PHACC Tour - Day 2

The second day of the tour started with a visit to St. Joseph's College. Disclaimer: I'm a sucker for a Jesuit school. (The stone carved heads poking out of the building above are Jesuits - it was our tour guide's favorite courtyard on campus, and it was mine too!) St. Joe's is larger than the other schools we have seen so far, with 4,600 undergraduate students. They describe it as having a suburban feel with an urban connection (Philly in is only a SEPTA ride away) and I think a student looking for the right balance between city life and traditional campus would be satisfied with the balance. St. Joe's offers both liberal arts and business majors (which include opportunities for co-op education). I was interested to learn that one of the best business programs on campus is food marketing - sounds yummy! Another thing that made St. Joe's a little different is their Division I athletic program (*there is no football team). Job placement rates are high and admission requirements are very attainable for the vast majority of ElRo students (our average GPA fits right into their admitted student range and their middle 50% on the first two sections of the SAT is 1060-1230). Are you thinking what I'm thinking? That's right -- options for Honors programs and merit scholarships for students with strong grades and scores. If you have strong grades and above a 1300 or 1350 you might get selected for these programs. Parents/Guardians - this school is also one that only considers the FAFSA for Financial Aid. It should also be noted that St. Joseph's is now testing optional, so if you are not happy with your test scores, admission could still be an option. The vast majority of students (to the tune of 95%) live on campus, a plus that translates into strong campus connections.

Our next stop was Manor College, a small 2 year school with the option for students to live on campus. Dental Hygiene and Veterinary Technician programs are in high demand (and can be more selective in terms of admission) but they offer a wide range of foundational academic programs outside of these two. Manor makes it clear that they are committed to treating students as individuals and it was exciting to see the student panel was made up of all first generation college students. The mission of this school, and really all 2 year schools, is to help meet students where they are and give them a boost to where they want to go. There is also a small but thriving athletic department on campus, with 5 sports, something that was a clearly integral part of helping students stay on track and make the jump to a 4 year program. It was great to hear that merit scholarships are available for students with SAT scores above 950. Starting at a 2 year school can be a huge financial lifesaver and giving additional aid is always a welcome bonus. Though there is housing, I think this school is probably best suited to students with family they can live with in the area. If the dorms got a face lift, I would probably be less inclined to feel that way, but for now the real shining success are the people.  I respect the mission of this school and the genuine support they give to their students. Dorm opinions aside, I was totally smitten with a light fixture outside the chapel:

Hello mid-century chic!











The last school of the day was Holy Family University, a relatively young college (only 60 years old) with about 1,900 undergraduate students. They have four divisions: Arts & Science, Business, Education, and Nursing (the B. S. N. degree being the most popular on campus). Interestingly, Holy Family just became a residential college in 2005. This translates into brand spanking new dorms, with the eventual addition of more housing in coming years. About 80% of students at Holy Family have some type of internship or co-op hands on experience, and 87% of those placements lead to job offers after graduation. Holy Family also has the distinction of being ranked #2 of the Roman Catholic colleges in terms of starting salary for recent grads (about $49,000 -- a pretty decent return on investment considering the average net price of attendance is less than $20,000 per year).

For the first time ever in the history of my college tours, I got to see an in depth demonstration with the nurse training facilities (pictured above) including a patient that breathed and blinked and a mock labor and delivery. A fellow counselor served as the student and we had a real Baby Simba Lion King moment when the baby was born. Was Holy Family inspired by Prince George? Who can say?

As a treat at the end of our second day, we visited a real Philadelphia area landmark. Not the Liberty Bell, the original Rita's Water Ice. I got a Juicy Pear and Vanilla Custard Gelati.

It was glorious.

Halfway done with the tour . . . .