The Franciscan University of Steubenville

Date: Apr 27 2014
Major: Nursing (This Major's Salary over time)
My freshman year I attended a huge public university in my home state (student body of about 30,000). Then I transferred to Franciscan and graduated in 2010. Currently I'm attending graduate school in another huge state school.

Franciscan, like anywhere, has it's faults. That being said, the best years of my life were there.—Now for the good and bad:

Steubenville is a toilet. It is economically depressed and there is a disproportionate amount of crime for the size of the city. However, as much as students whine about crime, most have never lived in a major city before and don't know how bad it can really get. Furthermore, there is a huge push by the administration to have everyone live on campus all four years. Campus, itself, is very safe.

Additionally, the locals who aren't drug addicts, few though they may be, are very nice people. The local parishes are great and enjoyable communities to take part in.

Academically, Franciscan is hit or miss. The philosophy department is stellar. Dr. Sanford, in particular, is the man. The theology department is also good, but not what one would call challenging. You will learn a lot as the faculty are second to none, but really have to be self-disciplined because "A"s are handed out like lollipops.

The sciences (where I have more first-hand experience) are actually great, which is surprising for any small private school, much less one better known for theology. The biology department is truly remarkable. Dr.s Kuebler, Pathakamuri, etc, they are all so incredibly well credentialed and are fantastic teachers. There isn't much research here obviously, and while that is a bummer in some respects, it also means the teachers actually teach instead of viewing lectures as an annoyance (I experienced this a lot at other colleges). You actually do have a relationship with them. Dr. Pathakamuri invited my entire class to dinner with his family all the time. If you want an environment where your professors "care", this is really it. They also bent over backwards for me writing letters of recommendation after I graduated.

The education department is a joke from what I gather. I haven't taken the classes myself, but dated a few girls who were Ed. majors and they said they regretted choosing there.

Socially, I loved Franciscan. There are problems with the social atmosphere, but even so it is by far and away better than anywhere else I have experienced or can imagine. I won't go off on this too much, other than to say that I made the best friendships of my life here. Some people and "crowds" are annoying, but that is everywhere.

The athletics are great. My freshman year we just became NCAA D3, and it has been going up from then. Some teams are more competitive than others. The best are Cross Country and Rugby. Soccer is probably middle of the road. Basketball, volleyball, and softball don't usually do very well. But of course, this changes every year so do your own research. I also know that because of title 9 they got rid of men's baseball and added a women's swim team. I'm not sure how good they are.

Post graduation, the alumni network is great if you play it right. Obviously in the Catholic community you're usually golden. If you want to do youth ministry or the like, you'll have little to no trouble getting a job based on your alma mater alone. In the secular world, no one knows about Franciscan or cares. However, if you network with other alumni in your particular field it's great. So make sure and look them up when you graduate. DC has a lot of Franciscan grads, as does Pittsburgh (obviously) and some parts of Colorado. There's also a small group in LA of those looking to get into the entertainment industry.