Loyola University Chicago | Student Reviews | Best College

Student Profile

Karun

Class: Sophomore
Major: Pre-Medical
Gender: M

High School: Glenbard South
Transfer Student: N

Big Picture

The best thing about Loyola is that they host many events; there are so many clubs and activities for all various kinds of students. I rarely find myself asking what I should do. I would change the way they spend our tuition money. Our school size is just right. When I tell people I go to Loyola, their face lights up as if I have offered them a piece of chocolate. Most of my time is FOR SURE spent at the library-it easily takes up most of my day. It's not really a college town, i mean it's in Chicago! I do not envy the administration at the lake shore campus as much as I do at the water tower campus. They are very nice over there, but at the lake shore campus, they can be very rude, and not just sometimes. The biggest recent controversy was about how campus security was acting racist, and so there was a big student body movement, with a demand for rights on campus to the President-everyone in support of it wears green ribbons. Going to Loyola is something that you can say with a huge amount of pride. You have to go there to experience it. I mean, even the name itself is powerful! Something unusual about Loyola is that they always seem as though they are trying to make money off of you-sure there's a certain line of yes you should pay for being irresponsible, but Loyola crosses that line-then with that extra money that they make, like perhaps from an increase in tuition, they make a huge building with 330 or so computers and a bunch of group study rooms. The computers are great (This new building is called the information commons-it's attached to the cudahy library). But I mean come on Loyola, all the group study rooms have a huge gap in the window wall at the top, so that basically everything you say is heard by others outside the room, and you hear any noise outside the room. I'll always remember being waken up at random times like 2 AM in the morning during school days because someone set off the fire alarm my freshman year at the dorm Mertz. This happened a LOT during the first few weeks of school. That was great-everyone from Mertz would gather outside and it would be like a social event. Some complaints made by students are that Loyola doesn't know how to spend our money right, the 8-ride service is not a good service, the shuttle service takes too long, dorming is expensive and the teachers are not always great...but i guess that depends on the student's grade now, doesn't it?

Academic Life

I make sure professors know my name, but they make an effort to memorize as many names as they can. My favorite class is organic chemistry. It really challenges me and pushes me to my limits. I like it a lot more than general chemistry. My least favorite class is also organic chemistry. It REALLY challenges me, as in, to the point where you have you spend ridiculous amounts of time studying for it. Students often study a lot. It varies-I can confidently say that pre-med students, especially those taking cell biology, organic chemsitry, physics or genetics are at the library at LEAST 3 times a week. The teachers at Loyola are great in getting students involved in the class. Loyola students do have intellectual conversations outside of class, yes, but not to the point that we're machines. I mean, we're just like other college students. Swearing is very very very common, especially when you're taking organic chemistry. Students are very competitive are Loyola-many classes have a curve and med schools look for a nice science gpa. Again, the most unique class i've taken is organic chemsitry-it's a science beyond my imagination...that is now in my grasps, kind of. I am pre-med psychology with a minor in neuroscience. I am very interested in the brain, not only it's physical properties, but what goes on inside it, and I want to become a neurosurgeon. I go to my professor's office hours a lot. The great thing about Loyola is that all the teachers are amazing in office hours. They are all so very much willing to help you out, and you can have fun normal conversations with them about life. I feel like Loyola has a strict amount of academic credits. It definitely requires effort to graduate from Loyola. Sometime I think the core is kind of overloaded. The good thing about it being overloaded, though, is that you experience some of each subject, which shapes your learning. Science, History, Foreign Language, etc. It is all a part of diversifying the student. I think that its great for learning in general and for getting you ready for a career.

Student Body

There are so many activities, events and clubs at Loyola that I believe no one at lass would feel out of place at Loyola. I am Hindu, and there is a Hindu Student's Organization club. We even have a puja room to pray-I really couldn't ask for more, especially at a private school. Students wear whatever they want to class! Of course the same restrictions apply as a public school, like not showing chest, no extremely short skirts, etc. I have seen all sorts of students interact with each other. I find myself working with new people on a daily basic. At four tables of students in the dining hall, you will not be able to find any pattern. It is very diversified. People of all colors and races sit together. At Loyola, we, as students, look to each other's personalities. We are not shallow to look at their race. That is one of the things that makes Loyola truly a great school. Most Loyola students are from Illinois. As for their race, I see so much diversity that I couldn't guess. Everyone comes from different financial backgrounds. Loyola is an expensive private school, so the financial backgrounds may be a little higher than public schools. I think students are quite politically active. The Unified Government Student Agency tries to get students to talk as much as they can-to voice their opinions and feelings. Loyola students are probably predominantly center. Well students don't really talk about how much they'll make one day. Sometimes my pre-med friends talk about when they will ever get out of deft though.