My son has been accepted to DePaul and received the Tuition Exchange, which is great, but I am wondering about dorm life for freshmen and just how expensive room and board might be for 2017-18. Also, even though he wants to leave NC and has a strong desire to live in a large city, I am obviously wondering about a small-town boy going to Chicago. But if he can attend and basically pay room and board, it seems like a wonderful opportunity (academically and financially) for him to learn and grow. He is very independent, loves basketball, and is a highly motivated young man. I think it will be good for him to move away for school, but would love to hear from others, particularly from out-of-state, in terms of student life and the housing situation. He is definitely not into the party scene and would have no desire to go Greek. He is still waiting to hear from Chapel Hill, but again I feel that receiving the TE is hard to turn down. Thanks for any advice!
@dj2008 Parent of a son who is considering DePaul as well. (We are in suburban Boston.) A few thoughts.
The whole city thing is really dependent on the kid. My son and I find Chicago to be an immensely livable, manageable city. Being in Lincoln Park is being in a city…but it feels neighborhoody and comfortable. And people in Chicago are for the most part really midwestern…open, friendly. Even staying off of North Michigan Ave my kids ended up making “friends” with people that work at the Starbucks and a nearby 7-11. Just really nice people.
Cost of housing: I started a discussion thread in the Parents @ DePaul page on Facebook about this very topic. Check it out. As a parent I think the pricing is a bit high versus other schools my son is considering. But my real question is around how much the kids are enable to connect and find their “community”. It seems like kids disperse after Freshman year…though that is a generalized thought not quite based on fact. My son is social but not necessarily outgoing so that concept is in the back of my head as he looks at schools.
We are heading to Chicago in two weeks (after his indoor track season is done) to check the school out. If it is at all possible, I would suggest you son do the same.
I hope this is helpful. Best of luck!
Yes, very helpful- thank you! So it looks like Room & Board runs about 15-16k per year? That is rather expensive compared to some of the other schools we are considering. But you are right- we need to check out the campus soon and see what kind of feel he has for the setting. I just want to make sure he is able to get in a decent dorm but at this point it sounds like we may just get whatever is left…
Again, thank you for the information!
@dj2008 Actually housing rates are around $9,000 and dining costs $3,750 so room and board comes to about $13,000. In terms of your description about your son and the Tuition Exchange, I think DePaul will be the perfect fit. DePaul is a school where independent and motivated people thrive, its actually kind of a prerequisite. It is also a D1 basketball school. There is NOT much Greek life, there are no frat houses, and what there is is more oriented around community service or special interests such as business, science, ethnic groups etc. By the way, I’m a high school senior who is probably going to commit to DePaul, I’ve done tons of research. I’m also from a rural town in Vermont with more cows than people, and when I’ve visited, Chicago feels incredibly comfortable, safe, and not too overwhelming. Lincoln Park is an affluent, suburby neighborhood, and feels really homey and community oriented.
Great feedback! Thank you so much!!
My son goes to DePaul and absolutely loves it. There is so much to do and he has grown so much in the past year. His classwork is rigorous but not overwhelming. He does not party but found a niche of kids who don’t partake either. Definitely have him join OrgSync to get involved in the activities that interest him.
Thanks for the feedback, RedBranch. He is extremely excited about attending DePaul! It will be a new adventure, particularly coming from a small town in NC, but it sounds like a wonderful place for all types of students. Keeping my fingers crossed with the roommate situation as I know how important that can be, especially for OOS students.
Hello all - any update to the thread above as to how its going in these first weeks for your DePaul students? My dd has this school on her list (film program).
So far so good. He started classes last week. The first week was an Explore Chicago course that helps freshmen get acclimated to the city. This trimester system they use will take some getting used to. I visited the campus for orientation in June and loved it!
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