Loyola University - Chicago

Date: Jan 27 2011
Major: History/Histories (art history/etc.) (This Major's Salary over time)
For sake of clarity, this review will focus on two spheres: academics and social life.

As for the academic aspect, Loyola is hard to beat. I feel like the small class sizes allowed me to get to know the professors, which was a great way to learn and really helped when it came time to apply to grad schools. Most of the professors were brilliant, so it was actually fun to here them lecture since they had so much to share. The campus stays quiet almost all the time, so it was easy to focus on school work. A new library and study spaces helped as well. Overall, if you are looking to stay in the Midwest, I would recommend Loyola if you are serious about studying.

As you may have guessed, since the academics are pretty tough and many people spend a lot of their time studying, Loyola seriously lacks a social scene. I got involved with a number of groups my sophomore year just for something to do. Chicago is a great city, but it is closed off to you if you are under 21. There is not much to do here for 18-20 year olds.

People at Loyola, though kind and friendly, generally seemed uptight. Maybe it was the bad economy and worry about finding a job, maybe there were too many students freaking out about grad school…I really don't know what it is. If I ever felt like letting off some steam on the weekends, I usually had to travel and visit friends at other Illinois universities. Athletics go completely unnoticed as well, and there's no football team.

Overall, even though Loyola wasn't great for finding a girlfriend or big parties, I would still attend school there if I had to do it again. I learned a lot and actually learned to think critically. In the long run, this will matter more than how many social events I went to. If you are the type of person that loves studying and learning, come to Loyola. If you are looking for a big party scene, go somewhere else.