I attended an Advisory committee at St. Mary's University in San Antonio, TX. The university provides a distinctive, student-oriented collegiate environment rooted in rigorous academic traditions and Catholic principles. As Texas's oldest Catholic university, the institution blends historical significance with an accessible and personalized campus atmosphere. Academically, St. Mary's is recognized for excellence in business, law, science, and criminal justice, consistently earning high rankings for value in the Western region. A notable advantage of St. Mary's is its small class sizes and low student-faculty ratio, facilitating the establishment of meaningful relationships between students and professors. The 135-acre urban campus offers expansive green spaces and maintains a traditional collegiate ambiance within a metropolitan location. The university's status as a Marianist and Hispanic-Serving Institution is evident in its commitment to service, social justice, and community engagement. read more

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For Parents of Incoming Freshmen I want to offer a quick, honest warning to other parents: One of the biggest challenges we've faced is the lack of communication and mentorship for students. Advisors, faculty, and departments often provide little to no guidance, leaving students to navigate important academic decisions on their own. If your child thrives on clear direction, regular check‑ins, or structured support, this may be a difficult environment. Parents are kept almost completely out of the loop, making it hard to understand what your student needs or what's happening academically. Before committing, make sure your student is prepared to advocate for themselves and operate independently--because consistent communication and mentorship are not guaranteed. read more

Touring construction sited. Room and board available. Open library and research studios. read more

I'm a former student of St. Mary's and I had a horrible experience with this university. Living there was one of the worst times of my entire life. I was treated horribly by faculty. Now I'm having more problems with them, even being withdrawn from there since January of 2025, and none of the departments will respond to my emails. Any one that has ever talked about this school I warn them to never go there or send kids there. read more

My older sister went to St. Mary's before the pandemic and it was a great experience, albeit much more expensive than UTSA or Texas A&M San Antonio. Things have changed. Two popular professors in IR were fired under mysterious circumstances, and I was hoping one would be my advisor. So much for being a nice Catholic and Marianist university. The high tuition is not worth it and I can't afford more student loans. I decided next year to go to UTSA even though my SMC credits (an extra St. Mary's adds on to keep students there) won't transfer there. I can't afford it, and I don't like what is happening there. read more

Very demure, not so mindful tho. The grass is just very yellow and there are spaces next to the bell tower they should have utilized better like building the counseling center closer or a new building for an outdoor restaurant. read more

I love this school. I've made friends and connections for life while securing my education. Needless to say, I will miss this place after I graduate as it has been an amazing four years. What I will not miss, however, is the campus police department, specifically Lieutenant Jeffrey Paullus, whose lack of compassion for my situation left me disappointed. Paullus showed me his true colorswith how little he values his professionalism and any commitment to his community. The police are NOT here to help students on campus. read more

BEAUTIFUL chapel and campus. Attended a wedding on campus and was delighted to find the chapel and parking easily accessible. As a UIW grad I didn't want to find the campus as beautiful as I did, but here we are! read more

This university has always been a gem in San. Antonio. I made good friends and still keep in contact with some of my professors after all these years. The student body was generally nice and accepting. The curriculum focused heavily on liberal arts when I attended and felt that I had an advantage with writing in my career. I cannot speak for the new curriculum though that started (with controversy) about ten years ago. I understand that the curriculum was "revamped." Now the curriculum consists of core classes; meaning that instead of choosing to take a particular English class to satisfy your English requirements, you now have to take a core class that is broad from what I understand. One area that needs improvement is the career services center. I don't think we attracted a lot of employers. Also, we could had benefited with more resume writing classes. Maybe they offered them a lot but I do not remember. The professors though were always nice about giving job recommendations. Overall,St. Mary's is a place to grow intellectually, morally, and spiritually. I re read more

The university is just a mess. The academics are not rigorous nor up to standards. The registrar's office doesn't know how to help students - just very unprofessional and incompetent. When they want something from you, they bend the rules, but when you need something from them, they hit you with a random irrelevant policy. They advertise the university as having small classes. However, it is not due to multiple course sections or frequent offerings (some courses are available only once a year or less) but rather a low student enrollment. The low enrollment is understandable because anyone who has worked hard in high school don't deserve nor is it logical for them to wish to be in a university like St. Mary's. Additionally, the tuition is quite high, yet the quality of education does not match the cost. Many students, including myself, initially chose this university for its proximity to home. If that is the primary reason you want to attend a university and not because of its curriculum, then that university's degree is probably not worth much. read more

St Mary's University hosts many events that are free and open to the public/community, such as the St Mary's Fiesta Jazz Festival and the Christmas Tree lighting. It is a beautiful campus. read more

St. Mary's University - Alumni Oyster Bake. Always a nice evening to be outside. - Colleges & Universities Near Me - San Antonio, Texas

I recently spent a few days on the campus of St. Mary's University. My daughter will be attending in the Fall and her mother and I were there for her orientation. It's a smaller school and we like the student to faculty ratio. We feel this will help her have a better university experience. We were both impressed with the faculty and administrators who spoke. They also brought in a speaker, Stephen Gray, who gave a humorous, informative presentation on "The Art of College Parenting". Much of it seemed to be common sense, but really made you think. I look forward to seeing the school year begin to see if our impressions are right. Here's to a great Fall semester to start our daughter's collegiate career! read more

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I attended St. Mary's Law School for my first year before transferring, and it was the most rewarding law school experience for me. I made so many great friends at this campus and everyone seems very genuine and nice. The law campus is kind of older and not as pretty as the rest of the law school, but I like that it is attached so you can have lunch in the main cafeteria and feel somewhat normal. I always ate waffle breakfast together with my classmates after Property and yes, the dude takes a lifetime to make them. The stir fry station was my go to for lunch (pick no more than 2 sauces). As for the education, St. Mary's needs to aggressively get rid of some faculty members have lost their luster and reward those who excel at their jobs. Cheat, beg, and lie you way into Professor Teeter's Torts Class, Professor Schleuter's Constitutional Law, and Professor Leopold's Property Class. God bless these men!!! They have the best lectures and their lessons still resonated with me when I was taking the bar. All in all, if you are lucky enough to be given the opportunity to attend St. Mary's then you are the most challenging, stressful, but memorable life-changing experience of your life. read more

Great private university with a variety of undergraduate and graduate programs of study, successful athletic programs and extracurricular clubs, organizations, and Greek Life. Also, StMU has a very professional staff, especially when dealing with Veterans using their VA/GI Bill Education benefits (such as myself)... Go Rattlers! read more

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"What is St. Mary's University?" was the traditional response I would receive whenever I stated which university I was currently attending years ago when I was in the process of obtaining my undergraduate degree. This always irked me since I have nothing but great memories and great learning experiences from this humble place I used to call home. What I enjoyed most from St. Mary's was the average class size. Never did I feel like just a number in a class of 300 students, but rather an equal in the company of my peers in an intimate setting of 25-30 students. Professors grew to know you by name which pressured you to try harder. The faculty also gave the sincere impression that they all wanted their students to succeed no matter what field of interest they wanted to pursue. Living on campus was a luxury since many of my classes and other buildings such as the fitness center were a mere 5 minutes walking distance away. I have and always will state proudly where I received my undergraduate degree because it has forged me into the driven and confident individual I am today. read more

I went to law school here. Great school and great people, but the dining options are lacking. I would highly recommend, though, for anyone looking to further their education. Even though it's not ranked as a world-class school, they definitely have world-class professors who truly care about furthering your education (with a few notable exceptions--not going to name any names). The only reason I didn't give it five stars is because the libraries close too early for night owls like me. The law library closes at midnight, and the Blume library closes at 1:00 AM. For those of us who produce their best work at night, that's a problem. read more

Well, my grandfather went here, and so did my boyfriend's dad, and they're both solid people. But my most personal experience with this university is via Oyster Bake--the alumnis' yearly fundraiser during Fiesta, which showcases rides, food booths, beer, big-name country and other music acts, and beer. Did I mention beer? Always a good time. read more

No real option to review the Oyster Bake (OB) here, well... that "I" found anyways. Now the yearly OB that the University throws is actualy pretty great, they have great performers which usually is a hit/miss but you can't argue that they still do have awesome stages & a great atmosphere to enjoy them. But my big woof about the OB is the "lack of" Oyster variety. I mean when you cater an event around oysters you would think that they would have a pleathora of oyster options!!! You search around for the food vendors & you come across A LOT of turkey legs, corn in the cup, burgers, tacos, etc... but where at the oysters?!?!?! We found 2 (only) separate kiosks which were serving up oysters. Only 2? yup, only 2 for an event that's catering to like 2K people. Not only that but your only options were either raw or baked. Really? No boiled? broiled? sauteed? deep-fried? stir-fried? pan-fried? heck I'd be happy w/an option of oysters on a stick? I guess there's reallly so much you can do w/an oyster but I would think that this in itself would be a good contest to have. How creative can a cook get with oysters. Anyhow, as awesome as this event is, they should really step up the Oyster serving options. read more

I love this campus, its so beautiful!! Great teachers and summer programs! :D

Excuse me but dont mind me if would just like to give my now almuni school a shout out and good review I absolutely loved all four years here at my school it was such a great experience to my life both spirituality and physically I recommend any and everyone looking forward to go to college to come here its more than just about the learning its elite and its family oriented there are lessons taught in class that only these great professors can give and just the beauty of the campus its self the people the love the joy the knowledge just so much too much for one review NO regrets and shout out to president mengler :)! And the zaragoza team (that i was also on) just beautiful all i can say is GO HERE! read more

I love StMU. Falling in love with StMU has been a process- a year long process. I'll be honest, after my 2nd week of class I was convinced I chose the wrong law school. I was accepted to 2 other law schools in Texas and chose StMU because of its location and the opportunity to continue to serve a fellowship I have been a part of for almost 11 years in the capacity in which I love to serve. I actually went and asked the recruiter to get me transferred to another school. During my 1st semester I was told I needed open heart surgery to repair my mitral valve. I was devastated. I met with one of the deans who offered to do everything within her power to help me. She suggested I email my professors as a professional courtesy to let them know of my situation in case I had an a emergency and would be unable to finish my 1st semester. All 5 of those professors offered to help me and asked if there was anything they could do to help me. I had surgery over the winter break. I received so much encouragement and support when I came back. I had many physical limitations and was given special permission by the school to park close to the law library to make my life easier. I was allowed to take only 10 hours in the spring instead of 15 and remain with the section I started with. I really don't believe I would've been treated with such kindness and compassion had I gone to a different school. The people who work here know my name, they care, and to this day, 8 months post-op, still ask me if I am doing okay and need anything. Through the compassion I have received from the people who work here, even when I had no desire to be here and didn't think so much of them, I have grown to love this place and am ever so grateful to be here. read more

When my son and i went to San Antonio to the tour and orientation we fell in love, it is a smaller private university and they are committed to there students. He is now a junior and going strong headed for the Law Program. We have no regrets. The oyster bake is awesome lots of music food and drinks. read more