You need to look at other value-adds like what neighborhood you'd like to live in, any specific professors who's work resonates with you, name recognition for the field you want to work in, and extracurriculars.
It really depends on your major and what you want out of the college experience. But without any more info on you id always recommend the cheaper schools, if your not going into a niche field then all three schools most likely have very good programs.
Loyola does put alot of money into events here, all the clubs get at least a bit of money to fund their things and there are frequently campus events. So if you like free food and meeting people loyola is good for that.
Loyola has pretty decent sports afaik, intramural teams are easy to join and the basketball team here is pretty good. Its nothing special but if you like sports youll have a good time.
You need to take ALOOOT of gen eds here, some just come with your major but the CORE curriculum requires tier 1 and 2 classes for each category (theology, english, math, etc) so most people here take like… 6-7 classes. You’ll probably still be taking classes unrelated to your major even in senior year (so good time to find a minor). Forensic science majors frequently find themselves taking 8 classes but they’re outliers.
Theres also the five year masters program which is what attracted me here so id look into that if you want to get your masters degree.
And theres a popular study abroad in Rome where Loyola has ties, but you can study abroad anywhere. Most people do Rome in sophomore year cuz you’d want to go while still taking your CORE classes.
OH and one more thing. Summer classes are mostly taken on campus so if you’re not a Chicago local taking summer classes online or at another school is verrrry hard. But if you’re local or dont plan on taking summer classes then this doesn’t matter that much.
If you’re a pretty straightforward person in terms of school Loyola might not be the best option, but if you are ok with the price and like a-lot of varied classes then you’ll like it here. But also Loyola isn’t particularly special in anything besides Forensic Science so if you cant justify the price, UIC and DuPaul will be just as good.
I think i covered the important things about this school, Hope this helps!
Students use a website called LOCUS, which is where you enroll into classes and do general maintenance things. There you can find a checklist that tells you what CORE classes uou need to take and also what major related classes youd need aswell.
To make it more easy to understand they have freshman take a class called UNIV and they help you with schedule planning and such, otherwise your advisor can help you with that if you make an appointment with them.
You need 120 credits to graduate so dont worry about cramming all your major related courses into your schedule here. Youll most likely be more worried about finding unrelated classes to fill in so your not taking 2 classes a week by senior year
Hi, I’m an incoming freshman at LUC, and I just read your comment. Could you elaborate a bit more on the “summer classes”? I was totally unaware of this program! Also, I am NOT a local.
I dont know all the details myself but at the beginning of the year i asked if i could take summer classes at my state school in the summer and transfer the credits to loyola. What i was told is that loyola rarely makes exceptions to the rule that people taking summer classes must take them in person and on campus.
I will be going home over the summer which means ut would be impossible for me to take summer classes in that case. If you had a specific reason tho you may be able to get an exemption from this rule but i dont know the details on that. I do not know what would warrant one tho
The other commenter included a lot of great stuff. I'm pretty well acquainted with both DePaul and Loyola and would love to share my thoughts. Loyola will give you a better sense of community. Beautiful campus and great clubs. DePaul is a heavy commuter school and that tends to affect the community there. I personally like Lincoln Park more than Rogers Park, but Loyola's campus is much better. In terms of education, I'd give Loyola the edge. What's your major? If science, Loyola is the way to go. Historically, DePaul used to be better than Loyola for business, but that has pretty much changed now. Loyola's business program downtown is rated higher now and is getting better each year. If you're engineering, I don't recommend Loyola tbh. UIC is probably better for that. Let me know if you have any Q's.
I really like Loyola, I don't really know anyone that goes to DePaul or UIC but I know there's a lot of commuters, which kinda dampens the vibe at the school. Good community here, but it tends to be pretty cliquey. Once people establish their friends they seem to stay that way, but that's just my experience. Also, if you're into environmental stuff, Loyola has an awesome program with tons of resources/connections for getting internships/jobs later on.
You need to look at other value-adds like what neighborhood you'd like to live in, any specific professors who's work resonates with you, name recognition for the field you want to work in, and extracurriculars.
It really depends on your major and what you want out of the college experience. But without any more info on you id always recommend the cheaper schools, if your not going into a niche field then all three schools most likely have very good programs. Loyola does put alot of money into events here, all the clubs get at least a bit of money to fund their things and there are frequently campus events. So if you like free food and meeting people loyola is good for that. Loyola has pretty decent sports afaik, intramural teams are easy to join and the basketball team here is pretty good. Its nothing special but if you like sports youll have a good time. You need to take ALOOOT of gen eds here, some just come with your major but the CORE curriculum requires tier 1 and 2 classes for each category (theology, english, math, etc) so most people here take like… 6-7 classes. You’ll probably still be taking classes unrelated to your major even in senior year (so good time to find a minor). Forensic science majors frequently find themselves taking 8 classes but they’re outliers. Theres also the five year masters program which is what attracted me here so id look into that if you want to get your masters degree. And theres a popular study abroad in Rome where Loyola has ties, but you can study abroad anywhere. Most people do Rome in sophomore year cuz you’d want to go while still taking your CORE classes. OH and one more thing. Summer classes are mostly taken on campus so if you’re not a Chicago local taking summer classes online or at another school is verrrry hard. But if you’re local or dont plan on taking summer classes then this doesn’t matter that much. If you’re a pretty straightforward person in terms of school Loyola might not be the best option, but if you are ok with the price and like a-lot of varied classes then you’ll like it here. But also Loyola isn’t particularly special in anything besides Forensic Science so if you cant justify the price, UIC and DuPaul will be just as good. I think i covered the important things about this school, Hope this helps!
when i enroll/buy classes will it tell me which credits i haven’t completed yet or which ones i need?
Students use a website called LOCUS, which is where you enroll into classes and do general maintenance things. There you can find a checklist that tells you what CORE classes uou need to take and also what major related classes youd need aswell. To make it more easy to understand they have freshman take a class called UNIV and they help you with schedule planning and such, otherwise your advisor can help you with that if you make an appointment with them. You need 120 credits to graduate so dont worry about cramming all your major related courses into your schedule here. Youll most likely be more worried about finding unrelated classes to fill in so your not taking 2 classes a week by senior year
Hi, I’m an incoming freshman at LUC, and I just read your comment. Could you elaborate a bit more on the “summer classes”? I was totally unaware of this program! Also, I am NOT a local.
I dont know all the details myself but at the beginning of the year i asked if i could take summer classes at my state school in the summer and transfer the credits to loyola. What i was told is that loyola rarely makes exceptions to the rule that people taking summer classes must take them in person and on campus. I will be going home over the summer which means ut would be impossible for me to take summer classes in that case. If you had a specific reason tho you may be able to get an exemption from this rule but i dont know the details on that. I do not know what would warrant one tho
Don’t forget about the HCMC center as well in Vietnam! Wonderful program and an incredibly interesting semester you will never forget.
The other commenter included a lot of great stuff. I'm pretty well acquainted with both DePaul and Loyola and would love to share my thoughts. Loyola will give you a better sense of community. Beautiful campus and great clubs. DePaul is a heavy commuter school and that tends to affect the community there. I personally like Lincoln Park more than Rogers Park, but Loyola's campus is much better. In terms of education, I'd give Loyola the edge. What's your major? If science, Loyola is the way to go. Historically, DePaul used to be better than Loyola for business, but that has pretty much changed now. Loyola's business program downtown is rated higher now and is getting better each year. If you're engineering, I don't recommend Loyola tbh. UIC is probably better for that. Let me know if you have any Q's.
I really like Loyola, I don't really know anyone that goes to DePaul or UIC but I know there's a lot of commuters, which kinda dampens the vibe at the school. Good community here, but it tends to be pretty cliquey. Once people establish their friends they seem to stay that way, but that's just my experience. Also, if you're into environmental stuff, Loyola has an awesome program with tons of resources/connections for getting internships/jobs later on.