My son just committed to DePaul tonight. Deposit sent.
Got everything he wanted - good program in his intended major and secondary interest, good Theater school (hobby), diverse campus, major city, and financially doable.
That is so great @crawljumper11 ! So happy for him and you. Thatās really wonderful. DePaul has shown D22 the love and I appreciate it. However, she is a finalist for the Stamps Scholarship at Pitt, and will be heading there this fall. Best of luck to the students and parents on this thread!
How very exciting! We are actually touring DePaul tomorrow. Flew in from sunny CA today and we are COLD! But loving Chicago and canāt wait to see DePaul tomorrow.
Well, D and I were impressed and both feel that our opinions of DePaul went up after the tour and presentation! Love how accessible the campus is, with the L station right there, and the pretty neighborhood with lots of food options and shops. The quarter system sounds fine and we like that fall quarter ends at Thanksgiving and then you donāt go back to school until January! They say itās easy to switch majors also. Love the idea of Discover Chicago and how DePaul provides every student with a free transit pass. DePaul is high on Dās list!
So glad you and D had a fun trip and enjoyed yourselves. Thank you for the comments. It is always interesting to hear the opinions of others.
I am going back to Chicago for business in a week so I am going to try to spend some time touring around Lincoln Park and checking out the neighborhood.
I agree completely - the āDiscover Chicagoā is a great idea. They have a list online of all of the classes and it is incredibly diverse. Truly something for everyone.
The train stop is so convenient. My son considered that important because most of his classes will be in the Loop but he wants to live near the Lincoln Park campus after freshman year. Living in NE, we are used to using the train to travel to/around NYC and Boston. That is a major selling point for my son. Why worry about having a car (and maintaining and parking it) when you donāt have to?
My DS was accepted and we are heading to Chicago in a few weeks to see the campus. He is very excited about the program and being in Chicago, but his only concern is, does it feel like a commuter school since generally only Freshmen live on campus? When they move off campus, do most upper class students live close enough to the Lincoln Park campus to give it a campus vibe?
That is an excellent question, and one we have struggled with, too. We have read a variety of statements on various sites (Cappex, Niche, Unigo, etc.) and on this forum. It seems safe to say that the Lincoln Park campus is the social hub of the school and that most of the students live fairly nearby, though not all in walking distance. Some live a train stop or three away. Some live even further out or live at home. Some students have commented that this creates less of a college atmosphere than other schools, though most are comparing DePaul to large, state schools, typically located in smaller cities than Chicago. Most, however, seem to consider this normal when dealing with a large university in a major city. The numbers at DePaul are not out of the ordinary for many inner city colleges - Loyola, Drexel, Temple, Northeastern, George Washington, Fordham, and The New School all have similar numbers of students living off campus.
This I am sure of - if you go to college in some of the big state schools - which, in many cases, also have large numbers of students living off campus - by time you drive in from your apartment, find a parking spot, and cross a large campus to get to class, you are going to burn 20-45 minutes, depending on the school and where you live. Why would burning the same amount of time, only using public transportation instead, be any different?
The student center and a couple of a academic buildings were filled with students hanging out on comfy chairs. I think thatās different than residential campusus where students can be in their room between class. So yes to me it felt like a regular college campus. There is definitely a focus on āthe city is your campusā which encourages students to be residents of Chicago in all ways that is different than traditional colleges campusus. Very interesting and great for some kids including mine who is not interested in the frat party scene