Some questions about Loyola

Colleges and Universities A-Z Loyola University - Maryland
1

<p>I'm trying to make my decision as to where I should go to school & I have some questions about life at Loyola. </p>

<p>1.) I'm not 100% sure what field I want to become involved in. How hard/easy is it to switch majors?
2.) How's the "party scene"? Is drinking the only thing to do? Are there opportunities for students who don't want to drink?
3.) How present are the sororities/fraternities?
4.) Where would you say the majority of the people are from?
5.) Do students spend a lot of time in the city?
6.) Is the student body "cliquey"?
7.) What is the overall atmosphere of the school?</p>

<p>Sorry, I have a lot of questions. Answers to any of them would be greatly appreciated!</p>

2

<p>I have interest in attending Loyola Maryland so maybe I can help you out a little, plus I’m a Baltimore native</p>

<p>I don’t know the answers to all of them but I can help you out a little so I’ll answer parts of 2,3,5 & my sister is a Towson University alumni so I know a little about college</p>

<p>2.) I don’t know about about on-campus activities but there isn’t much to do in the Baltimore area unless you wanna go to malls, to the movies, to the club and things like that. In a nutshell, Baltimore is a 2nd tier city but the college students that come here out of town tend to love it (Can’t figure out why) and I’m not trying to scare you away.</p>

<p>3.) I had heard that their aren’t any fraternities and sororities at Loyola Maryland (I was on this website where students review colleges that they attend and the students had mentioned that there are not frats or sorors at Loyola because of the fact that they look at all of the negative things that go on in frats and sorors) and they’ll usually go to frat/soror parties at nearby JHU</p>

<p>5.) It probably varies from student to student. Even though I said the remarks above there are plenty of cultural things to do such as visiting museums and visiting Ft. McHenry (where the star- spangled banner was written) and the Inner Harbor is very nice but parking is expensive but there is a bus that goes from Loyola to the Harbor and vice versa</p>

3

<p>My D attends Loyola and is a sophmore there … she does not drink or party and has developed a real nice group of friends. They get together and watch movies together, play board games, go out for Chinese and such. </p>

<p>She is very happy there. She has a heavy academic load as she is in the honor program and also is majoring in engineering. but she still has time to have fun. </p>

<p>There are no frats or sor. there. There have been trip outings for a reasonable price, she has gone bowling, to the aquarium, Bush Gardens, not sure where else. </p>

<p>The best thing I like about the school is the way the meal plan is structured. Most schools charge thousands of dollars for a meal plan. As a freshman, I dont think she spent more than 1,800 on eating at the food places. she is doing about the same this year. She does do some cooking herself, whether it be microwave items or sandwiches/soups for lunch. What ever money is left on your “food plan” , it carries over to the next year. It is not lost. If you are a big eater, it may not work to your advantage as an “all you can eat” type plan. </p>

<p>There housing options are great too. The freshman dorms were great and as a sophmore she is now in an actual apartment on campus. She has plenty of room… Suite options are available but she says they are much smaller. </p>

<p>D has not had much time to go to the harbor. The school has a nice facility / gym to work out in called the FAC which you could walk to or take the school shuttle.</p>

4

<p>thanks everyone!</p>

5

<p>Melbymom! Just wanted to let you know you really helped us make a decision on Loyola last year. Thanks. D is flourishing there. Andreap333: My responses to your questions - (1) You will have good, solid contact with your advisor who will help with your plan. This starts during summer orientation. (2) One half of the students party “out” the other half do not. It depends on the friends you choose. (3) There is no Greek life on any Jesuit campus anywhere (4) Everywhere. Many NJ & NY tags. (5) What does “lots” mean? There’s the Collegetown shuttle which is a free bus service for students that takes them to other campuses and other places in the city. (6) No. (7) Just like anyplace, it’s what you make of it.</p>

6

<p>son is also deciding between loyola and pitt. How overhwleming are the Loyola Core courses to get through. My son is math/science heavy and we’re a little nervous about all the humanities stuff. Any insight?</p>

7

<p>^^ I’m curious about those core courses, as well…My daughter is just the opposite, though - humanities-heavy and we’re nervous about math/science LOL!</p>

<p>So glad to read the $1800-meal-plan actually is realistic…it’s so much lower than her other options’ meal plans that we were bumping it up by a factor of about 50%…maybe not necessary?</p>

<p>Any insights on options to be involved in theater and shows (musical theater) on campus?</p>

<p>One more question…any feedback will be helpful - direct or indirect experience…what is it like to be on a Jesuit campus when you’re not Catholic? Does a sizable percentage of Loyola attend daily mass? Sunday mass? Are professors likely to be priests/nuns? Would a lack of Catholic-experience make for any sort of uncomfortableness?</p>

<p>TIA!</p>

8

<p>NHmom10: I threw the questions out to my D. will let you know what she responds. We are Catholic and she only goes on Sunday or Saturday. I think they have an evening Sunday service…</p>

<p>Alot of the students are not Catholic so I dont think there would be uncomfortableness.<br>
I dont recall any of my D’s professors being priests or nuns either.</p>

9

<p>1.) Its fairly easy to switch majors because there are so many core classes that you could easily take nothing but core classes for the first year. The core classes are sometimes tailored to your major but not always.
2.) The party scene is pretty good, you need a fake id to go out though. There’s stuff to do if you don’t want to drink but not much.
3.) Non-existent
4.) There seem to be at least 5 students from every single Catholic school in CT, PA, NY, NJ and MD. There are a ton of people from those states in general.
5.) Loyola is pretty far out of the city, Baltimore public transportation isn’t great or very safe and the collegetown shuttle is incredibly unreliable. there’s cool stuff in the city but you pretty much need a car.
6.) Yes
7.) basically what you would expect of a bunch of kids coming from sheltered single-sex schools finally being out on their own. </p>

<p>The meal plan is how much you want to spend but the food is incredibly expensive. A normal dinner is going to be at least $8, which doesn’t sound like much but when you always eat “out” it adds up. </p>

<p>the core is mainly humanities. there are only 3 math/science classes in the core.</p>

10

<p>also the roommate survey is completely useless. its 6 questions:
1)what time do you go to bed?
2)do you smoke?
3)what sports do you like? (drop down menu, where you can pick one)
4)what kind of music do you like? (drop down menu, where you can pick one)
5)on a scale of 1 to 5 how messy are you?
6)on a scale of 1 to 5 how social are you?
and it is widely believed that student life doesn’t actually use the survey and its just alphabetical since there are many people who are roommates and have the same or extremely similar last names or even the same full name. </p>

<p>also there is one freshmen dorm that is on the opposite side of campus from the rest of freshmen housing, isolating those ~200. also it is a widely held belief among upper classmen that everyone who lives in that dorm is weird and living there is committing social suicide.</p>

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<p>1.) I’m not 100% sure what field I want to become involved in. How hard/easy is it to switch majors? </p>

<p>Easy, since you’ll be in the core curriculum for a little while. Declaring a major isn’t required until the end of the 3rd semester.</p>

<p>2.) How’s the “party scene”? Is drinking the only thing to do? Are there opportunities for students who don’t want to drink?</p>

<p>Excellent for everybody (drinkers and non drinkers), no, and yes. “Options” runs fun programs (my friends and I love options, because they can get some really great deals on other stuff to do in Baltimore). You do not need a fake (somebody else will always have alcohol if you want it, frats just ask for a college ID (they’re great for just dancing, too), bars are overrated but if you must go you can if you’re smart about it). Fakes aren’t worth all the money and danger, but there IS a lot of pressure to have one. Ignore it.</p>

<p>We go to the mall occasionally, movies occasionally, etc. It’s pretty easy to make your own fun when you’re living with all of your friends. The Collegetown shuttle is great for going to the inner harbor, as long as you’re not on a schedule (it runs late because so many students use it on the weekends).</p>

<p>Thursday night is college night (18+) at Bourbon Street, a local club. That’s popular on my floor.</p>

<p>3.) How present are the sororities/fraternities? </p>

<p>They’re present on the Hopkins campus.</p>

<p>4.) Where would you say the majority of the people are from?</p>

<p>The northeast, overwhelmingly. </p>

<p>5.) Do students spend a lot of time in the city?</p>

<p>Only on weekends, and not that much. Cabs are fine as long as you can fill them completely–they’re expensive! Taking the collegetown around is fine. I have a few friends with cars, so lately we’ve been eating out together more than usual and have a few favorite restaurants. We don’t go very often, though. We wouldn’t miss the cars too much.</p>

<p>6.) Is the student body “cliquey”?</p>

<p>I guess? I have friends that say so and hate it, but I’ve never noticed. You’ll make friends, no matter what. People have friends, usually in groups, but I’ve never had a problem hanging out with a different circle of people. It’s not high school.</p>

<p>7.) What is the overall atmosphere of the school?</p>

<p>Eh, I would just say it’s fun-loving. People care about their grades, but having fun is equally as important as getting homework done. It gets crazy sometimes, but it never gets boring.</p>

<p>Not being Catholic isn’t an issue–half the time my friends and I are too busy to go to Mass on the weekend, and we’re mostly all Catholic. You might have a jesuit priest for a class, but I’m not sure what difference that would make. If they’re teaching, they’re well-educated, and they just want you to know the subject. There are no nuns. </p>

<p>There are a ton of theater groups (or it seems like it, because one of my suitemates is heavily involved). Just keep an ear out when you get onto campus, and don’t be shy about joining anything. That’s probably a good tip for everyone: join anything you’re interested in and you’ll never be bored.</p>

12

<p>I realize NH Mom’s child has decided by now–</p>

<p>But for anyone else who worries about “how Catholic” a place is — don’t forget the students are all 18-22 and their parents are no longer pulling them out of bed to go to church, whatever the denomination!</p>

<p>Back in the preVat II days Catholics would all laugh at fish-on-Friday jokes, but nowadays very few remember those things. There is not much your child would be “missing” that the Cath. kids knew or cared about. They’ll all go to church on Ash Wednesday.</p>

13

<p>I’m seriously considering transfering to Loyola, but being OOS I didn’t have the opportunity to visit. A friend went to Loyola New Orleans and said it was beautiful, so I was wondering if MD would be the same. Great reviews btw, was concerned about it being “cliquey” as well. How is the Intl Studies programs, any comments?</p>

<p>All posts have been quite useful, thank you.</p>

14

<p>I currently go to Loyola MD and LOVE IT, btw. But I am also from New Orleans, I live right across the street from Tulane/Loyola campuses. So, They are both beautiful! But they are extremely different, socially, academically, and so on. Loyola N.O. is not into there business school as much as in MD. Also, they attract a “non-Northeastern” crowd of students like MD does and therefore the people aren’t Prep school kind of kids. Both schools have great reputations, but I think MD’s is a bit better, and ranked higher. The one thing I always run into is, when home, NO ONE knows about Loyola Maryland because I am only one of maybe ten people that has ever gone to Loyola MD from the deep south. But I get over it, very quickly. I guess it all depends on which area you want to be in, personally I would rather be in Maryland because when it comes down to it, “Can I find a better paying job in Maryland or in Louisiana?” But, I love living in New Orleans its an amazing, fun, different city, but Baltimore is also awesome, as long as you venture out into Baltimore, and not just York road (although it can be tons of fun). I consider myself a bit spoiled because I get to live in both areas. But seriously, I thought I was going to transfer my freshman year because the whole NY, NJ thing was way too much for me to handle… I had never heard of the term “guido” before Loyola (there aren’t too many, but they do exist) and the mindset is so very different from that of southerners, but into my sophomore year I made some excellent friends and LOVE the school. As far as international stuff, I am off to China for a year!!! about 60% go away, and why not it is so easy. We have such an amazing study abroad program!</p>

15

<p>@happycollegekid: Thanks for your input, very helpful! i’m actually considering several colleges, and well Loyola MD is very well ranked on my list:) I like it a lot, academically and of course for the atmosphere. Congrats on your trip to China, amazing country!</p>

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<p>I was raised on the Jersey Shore right next to Asbury Park, and I live in the state today, and I had never heard the term Guido in my life until that TV show. We had other words for those guys (and there has been hell raising in Bradley Beach & Belmar by north Jersey young adults for many years).</p>

17

<p>Hey are any of you guys in the Honors Program at Loyola? and what were your GPA/SAT scores? I’m very interested in the Honors Program at Loyola.</p>