I’ve never really heard of this school until recently and it seems like a nice place to live but I haven’t heard much on the quality of academics, especially for the sciences…Is Loyola Md a good school for a Bio/Biochem major on a premed track? Also, how urban is the area surrounding the school? I’ve never been to Baltimore and never really thought of it as a large city and how does this effect the campus vibe, and what do students do for fun around there?
My D is a junior Biology major at Loyola on a pre-vet track. She has many friends that are pre-med. The only upperclassman I know that was pre-med did get into medical school straight out of Loyola. D loves the biology department/professors, but is less than thrilled with the Chemistry department. I’m not sure whether that is a reflection of the department or whether she just has a hatred of chemical story, lol.
Loyola is in Baltimore City, which is urban. The campus however is in the Roland Park neighborhood which is residential and affluent. Go a couple of blocks east however and the neighborhood gets sketchy, which is typical of Baltimore. Neighborhoods are defined and change quickly; you really need to learn your way around. The school does a very good job of this by integrating the students with Baltimore, as they really consider the city to be part of its campus. Most of the social life at Loyola is off campus in the city, outside of sports and clubs. My D is very involved on campus, but loves Baltimore and how there is always something to do in the city. Not going to lie, Baltimore is a tough city, but there is a lot to learn and experience there. My D has more compassion for those who are down and out than I ever saw in her growing up in the NJ suburbs.
Baltimore is a large city, but not as overwhelmingly large as say New York. There’s so much to do there - there’s everything going on at Inner Harbor, exploring Fells Point, strolling through Hampden, cheap tickets to Orioles games, concerts, plays, museums… it’s also cheap and easy to get to DC and not that difficult to get to Philly or New York. You quickly learn what neighborhoods to avoid, just like any city. As @crazymamaB mentioned, the school does work hard to integrate with the city, and has many clubs that volunteer in Baltimore (D is a member of Hounds for Hounds, a group that volunteers at the local animal shelter). There are all kinds of restaurants and local festivals and there always seems to be something going on.
The school is beautiful and D has found the academics to be strong, and has found tremendous faculty mentors that are helping her shape her future.
Students typically live on campus all 4 years, which may be a turnoff to some. There’s really nowhere off campus to rent, but the dorms are huge and the upperclass housing is nice - D is living in a block of what used to be condos that was purchased by the school for senior housing.
Thank you both for your input, greatly appreciated!