In 2011, our daughter was applying to nursing schools and we attended a visit at Loyola University Chicago (LUC). Some red-faced priest was extolling the virtues of this private, Jesuit school and regaling the parents with tales about how “if you child is struggling then our faculty will reach out to help” and how “LUC is a family and if your child fails, then it’s because they are not trying.” We bought into this sales pitch and our daughter started there in the Fall of 2012.
What a crock. The only thing these people care about is your money! (read “Angela’s Ashes” by Frank McCourt for his appraisal of the Jesuits).
Our daughter started in the College of Nursing and a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 is required. In October of her freshman year, she contracted mono and struggled with fatigue for 5 months thereafter. Her grades suffered. After two terms she had a cumulative GPA of 2.2 and was placed on academic probation.
She started her sophomore year healthy and turned around her grades getting a term GPA of 2.784. However, because of her illness, she had dug herself a hole and the cumulative GPA was at 2.438 – below the 2.5 limit.
In early December, she wrote a petition to remain in Nursing and her freshman advisor wrote a glowing two page letter recommending that she be allowed to continue in the program. While waiting for the College of Nursing to decide her fate, she departed in late December for Nicaragua with Global Brigades on a Christian charity mission.
The day she arrived in Nicaragua (with full knowledge of the Nursing staff) we received their brusque letter stating that she had been ejected from the program for low cumulative GPA. I contacted her nursing advisor to see if anyone got up and advocated for this kid and what weight was given to her freshman advisor’s recommendation letter. The Advisor’s stammering reply made it clear that no one from “The Loyola Family” got up and advocated for our child.
I could go on and on about professors that cannot speak clear English, professors who seem to keep no regular office hours, foreign TAs that speak poor English, the armpit neighborhood that is Rogers Park, etc…
Simply do not believe any of the LUC BS that they care about these students. Their Bursar’s Office cares about your bank account and that is about it!