University of St Thomas-Saint Paul Top Questions

The stereotype is that your from a rich family. This is a misconception and most students are from normal middle class families.

The biggest stereotype that I hear about St. Thomas students is that we are all just a bunch of privileged rich kids from the suburbs. Although you do meet some people like this at St. Thomas, it is by no means the norm. You will find people from wealthy families at any school,but there might be a few more at a private school like St. Thomas for the mere reason that it is a more expensive school than some others. Overall, the students at St. Thomas are from all parts of the spectrum. There are rich kids whose parents pay for everything they need, but there are also students like myself who are attending St. Thomas because they were offered scholarships and we pay for everything else by ourselves with little or no help from our parents. I like to hear about this stereotype because I believe it is inaccurate and I like to point out to whoever is accusing me of being a privileged rich kid that I actually pay for school 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} on my own and have no financial help from my parents and I am not from the suburbs, but from corn country southern Minnesota. That tends to make the accusers think twice about how they perceive students from St. Thomas.

A lot of people assume that St. Thomas kids are all "rich and spoiled kids," but it is far from the truth. In fact about 95{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the students that attend St. Thomas have been offered some form of scholarship from the school. Thanks to the scholarship I received, I am able to afford the tuition. Our generous alumni and benefactors have made that opportunity possible for many other students.

I think that stereotypes of students at the University of St. Thomas range depending on gender. I think that for the most type the stereotype of men at St. Thomas is that they are all classic "jocks". The stereotype of the women at St. Thomas is that they are preppy and ditzy. When I hear about these stereotypes from students attending surrounding schools I laugh because these stereotypes are not true! Sure there are jocks and preps etc. but it's not fair to group all students into these categories. You shouldn't put anyone in a box!

Students at the University of St. Thomas are typically stereotyped as being spoiled, stuck-up, rich kids who wear UGG boots and North Face apparel. Just like at any school, there are students who fit the stereotype, but most do not. The majority of students are friendly, helpful and very kind. The students at St. Thomas embody the commonly used phrase, “Minnesota Nice.”

I live off-campus, with some of my University of Minnesota friends, and one common thing I hear them say is how a lot St. Thomas kids are stuck up and snobby. Don't worry, because I protest them every time they say something of the sort. I had no problem making friends and thriving in my Tommy life in the dorms, and that has not changed since I moved off-campus. I'm confident that anyone can find a place to fit perfectly at St. Thomas.

There are many positive and negative stereotypes associated with the students of St. Thomas. While some of these are accurate, many are not. Many people believe that because our school is a private Catholic university, all students enrolled come from rich families. St. Thomas students have been described as "snobby rich kids". This is an inaccurate stereotype. While some students come from wealthier families, most of the students are able to attend through scholarships and financial aid. Some people are also under the impression that all St. Thomas students are Catholic or Christian. This is also inaccurate; there is a significant population of students who follow faiths such as Jewish, Muslim, Agnostic, Athiest, and many others. One last common stereotype is that St. Thomas students are intelligent and hard working students who will be an asset to any company, organization, or business. I believe that this is an accurate stereotype. Most of the students that I have encountered at St. Thomas are dedicated students who aspire to do great things with the knowledge they are gaining here. There are many different stereotypes regarding the students of St. Thomas, but these three stereotypes are the most common.

The Tommy stereotype is often that of a stuck-up rich kid interested in business and law. As with all stereotypes, the exaggeration is born from a nugget of truth. There are rich kids here. There are business students, and there are students who will go on to law school. However, there are also students here pursuing the fulfillment of liberal arts. There are students pursuing a career in mathematics and engineering. There are students pursuing priesthood. It is easy to look at a school outside of one's own and make snap judgments, but in truth the campus of St. Thomas only has its own fair share of entitled differences. It is an expensive school, but often that means it has more money to give away, so the notion that all St. Thomas students are rich and pompous is only true as far as other campus's stereotypes are true.

St. Thomas sometimes has the reputation of being a 'suitcase school'. Since a huge portion of the student population come from suburbs and cities fairly close to the campus, it is tempting for students to go home all the time, which brought on the term 'suitcase school'. However, this is not the case! Campus may feel less lively on weekends because people aren't rushing to and from classes, but there are so many activities and sporting events on campus each weekend that there is always something to do! Another stereotype that comes up frequently revolves around St. Thomas female students. This stereotype is that UST girls are held to a standard of always looking their best--even just going to class!--and for having the nicest brands of clothes and accessories out there. Like the last stereotype, this is not true either! Of course some people take more pride than others in how they appear all the time, but that is true on every campus and really in life in general. The variety of appearances on campus is just that--a variety! In regards to the high-profile brand stereotype, this is also untrue. Everyone's money situation is different so this is an unfair generalization! Not everyone notices these things and like I said: there's a variety of appearances on campus and you can blend in or stand out in so many ways--it's your choice!