Academics
A “Catholic university dedicated to a liberal arts education,” the University of Saint Thomas is “about creating well-rounded, educated individuals with strong morals and values.” It’s “the perfect size—small enough so that all your professors know your name and you always run into people you know on campus, but big enough to the point where you never stop meeting new people!” Professors, who “truly care about students,” are “very accessible during their office hours and generally very helpful. Classes are engaging and taught in a way to maximize how much information you’ll actually retain at the end of the semester.” Students rate the business program highly and note that “UST has amazing study abroad opportunities” and “high job placement levels.” From the students’ perspective, “The administration is more focused on business concerns and pleasing the donors than it should be, but no more than most schools are.” Despite this, it somehow manages to be “concerned with what students want and how they feel about things on campus.” “The most frustrating thing is registration,” notes one student. “It’s such a pain.” Another agrees, “They need to figure out before registration the number of kids wanting to take specific classes so as to avoid some of the major headaches of waitlists and expanding classes.”
Student Body
Visit the Saint Thomas campus and you are likely to run into many “white, middleto upper-class” undergraduates who hail “from Minnesota”—mainly “from the suburbs of the Twin Cities”—and the “surrounding Midwest states.” Many are focused on “going into business since Saint Thomas is a prominent business school” and business is the school’s most popular major. Students admit that there is “a stereotype at St. Thomas that says all students are rich, beautiful, and white,” but many are quick to point out that “to say everyone is like that would indeed be a huge generalization.” “St. Thomas is becoming more and more diverse each year,” one student brags. There are many “Christians,” but few of them are teetotalers. “The typical student here is one that gets drunk on Saturday and attends Mass on Sunday.” “There are a significant number of international students,” but in general, there “isn’t a huge minority population.” In short, the school’s “overall diversity could be improved.”
Campus Life
University of Saint Thomas is nestled near the Mississippi River in St. Paul, so it’s hardly surprising that UST students “like to take advantage of shopping and other opportunities offered by the Twin Cities.” And they can shop like no other, as the Minneapolis-St. Paul is home to the gargantuan “Mall of America.” What else do the Twin Cities have to offer? How about “plenty of concerts, museums, and art shows,” “Wild, Vikings, Twins, and Timberwolves games,” chances to explore “new restaurants, bars, and dance clubs,” “great internship opportunities,” and “lots of outdoor activities” such as “rollerblading, running, [and] Frisbee”? When looking for fun on campus, “most people like to have parties,” which are “usually broken up by public safety.” “The major problem with the school is that it is basically a ‘suitcase’ college,” says one student. “So if you do not drink or go home for the weekend there is not a ton for you to do on campus…. The campus does try to have fun activities, but attendance is usually pretty low, with the exception of a few annual events.”
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