Citing Jesuit school's religious ideals for "Why this school", even if I am not Christian?

[and 99 others]

When answering the "Why do you want to attend this school?" secondary question, is it a good idea to refer to religious ideals for a private, Jesuit school that are shared by my different religion? Or is casting a light that I am not Christian likely to make the feel like I am a bad fit for the mission/what they look for in students? I wouldn't necessarily say that I am not Jesuit but I think it would be obvious from other parts of my application.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Tiran145]

I talked about my Christian values on my Creighton secondary. I think if it helps you for with the schools mission then yes it’s good

 

[LizzyM]

If you accept the dignity of every person and you believe in treating the whole person: physical, psychological, spiritual, then you might be a good fit with the mission of the school even if you are not a Christian.

 

[993444]

If you accept the dignity of every person and you believe in treating the whole person: physical, psychological, spiritual, then you might be a good fit with the mission of the school even if you are not a Christian.

How do you feel about SLU having the concept of God in their mission statement?

 

[LizzyM]

How do you feel about SLU having the concept of God in their mission statement?

I don't see the concept of God in the mission statement:

"The mission of the Saint Louis University School of Medicine is the pursuit of excellence in education, research, clinical care, and community engagement through professional development, collaboration and social justice. "

That said there is the school's values statement:

In pursuit of its mission, the Saint Louis University School of Medicine seeks to impart to its students the following values:

• A concern for the sanctity of human life.
• A commitment to dignity and respect in the provision of medical care to all patients.
• A devotion to social justice, particularly as regards inequities in availability of and access to health care.
• Humility in awareness of medicine’s inherent limitations in the cure of illness.
• An appreciation for all of the factors that affect a person’s state of health or illness.
• A mature and well-balanced professional behavior that derives from comfortable relationships with members of the human family and one’s Creator.

I guess if you reject the notion that your professional behavior derives from a relationship with your Creator, then you might have a problem at SLU but in no way do Christians have a monopoly with having comfortable relationship with one's Creator.

BTW, Jesuits are Catholics who belong to a religious order of men (there is no branch for women as there are for Franciscans, Dominicans and some of the other groups that include both men (priests and brothers) and women (nuns and/or sisters) in their organizations). They take religious vows and live communally. The newest President of SLU is not a Jesuit but the school still has Jesuits serving on the Board of Trustees (those with SJ after their names, the official name of the Jesuits is "Society of Jesus"). So, there would be no expectation that an applicant to the school would be "a Jesuit" and there isn't an expectation that they are Catholic either; but I just wanted to shed some light on what a Jesuit is.

 

[993444]

I don't see the concept of God in the mission statement:

"The mission of the Saint Louis University School of Medicine is the pursuit of excellence in education, research, clinical care, and community engagement through professional development, collaboration and social justice. "

That said there is the school's values statement:

In pursuit of its mission, the Saint Louis University School of Medicine seeks to impart to its students the following values:

• A concern for the sanctity of human life.
• A commitment to dignity and respect in the provision of medical care to all patients.
• A devotion to social justice, particularly as regards inequities in availability of and access to health care.
• Humility in awareness of medicine’s inherent limitations in the cure of illness.
• An appreciation for all of the factors that affect a person’s state of health or illness.
• A mature and well-balanced professional behavior that derives from comfortable relationships with members of the human family and one’s Creator.

I guess if you reject the notion that your professional behavior derives from a relationship with your Creator, then you might have a problem at SLU but in no way do Christians have a monopoly with having comfortable relationship with one's Creator.

BTW, Jesuits are Catholics who belong to a religious order of men (there is no branch for women as there are for Franciscans, Dominicans and some of the other groups that include both men (priests and brothers) and women (nuns and/or sisters) in their organizations). They take religious vows and live communally. The newest President of SLU is not a Jesuit but the school still has Jesuits serving on the Board of Trustees (those with SJ after their names, the official name of the Jesuits is "Society of Jesus"). So, there would be no expectation that an applicant to the school would be "a Jesuit" and there isn't an expectation that they are Catholic either; but I just wanted to shed some light on what a Jesuit is.

Their mission statement on MSAR seems to encompass everything you noted from their website:

“Beyond the important objective of training physicians who are scholars of human biology, the School of Medicine strives to graduate physicians who manifest in their personal and professional lives an appreciation of humanistic medicine. We regard humanistic medicine as a constellation of ethical and professional attitudes, which affect the physician's interactions with patients, colleagues, and society. Among these attitudes are concern for the sanctity of human life; commitment to dignity and respect in the provision of medical care to all patients; devotion to social justice, especially regarding inequities in the availability of health care; humility and awareness of medicine's limitations in the care of the sick; appreciation of the role of non-medical factors in a patient's state of well-being or illness; and mature, well-balanced professional behavior that derives from comfortable relationships with members of the human family and one's Creator.”

 

[Sephirakra]

How do you feel about SLU having the concept of God in their mission statement?

I earned a graduate degree from SLU, and the faculty and staff I encountered were always far more concerned with carrying out their stated mission than they were with what affiliation one had, religious or otherwise.

The only thing that took some adjusting to (for me) was seeing a crucifix in the back of each classroom. It was a bit jarring coming from a public school background!

 

[LizzyM]

A good friend of mine went to a Jesuit high school...the only places they were allowed to have their eyes during tests was (1) on their paper or (2) on the crucifix, for divine inspiration.

As the joke goes about the atheist kid who started working very hard on his math homework (his worst subject)after transferring to Catholic school. "When I saw that guy nailed to the plus sign, I knew they meant business."