and over again. It's nice though to see friendly faces every day. Also, because of the small size, the administration is really there to do everything they can to help you, be it with your academic goals, or planning events.
Julie
Saint Joe's is a great school, but it lacks the college town atmosphere. In visiting a lot of state schools, I have noticed that with everyone living in a more condensed area that there is more of a sense of it being a college community.
If you are looking for a school with a lot of school pride, this is the place to come. Saint Joseph's students are passionate in their pride.
Matt
St. Joe's is small and personal which makes getting to know people and making friends very easy; that is definitely one of the best things about the school. It's small, but it's not too small. The campus is great and there's enough stuff to keep you busy. Even though it doesn't have a "college town", it has Philadelphia literally right down the road in one direction and King of Prussia in the other. There's definitely some administrative things that need some work, particularly campus security and residence life.
melissa
there are so many opprotunites for service here. the jesuit ideals of "men and women for others" is really evident.
i wish that there was more to do on the weekend. alcohol and partying are normalcies here. i wish that it was cheaper to get into the city, septa is so expensive and freshmen and sophomores are not allowed to have cars.
theres school pride, but mainly just for basketball.
the most complaints are of bad food and bad escort/shuttle systems.
Kate
St. Joes is the perfect medium size school with about 1000 kids per class! A lot of kids come from Maryland, Virgina, Pennslyvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Massachutes. Anyone outside those states usually dont really know about st.joes unless they follow basketball. BASKETBALL is huge! there is a lot o school spirit in sports and pride in the school in general! There is not so much a college town but a college city, ten minute drive to villanova and Philadelphia University and a train ride into the city for upenn, drexel, temple etc. There are lot of bars and fun places to go ( comedy clubs, museums, shopping at King of Prussia and Outlets) its amazing! St. Joes is located on City Ave which is a much more suburban part of philadelphia but your only a train ride or 15 minute drive from center city! Also i abslolutly love Greek Life! its not a huge part of the school atmosphere but we have such a great time together ( we are about 14{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of school population) and do service and social events!
Jess
The best thing about St. Joe's is the school spirit. We love our school! Everyone who is here has a passion for the school whether it is primarily because of the talented basketball team, extracurricular activities, Greek life, or academics. Seniors never want to leave and the alumni always come back to support St. Joe's. "The Hawk Will Never Die" has to be one of the most powerful chants a school can belt out so to be a true Hawk, you have to mean what you shout!
kristy
best thing about st joes: my friends, the campus in the spring (it's a really pretty campus, and with the new buildings and renonvaations going up its just gunna get better), the bars in manayunk
one thing i'd change: the GER courses
school is too small but i like it that way
if people are from philly, St Joes is golden. outside of PA & jersey, it's "Oh.. you go where?"
Philly is a college town, there are so many colleges in philly. there's a healthy rivarly going on.
the administration is obsessed with improving the school's name & the "path to preeminence"..some teachers are awesome, others blow.
biggest recent controversy: last year there were some racism issues. my soc teacher commented on those issues by saying that st joes was like a plantation, all the white kids went to school & the black people cleaned the floors & cooked the food. he wasn't being racist, but commenting on the lack of diversity at the school.
there's some school pride
Sharon
I absolutely love being at St. Joe's. The campus is beautiful and it is located on the edge of the city, giving it a mix between city and suburban atmosphere. There are so many friendly students here, I love being able to walk to class and say hi to so many familiar faces.
Brenna
My two favorite aspects of life at St. Joe's are the spirit of the student body, and being located in the city of Philadelphia. Every student here has a lot of pride in where they go to school, and Hawk Hill is always a lot of fun. Students here work hard but know how to party, which is a good balance. Being in Philadelphia offers a lot of cultural and social oppurtunities for Hawks to meet students from other Universities and expose themselves to the art, theater, music, shopping, and bar scene of a big city. One complaint is that the neighborhood is pretty unsafe and sometimes it seems as though not enough precautions are being taken to protect students.