I hope it’s OK to start an “official” thread. Anyone here considering or planning to attend Loyola Chicago? My daughter was accepted and given a nice scholarship; we visited last weekend and had a good experience. She’s still waiting to hear from several other schools, but we’re mulling it over. Interested to hear from others who are considering it.
One factor for us is that we’re Jewish and my daughter is trans, so cultural fit and safety are top concerns.
(Her stats: GPA 3.67 unweighted, from Seattle, theatre major, good theatre-related ECCs including drama club pres. LUC gave her a $23K/year scholarship.)
2 Likes
It is a possibility for D24, who would major in film.
Anything you can share from your visit? We aren’t sure we are ready to commit to the trip yet (we are in Virginia).
1 Like
And congratulations on the scholarship! 
1 Like
We had a very full day: A tour of the theatre dept. (with the head of the Dept. of Fine & Performing Arts, because the designated tour guide didn’t show up!), a meeting with an admissions counselor where we asked him a million questions, lunch in the dining hall, a campus tour, and a student performance of Pride & Prejudice! Everyone talked about (and seemed genuinely to believe in) the Jesuit values of a meaningful education and public service / doing good in the world. We thought campus was beautiful—both inside the facilities and outside at the edge of the lake. DFPA seems like a substantive and well-run department, with lots going on.
I will say, when we asked about safety for trans and queer students, we got an answer similar to one we’ve heard at a few other schools which amounts to (paraphrasing) “Everyone is very tolerant here and no one cares about differences.” That answer is well-intentioned but is NOT the answer we’re looking for. It doesn’t acknowledge the very real concerns that the school should be actively working to address; it says to me, “There are no problems here and we have no work to do in this area.”
Besides that, even with the scholarship, the money would be a bit of a stretch for us—so I’m pondering whether LUC would be worth the expense. (Like you, for us the expense would include air travel from home.) It all seemed fine and a decent place to be, and Chicago has an excellent theater scene (important to my daughter), but it would really depend on whether she doesn’t get into her top-choice school.
I would love to hear from anyone whose kid currently goes there or did go there, or anyone who’s definitely planning to attend! I’m not entirely sold.
1 Like
Just did a tour of Loyola as my D23 is trying to decide where to go. There is an LGBTQI group on campus, our tour guide is not religious and said students are required ro take two religious study classes but her classes were in Bhudism and something else. I got the sense that they are a tolerant bunch.