Loyola University Chicago Top Questions

Location,location,location! Though the Lake Shore Campus has the bone-chilling winds of Lake Michigan during Chicago's winter months, living right by the lake is certainly a treat! My favorite buildings on campus overlook the lake: the Madonna Dela Strada chapel and the new Information Commons, a multi-million dollar,"green" study center. Also, the Water Tower Campus is two blocks away from Michigan Ave and the heart of downtown Chicago. You are within walking distance from hundreds of shops and restaurants. Last semester,I spent more time window shopping than in class when I was downtown (don't worry, I've stopped that!).Complementary shuttle service transports students to and from both campuses every 15-30 minutes and the CTA's Red Line and 147 buses provide more frequent services as an alternative to the shuttle. While the Water Tower Campus is located in the most desirable Chicago neighborhood, the same cannot be said about Rogers Park, the location of the Lake Shore Campus. While it is certainly NOT a dilapidated,crime-ridden neighborhood, personal safety should be taken seriously. As in any big city, use caution at night. If you're a female, be sure to walk with someone else or call 8-ride to get a safe ride anywhere close to campus. Basically, use common sense and you should be fine. One disadvantage about Loyola is the lack of a "campus feel". While the majority of students live on-campus,around 30{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} commute to campus. Also, most on-campus students live in the Chicagoland area, so many students (including myself) go home on some weekends, so this makes the campus feel empty. Luckily, the school does a good job of providing weekend activities, from theme nights to basketball games. While there are numerous food joints within a walking distance from campus (namely McDonalds,Dunkin Doughnuts,Chipotle,Thai Grill), there is no "college town" that would be found in Big Ten universities. Rogers Park itself doesn't provide many food options either. However, you have the city of Chicago at your fingertips. A hop on the red line to Argyle,Fullerton,Belmont and downtown provides a wealth of dining options, as does a trip north to Evanston. Just be careful not to overdo it, this is Chicago and things are expensive!

The people are the best thing about Loyola. The teachers, the staff are all so nice and just really want to make you feel at home. I would change the food plan at loyola because it pretty much sucks. One day, under veggiterrian options, "beef stew" was listed. People usually assume that loyola is a prestigious school, because it isn't Columbia or DePaul (you know, art schools where people try to "find themselvles") but it also isn't U of Chicago or Northwestern, where the pretentious are bred. Well, Loyola's in Chicago, which I think is the greatest "college town" out there! There is just so much to do and see and learn! Loyola's administration is iffy, at best. It is not as well organized as one would like it to be, which means that you, as a student, have to keep on top of your financial aid and stuff like that, to make sure that they're doing their job correctly. The biggest recent controversy on campus was when a former alumni brought a prop gun to the Cenntenial Forum Student Union and waved it around and got arrested. A few of the kids who were at the scene claim that the Chicago Police racially profiled them, which is certainly plausible and horrible.

Ok, the school is smaller than state schools, so it is a bit expected to have your teachers know your name (classes range from 15-100 students, but most are in the 15-30 range). However, this is not always true, because I have a teacher who I have had for two semesters now, in a class of less than 20 students, and he still refuses to recognize my name. Loyola thinks it is very "diverse" and almost pushes the idea of making friends with other races/ethnicities/religions, but I think forcing it is unneccessary and unnatural. I will become friends with whomever I choose. And the school website, based on the pictures they show, paints a very racially diverse school, when in reality it is a majority of white kids. They also have two campuses, which really is more of an inconvenience than an advantage. It would be easier to have a centralized campus, where you could actually get to know students, but instead I am isolated on the downtown campus, which accounts for about 10{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the students at Loyola, and it is a 45 minute El(train) ride to get to the other campus. And of course, a majority of the classes are on the Lake Shore campus, so there is the situation of making sure you have about an hour between classes on separate campuses to allow for travel (the school shuttles are supposed to be every 15 minutes but they rarely come every 25 minutes at the least). I spend most of my time on campus in my room since there is no student union on the downtown campus, and even if you call the "Terry Student Center" a union, it is really just a room with one pool table and 2 TVs, with rarely anyone hanging around. It is hard to call this a "community" because the students do not hang out on campus per-say, they usually roam off into the city, which is understandable since there is not that many college activities to attend (no football team, a HUGE college lack) and if you were to ask someone to attend a basketball game with you, the likely response would be a "what game" or "no thanks, I have things that are more important." There is really no college town, since it is located in Chicago, which is huge. And there is no "quad" persay because they decided to take away what is left of the greenery here in order to build a fancy building that is "green" and can regulate its own temperature. I thought grass was green, but apparenly several tons of steel, glass, and solar panels are too.

Loyola is a very unique school. That can bring good an bad aspects to campus. Our downtown campus is expanding every semester which is a great thing. We're the only school with such a great location right in the heart of the gold coast that offers a large amount of classes for undergraduates. Living in the downtown dorm building is nicer than most people's off campus apartments and the location is unbeatable. Downsides to Loyola include the unequal amount of women and men on campus. There is a plethora of great girls but hardly any guys. The few 'cool' guys there are usually have girlfriends they're practically married to which is no fun for anybody else. Many people smoke and that is really disgusting. Loyola needs to start an anti-smoking campaign. School pride is lacking among most of the students. The few athletic teams there are usually keep to themselves and other athletes. There isn't a college town feel obviously being in the heart of Chicago, but that having the entire city as your 'college town' does have really cool benefits if you know how to take advantage of them. Good news is Loyola is definitely on an upswing academically and socially so the future is looking very bright for the Ramblers.

The landscape at Loyola is changing everyday with new additions to our skyline being planned for the future and current construction projects. It was once a commuter school, but now there's a reviving campus life with something to offer for everyone. Even though we are one of the largest, if not the largest, Jesuit universities in America, the size of our student body and campus is perfect. The small school feel in a big university is important because the majority of my classes are under 30 students and the professors I have been taught by all knew me by my name. If we were more of an athletic school and had a football team then school pride would be much more prevalent, but since our best sports teams play in the fall and winter, school spirit usually fades out after the winter season of sports and the final exams right around the corner.

As our Illinois senator and presidential hopeful Barack Obama states, "it's time for change;" here at Loyola, the time for change has also come. Recently, the ARM, or Anti Racism Movement was held on campus. Students organized an impressive march and letter stating their disappointment and disapproval of the Labor Day 2007 incident: Four Loyola students were racially profiled one night by Campus Safety and accused of possessing fake university IDs, and this is one incident of many. The students at Loyola are becoming more involved in many aspects and issues at the university, and the ARM is just one fine example of the voice, motivation, and strength of the student body to bring about important change.

The best thing about Loyola is the community. It is great to have a college campus so close to the city. I would make the area around Loyola a nicer environment by adding better places to go right off campus. The size is perfect. You see many people you know, but there are tons of people you don't know. I spend most of my time in classes, at work, at the library. Chicago is the greatest college town ever, especially when you are 21. The administration is good. Father Garanzini is doing great things for Loyola. The biggest controversy was a graduate bringing a prop gun and showing someone. There is some school pride, but not a ton. My favorite experiences are just hanging out with my friends.

The best thing about Loyola is it's location. It straddles both the urban and the natural part of the city. The lakeshore campus is located right off the lake and there are some spectacular views! But it's still urban; the traffic on Sheridan Rd is proof! And the downtown campus is very much metropolitan. It's right next to a lot of Chicago landmarks and living in the downtown dorm has made me really proud of the city of Chicago. When I'm on campus, which is about 90{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the time school is in session, I spend most of my time in the dorms; either my own or friends'. I'm sure this will change once I get an apartment, though. I study a lot. When it's nice out I study outside. A popular study place is the Information Commons, the new (beautiful!) building built on the lake front for students to study, socialize, or use the computers. On the weekends, or weekdays when I'm not studying, I like to go downtown and experience the city life. I go see some landmarks, go shopping, or out to eat. Chicago's got some great places to see. When the weather is nice, the beach is a popular place, and you can find them near both campuses. Oak Street Beach is the most packed in the summer. There are parties pretty much every weekend if you know where to find them, usually north of campus in student apartments. They don't get too big or crazy, but they're big enough to meet new people (or to avoid someone you see at one who you're not too fond of...). Loyola really encourages us to get involved on campus, so a few days per week I have meetings for my extracurriculars. Really try and get involved. It's a good way to meet people and have an impact on the school. One weird thing, and this is definitely a student complaint, is that there is about 0 pride in our school teams. We don't have a football team. Our basketball team is usually decent, but we do not have enough pride in our sports or any other team at Loyola! I guess we're just not a sports school, but that aspect of college life is definitely lacking at Loyola. It doesn't really bother me much, but some people really wish the school spirit here was a bit stronger. Another unique tidbit: Loyola has a lot of opportunities to win prizes if you attend its programs or do surveys. And they sponsor trips to go see performances at comedy clubs or plays. I've seen Wicked for $5 twice since I've been here. I've been to a comedy club, blue man group, they have an annual formal event at a nice hotel downtown for free. Also, from doing surveys I've gotten a total of about $100 in Borders gift cards. It's a nice perk if you take advantage of it. If you're living in the dorms, try to have a lot of "floor pride" or "dorm pride" your freshman year. Your freshman year on campus won't ever be duplicated because the upper-class dorms are apartment style and there really isn't any sense of community. Make those connections your first year! You'll appreciate it in your later years.

The best thing about Loyola is probably just being in Chicago and the surrounding city. However that certainly can be bad to as the social life kind of lacks. The school becomes a lot smaller than you think once you get to know everyone and can turn into a high school with some of the antics that go on. I spend most of my time downtown on campus during the day doing my business school classes which is great to be downtown. This is certainly not a college town by any means what so ever. I mean you are in Chicago so that bascially explains everything. The administration can be a little tough but they have been incredibly helpful to me but I feel like I might be one of the extreme cases. School pride lacks especially at sporting events. The most unusual thing would have to be just the amount of homosexuals and the far difference in girls to guys ratio. Also there are a large number of Indian ethnicity and there are a fair amount of people who go home on weekends. If you are looking to go to college to party, don't come here, but if you do come you can find the right people and be fine.

People constantly complain about rising tuition. This is a private university and it has the price tag to go with it. Food is expensive, housing is expensive, tuition and books, travel, everything costs money. But I knew that when I applied. Many students act as though they didn't know they were going to be living in one of the priciest cities in the country, at a private institution. We do, however, get a hell of a lot of bang for our buck. We have a shuttle that goes from campus to campus and is convenient, no matter how much students complain about punctuality, we have a Upass so public transportation is free as well. We have a brand new Information Commons that overlooks the lake. Students have the opportunity to live downtown, a block off of Michigan Avenue, where I am currently living. There is a definite night life in Chicago whether on the northern campus or downtown. There's always a party at Loyola, and everyone loves a Loyola student. We get great discounts at tons of places, everyone knows us, many by name. Yes, I am paying the same amount, just for housing, that I could be paying for all of my tuition at IU, but I am happy here. The city is wonderful, the ammenities are great, and if you're aware of the potential financial burden, it's a great place to be.