Choosing An University To Enroll

[-I---Love]

I do not believe there aren't other Catholic universities that don't have film or geography. What about Boston, Toronto University (affiliated w/ college institutions), CUA, St. John's Collegeville Minnesota, these are guesses, but there are definitely some out there!!!!!!!!

[missionseeker]

[url="http://www.jpcatholic.com/?gclid=CMqY8O-xvY8CFQOCZAod3h5kYg"]http://www.jpcatholic.com/?gclid=CMqY8O-xvY8CFQOCZAod3h5kYg[/url]

[hoosieranna]

[quote name='Paladin D' post='1413035' date='Nov 1 2007, 09:53 PM']Appreciate the responses, lot of good ideas and insight. Keep'em comin'!
Nice!

What particular branch(es) of geography do you enjoy the most? (Branches of Geography: [url="http://geography.about.com/od/studygeography/a/branchesgeog.htm?nl=1"]Click here[/url])

Using this guide, my favorite branches are more with population, urban, and regional geography. We gotta talk sometime.[/quote]

You so thoughtfully provided a link-thanks! If you're talking sheer amount of exposure to a discipline, my highest would be GIS and regional (focusing on the former USSR), with some hazards and urban thrown in for variety. I'm [i]interested[/i] in just about every subdiscipline except quantitative methods and soils. Methods is ridiculously difficult and cumbersome. Soils aren't particularly interesting to me. Also, my knowledge of the atmosphere is laughable at best. I want to work in community development. How's that for a broad answer?

Edited November 2, 2007 by Nadezhda

[Paladin D]

[quote name='Nadezhda' post='1413134' date='Nov 2 2007, 05:54 AM']You so thoughtfully provided a link-thanks! If you're talking sheer amount of exposure to a discipline, my highest would be GIS and regional (focusing on the former USSR), with some hazards and urban thrown in for variety. I'm [i]interested[/i] in just about every subdiscipline except quantitative methods and soils. Methods is ridiculously difficult and cumbersome. Soils aren't particularly interesting to me. Also, my knowledge of the atmosphere is laughable at best. I want to work in community development. How's that for a broad answer?[/quote]

It's an answer I can work with.

Urban planner, that's one career field I'm interested in myself too. The other would be a demographer (U.S. Census Bureau doesn't sound too bad).

[Sister Rose Therese]

I think there may have been another thread on here about this, but the Cardianal Newman Society does ratings on Catholic universities. There are also of course secular universities that have good Newman centers and FOCUS groups.
you could look at:
[url="http://www.cardinalnewmansociety.org/Home/tabid/36/Default.aspx"]http://www.cardinalnewmansociety.org/Home/...36/Default.aspx[/url]
or
[url="http://www.focusonline.org/about/index.html"]http://www.focusonline.org/about/index.html[/url]

[jiyoung]

I go to FUS and I do love it. We have a Comm Arts major that might have a concentration in film, I don't remember. Nothing in geography I know about, though.

I went to a secular school before coming to Franciscan, though, and I have to say that if that is the route you choose, it's vital to have a good parish nearby or a good Catholic group on campus.

There is, however, the school down in San Diego (which, by the way, is a beautiful city), which just started--JP the Great. Its majors all concentrate on media. I've heard good things about it, but it also isn't accredited yet

As far as Christendom goes, my friend goes there and he loves it. He's a media type--he had an internship at Metanoia Films this summer (the company that produced Bella) and I think he plans to go into film or something. He says that the liberal arts degree gives you a good bit of each thing and helps you in whatever field you choose. But the rules are strict, and I would advise visiting the school first, and the same with everywhere else. It's nice to go to a Catholic school, but it's not impossible to keep up the faith at a non-Catholic school.

[Ash Wednesday]

I guess growing up blue collar, going to a public secular university and paying for my own schooling -- I tend to think that going to a university just because it happens to be Catholic isn't such a great idea if (and only if) it means sacrificing the quality of your education -- I mean this only if it's the case that a solidly Catholic school doesn't have a particularly strong program in a chosen field that needs specialized training. If you really want to be in a career that requires specialized training, don't sell yourself short. This is just my opinion in general and has no bearing on ANY particular school. I think if you're focused on your career and studies and get involved in a Catholic group, you can survive a secular school just fine. Birds of a feather flock together and like minded individuals end up gravitating towards one another. In my experience the first couple of years people are pretty party crazy -- but it does get easier when you and your peers start taking classes together that focus on your major.

Now if it's a solidly Catholic school AND it has a great program, then that is great. I don't know anything about the only small handful of decent schools that are really worth going to if you want the full Catholic environment (Steubenville, Christendom, Ave Maria). I've heard mixed things about Notre Dame but I know that it's got some really strong programs and definitely some good Catholic groups. They recently had their first Eucharistic procession on campus in 40 years, so that is something to smile about.

Edited November 3, 2007 by Ash Wednesday

[friendofJPII]

I went to FUS. I have mixed feelings about it. It is certainly not the heaven some make it out to be. It is a good place to recieve your formation as a Catholic if God calls you there, but not everyone is called . But as I've grown in my faith I've come to realize that God is everywhere and in everyone...though some are certainly closer to him than others. If you do decide to go to FUS or another ultra Catholic university, try not to become too dependent on the place. Your faith must ultimately reside in your heart and in Christ alone, not in a school, nor in Catholic friends. I know many FUS grads who had difficulty adjusting to life back in the real world and wound up going off the deep end after graduation.

[CatherineM]

My husband's degrees are in Cultural Geography. I'd never heard of it before, and his descriptions of it sound more like Political Science.

[IcePrincessKRS]

I'm a Christendom grad. I'd strongly encourage you to visit any school you plan on attending. I lived in Steubenville and I can tell you, honestly, it was NOT the school for me. I'm glad I went to Christendom instead.