Memphis-area Colleges #2: Christian Brothers University

This summer, I was able to attend SACAC's Summer Seminar, which was helpful in many ways to add tools to my counselor toolbox, but also because we toured 4 campuses! We stayed at Rhodes College, then also saw Christian Brothers University (CBU) and the University of Memphis. We also traveled about an hour and a half across the Tennesee border to see the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) in Oxford.

Visiting colleges always provides a unique opportunity to see what the feel of the college is like, which you can't get from a website! It's a great way to meet students and faculty, see the campus buildings, including housing, have meals at their campus eateries, and learn about what the university has to offer. Here are my takeaways from those visits:

Christian Brothers University has 1900 students total, with 1300 traditional students, meaning students who immediately enroll after high school. This is a Catholic-affiliated university, though people from all faiths attend CBU.

Campus: CBU is also in the Midtown area of Memphis, not too far from Rhodes. It has a smaller campus, with an active organizations and sports for students. They have more than 60 clubs and organizations, and have 15 Division II sports.

 

With a motto of Enter to Learn, Leave to Serve, CBU has a very service-oriented campus. They have a September of Service, where students serve for 30 days in the local Memphis community, which is a great way to give back and learn more about the needs in their city.

Admissions: They are also on the Common Application, and have their admissions requirements listed here. They are also on a rolling basis, with a quick turnaround on the admissions decision.

Scholarships: There are a lot of scholarship opportunities at CBU and many of them are full tuition.

Campus Life: I was impressed that even though it's a smaller school, CBU has a wealth of clubs and organizations, and encourages students to create their own if a need isn't being met. They have a great way of ensuring students are getting all they can out of the college experience. The rock you see in the picture above is constantly being painted for different things; people have even proposed by writing on the rock! It's a fun way to build campus camaraderie. The percentage of students who intern in the Memphis area, which houses a lot of Fortune 500 companies, as well as St. Jude Children's Hospital, is 70%! We also toured the dorms, which were really new and nice! They have both dorms and apartments at CBU. They are also rated the #1 safest school in Tennessee, so you can feel better about the close-knit community they have built.

Visiting: CBU has group, individual, preview days, department open houses, and a Coffee and Convo day coming up on October 28th, all to help students ask questions, see what CBU has to offer, and get the experience of being on campus.