The Catholic University of America

Date: Nov 01 2009
Major: Economics (This Major's Salary over time)
CUA is, in my view, one of the country's best-kept secrets.

1. It is a small school with all of the attendant benefits—accessible faculty, friendly people, supportive and non-cutthroat environment, etc.—but the opportunities afforded by the surrounding city are second to none.

2. Despite its proximity to downtown DC (three Metro stops from Capitol Hill), the campus really is incredibly beautiful. I'm always discovering new spots.

3. The "specialty" departments for which the University is most well-known are Philosophy, Theology (obviously), Architecture, Nursing, and Engineering. Other departments tend to be very small. However, at least in my case (Economics), the small department size is more than made up for by the quality of the professors.

4. Join the Honors Program, if you can. The classes are much more challenging, and there are lots of neat activities that you can take part in. Best of all, though, you get to register for courses before everyone else, and you get to live in Regan Hall, both of which are HUGE.

5. Regarding the "Catholic" part: look, it's a Catholic school, and they take that identity seriously. If you don't know to expect that from the name, I'm not really sure you should be going to college. Most students are Catholic, there are crucifixes in every classroom, there's a huge Basilica on campus, etc. If you are Catholic, don't pass up the opportunity to grow in your faith—Campus Ministry is great, and of course you have ample access to the Sacraments and other devotions at the Basilica and the two campus chapels. If you're not Catholic, don't worry about it—no one will force anything down your throat. It's no different than going to Notre Dame.

6. Regarding the "conservative" part: I think people tend to assume these days that "orthodox Catholic" is equivalent to "politically conservative." My experience is that this isn't necessarily true, either at CUA or in the universal Church (at least in the JPII generation). Most of the devout Catholics on campus are pro-life and pro-family, but on other issues we run the gamut just like any other school. The College Democrats are large and well-organized and won Chapter of the Year in 2008. As a whole, the University pretty much avoids either extreme.