Chicagoland Colleges (theater, school, university)

[marion10]

People I know who went to Illinois Benedictine Lisle really liked it.

[aga412]

DePaul is for rich kids that just want to party, Loyola fares better.

[fusillirob1983]

Originally Posted by aga412

DePaul is for rich kids that just want to party, Loyola fares better.

This is an extremely broad generalization. There's a lot of kids who gets scholarships and commute to DePaul each day. That may be more accurate of those that live on campus but not the general student population.

[ToriaT]

My son graduated from DePaul and had no problem finding a job.

[Pseudonym18123]

DePaul is OK. I’m wondering what the vibe is on NEIU; I know it’s decent, but it’s not that popular for Chicagoland. And Chicago State seems to be hated by this forum. Maybe location? Also, National Louis and Oliver Nazarene are popular schools for teachers in my area, but other than that, all the schools seem well-reputed? Rasmussen and DeVry, maybe, are the only ones with a bad reputation.

[personone]

Obviously, University of Chicago and Northwestern are far and away the top Chicagoland schools. That goes without saying. Between those two, historically University of Chicago is ranked higher. It’s considered a quasi Ivy given the fact that it’s often ranked in the same tier as the Ivies. Of course Northwestern is a great school and is just a notch below; depending on the specific program, it may rank higher. Both these schools attract the best and the brightest students from across the globe as well as from all over the US.

I would say Loyola and DePaul are very solid and respectable local universities. You’ll find a academically strong local students who want to stay in Chicago and go to a private school. Each has solid academic programs, and doing well at either will make you competitive for many local Chicagoland companies (depending on the specific field) or make you competitive for grad schools (medicine, law, mba) anywhere. Given their smaller size, depending on specific field of study, they could be less resourced. Also, outside Chicagoland, they won’t carry the same level of prestige/brand name like UChicago or NW. Still very strong schools that will prepare students well for whatever they want to do.

UIC is the next on the list. It is the biggest Chicagoland “State School.” Because of its size and state school status, it has any and every program of study you can think of. It’s a great value for local students for whom finances may be an issue. Or solid but not great students who want to have a chance to go to a solid Chicagoland state university. If you do well, you benefit from being in the third largest city in the US, so you can land a solid job. If you’re an accounting major and do really well, you’ll be able to get in at a Big 4 where sky’s the limit. I think the real benefit is for those interested in biomedical sciences. Since UIC has a med school and a dental school, doing well can give you a shot, and getting into any med/dental school is a path to success. Also a very solid reputable engineering program. All and all, a solid and affordable option in Chicago for those that may not know exactly what they want to do.

All others, I wouldn’t really be able to tell you much about. They all seem like smaller and lesser know colleges. Some of them are probably fine, but they have little name recognition.

[Mathguy]

The key issue not being discussed is "what major"?

For example, there are a number of "mediocre" schools that have better niche programs than even elite schools like Northwestern or UIC for a far lesser cost.

Why graduate with an extra 100k of debt?

No knock on those schools, I have in my friends\family a Masters degree person from Northwestern and a PHD from U of Chicago so I understand those are top schools. I also have friends that went to Nebraska as well as 2 of the Ivy schools that got the same degree and the only difference in their career was the debt difference.

[personone]

Originally Posted by Mathguy

The key issue not being discussed is "what major"?

For example, there are a number of "mediocre" schools that have better niche programs than even elite schools like Northwestern or UIC for a far lesser cost.

Why graduate with an extra 100k of debt?

No knock on those schools, I have in my friends\family a Masters degree person from Northwestern and a PHD from U of Chicago so I understand those are top schools. I also have friends that went to Nebraska as well as 2 of the Ivy schools that got the same degree and the only difference in their career was the debt difference.

Yep, major and what you ultimately want to do. The only place where Ivy-level schools really help is for business majors trying to go into I-banking/private equity directly from undergrad (because many of the top consulting and banking firms only recruit from top tier undergrad business schools); engineering/computer science; and it gives students a leg up for top tier law/mba. If you’re going to be a liberal arts major, a top 10 school with enormous debt is a bad deal.

I’d also argue that if you want to go to Medical School, a solid state university where you can stand out and get good grades is a safer path than a cut-throat Ivy-level school. Sure you’ll get some admissions points going to an Ivy, but someone at a solid state school with a 3.7 looks much better than a person at a cut throat Ivy with a 3.3.

Major and what you want to do are key considerations.

[Army_Guy]

The older I get, and probably the more cynical I get, the more I realize the name on the school doesn't teach you anything different from what the name on the other school is. What you get with the "elite" schools is access to the good ol' boys network that gets you the good jobs. Are there exceptions? Of course but you best bet those close societies are keeping themselves exclusive to who they want in.

[GWoodle]

Originally Posted by Army_Guy

The older I get, and probably the more cynical I get, the more I realize the name on the school doesn't teach you anything different from what the name on the other school is. What you get with the "elite" schools is access to the good ol' boys network that gets you the good jobs. Are there exceptions? Of course but you best bet those close societies are keeping themselves exclusive to who they want in.

Probably you can go to the school's website to find tuition & other fees for a typical student. Be interesting to see if they require the same math class, English class etc so you have a common base of curriculum. All this to determine what the cost would be. How many have some scholarship program to meet the cost. How many end up with student loan debt.

The price of admission & a semester may determine who can afford to go. The older I get not sure if it is worth it.