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Saint John’s University Profile

Staten Island, New York

Saint John’s University Profile

Saint John’s University was established in 1870 as a private Roman Catholic institution offering comprehensive undergraduate, and graduate programs in several different fields including certificate and professional educational fields. The school itself has several different locations within it’s international education system including a main campus in Queens New York, an international campus in Rome Italy, a commuter campus in downtown Manhattan, and finally a suburban campus located in Staten Island New York. This profile will focus on the Staten Island campus located within the hill top community of Grymes Hill. SJU Staten Island is unique because it’s located within 20 minutes of the city via the Staten Island Ferry to Lower Manhattan.

The school is also unique because it’s situated within a quiet hill top suburban community within one of the five New York City Borough’s. The footprint of the site is small for a large private international educational system. SJU Staten Island was designed to offer a big campus educational system while still allowing students to enjoy a small-sized private school community. The Grymes Hill campus offers students approximately 16 acres of park like property that winds through the hill top community.

The campus has approximately 12 buildings including lecture, sports, performing arts, and student housing facilities. The issue of student housing on campus is not a challenge for SJU because the school has a rather large local student population. The university provides housing for 201undergraduate students on Staten Island according to school documents. International, and out of state students can apply for housing at the main campus through a lottery system. The school provides housing for 2766 total students within the student housing system according to published school data.

The physical layout of the Staten Island campus has academic buildings, open fields, and residence halls designed to separate the campus into 2 parts, for easy access to students. Student housing is in close proximity to the lecture halls for easy access to classes, students use a walkway from Arlo Road to enter the campus in back of Kelleher Center. SJU Staten Island is a small school that has links to a bigger educational system; the Grymes Hill location also allows students to enjoy a hill top suburban landscape while having the ability to engage in big campus activities and learning.

The internal campus setting provides students and employees with several types of student services including physical fitness, library services, and cultural meeting places and dining halls. St. John’s observed focal point of reference during the campus tour was the Campus Center, which is the main student life hall. My tour guide told me that students come to the campus center to relax, and eat in the dining hall. Students also use this space to socialize and talk about school and life. The facility is large for a small school with offices for all the student clubs and activities, and a school bookstore for students to enjoy.

St. John’s University Demographics: St. John’s is home to an overall student population of approximately 5,000 male, and 6,850 female full time undergrad students. The university also has 1,275 male, and 1,975 female students attending the school on a part-time basis. St. John’s also has 1,850 male, and 3,400 female graduate students attending the university. The average age of a freshman is 18 years old; all undergraduates are 20 years old. 61% of students are from the 5 boroughs of New York City, and 22% of students are from the suburban Long Island communities of Nassau, and Suffolk Counties of New York. The total number of in state students attending St. John’s University is 89%. The overall ratio of male students is 40%, and female is 60%.

The rest of students attending the university come from 43 other states, and 103 foreign countries. 53% of students are white, 14% are Hispanic, and 14% are African American, and 16% are Asian. The total number of Catholic students is 73%, Protestant 5%, Jewish 3%, and other religious affiliations is 10% according to published handouts. The Staten Island campus has approximately 3,000 students attending on a full, and part time basis

St. John’s University offers a Liberal Arts and Sciences programs for undergraduate students. Below is a list of specific admission requirements for admission.

Student Housing

The purpose of student housing is to provide safe and reasonable accommodations for students living away from home. The issue of housing and dormitory life is a critical element of overall campus life because students spend a large amount of time in their rooms. Student housing units historically come in 3 different styles including traditional corridor, suite, and apartment style units.

St. John’s University does not guarantee housing for undergraduate students who have filed their intent to reside on campus by the stated deadline and who have continuously registered as full time students. The university uses a lottery system to provide housing for students on campus. Students may opt to apply for available housing within the main campus in Queens if required. The Staten Island campus has 201 students currently within residence life at SJU. The issue of housing within the SJU network of campuses is unique because 82% of students commute to school according to published campus data.

Off Campus Housing

The Borough of Staten Island has been described as a medium-sized suburban community within driving, and commuter distance to New York City. The reason I have mentioned the overall community of Staten Island is to re-assert the point that SJU is situated in a suburban setting with a high number of homes that are privately owned. The university does provide off campus housing resources for students who request help. Information about services can be found on the quick links page.

Campus Life

St. John’s University is an active private campus environment within a large education system that provides students with an excellent social, and educational atmosphere. The admissions demographics paint a picture of a local educational community with a high number of in state residents on campus as full time students. The local community of Grymes Hill is very supportive of the schools mission to provide educational opportunities to local residents and on-campus students. The borough itself has several student friendly venues within walking distance on Clove Road, or driving distance to several areas of the island. The point is, Staten Island is small, only 26 miles long, compared to the other boroughs in greater New York. The size, population, and community resources give the island a main street feel to it due to the restaurants and shops along the main avenues.

The emotional climate and culture of the entire community is social due to it’s close relationship with community, and educational resources in my opinion. SJU on Staten Island is an attractive institution because it offers students natural beauty with the school’s landscape overlooking Lower Hudson Bay and New York City, while providing big campus student activities for everyone including cultural, athletics, and performing arts to enjoy throughout the year. This issue of school culture is also a very important part of campus life because everyone wants to have a connection and emotional fit to their new school and community.

St. John’s also addresses the issue of ecology in a positive way. The physical environment is reasonably clean and well maintained and the economic conditions are favorable to students and local residents due to the available services in driving distance to the school. The university has a strong network of facilities for students to enjoy during the year within it’s campus structure including the main facility in Queens N.Y. The development of a state of the art student center on Staten Island also helps students connect with each other in non-classroom environments by providing a central meeting place for clubs and student run activities.

The issue of school culture and emotional attachment is also a very important part of campus life because everyone wants to have a connection and emotional fit to their new school and community. St. John’s has done a great job developing positive social systems with it’s students by providing a series of coordinated programs including workshops and seminars for freshman students. This type of process provides a foundation for learning and personal growth providing over 180 academic clubs, student organizations, and over 32 intramural sports activities for men and women within the SJU network. SJU also has 19 local & national fraternities for men, and 23 local & national sororities for women.

St. John’s University also has several global education centers in the area for students to learn, and gather information about studying abroad. Students can also enjoy big campus sports events within the SJU network including several fields around the main campus including the school’s stadium on the eastern edge of the school footprint. St. John’s currently participates in 7 NCAA Division I Varsity Sports for Men, and 10 for women including Big East Basketball.

Public Transportation

Public transportation resources for St. John’s students are virtually unlimited due to the location of the campus. Students who attend the university usually drive to campus because parking is readily available, but students can also enjoy public transportation resources. The university has a high number of in-state students who know the streets and highways very well. Knowing the area is key because students who come from other states may not know the area as well and might opt to take a bus or train to their destination because they don’t want to risk getting lost on local roads. St. John’s shares a campus shuttle system with Wagner College to provide daily service for students. In formation about the service can be found on the quick links page.

The public transportation for the university is served by The New York M.T.A., which serves the residents of Staten Island. This transit system connects with several other transit, and bus lines within NYC including the main transit network for all 5 boroughs. This main system connects to Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, New Jersey Transit, Metro North rail, and the Long Island Railroad service. Public transportation resources are directly linked to local resident commuter schedules for bus and train service, students should pick up MTA handouts or service information.

Community Profile

The Grymes Hill section of Staten Island is a quiet suburban community within an overall population of 483,046 residents in Richmond County New York. The area has been described as a gracious family centered residential community within striking distance to New York City. This section of the island also has an intellectual side to it due it’s historical neighborhood architecture, and community ties to Wagner College and St. Johns University. The community has a real small college town feel to it when you are walking, and driving to neighborhood eateries. Staten Island also has several community parks and ball fields in and a round the borough for people to enjoy. These parks, along with public tennis courts, swimming pools, outdoor skating rinks, and theatres make outside activities very enjoyable to everyone.

The borough itself is geographically located between New Jersey to the south, and Manhattan to the north making it an ideal commuter destination for both locations because they can be reached in relatively short period of time. The short distance to these areas from the school makes Staten Island a student friendly destination throughout the year. The New York City Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) provides several types of public transit resources to NYC including express bus, rail, and ferry service throughout the year on a 24-hour basis. Local residents have access to several major transportation hubs within the northeast including Newark Liberty Airport, Metro-Park (Amtrak) in nearby Edison New Jersey, and countless roadway systems including I-95 (N.J. Turnpike), I-287 the main east/west corridor in the area, and the Brooklyn Queens Expressway (BQE) to all points east including Long Island.

Finally, SJU is close to several local avenues that links students and residents to a large number of restaurants and shops within a short drive from campus including Forest Avenue in the West Brighton section, and Bay Street within the Stapleton area of the island. Staten Island residents also have numerous shopping, and dining options in Brooklyn and New Jersey due to their geographical location. Residents can be in Bay Ridge Brooklyn in a matter of minutes, or they can also be in New Jersey quickly because they are surrounded with bridges within a 15-minute drive from the campus.

Community demographics

The following demographics for Richmond County (S.I.) describe a culturally diverse community within a total population of 483,046 according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The survey highlights several characteristics to describe the population including: 48.6% of residents are male, 51.4 are female. 76% of residents are white, 10% are African American, 6% are Hispanic or Latino, and 7% are Asian. The median age of population is 38 years old. 76% of residents are 18 years old, and 12 % of town residents are over the age of 65. The issue of housing in Staten Island is also interesting. 94 % of all housing units within the borough are occupied.29 % of housing units is renter-occupied, while 71 % of units are owner-occupied. Only 6 % of total available housing was vacant according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Local weather

Weather is also an issue to consider for students preparing for a college experience. The State of New York enjoys all four seasons of weather including rain and snow. Northeast weather patterns sometimes allow for temperatures to drop below 32 degrees for a considerable amount of time during the winter. Staten Island also gets it’s share of rain during the spring and summer months as well.

St. John’s University (Staten Island) Quick Links

The Your College Profile web site also contains an “Everything in New York City” document for families who wish to explore the NYC while visiting St. Johns University Staten Island. This site contains a full list of hotels, restaurants, shopping, and entertainment, and tourism resources for families enjoying the region. Below is a sample list of local hotels and restaurants in Staten Island N.Y.

Staten Island Hotel
1415 Richmond Ave
Staten Island, N.Y. 10314
Hampton Inn/Staten Island
1120 South Ave
Staten Island, N.Y. 10314
Hilton Garden Inn/Staten Island
1100 South Avenue
Staten Island, N.Y. 10314
Comfort Inn/Staten Island
310 Wilde Avenue
Staten Island, N.Y. 10314

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