Question about Scholarships to DePaul and Loyola

[coldwine]

I went to UofC several years ago for my undergrad, and all I can say is that the "estimated"cost of attendance and the reality were two very different numbers. Private institutions are sometimes very strange with their tuition.

That being said, I wasn't a straight A student in high school. UofC's application for the longest time was simply an essay that was, from what I remember, very open ended. I certainly wasn't Ivy-league material, in that I was uninvolved and passionate as a student about different things.

Had I gone to a state school, I don't feel that my life would have turned out differently. At the undergrad level, the playing field is significantly more leveled than what Princeton or Yalee would have you believe.

[jessiegirl_98]

I teach at LUC and I don't know of any real estate of engineering programs. That doesn't mean they don't have them, but I would probably choose a different school for those programs.

As for the small class size at LUC, the numbers are increasing. I teach several psych courses and average 50 students per class. Some of the classes are a bit smaller (35).

[NearWestSider]

Originally Posted by JPits

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.

De Paul and/or Loyola are not really technical schools, so if you are contemplating engineering you should be looking elsewhere. In Chicago, that would mean UIC or IIT.

Both are very good schools, and since they graduate so many of the practicing engineers in Chicago, everyone is familiar with them, and jobs are not the least bit hard to come by when you graduate. On the whole, UIC is probably marginally more highly regarded (ie, more research done and more graduate degrees granted), but as a practical matter, your career prospects are not significantly different coming from either school, so it makes little sense to pay a premium to attend one or the other. For in-staters, it is an easy choice. For out-of-staters, it may not be.

The main advantages to IIT are a nicer, better-maintained campus, and, if you are a racist or a snob, a whiter, more affluent student body.

The main advantages to UIC are a much better location and surrounding neighborhood, and a much more international, cosmopolitan student body.

Northwestern also offers engineering, but you'd be foolish to pay the kind of money it takes to get a degree from there - unless you are planning on being a professor.

[cubssoxfan]

Originally Posted by 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.

Sounds like your "real Life" education is starting early.
The "College Experience" you seek is expensive. I had no issues with finding a "college experience" and living at home. So you either pony up the bucks to do it the way you really want to or you go into greater debt.
Or you compromise and attend Drake. Or local CC and then go away to Chicago. Or go to a state school.
Life is all about choices, usually involving compromises.
Sounds like this is more about moving to Chicago NOW and having fun rather than solely an education related issue.

[NearWestSider]

Originally Posted by jessiegirl_98

I teach at LUC and I don't know of any real estate of engineering programs. That doesn't mean they don't have them, but I would probably choose a different school for those programs.

As for the small class size at LUC, the numbers are increasing. I teach several psych courses and average 50 students per class. Some of the classes are a bit smaller (35).

Jessie:

If the classes you are teaching are anywhere near Psych 100, there would be minimum 250 students in the biggest lecture hall as BSB if that same class was being taught at UIC, and if the class was being held in Urbana, you could probably come close to doubling that number. Yeah, they have discussion groups to take some of the edge off of it, but still.

And to put that number in perspective, 50 students is what you would expect to find at a commonly-required graduate-level engineering course at UIC. I can remember a few of them being standing room only, AND I LITERALLY MEAN STANDING.

Not to say that less is necessarily more. Just to point out that political correctness is - as a practical matter - for other people's kids.

[jessiegirl_98]

Originally Posted by NearWestSider

Jessie:

If the classes you are teaching are anywhere near Psych 100, there would be minimum 250 students in the biggest lecture hall as BSB if that same class was being taught at UIC, and if the class was being held in Urbana, you could probably come close to doubling that number. Yeah, they have discussion groups to take some of the edge off of it, but still.

And to put that number in perspective, 50 students is what you would expect to find at a commonly-required graduate-level engineering course at UIC. I can remember a few of them being standing room only, AND I LITERALLY MEAN STANDING.

Not to say that less is necessarily more. Just to point out that political correctness is - as a practical matter - for other people's kids.

The reason I stated this was in response to the post that stated that most undergrad classes at LUC are very small, and have around 25 students. This is old information. I went to UIUC and am very aware of of the size of classes (my Psych 101 class had 700 people). I'm not sure what else you are referring to with your post...... I was correcting false information and pointing out that class sizes are increasing for a "small" liberal arts college. Comparing LUC to UIUC or UIC (large state schools) does not make sense.