City: Gettysburg, PA

Category: Education

Telephone: (301) 447-6122

Address: 16300 Old Emmitsburg Road

Description: Mount St. Mary’s University was founded in 1808 by Fr. John Dubois, and its 1,400-acre campus is located less than 15 miles south of Gettysburg off U.S. Route 15. This Catholic liberal arts university shares its space with Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, the second-largest seminary in the country, and the National Shrine Grotto of Lourdes, America’s oldest replica of the Lourdes shrine in France. (For more on the National Shrine Grotto of Lourdes, see the Attractions chapter.) The Mount is home to about 1,700 undergraduate and 500 graduate students. The student body men-to-women ratio is approximately 6:4, and about 60 percent of undergraduate students come from the state of Maryland. The rest of the student population hails from 28 states and approximately 10 foreign countries. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is 14:1, and the average class size is 20. More than 95 percent of students receive financial aid. The university offers 40 undergraduate majors, 5 postgraduate degrees, and the chance to study abroad in England, Italy, France, Costa Rica, Ireland, and Spain. In 2008 it made U.S. News & World Report’s top college list for the 13th consecutive year. Mount St. Mary’s is one of the few universities where undergraduate students are guaranteed four entire years of on-campus housing. Eighty-five percent of undergraduates take advantage of this and live on campus in traditional or apartment-style residence halls or theme homes. Theme homes include Wellness Housing, the Women in Science floor, and Special Interest Housing. Wellness Housing is for students who wish to live in a substance-free (alcohol, drugs, tobacco) residence, and the Women in Science floor is for female residents majoring in or considering a major in science, math, or computer science. Special Interest Housing is for students who share a common interest. All undergraduate students may apply to live in Wellness Housing or on the Women in Science floor, and sophomores, juniors, and seniors who maintain a minimum grade point average of 2.5 may apply to live in a “Make Your Own” house or floor. Students at the Mount have lots of activities to pick from, and 80 percent of students stay on campus on the weekends. There are 19 varsity sports to participate in as well as club sports, a full intramural program, and more than 70 clubs. The campus schedule is also full with dances, concerts, and guest lecturers.