<p>I am very interested in this school. It fits all my criteria almost perfectly. I have some questions, though.</p>
<li><p>It is a Catholic university. I am not a Catholic, or a Christian at all. The school I am at now (Lee University, in Cleveland, Tennessee-The buckle of the Bible Belt) is driving me insane with its exclusivity (no offense to the Christians here, if any). Every student I’ve met is a Christian, with the exception of two, and most are very conservative both religiously and politically. However, DePaul looks very accomodating to different religious backgrounds. Can anyone think of any problems I might face there?</p></li>
<li><p>Any private school is expensive for me. My family’s income is less than 20,000 a year. Could I get enough financial aid? How much would I borrow, and who would I have to borrow from? I don’t know much about aid, so don’t worry about insulting my intelligence.</p></li>
<li><p>I’m a writer at heart. I will likely major in communications or English. Is this a good school for this?</p></li>
<li><p>What’s Chicago like? I can’t drive.</p></li>
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<p>DePaul is very accomodating to a wide variety of people. All religions and sexual orientations seem to be comfy there. I read one commentary of DePaul that said it was the closest thing the city of Chicago had to a freewheeling arts-friendly urban school like New York University or Boston University.</p>
<p>Chicago has a good mass-transit system, so driving is not necessary. The city also has a rich literary history, and DePaul is good in English and communications. Don't know much about the financial aid situation.</p>
<p>You should definitely visit it before applying or enrolling there. I've lived around there, and while Chicago is much more manageable than New York City and Los Angeles, it's still a very large and imposing city--and not for everyone.</p>
<ol>
<li>DePaul is probably the most secular Catholic university in the nation. I doubt that people go there to get a Catholic-based education. ( I live in Chicago, so I'm pretty familiar with the type of student who goes there. )</li>
<li>I don't know how generous DePaul is in awarding grants, but its tuition is cheaper compared to Chicago, Northwestern, and Loyola.</li>
<li>Don't know</li>
<li>I can't drive either, so I rely on the transportation system to get anywhere. It's extensive, organized, and, for the most part, punctual.</li>
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<p>Have 2 kids from our local high school who are Jewish and are at DePaul and like it there very much. They report that Lincoln Park is a cool neighborhood.</p>
<p>Yeah, Lincoln Park is an incredible neighbourhood. There's crime there, sure--it's a huge city-- but the whole north side of Chicago is awesome to live in.
And yeah, Chicago's subway system in particular (the L!) is greatttttt.</p>
<p>For those of you who know my academic background (and numerous setbacks), are there any other urban schools like Depaul that I should be considering as well?</p>
<p>You could try Loyola, a Jesuit university in Chicago's far northern neighborhood of Rogers Park. It's not as popular as DePaul, but it is in the city, on the lakefront, has great public transportation and admits a good percentage of applicants.</p>
<p>I have to smile at your question of whether Lincoln Park/DePaul is a good neighborhood. A house will cost you a million plus, a condo half a million, and an apartment $1000 a month or more. There is crime, but it's mostly because of the surplus of material wealth in the area.</p>
<p>The above description is correct. Lincoln Park is the kind of neighborhood that successful college grads want to live in. </p>
<p>Loyola, as the poster above me mentioned, is another university within Chicago itself, but it has a more Catholic feel. As a homosexual and an agnostic, I find that the student body shows sensitivity but not necessarily out of will. In my philosophy class the other day, the professor brought up the criminalization of homosexuality as an example (among others) of what a society might elect to do in the interest of utilitarianism (theory about the greatest happiness of the greatest number of people). It was a neutral question, but I was surprised (to a greater degree than usual) at the answers. People talked about homosexuality as a "lifestyle choice." I found out that the majority of the class believed this. I was the only person who challenged the assumption. They were respectful (which I expected) but I could also sense the deep-seated anti-homosexual sentiment. Another example: Yesterday, a faculty representative sent out an email to students reporting that a note was found ridiculing Muslim students. He then reiterated that the school remains "committed to creating a community of mutual respect for all regardless of gender, race, or religious affiliation." In addition to the insensitivity shown by the student who wrote the note (albeit it was only an isolated incident), the faculty member who sent out the email exluded "sexual orientation," implying that it is of secondary importance. I sent him an email about it. Yes, I'm being nitpicky, but this kind of stuff matters. And yes, I would be better off elsewhere, hence my intent to transfer.</p>
<p>If anyone reads this, goes to DePaul, and comes from a family that makes less than $30,000 a year, can you please tell me how much need-based aid you get each year?</p>