<p>Is religion a big thing on campus?</p>
<p>Religion is definitely not a big thing on campus... Yes, DePaul is the largest Catholic university in the nation, but it's not very apparent from my point of view. (I am not a Catholic.) The student body is very diverse when it comes to religious practices... all views are widely represented. The Catholic presence is definitely not as apparent as say, Loyola or Notre Dame. You will, however, be required to complete a religious domain in your honors program or general liberal arts requirements, although that can be satifisied with a number of courses dealing with a variety of religions and issues (religion and law, for example).</p>
<p>^^ how's the social life?! is it a campus-oriented school or a commuter one where a lot of people live off campus and party in their own little groups?</p>
<p>I'm a commuter. I can't speak for the social life on campus, I'm sorry :(.</p>
<p>I left DePaul after first quarter because I switched my major from theatre to pre-med. </p>
<p>To me the biggest drawback at DePaul is also its greatest strength, its not a research institution, every faculty member's first priority is teaching. This can make for a really wonderful classroom experience but isn't so great if you want to go to grad/med school.</p>
<p>I think how happy you will be at DePaul depends on two things 1) how well you like living in the Chicago (assuming you don't live there already) and 2) what you want to get out of college. I miss the city terribly but I was really disappointed with the academic rigor of my non-theater DePaul classes, I wanted to go to college to work my butt off and, for me, things are much better at the Big Ten school I attend now. If you want to not have to work very hard, party a lot and explore one of the Great American cities, you'll love it. </p>
<p>I guess I'm not the best authority on campus social life either since I was theatre and apparently we're known for having big cliquey parties but I'll try. The Greek scene is not that hot, at least compared to the Big Ten, I think there's only one house on campus. My friends and I went to a frat party at the beginning of school and it was quite possibly the lamest thing I have ever experienced (and I'm a total sorority girl now). People don't really "party" in the dorms and I feel like DePaul RAs are more strict than RAs at other schools (and the guest policy is positively Byzantine) although I went to a lot of parties in Sanctuary. It shouldn't take you long to make friends with upperclassmen who have apartments though and getting a fake is deffinitely something to consider.</p>
<p>I lived in Seton which is billed as one of the more social dorms because, you know, we all pee in the same place but when I was there people did <em>not</em> want to be your friend. I think U-Hall and McCabe are the fun dorms.</p>
<p>As for the religion thing, I don't believe in the whole god thing but I do consider myself culturally Catholic and I really enjoyed the aspects of DePaul that had Catholic roots. I don't think you feel like you go to a Catholic school but you do feel like you go to a Vincentian school, I loved the emphasis on service, especially in my Discover class. Besides that I think the school's Catholic background is just an opportunity for open dialogue about religion. Despite recent events the political tenor of the campus is <em>very</em> liberal (I occasionally felt uncomfortable and I was reluctant to vote for Kerry because I thought he was too conservative).</p>
<p>wandergirl, what Big 10 are you at now? Can you compare for us DePaul vs Big 10. </p>
<p>I love big 10 schools, except OOS Fin aid SUCKS!!</p>
<p>How's the journalism program, specfically broadcast journalism/radio programs?</p>