The Report Card: A Review of Saint Joseph’s University

The Report Card series gives an insider’s view into college life at local Philadelphia institutions. Here at Tutor Delphia, we take a lesson from our tutors and explore their alma mater from their perspective.

The Basics:

School: Saint Joseph’s University
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Website: www.sju.edu
Undergraduate Students: 5,374
Public/Private: Private
Setting: Urban/Large City
Acceptance Rate: 78.7%
Average SAT Score: 1530-1800
Average ACT Score: 22-26

Meet our tutor Gina:

I chose to go to SJU because the atmosphere of the school was warm and welcoming, and academically it had a variety of liberal arts degrees, strong athletics and school spirit. I came into SJU undecided as far as a major, but odds were I would pursue something in liberal arts. I loved to write and read, and I declared an English major by sophomore year. But I also developed an interest in Economics. I ended up double-majoring in both English and Economics.

Gina (second from the right) recently joined the Tutor Delphia team!

Campus Life:

When I first visited the campus at SJU, I fell in love. It had these beautiful stone buildings, and welcoming green space, and it was large enough to wander around — but not so huge that I felt like I could get lost. I felt at home there and felt like it was the type of community I wanted for college.

In the Classroom:

The professors are very helpful because the classes are small — average class size is 23. They all have office hours and are willing to meet and go over the work. Further along in your studies, they also do one-on-one research or writing projects over the summer or in a thesis and help students hone in on specific topics of interest.

Gina and other SJU students on “alternative spring break” where students went on a service trip to the Appalachian region.

Room and Board:

Everyone at SJU lives on campus their freshman and sophomore years. The sophomore year apartments are full, furnished apartments, and they are very nice so many people will choose to stay in them junior and senior year. It’s a mix after sophomore year depending on preference. Many students go abroad [many of Gina’s friends went to European destinations like Italy and Belgium]  junior year, as well.

In the Dining Hall:

The “Hawk wrap” – it’s a chicken wrap with a special spicy sauce.

Gina and her friends at graduation day!

Extra Credit:

SJU has a political internship program in DC which is really interesting, as well as has an Environmental Studies program and a lot of green initiatives on campus. Look for the “green wall” of the outside of the library.

Co-ops are for business students only, and provide students with paid work experience in addition to their studies, often putting them on a slightly different schedule than other students. It is a consistently popular and successful program and results in high rates of placement in jobs after graduation.

Food-marketing is a unique business co-op program at the university with an incredible job placement rate and a strong niche connection to that industry, ranging from the obvious food corporations like Campbell’s and Hershey’s to other companies like Target.

Gina is an Admissions Counselor at Saint Joseph’s University. If you have any questions for Gina, feel free to contact us at Tutor Delphia!