Excellent Academics. My first year here helped me to grow a great deal intellectually, personally, and spiritually. The core (required classes for all undergrads) may seem too extensive but, believe me, they truly do help to create in you a balanced and well rounded person. Plus you will be opened up to new ideas that you would have never otherwise explored.
Do you enjoy the experience at your school?
This is a complicated question so I will address it in two separate areas: socially and academically.
Socially, I have not had a very great time at Seattle University. Because it is a private Jesuit college, there is a very large population of students from very privileged backgrounds. Being peers with people from wealthy families who went to private school their entire lives is frustrating because their views of what the reality of life is is very limited. Many of them don't work in college (and many more hadn't ever worked before) and for many of these same people school is not their priority. Seattle University students are very caught up in being glamorous rather than focusing on their own growth and benefiting from the great opportunities Seattle U has to offer.
Academically, SU has been great, as described above. The reason I have rated this area as 4 stars is because I believe that, though the social situation at SU is not what I would have wanted, for college academics trump whatever the attitudes and experiences of the students are. In encouraging me to pursue my passion of Social Work, connecting me with the community, and further opening my mind, SU has exceeded my expectations.
Do you feel you’re getting value for the money you’re spending on college?
I know of only one student whose parents literally write him at $12,000 check each quarter for him to attend. Seattle U is very generous in its aid packages. Most students who are very middle-of-the-road as far as criteria for scholarships get around $15,000 in GRANTS from SU (money that does not need to be paid back). Furthermore SU has a huge excess of work-study jobs so these are very easy to find if you get on the search early on. Though SU has not been EASY for me to afford, it has been much more so for me than it would have been at any other private college. In fact, it was cheaper for me than the public University of Washington was.
Do you have any tips for prospective students?
-Apply for the Sullivan Scholarship (competition to select 9 students to award full-rides to in each incoming class).
-Apply for PLENTY of outside scholarships. Though SU gives generous grants, they have few supplementary scholarships available until students are Juniors. Without outside scholarships, SU would have still been out of reach for me even with their assistance.
-Find a job early, preferably before even moving to Seattle. You will be hurting if you wait until Winter Quarter to work.
Which types of students will excel at your college?
SU is great for students who are
Passionate: if you know what you are interested in and Seattle U provides a program in it, they will be very helpful in directing and giving you opportunities to expand.
Directed: Students who are driven, actually want to be at college (aren't there just because they're supposed to be) and have goals will find a great resource in the school.
Mature: SU spends a lot of time babying students who have honestly had too much provided to them. Students who enter as adults (in mindset/behavior, not age) will flourish and be independent, leaders, and develop great connections with the great faculty and staff there.
Unconventional: Students who are questioning, challenge the status quo, and desire something other than the typical go to college to make a lot of money path will find encouragement at SU. Seattle University roots its education in opposition to any kind of oppression and will encourage you to pursue whatever you are passionate about regardless of its social acceptability. SU helps to make its students thinkers and challengers to confront the issues of the world, rather than be complacent.
Excellent Academics. My first year here helped me to grow a great deal intellectually, personally, and spiritually. The core (required classes for all undergrads) may seem too extensive but, believe me, they truly do help to create in you a balanced and well rounded person. Plus you will be opened up to new ideas that you would have never otherwise explored.
This is a complicated question so I will address it in two separate areas: socially and academically. Socially, I have not had a very great time at Seattle University. Because it is a private Jesuit college, there is a very large population of students from very privileged backgrounds. Being peers with people from wealthy families who went to private school their entire lives is frustrating because their views of what the reality of life is is very limited. Many of them don't work in college (and many more hadn't ever worked before) and for many of these same people school is not their priority. Seattle University students are very caught up in being glamorous rather than focusing on their own growth and benefiting from the great opportunities Seattle U has to offer. Academically, SU has been great, as described above. The reason I have rated this area as 4 stars is because I believe that, though the social situation at SU is not what I would have wanted, for college academics trump whatever the attitudes and experiences of the students are. In encouraging me to pursue my passion of Social Work, connecting me with the community, and further opening my mind, SU has exceeded my expectations.
I know of only one student whose parents literally write him at $12,000 check each quarter for him to attend. Seattle U is very generous in its aid packages. Most students who are very middle-of-the-road as far as criteria for scholarships get around $15,000 in GRANTS from SU (money that does not need to be paid back). Furthermore SU has a huge excess of work-study jobs so these are very easy to find if you get on the search early on. Though SU has not been EASY for me to afford, it has been much more so for me than it would have been at any other private college. In fact, it was cheaper for me than the public University of Washington was.
-Apply for the Sullivan Scholarship (competition to select 9 students to award full-rides to in each incoming class). -Apply for PLENTY of outside scholarships. Though SU gives generous grants, they have few supplementary scholarships available until students are Juniors. Without outside scholarships, SU would have still been out of reach for me even with their assistance. -Find a job early, preferably before even moving to Seattle. You will be hurting if you wait until Winter Quarter to work.
SU is great for students who are Passionate: if you know what you are interested in and Seattle U provides a program in it, they will be very helpful in directing and giving you opportunities to expand. Directed: Students who are driven, actually want to be at college (aren't there just because they're supposed to be) and have goals will find a great resource in the school. Mature: SU spends a lot of time babying students who have honestly had too much provided to them. Students who enter as adults (in mindset/behavior, not age) will flourish and be independent, leaders, and develop great connections with the great faculty and staff there. Unconventional: Students who are questioning, challenge the status quo, and desire something other than the typical go to college to make a lot of money path will find encouragement at SU. Seattle University roots its education in opposition to any kind of oppression and will encourage you to pursue whatever you are passionate about regardless of its social acceptability. SU helps to make its students thinkers and challengers to confront the issues of the world, rather than be complacent.