! St. Michael’s College

Founded in 1904, St. Micheal’s College (aka St. Mike’s) is the only college of the Edmundite Catholic Church in the . A liberal arts college with around 2,000 students, St. Michael’s is located around Burlington, , considered one of the nation’s nicest college towns. St. Mike’s shares the area with four other colleges, including the . St. Mike’s is also the smallest Catholic college in to have a chapter of , the nation’s most distinguished academic honor society. It was an all-male school until 1970. Today the majority of undergraduates are women.

St. Mike’s is a regional school. Seventy one percent of the undergraduate student body comes from the New England states and New York. Interestingly, for a Catholic college, two thirds of the undergraduates attended public high schools, and only half of the students are Catholic. Just over a fifth attended a Catholic high school.

St. Mike’s is not exceptionally selective, but it attracts the B+/A- student, much like the state universities in the states where most of the students came from. Last year the college offered admission to just over 70 percent of the students who applied to join the class that entered this fall. The average SAT scores for the freshmen who entered in 2014, and submitted scores, was 1170 (out of 1600) for the Critical Reading and Math sections of the test. Admissions, however, are test optional.

St. Mike’s is cross-shopped most often against the home state universities where the majority of its applicants come from (University of Connecticut, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, University of New Hampshire, University of Vermont) as well as small and mid-sized Catholic colleges in New England and New York State, including Boston College, Fairfield University, Holy Cross, Providence, St. Lawrence, Stonehill (MA) and St. Anselm’s (NH). It is also cross-shopped against in Burlington.

St. Mike’s is most similar in academic mix and student body size to St. Anselm. In fact the two schools have about the same number of undergraduates, according to College Results Online. Also, according to this source, both schools have about the same share of students majoring in business, and the social sciences; these subjects represent about half of the students with deadlier majors at both schools. St. Mike’s has a greater share of students majoring in the arts and humanities as well as math and science while St. Anselm offers health-related degrees that St. Michael’s does not.

St. Mike’s does an excellent job at retaining and graduating its students. Ninety percent of the freshmen who entered in 2013 returned for their sophomore year while 79 percent of the students who entered in 2008 graduated within four years. These numbers are comparable to liberal arts colleges that are far more selective in their admissions ! process; they are also superior to the rates for any in New England or New York.

Costs

St. Mike’s charged just over $51,700 for tuition and fees, room and board for the 2015-16 school year, about a three percent increase from the year before. These charges are about the same as the University of Vermont (UVM) would assess out-of- state students.

Parochial school graduates receive a $5,000 discount, renewable each year for as long as the student maintains a 2.0 GPA or higher. Catholic students who did not attend a parochial school may be nominated by their parish for a similar award. With these discounts, St. Mike’s becomes price-competitive with the non-resident charges of University of Connecticut, the University of Massachusetts, and the University of New Hampshire as well as UVM to attract students. The College also offers a variety of scholarships ranging from $1,000 to full tuition. Interestingly, according to College Results Online, more than a fifth of St, Mike’s students qualified for Federal Pell Grants to help them defray their costs.

On average St. Mike’s met 83 percent of need for students for the freshmen who needed financial aid in 2014, and 79 percent of the need for the full undergraduate student body, according to the College’s 2015-16 Common Data Set. More than a third of the freshman class received a merit-based award; these averaged just over $17,000. The College is exceptionally generous with financial aid considering that its endowment was less than $90 million in FY 2015, according to the National Association of College and University Business Officers. For comparison, St. Anselm, a school that is about the same size, had an endowment of just over $130 million.

Among St. Mike’s students who graduated in 2014 and needed to take out loans, the average indebtedness was just over $26,700, quite reasonable for a private college. Students who borrow through the Federal Stafford Student Loan program may borrow a maximum of $27,000.

Curriculum

St. Mike’s offers 33 majors as well as 11 minors that are separate from the major fields. The college is also engaged in 3-2 engineering programs with the University of Vermont and Clarkson University (NY). It also participates in an exchange program that allows students to take courses at other Vermont private colleges including Bennington and Middlebury. The college also has articulation agreements with Vermont and Albany College of Pharmacy. ! Since St. Mike’s is not subdivided in separate schools of arts and sciences and business, among others, the college applies the same general education requirements to students in all majors. It takes 128 credits, or 16 per semester, to earn a degree, presuming a four-course load each semester. The liberal arts requirements are about the same as they are at similar schools with the exceptions of a year-long study of Christian Traditions and Thought as well as a one-semester course in Western Philosophy. St. Mike’s has an Experiential Learning requirement for credit that may be fulfilled through an internship, research with a faculty member or an independent study, among other options. With between 44 and 52 credits towards general education requirements, some of which could be applied towards a major or minor, it is relatively easy to graduate with a double major or multiple minors from St. Mike’s.

The college reports that its most popular majors are in Business, Biology, Psychology, English, Communications (Media Studies, Journalism and Digital Arts), Elementary Education and Environmental Studies. The depth of the communications and education programs is quite impressive for a small school. Two downsides: the business and accounting programs are not accredited by the Assembly for the Advancement of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), sometimes a consideration by employers who recruit for those majors. The most similar school with an accredited business program is Stonehill College (MA). The other downside is that the Honors Program, while properly rigorous, requires a 3.6 GPA to continue. That is a relatively high requirement for any college, large or small.

You’re not likely to see many large classes at St. Mike’s. Ninety percent of all undergraduate courses on campus have fewer than 30 students. Only three percent of all classes had more than 40 students; these are mainly the introductory courses that are required to complete several majors such as Biology, Chemistry, Economics or Physics. The college’s largest lecture room seats 100 students.

St. Mike’s students gave their faculty a rating of 3.82 (out of a possible 5) on RateMyProfessors.com. For comparison, St. Mike’s students held higher regard for their faculty than students at Fairfield (3.68), Holy Cross (3.77), Providence (3.76) and Stonehill (3.73) and about the same regard as students at St. Anselm (3.80), the most similar school. They held their faculty in higher regard than students at any of the flagship state universities in New England. Among the most cross-shopped schools, only Boston College students gave their faculty a higher rating (3.94).

Community

St. Mike’s is more about community than most colleges, large or small. Just over 80 percent of the student body participates in some form of community service, mostly through programs administered under the banner of Mobilization of Volunteer Efforts (MOVE). There are 21 programs under MOVE alone, with others organized by students, ! staff and clergy on campus. St. Mike’s was one of the first colleges in the United States to offer Alternative Spring Break programs, including volunteer opportunities abroad. Thirty percent of the student body will go abroad at some point in their education, some through academic programs, others through service projects. Students also serve in the local Wilderness Fire and Rescue program, which responds annually to approximately 3,000 calls in the community.

St. Mike’s is also about the outdoors. If you want a liberal arts education as well as outdoor recreational opportunities off campus, put this school on your list. The college organizes Wilderness Orientation Weekends for freshmen and offers a catalog of more than 60 outdoor-oriented weekend programs in skiing, camping, mountain biking, hiking and rafting, among others. Students pay between $10 to $15 to go on an outing, and about the same to rent any equipment needed to go. Approximately 800 students— amazing for a college with only 2,000 undergraduates—participate in one or more of these activities each school year. In addition, students may buy a $65 season pass for Smuggler’s Notch, one of the leading ski resorts in Vermont. This is approximately the cost for a non-student to be at the resort for one day.

In addition to having access to an abundant choice of outdoor programs, St. Mike’s students have the opportunity to explore Burlington, which could be called the “Berkeley of New England.” One of the more liberal college towns in the United States— Presidential candidate served as mayor from 1981 through 1989, re- elected three times before moving on to Congress—Burlington has the college-oriented retail mix and night life that students would expect to find in larger cities. The college helps students to explore the city; they can ride the regional bus service for free when they present their Knight Card to the driver.

While off-campus life is a draw for St. Mike’s, the campus itself, while being clean, well- maintained and offering mountain views, is not fancy. Architecture is of the same styles as you might find at other New England colleges; some buildings are more modern adaptations of that theme. The Edmundite clergy operate a more modern church building than you would see at other Catholic colleges. The college also has over 40 clubs and organizations as well as the St. Micheal’s Playhouse, an off-Broadway regional theater. While St. Mike’s is a Catholic school, you will see fewer religious symbols and religious art outside of the church than you might see at other Catholic colleges. This might be in part due to the “youth” of the college. St. Mike’s is “only” 112 years old while Holy Cross, as one example, is, at 173 years of age, the oldest Catholic college in New England.

The layout of the campus—you are not likely to cross many streets—suggests that St. Mike’s is easy to patrol and secure. The college’s Clery Report for 2015 showed that reported burglaries and sexually-related offenses, while few, trended upward between ! 2012 and 2014. The college prefers to handle drug and alcohol-related offenses through disciplinary action. There were no more than nine reported arrests for drug-related crimes during this period, though there were as many as 73 disciplinary referrals. There were no more than 37 reported arrests related to possession of alcohol during those three years. But there were as many as 111 disciplinary actions, which trended upward.

St. Mike’s competes in the NCAA at the Division II (limited scholarship) level in 21 varsity sports, more than some larger colleges, including the University of Vermont, which competes in 18.

Comforts

St. Mike’s guarantees housing for all four years, and nearly everyone lives on campus. The college has neither fraternities nor sororities. Only two halls, Lyons and Joyce, which have traditional double rooms, are exclusive to freshmen. Freshmen may also live with sophomores in suite-style housing in the Quad Commons as well as Ryan Hall. Sophomores and juniors live primarily in residence halls. Seniors are given first priority to live in apartments and townhouses. The college is constructing another apartment building on campus. Students who live the residence halls typically choose the unlimited meal plan, while students who live in apartments and townhouses go with a 40-block plan, good for 40 meals during the semester. The student ID, the Knight Card, may also be used at select eating places off campus.

Connections

Among the nearly 16,000 St. Mike’s alumni who applied information to LinkedIn.com, the largest concentration, just over 3,200, are based around Boston. The second-largest, around 2,500 live and work around Burlington. Within the Burlington area, the University of Vermont, dealer.com and IBM are major employers. There are nearly 1,400 St. Mike’s alumni based around New York City. There are also around 2,300 alumni based in Canada; approximately 950 live and work around Toronto. There are actually more alumni based in Australia than there are in either Hartford, Connecticut or Washington D.C.

Seventeen percent of St. Micheal’s alumni made a contribution to their alma mater, on average, over the past two years, according to the data that the college submitted to U.S. News. This compares to nearly a fifth of St. Anselm alumni and about 15 percent of Stonehill, these being the most similar schools considered by interested students. St. Mike’s compares favorably to the New England state universities that applicants consider most. The University of Connecticut has the highest alumni loyalty among those schools at 16 percent. However, Holy Cross, which has far stronger brand recognition, enticed nearly half of its alumni base to give. Boston College enticed more than a quarter to contribute to their alma mater. ! St. Mike’s hosts a full calendar of career events, and brings alumni to campus to network and participate on panels. Burlington also has a dynamic start-up and non-profit business community to attract students to work full-time, part-time or in internship positions. Credit-bearing internships require 130 hours of work along with a journal documenting the experience.

By the spring of their senior year, about three quarters of St. Mike’s students will have graduated with some practical work experience, whether it be an internship, clinical assignment or student teaching. Eighty-two percent of St. Mike’s graduates in the Class of 2014 were employed full-time within a year after graduation, while 13 percent were in graduate school and five percent were in service or volunteer opportunities such as Americorps or the Peace Corps.

Conclusions

St. Mike’s is an excellent liberal arts college in a very student-oriented as well as a very service-oriented community. It is a Catholic college, but it is also a school where non- Catholics will feel welcome. The excellent retention and graduation rates as well as the high regard that students have expressed for the faculty suggest that students appear to be relatively happy with their education as well as the community. It also helps to enjoy the outdoors, given the impressive number of recreational activities you can take part in cheaply as a student. The costs are also quite reasonable for a private college.

It’s hard to find fault with St. Mike’s. There are more beautiful campuses, but St. Mike’s is quite far from unattractive. There are more famous names, especially among liberal arts colleges in New England, but St. Mike’s delivers no less than most of those schools deliver for their students. Perhaps the only major downside is that the alumni base becomes thin after you get outside Boston and Burlington. But if you come from the cold Northeast, or come to love Burlington during college, as you could, that should not matter very much.

Those who are Catholic, and those who are not, who truly want a liberal arts college as well as an opportunity to live in a community with a very high quality of life should put St. Mike’s on their list, unless they truly dislike cold winter weather. !

Report Card for St. Micheal’s College

• Four-Year/Six-Year Graduation Rates: A/A

• Freshman Retention: A

• Costs: A

• Curriculum: A

• Community: A

• Comforts: B+

• Connections: B+