St. Joe's stepping up to help Cabrini students after Delco school's abrupt closure
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Cabrini University students are left frustrated and scrambling after the Delaware County school announced it will be closing.
Now, other local universities like St. Joseph's University are helping them find a new home.
All set to tour Saint Joseph's University, we met Brielle Burgess and Kayla Hatton. The two were enrolled at Cabrini.
RELATED: Incoming freshman basketball player disappointed over Cabrini's closure
But their plans changed when the school announced it was closing next year. They weren't only shocked.
"Anger," Julie Shallis, Brielle's mother, said. "My daughter will tell you. We're angry. It was not only two or three weeks ago she was sent a big Cabrini flag. She was heartbroken."
"They gave me a flag and all this stuff like 'Yay you're going to Cabrini.' And they're like, 'Oh we're closing,'" Brielle Burgess said.
RELATED: Closing of Cabrini University sends shockwaves through community
Cabrini ran several years of deficits -- millions spent over budget. The campus will be sold to Villanova University.
Cabrini students are feeling vulnerable in ways they didn't expect.
"As she goes through this academic process that she's going to be taken care of and guided through that, and that's a bit part of it - and that's why she chose Cabrini was feeling that she mattered," Julie Shallis said.
Saint Joe's president Dr. Cheryl McConnell greeted the two Cabrini students, empathizing with what's been a tough situation.
Joe Holden: "How would you define it?
McConnell: "It really is traumatic for the students. It's also as you've reported traumatic for faculty staff and employees."
Hours after Cabrini said it was going under -- Saint Joe's announced they would match tuition and open its doors.
"We know that half the students when a university closes don't persist on their degree," McConnell said. "We need to change that. And that's part of our mission-critical work to change that for all the Cabrini students."
The ladies took their tour. Brielle Burgess is leaning toward a school closer to home in West Chester.
Hatton is certain she'll become a Saint Joe's Hawk.
