Loyola University - Chicago

Date: Jan 28 2010
Major: Biology (This Major's Salary over time)
I am a recent graduate of Loyola Chicago with a BS in biology and am currently in medical school. Loyola is a very good school but for certain majors. Like others have said, Loyola has a very well known and strong premed program. other majors are good too but in my opinion they might not be as competitive as other colleges. I chose Loyola because it was the only school in Chicago that is in a relatively safe neighborhood and right on the lake and was quite affordable (despite the high sticker price the school gives out a LOT of financial aid). almost all of the faculty that i met were very down to earth and approachable. that sense of arrogance and snobbery just isn't there among both the students and faculty. I am not sure if this would be the case at more prestigious schools like Northwestern. What i really enjoyed about my academic experience here was that the general atmosphere wasn't overly competitive. For example: if i ever missed a class, i could ask any student for notes and they would be willing to help. you get the feeling that students are there to help each other instead of trying to tear each other down to get ahead. I think this is a great attitude because there is a real strong sense of community and trust among the students here which makes learning and achieving enjoyable rather than stressful.

Living on campus was very fun too. A lot of people will talk badly about Mertz hall because its known for being loud and for its late night fire alarms, but I lived there and i loved it. Mertz is where i met most of my long term friends and the experiences that you get from dorming there… you just cant find anywhere else. Living in Mertz would probably be Loyola's closest dorm offering to the stereotypical "college experience". the food there is subpar but it'll keep you alive. if you dont want to dorm then there are tons of apartments right next to campus as well.

Loyola is a Jesuit Christian school but I found it very nice because they have a liberal arts curriculum that never tries to cram their beliefs down your throat.

Loyola is in the process of expanding and in the coming years a lot of new buildings will get developed. my only regret is that i wont be around to use them.

There is also a downtown campus that is practically on Michigan Ave which offers a wide variety of undergrad classes and is really fun to go to.

Overall, if i could choose again, i would definitely still go to Loyola because of the variety of experiences and opportunities they offered me. Just living in a huge urban environment like Chicago was a huge draw for me. Even though i said that Loyola is more well known in some fields than others, it still has a very wide variety of majors to choose from that should suit any student. It isn't a perfect school or the most well known but they are constantly improving and try very hard to please their students and make sure that they succeed. Don't let the price tag scare you, they raise tuition every year (like any other school) but they also provide students with a lot of student aid. I chose Loyola because of its gorgeous locations (lakeshore and downtown) and newer facilities, great academics, affordability (for a private school), friendly atmosphere from both students and faculty, and that cool urban lifestyle and feel of Chicago