Saint Peter's University — Attraction in Jersey City

THE BIGGEST SCAM IVE EVER BEEN A VICTIM OF: I wish I didn't choose this school and I cannot wait to get out as soon as possible. I've currently been here for 2 years. My freshman year and fall semester of my sophomore year I lived on campus, and spring semester I decided to commute. 99% of the students here, including myself, chose this school because they gave them the most money in scholarships. THIS IS A SCAM. The school is millions of dollars in debt which is why tuition is so expensive. They give out so many scholarships because they need people to come to this school. If they didnt give out so many scholarships, most students would not be here. ALL OF THE BUILDINGS ARE OUTDATED, DINGY, DISGUSTING, AND HAVE BUGS AND ROACHES! I could not stand to live like that when I'm paying $8,000 a semester just for room and board. I don't live in filth and with bugs at home, im certainly NOT doing it at school. The campus security guards and residence life are rude and disrespectful. There is literally nothing to do at night time and the fact that the school is so strict makes it hard for anyone to have any type of fun. No sleepovers, unless it is of the same sex and you have to put in a request for a sleepover a week in advance. Then, all of your roommates have to approve your overnight request. Huge hassle just to have your friend visit. Also, this school reminds me of high school like this is 13th grade basically. Everyone has cliques and rumors are constantly spread. FOR COMMUTERS: PARKING IS SCARCE! First come first serve parking in 2 tiny parking lots and 2 slightly larger parking lots. Finding parking is a huge HASSLE, especially because most students are commuters and the lots are supposed to accommodate staff too. Parking on the street isn't an option because of JC parking enforcement, you risk a ticket.When I was a resident and had my car on campus, MY CAR WINDOW GOT SMASHED WHILE PARKING ON CAMPUS! even though there is supposed to be a security guard there monitoring the lots all of the time... and the security cameras "were not working" so they couldn't catch who did it. THE SHUTTLES ARE DANGEROUS AND NEVER SHOW UP! if you call for a shuttle to journal square at night, you'll be lucky if they come in 30 min. You're better off just walking back but then you risk walking alone at night. The shuttle drivers do not know how to drive and are all over the road, its actually pretty scary.

Pros: literally nothing. Nursing program is okay but kind of all over the place. The only good thing is that the class sizes are small and professors are understanding and...

Like with most colleges and universities, you need to do your research BEFORE deciding where you want to apply. Don’t take their brochures at face value; if on a weekday tour of any school, try to walk around after the tour and see if you can find students in the major you want to study and ask for their honest opinions. Make arrangements with the departments to shadow freshmen level, mid level, and advanced classes to see what it’s like. Don’t just look at the tuition price and say “too expensive, I’m going elsewhere” or “too cheap, classes are probably poor quality”.

Honestly, I think Saint Peters is a solid mid level school in terms of programs. I started with a major and minor in two departments that I ultimately switched to a major and minor in two other departments, but between those four departments one thing was common between them; there was opportunity in each. The science majors have the opportunity to do big or small research projects, art/theater majors have the opportunity to do performances, education majors have opportunities to TA at area schools, so on and so forth for most majors. A lot of schools will boast about students having opportunities, but what Saint Peter’s has is the ability to push a larger volume of students into obtaining those opportunities. Jersey City is a large city minutes away from NYC; most motivated students won’t struggle to find large or small internship roles as long as they don’t suffer from a fear of missing out on hypothetical “better internships”.

Unfortunately no school is exempt from some negative aspects. While the school has a lot of great professors you’d love to study under, just like any other school it does have its fair share of ones you don’t want as your advisor or professor. Other than that, most of my other complaints would revolve around the quality of the dorms during the time I attended. Dealing with the billing department can also be a pain (even if they are the ones who owe you money).

All in all this school won’t radically change the lives of every student for the better and put everyone on the path to becoming billionaires, but it’s programs are solid and reliable and will get you the foundation you need to have a long career in your field. And although I’m not a Christian, I do appreciate that they try to instill into their students a sense of giving back and helping...

To describe it in one sentence it is a "It is what you make it" school. Given its smaller size, the experience at the school is very intimate and student body dependent, in every aspect imaginable, which has its pros and cons. A lot of the students I found who complained perpetually, tend to not be great students, or honestly not suitable for college in general. Just in school for the wrong reasons. A lot of those who complained, likely would be ineligible to attend other larger state schools or face similar issues.

The biggest benefit of this school is that it is incredible cost effective. Some state schools like Rutgers have become very competitive post covid so they are worth checking out, but second to Princeton, SPU has averaged the lowest debt for its graduates for many years. This is despite being right next to the city. This was the primary reason for my attendance. After 4 years here, and 4 years in Grad school elsewhere, I received a professional doctorate for less than $100,000 and this includes the cost of...