Question about Scholarships to DePaul and Loyola (Chicago, Urbana: home, neighborhood)

[NearWestSider]

Originally Posted by surlycue

^^They just are not that academically impressive and do not really give you any kind of powerhouse advantage over state schools in the job market. Both UofC and Northwestern are leagues above Depaul/Loyola and if you are going to be paying Ivy prices you may as well get an Ivy education. That is not to say that Depaul cannot be as good of a school or the perfect school for YOU, it just depends on what you are willing to put into it.

I have no idea how U of C or Northwestern even factor in to this discussion, since we are not talking about a candidate for a seat at an elite university.

What I think you are actually saying - which I agree with, by the way - is that a Loyola or De Paul degree probably won't give enough of a leg up in the job market over a degree from a public university to justify the additional cost based solely on time value of money.

But there is another dimension to this: Sending the wrong kid to a public university could be a mistake that ends up costing more in the long run, and I have seen that happen - to my neighbors (not me, fortunately).

That is why, when you are going through this exercise with your own kid, it is prudent to make some attempt to match the individual to the environment best suited for him/her, regardless of how well-known, well-respected, or "popular" a given institution is or is not.

Success in college is ultimately about motivation, so despite what the brown-nosing, hyper-conformist, status-obsessed "who's number one?" whack jobs of the world would have us believe, attending the highest-ranked universtiy you possibly get into - just because it is - is a fool's ego trip, a recipe for failure, and a very expensive mistake for whoever is footing the bill.

[cubssoxfan]

Originally Posted by surlycue

^^They just are not that academically impressive and do not really give you any kind of powerhouse advantage over state schools in the job market. Both UofC and Northwestern are leagues above Depaul/Loyola and if you are going to be paying Ivy prices you may as well get an Ivy education. That is not to say that Depaul cannot be as good of a school or the perfect school for YOU, it just depends on what you are willing to put into it.

So DePaul and Loyola's tuition is as high as Northwestern and UofC's??!!

[surlycue]

Originally Posted by cubssoxfan

So DePaul and Loyola's tuition is as high as Northwestern and UofC's??!!

I don't think either are as high as UofC but they are close to Northwestern's tuition. The point I was trying to make was that the advantage that was once offered by private universities upon graduation has weakened significantly in the last couple of years. The upper echelon schools still have cache but schools like Loyola and Depaul (which are perfect for some!) no longer have a leg up over well regarded state institutions.

When people cut a check for an expensive school, which I did for my entire collegiate career, they do so with at least some expectation of seeing that return in their profession, whether it be monetarily or in self-satisfaction. If I personally had things to do over again, I may have gone of UF or UNC-Chapel Hill over Sarah Lawrence or Tulane, especially since I am now unemployed with around 80K in debt.

[EyesInTheSky]

Originally Posted by Carantini

uiuc doesnt go with them 2

This is a bit of a strange comment; could you elaborate? Are you claiming that UIUC is not an academic peer to UofC & Northwestern? Or are you claiming the reverse, that UIUC is superior to UofC & Northwestern? Either way, such a claim would be false of course, and can be proved false with a mountain of evidence.

Indeed, the fact you even suggested this difference indicates you know little about these three universities and the tremendous academic reputation and internationally-recognized research programs all three of them have.

[Carantini]

I am saying UIUC is not academically as good as UofC or NorthWestern, and is not in their league.
Its not an ivy league at all. its also not even near chicago, so im not gonna go on about it.

[jessiegirl_98]

Ummm.... UIUC isn't ivy league, but neither is U of C or Northwestern.

Any Loyola is at least 10K less than Northwestern. Average for LUC is $29K and Northwestern is about $39K. U of C is about $39K with the total estimated at the upper 50's. That's not the same.

The OP is talking about Depaul and Loyola, so I don't know why this matters.

Loyola tends to give out a lot of scholarships, so I would really look into their programs.

[NearWestSider]

Originally Posted by EyesInTheSky

This is a bit of a strange comment; could you elaborate? Are you claiming that UIUC is not an academic peer to UofC & Northwestern?

UIUC is not in the same league as U of C and you know it perfectly well.

Its a solid, second-tier public, but it is not in any way, shape, of form an "elite" university.

[NearWestSider]

Originally Posted by surlycue

When people cut a check for an expensive school, which I did for my entire collegiate career, they do so with at least some expectation of seeing that return in their profession, whether it be monetarily or in self-satisfaction. If I personally had things to do over again, I may have gone of UF or UNC-Chapel Hill over Sarah Lawrence or Tulane, especially since I am now unemployed with around 80K in debt.

That is a very interesting perspective, and as someone who got through Circle Campus driving a cab, barely made it through at that, and couldn't have afforded Loyola or De Paul if his life depended on it, I am deeply gratified to hear that I made the right "choice".

But gettting back to the OP, I don't think we are talking about someone who will be driving a cab or taking out massive loans, and if his parents are willing to spring, is there really anything wrong with him going to a non-elite private school? I don't think so.

The kid is obviously interested in people's perceptions. Is it safe to say that people view Loyola as the more serious, more academically oriented of the two?

Does the fact that De Paul is a much bigger school have anything to do with it, or the fact that it has a lot of adult education offerings?

Or is my perception (which I admit is based on little to nothing) just totally off?

[cubssoxfan]

Perspective on Loyola, graduated 1986. Was right choice for me. I did not know what my major was going to be. Loyola has a core curicculum every student takes regardless of major. It includes ethics, theology and philosophy. It gave me a chance to start college and decide my major a year or two later without taking extra classes that would not count towards my degree. The other local options I investigated at the time seemed to penalize those who did not declare a major within their first semester or first year. I also liked the fact Loyola was big enough to meet different people but small enough to see these people once again when classes changed at the end of the semester. I liked the campus feel of Loyola. DePaul felt too much like a commuter school.
I would look at how strong each school is in the majors you are considering. In my time Loyola was a good choice for business, education and pre-dental/pre-med. Back in '86 DePaul was better choice for Computer Sciences.
Also look at how strong the placement centers are. I thought Loyola's was somewhat weak and DePaul's was excellent. Major state schools have always provided good education. But it's easier to get "lost" at a large state school than at a smaller private school. I also liked the smaller class sizes. Except for Psychology 101, the largest class was about 25-30 students.
It is a personal decision, take the opinions with a healthy "grain of salt".
I would also ask: "Are there quality choices in Iowa that would allow you to save money by living at home and commuting?" OR are there quality community colleges where you could go your first 1-2 years to reduce expenses. I knew several students who went to Community College first 2 years and worked with Loyola to make sure the credits would transfer.
Good luck! What an exciting point in life you're at!

[JPits]

There is a community college in Des Moines, it's called DMACC (Des Moines Area Community College). I wasn't really even considering it. Going to a community college and living at home just doesn't seem like the right "college expirience" for me.

One other thing I realized is that there are "okay" private schools in Iowa, but they are extremely small (usually about 1500-4000) and almost always are in a little small town in the middle of nowhere. The largest private school in Iowa is Drake University, but that also just happens to be awkwardly close to my house. So I kind of decided against Drake.

One other things I realized I forgot to ask. I'm not 100% sure what I'm going to declare as my major, but I'm really thinking about getting a degree in real estate or maybe an engineering degree. Does anyone know if DePaul or Loyola (or any other school in Chicago for that matter) have good programs in these areas? Thanks again for all of your help.