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Hi everyone. So my situation is a little different. I live in Southern California (near LA) and go to community college there. Anyways I really don't like anything about community college. Everything about it is bad, and my parents notice this too and want me to transfer as well. I want to move to a college in a big city to have a completely fresh start.
Anyways I have a lot of family in the Chicago area, and they know I am trying to transfer. A few relatives are suggesting that I look into DePaul. I really love Chicago and it would be a dream to come here for college (especially being from a small, boring town) so I am going to look into these schools.
I'm not interested in going to a cal-state or a UC for many reasons. I am mainly looking at out-of-state public schools and private schools. I'm leaning towards privates because I think the extra price is worth it because of smaller class sizes and more individualized attention. I also learn much better in small, discussion based classes than large lecture classes. Does DePaul have small class sizes and lots of individual attention? I would assume so since it's a private school but every school is different.
Also how are the academics there? I'm interested in marketing, and I hear the business school is good.
Is it well-regarded in Chicago? What about out of state?
I didn't go to DePaul, so I don't know about their class sizes, but you'll find plenty of DePaul grads in Chicago. As for the university itself, it's ranked behind UChicago, Northwestern, Loyola, and the Illinois Institute of Technology, but its graduate business school is ranked higher than Loyola's and IIT's.
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I also am concerned about making friends. Coming from community college in California I don't know anyone at the school. I think a girl from my high school goes to DePaul (or perhaps Loyola Chicago) but I don't talk to her and the only reason I know this is because of a school newspaper. I'm worried that since I'm a transfer student everyone will already have their friend group and since some people commute it will be harder to make friends. I am a nice, caring person, and I'm actually very funny and fun to hang out with, but I can be shy especially with meeting new people and being in groups. Would I have trouble making good friends here? Are a lot of the students from Chicago, or is it pretty diverse?
I went to Loyola, and some of my best friends I didn't meet until my junior year. People don't typically stay best friends with all the people they met at orientation freshman year. I don't think you'll have an issue meeting people, especially since I met a lot of my friends in class.
As for commuters, I don't know about DePaul, but the vast majority of Loyola's students do not commute. They did in the past, but not these days. As for the diversity at Loyola, a lot of people were from the Chicago suburbs, but a lot of people were from elsewhere in the Midwest and everywhere in the country. I'd assume that DePaul is similar.
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Also how safe is the campus? Both my parents are from the Chicago area, but my mom is worried about the crime. Can someone please help me reassure her? I've never lived in a big city before, but I really want to experience city life and I think I have enough common sense that I would be okay.
DePaul's primary campus is in Lincoln Park, which is one of the nicest neighborhoods in the city. I wouldn't be too terribly concerned. The only true downside about DePaul's campus is that it's mixed in with the neighborhood, whereas Loyola actually made a space for theirs and you'll actually get a campus feel. Rogers Park, where Loyola is located, is sketchy in comparison to Lincoln Park though. Both schools business schools are downtown though, I believe.
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I've been to Chicago many times and I really love the city. I prefer it more than LA actually. I've visited during the winter, but that was when I was much younger and it was only for a week. My main concern about the city is the weather. I'm worried it will be hard to adapt, because I mean I am from Southern California.
This could be an issue. I would suggest visiting before it warms up if you can.
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I really like Chicago and think it's a great city for a young professional and would love to live here after graduation.
Anyways do you think DePaul would be a good fit for me?
I am also looking into Loyola Chicago too, but I'm leaning more towards DePaul. Would Loyola Chicago be a good fit for me too?
Only freshmen and some sophmore live on campus. Some like on campus private like 1237 west. But honestly I dont advise depaul for education. You will regret it. If postgraduate employment in Chicago is what you have in mind go for UIC, IIT (not to confuse with ITT) or Loyola or just any ILLINOIS 4 year public school fulltime and take summer internship in Chicago or around in suburbs. Honestly you are moving to the state with 12 million people, Chicago represents only nearly 3 milion. Dont limit your options.
Only freshmen and some sophmore live on campus. Some like on campus private like 1237 west. But honestly I dont advise depaul for education. You will regret it. If postgraduate employment in Chicago is what you have in mind go for UIC, IIT (not to confuse with ITT) or Loyola or just any ILLINOIS 4 year public school fulltime and take summer internship in Chicago or around in suburbs. Honestly you are moving to the state with 12 million people, Chicago represents only nearly 3 milion. Dont limit your options.
Well I'm considering Loyola as well. Is DePaul really that bad? I saw your post before and I don't think I want to move to Illinois to go to community college. If I'm going the community college route, I'll stay here in California.
Well I'm considering Loyola as well. Is DePaul really that bad? I saw your post before and I don't think I want to move to Illinois to go to community college. If I'm going the community college route, I'll stay here in California.
No, DePaul is not that bad
I'm an undergrad here and I love it! One of the mottos here is that 'the city is your classroom', and that could not be more true. The university certainly does a good job of providing networking opportunities for students, but just being in the center of a huge metropolitan region opens so many doors.
I'm pretty sure you said that you wanted to go into business. Well, DePaul certainly has a fine business school with a lot of connections to the Chicago business community. My friends who are business majors like it a lot.
Sure, DePaul is no UofC or Northwestern, but it is a solid university that has top-notch faculty and a great student body both dedicated to the core missions and values of the university.
A few other things:
1, While campus-life has gotten livelier as they've built up the Lincoln Park campus, 90 percent of students (student pop. of about 24,000) commute. Most of the housing on campus is for freshman, though there is some upper classman housing. But unless you really want the campus experience that first year, I would recommend getting an apartment in the city (which the majority of students do) as it's much cheaper.
2, Chicago is a large city, and large cities have crime. However, the media blows it way out of proportion. Plus, the DePaul's campus and the areas where the majority of students live (Lincoln Park and Lakeview) are among the wealthiest and safest areas of the city. Just use common sense and you'll be fine.
3, I have heard from transfer students (I came in as a freshman) that it can be hard to meet people. But honestly, there are so many way to get involved that I don't think it's as big of a deal. While my freshman dorm experience helped me make friends, most of my friends today are people I've met through the clubs and organizations that I'm a part of. So get involved and you'll make lots of friends!
4, Yes, the weather sucks 4-5 months out of the year. But it's just a part of life, and most people (even my friend from California) seem to be able to adapt.
Hope you'll seriously consider DePaul! It's a wonderful place
I think it's important to note that, when we say many students commute, many of those commuting are coming from apartments in the immediate surrounding neighborhoods. They don't live in campus dorms, but they're not commuting far. For many, they might be "commuting" less than a half mile, on foot. Others might be taking the train from a neighborhood a mile or two to the north. Most are not driving in from the suburbs daily.
In my experience, DePaul has a good reputation, but it all depends on your field. When I interviewsd for a job recently, I was told that part of the reason they were interested was due to my DePaul degree. I'm not in business though, and I went there for grad school, not undergrad.
Well I'm considering Loyola as well. Is DePaul really that bad? I saw your post before and I don't think I want to move to Illinois to go to community college. If I'm going the community college route, I'll stay here in California.
Well the guys who gave one star reviews on Yelp did not experience DePaul as much in colors as they expected before enrolling. I share some views with them. Majority of the students are from Illinois, Chicago suburbs. Very few there are from out of state. You may have trouble blending in and break cliques already formed from freshman year. Most weekends on Lincoln Park campus are dull except during special events. You will will be on your own with friends at your own or their place or Lincoln Park bars to get entertained.
Its not a bad school but for what it charges you could go to better schools.
I went there in 2006-2010, it used to charge $23k. Now it charges around $33k. That does not include cost of housing, textbooks, food and other expenses. In addition they dropped SAT/ACT test requirement for their admission after I graduated. A lot of teachers they hire are foreigners who you may have trouble understanding their English. Definitely most of your tuition goes toward building their new buildings and expanding campus than things such as scholarships or faculty salary that is one of the factors to consider when attracting best teachers. It also goes toward marketing. I have seen a lot of posters advertising DePaul on buses and train stations. By the way no college should brag about "city as classroom experience" or being "the largest". What they should brag about is graduation rates, job placement rates, admission selectivity, honor programs or national reputation. In these areas it is just a very average third tier university.
Well the guys who gave one star reviews on yelp did not experience DePaul as much in colors as they expected before enrolling. I share some views with them. Majority of the students are from Illinois, Chicago suburbs. Very few there are out of state. You may have trouble blending in and break cliques already formed from freshman year. Most weekends on Lincoln Park campus are dull except during special events. You will will be on your own with friends at your own or their place or Lincoln Park bars to get entertained.
Its not a bad school but for what it charges you could go to better schools.
I went there in 2006-2010, it used to charge $23k. Now it charges around $33k. That does not include cost of housing, textbooks, food and other expenses. It in addition they dropped SAT/ACT test requirement for their admission. A lot of teachers they hire are foreigners who you may have understanding their English. Definitely most of your tuition goes toward building their new buildings and expanding campus than things such as scholarships or faculty salary that is one of the factors to consider when attracting best teachers. By the way no college should brag about "city as classroom experience" or being "the largest". What they should brag about is graduation rates, job placement rates, admission selectivity, honor programs or national reputation.
I think the majority of students at any Illinois school are usually from Illinois. I came from out of state and had no problem making friends at my undergrad school (not DePaul but also filled with kids from the suburbs). I met many at DePaul too, although that was grad school and most in my program did come from out of state.
When my son went there which was a few years ago only freshmen and sophmores lived in the dorms, so check on this to see if its changed. Its pretty easy to find room mates. My son is not terribly outgoing but he made friends mostly not in classes but through room mates. DePaul can be a very social school, not in the same way with a lot of frats and stuff but there are a lot of parties and other things to get involved in. My son is a musician as well and he kind of got lost in a music scene in Chicago and made friends there. There are also quite a few out of state students going to DePaul, more than a school like UIC where there are more commuters and more in state students.
Does anyone know about DePaul's real estate program? I want to get into real estate. However, I am also interested in finance and marketing. Does it make sense to get a bachelor's in real estate combined with something like finance?
"You just paid $110,000 for an education you could have got at a public library for $1.10 in overdue fees."
--Goodwill Hunting
My personal hope and feeling is that an innovator like Google will eventually be able to quantify and accredit all the knowledge that is already out there.
Or as Cuban wrote in his blog about what he believes is the coming collapse of higher ed: "It can't happen soon enough."
Hopefully before my kids are of college age.
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I saw your post before and I don't think I want to move to Illinois to go to community college. If I'm going the community college route, I'll stay here in California.
