University of St. Thomas (Minneapolis, St. Paul: mortgage, house, neighborhood)

[the blueman]

Hey I have a buddy who is thinking of going to St. Thomas. He's got a tough decision to make so I'm trying to help him out. Some questions for people who know the school/area: 1. What is the view of the university in the eyes of people in the Twin Cities? 2. Will a degree from St. Thomas get you far? 3. What is the area around St. Thomas like? Are there lots of things to do? 4. What is the social scene like at St. Thomas? Is is too small of a school to have fun? 5. How would it compare to other private, Catholic universities in the midwest like St. Louis University, Creighton, Xavier, Dayton, or Marquette? Is there anything else I should know?

[uptown_urbanist]

I wouldn't say that St. Thomas is seen as a major academic powerhouse, but it's certainly considered a solid, decent school. Depending on your friend's choice of career he could make many useful professional contacts there. I didn't go to St. Thomas but have friends who did; based on their experience I'd say that it's not too small to have fun. It's in a college neighborhood (there are sometimes conflicts with the neighbors - sometimes the college kids have a little TOO much fun, apparently) and St. Paul (and nearby Minneapolis) has tons of stuff to do, from the outdoors to the cultural to nightlife.

.

[Slig]

Feel free to agree or disagree with me but here is what I would call the legitimately good schools in Minnesota in order from top to bottom:

1. University of Minnesota - Minneapolis/St. Paul campus
2. Carleton College
3. Macalester College
4. St. Olaf College
5. Saint John's University/College of Saint Benedict
6. University of St. Thomas
7. Gustavus Adolphus College
8. Hamline University
9. Concordia College
10. College of St. Catherine
11. Bethel University
12. College of St. Scholastica
13. Augsburg College
14. U of M - Morris

The following schools are legitimate but are not neccessarily brag-worthy (in my opinion of course). I personally would not waste my time with these schools, but that's me, also in order from top to bottom:

1. Saint Mary's University of Minnesota
2. Winona State University
3. Bemidji State University
4. U of M Duluth
5. Minnesota State, Mankato
6. Minnesota State, Moorhead
7. St. Cloud State

These schools in my opinion are crap but people on here will disagree with me:
1. Metropolitan State
2. Southwest Minnesota State
3. Northwestern College (not to be mistaken with the school in Illinois which is a very good school)
4. Crown College
5. U of M Crookston
6. Bethany Lutheran College
7. North Central University
8. Walden University
9. Rasmussen College
10. Minnesota College of Art and Design
11. Martin Luther College
12. Pillsbury Baptist Bible College
13. Crossroads College
14. Oak Hills Christian College
15. Any other community college or tech school

[Camden Northsider]

Wow, Slig - your post is likely to draw a lot of fire from people. I don't have my own list, and I have no comment on your decent/ crap lists, but here would be my reworking of your "top" list - not saying this is my own list but the usual suspects are here. My opinions only reflect undergrad education, not graduate schools, and admittedly my lack of knowledge and/or general perception of a lot of the small private religious-affiliated schools would most likely cause me to create a 5 or 6 way tie at the bottom of the list:


1. Carleton College
2. Macalester College
3. U of M - Morris
4. University of Minnesota - Minneapolis/St. Paul campus
5. St. Olaf College
6. College of St. Catherine
7. Saint John's University/College of Saint Benedict
8. University of St. Thomas
9. Gustavus Adolphus College
10. Hamline University
11. Augsburg College
12. Concordia College
13. Bethel University
14. College of St. Scholastica

I do realize that I'll likely be called on my alumni bias towards U of M- Morris, but considering the list of accolades that Morris has received on a national scale over the better part of the past decade (here's just some of them), IMO they are at least #3 in the state.

[lalife]

Originally Posted by Slig

Feel free to agree or disagree with me but here is what I would call the legitimately good schools in Minnesota in order from top to bottom:

1. University of Minnesota - Minneapolis/St. Paul campus
2. Carleton College
3. Macalester College
4. St. Olaf College
5. Saint John's University/College of Saint Benedict
6. University of St. Thomas
7. Gustavus Adolphus College
8. Hamline University
9. Concordia College
10. College of St. Catherine
11. Bethel University
12. College of St. Scholastica
13. Augsburg College
14. U of M - Morris

The following schools are legitimate but are not neccessarily brag-worthy (in my opinion of course). I personally would not waste my time with these schools, but that's me, also in order from top to bottom:

1. Saint Mary's University of Minnesota
2. Winona State University
3. Bemidji State University
4. U of M Duluth
5. Minnesota State, Mankato
6. Minnesota State, Moorhead
7. St. Cloud State

These schools in my opinion are crap but people on here will disagree with me:
1. Metropolitan State
2. Southwest Minnesota State
3. Northwestern College (not to be mistaken with the school in Illinois which is a very good school)
4. Crown College
5. U of M Crookston
6. Bethany Lutheran College
7. North Central University
8. Walden University
9. Rasmussen College
10. Minnesota College of Art and Design
11. Martin Luther College
12. Pillsbury Baptist Bible College
13. Crossroads College
14. Oak Hills Christian College
15. Any other community college or tech school

Well the college that you attended must not be very good either if all it got you was a dumpy little house in a decayed S. Mpls neighborhood.

My point is, colleges are rated by individual programs. Whole schools aren't bad. Get a grip. Too say that all technical schools in the Twin Cities are bad is the most ignorant comment you have made yet. Try telling that to a $60 an hour plumber or electrician sometime who was trained at one of our local tech schools, ie St Paul College etc. Maybe try telling that to your mechanic when he charges you $90 an hour. That tech school diploma is making him a rich man.

[uptown_urbanist]

Originally Posted by lalife

Well the college that you attended must not be very good either if all it got you was a dumpy little house in a decayed S. Mpls neighborhood.

I don't necessarily agree with all of Slig's choices, but this is an undeserved shot. There's nothing wrong with choosing to live in the city, or to live in an affordable neighborhood that has a lot to offer (as well as its problems.)

Besides, education is not just about future earning power.

[Minnehahapolitan]

Originally Posted by lalife

Well the college that you attended must not be very good either if all it got you was a dumpy little house in a decayed S. Mpls neighborhood.

My point is, colleges are rated by individual programs. Whole schools aren't bad. Get a grip. Too say that all technical schools in the Twin Cities are bad is the most ignorant comment you have made yet. Try telling that to a $60 an hour plumber or electrician sometime who was trained at one of our local tech schools, ie St Paul College etc. Maybe try telling that to your mechanic when he charges you $90 an hour. That tech school diploma is making him a rich man.

Umm...OK.
The average income for for a graduate with a Bachelor's degree is $52,200. The rule of thumb is that housing should consume about 1/3rd of one's income. That said, most of America should be living in housing that costs under $250,000.
If you hold a mortgage on a half-million dollar home you are either a professional degree holder or a strain on the economic security of America (not to mention yourself). If you honest to God believe that only unsuccessful people would live in a modest home in a modest neighborhood than you are the reason why our economy is in shambles. Nobody needs to feel compelled to prove their worth by being house poor.

[Slig]

Originally Posted by lalife

Well the college that you attended must not be very good either if all it got you was a dumpy little house in a decayed S. Mpls neighborhood.

My point is, colleges are rated by individual programs. Whole schools aren't bad. Get a grip. Too say that all technical schools in the Twin Cities are bad is the most ignorant comment you have made yet. Try telling that to a $60 an hour plumber or electrician sometime who was trained at one of our local tech schools, ie St Paul College etc. Maybe try telling that to your mechanic when he charges you $90 an hour. That tech school diploma is making him a rich man.

The list I threw up was completely from a reputation point of view and I wasn't trying to pass judgement on anyone for their career/school choice, nor was I making a comparison between what school you choose and income level. Yeah, I'm living in a "dumpy little house in a decayed S. Mpls neighborhood" and PROUD OF IT. I'm not going to try to turn this into an "I earn more than you and my dad can beat your dad up" topic. I'll be the first one to admit that I'm a poor grad student...big whoop.

[chilaili]

Could we possibly get back to answering the OP's original question instead of arguing about which school sucks the most?

[Slig]

Originally Posted by chilaili

Could we possibly get back to answering the OP's original question instead of arguing about which school sucks the most?

My post should have given the poster an idea of how it ranks compared to other schools in the state according to one man's opinion. What else is there really to say? The campus is located in St. Paul in a nice and upscale area. They recently received a massive donation to build a huge new athletic facility I believe. The campus is nice. I personally don't see any correlation between the size of the school and the amount of fun you're going to have. My college was smaller than my high school and it was approximately a gazillion times more fun. Campus is located right on the edge of St. Paul so you'd be smack in between the two largest cities in the state, and there are several other schools nearby.