November 2011 – Page 2 – College Admission at Loyola

Concert Hopping

By Hannah Colborn | November 22, 2011

Tomorrow is Loyola’s last day of classes before Thanksgiving break, and thank God! Two more class periods left and I’ll be on the road headed home to that great state shaped like a mitten. This break will definitely be well-deserved. Last week was busy busy—all of my professors are loading up the assignments and papers in order to make sure they fit everything in before the end of the semester.

Last Wednesday provided a much needed break from writing and studying—one of my favorite singer-songwriters, Mat Kearney, was in town and did a little meet-and-greet at the Michigan Avenue Apple Store just blocks from my apartment in Baumhart Hall on Loyola’s Water Tower Campus. A few friends and I got there early and waited in line so we could get seats. Mat did a quick interview in front of the crowd, talked a little about his favorite songs and answered questions from audience members.

Afterward, my friends and I got in line to meet him and get a photo. We wanted to break the ice by asking him a silly question—we found out his favorite breakfast food is apple cinnamon oatmeal from Trader Joe’s!

After another long couple of days of classes, we got to see Mat in concert on Friday at the House of Blues. The show was great! Mat is so personable and such a great performer.

One of my favorite parts about living in the heart of the city is being so close to so many opportunities for fun things to do on the weekends—shows to catch, people to meet, fun times to be had with friends. The diversity of experiences available is great. There is no one genre or area of interest more favored than others. Mat played shows at the House of Blues on Thursday and Friday last week, and in the next couple weeks the venue will host shows played by my fellow Detroiter Kid Rock, American Idol David Cook, and the noisy metalcore band As I Lay Dying.

My taste is definitely much more suited to performers like Mat Kearney—if you’re interested (and I highly recommend it), you can check out his music on YouTube.

All photos were taken by me!

“Monkeying” Around

By | November 22, 2011

So this is a bit silly, but I have a giant sock monkey I got two years for Christmas. I brought him up to put in my dorm, but one day I came in to find that my roommate had dressed him up in my clothes! This turned into a recurring event, and its always amusing to see what outfit my friends will put together for him. Here are some of his top looks:

Enjoy!

All photos by me.

Loyola Theater: My Exclusive Experience

By | November 21, 2011

This week I had the unexpected delight of being invited to a rehearsal of one of my good friends’ girlfriend’s directing scenes. She is a Theater major and a Senior, so I believe she is required to direct a scene for her class.

It was a pretty cool opportunity, and I was glad for it because I had been working in the IC (Information Commons/Library) all day and needed a break. I was told that it would only last a half an hour, so it seemed like the perfect study break to me.

I went into the room and met with 2 other mutual friends (I myself had brought along my study partner of the day.) The director told us where to sit and spread us out around the actors as if we were in a thrust stage. The point was just that the actors needed to practice performing the scene in front of an audience, so our job was to just be a set of warm bodies to act towards.

The scene itself was pretty awesome. They ran through it once and I was really impressed by the power it packed in under 15 minutes. There was some really funny moments and some really deeply disturbing moments. The second time they ran through it I got even more out of it.

But to me the real value was getting to see this little subculture of Loyola’s Theater Major. So rarely do I realize how many other things are going on all the time. Had I not been invited to this exclusive viewing I wouldn’t have realized that all over the place in classrooms at night are small groups of students meeting to work on their scenes. This has been going on since my Freshman year and I had no idea. It makes me wonder what else is out there that I still haven’t heard of.

Boredom= Hilarious YouTube find

By | November 21, 2011

So the other day I was doing a little facebook creeping and found something my friend put on my other friends wall. I highly suggest you all watch this… it’s too cute and so hilarious!!! Kudos to Jimmy Kimmel for coming up with this clever idea. My personal favorite kids in the video are the two boys at the end.. the one seems way too smart for his age. Here’s the video:

I told my kids I ate all their Halloween candy

Finally I Have Brothers!

By | November 21, 2011

Growing up I always wanted a brother. When I came to Loyola I simply wanted to avoid Greek life. There was something about that just didn’t seem right for me me.

Now, I realize that joining Alpha Phi Omega (APO) is quickly becoming one of the best decisions of my life.

Let me start by saying that APO is not the normal fraternity, not only do we not associate ourselves with any type of party scene but we are based around the idea of service. It is this idea that bonds the brothers and makes being part of APO so amazing. It was a fraternity based on Boy Scouts.

Last night I was finally initiated into this fraternity after a semester of pledging; never in my life have I felt so comfortable in a room of so many different people. I knew that every person in the room was there for me as I was there for them. From the wiffle ball tournament last weekend to volunteering at Snoozeum, the experience has been nothing less than amazing. I mean, seriously, what is cooler than playing in the Museum of Science and Industry after hours with all of your closest friends?

Also I should mention that APO is co-ed. Yes, I know, its not a real fraternity than right? Well this fraternity is based around the idea of brotherhood, regardless of the make-up it’s members. Personally, I would consider my new brothers closer to me than most of my family. After pledging for the last three months I have nothing but amazing memories, great stories and unbelievable friends to talk about.

So yes, I may have come to Loyola thinking that fraternities are horrible but the fact is that Loyola is so diverse that you never really know what you are going to find. And if you don’t find anything, you are clearly not looking.

Top 5 Songs for Studying

By | November 21, 2011

Ok, so as I crunch to finish up all of my homework before I can mentally check-out for Thanksgiving break, I rely on relaxing remedies to get me through the process. Here are my top 5 songs for studying:

5. Blackbird by Dave Matthews Band- Yes, I realize that there was nothing wrong with the original by The Beatles, but I find this one more soothing.

4. Casimir Pulaski Day by Sufjan Stevens- A sobering song that allows me to focus on the task at hand, unless I listen to the words, and then I become sad.

3. Love Vigilantes by Iron and Wine- A slower song with alot of emotion. I really like the lyrics and the storyline in the song.

2. Góðan Daginn by Sigur Rós- A fine choice if you have a difficult time listening to music and focusing because unless you speak Icelandic, you will not be able to understand the words.

1. Re: Stacks by Bon Iver- A favorite of mine for awhile now; a simple strumming pattern on the guitar mixed with some high octave vocals makes for a pleasant sound to study to.

Twilight, 2011 Lights Festival and Birthday Fun!

By | November 19, 2011

Every November Chicago’s Lights Festival parades down the Mag Mile to ring in the holiday. Conveniently, the parade has always fallen on my birthday weekend. I was especially anxious to commence this weekend’s activities since I had 3 papers due consecutively Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday!

As I’m sure you’re all aware, this was also the opening weekend for Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1 (Don’t judge me!) Friday, my friends and I decided to go to dinner at the Grand Lux Café. It’s basically the same thing as The Cheesecake Factory, except it’s on the corner of Michigan and Ontario, and has an awesome view of the city. The best part of dinner was sharing a basket of beignets for dessert (fried dough rolled in powder sugar with chocolate sauce on the side— yes, please!)

Following dinner, we then headed over to River East 21 to catch the movie. I’m still not sure how I feel about it…

Saturday, my friend and I decided to hit up some vintage thrift stores in Andersonville. One really cool store is the Woolly Mammoth. Its more oddities and weird art collaborations, but they have vintage stuff too. They also have a taxidermy section, but it’s not all that creepy since they as they dress the animals up. One of the deer heads on the wall was wearing a tie and glasses! It’s definitely worth checking out.

Saturday evening was the parade. My friends and I basically missed the beginning as we were stuck under Michigan Ave. trying to find stairs that were not blocked off. After heading north a couple of blocks, we successfully managed to get street level, just in time to catch Mickey waving to the crowds.

All in all, it was a fun weekend!

All photos by: Raven Icaza

Owl Cupcakes From A College Dorm

By | November 18, 2011

Today, Friday, November 18, is my best friend Kelly’s birthday and she absolutely loves owls so I decided to make her some owl cupcakes!

I found a picture online but did not have all the correct supplies so I improvised. This is what I started with: vanilla icing, Oreos, strawberry Jello, Raman Noodles, M&Ms, Kraft cheese slices and Doritos.

I used the strawberry Jello to color the icing so that it was pink. I then frosted all but four of the cupcakes with the pink icing. I used the extra Jello powder to make his stomach a darker pink. The Oreos were used for the wings, the eyes and the eyebrows. I used a Diorito for the beak. The cheese slices were cut up and used for the claws on the feet. The finishing touch was broken up Ramen Noodles on the two bottom cupcakes that made a nest for the owl.

It took about fifteen minuets to decorate them and voilà, owl cupcakes.

Why take Advanced Placement (AP) courses?

By Lori Greene | November 18, 2011

Wednesday night, I attended a parent workshop at a suburban public high school here in the Chicago area. The principal spoke to parents about why the high school is choosing to move forward with offering more AP courses and the importance of challenging students early in their high school career with honors-level courses. She presented the pros and cons. I was invited as one of three college representatives to share thoughts on how AP courses are viewed in the eyes of the college admission process.

To AP or not to AP? That is the question. Or, at least one of the questions many students and parents are asking themselves as they approach their sophomore, junior, and senior years.

Here are a few reasons why students who are offered the opportunity to take AP courses should consider signing up for them.

One of the top indicators of how a student will perform in college is their high school GPA and the rigor of their coursework. College admission officers are looking for students who have challenged themselves. AP courses are a great indicator that a student is seeking out the most challenging course offerings.
AP courses offer a glimpse of what college-level work will be like. Students must analyze information, write in practically every course, and focus on key points of information. These skills are crucial in college!
Students develop better time management skills as more time is dedicated to studying for these subjects. Time management is one of the toughest challenges many students have as they transition to college, as they are faced with much more ‘free time’ out of class.
Many colleges offer credit for AP courses. Check for AP credit policies on the Web sites of colleges you may be interested in to learn more. Having credits when you come into college might offer you the option of taking more electives or choosing a double major or a minor.

Disclaimer: Advanced Placement courses, developed by the College Board, are only one example of challenging college-level courses offered to high school students. Not all high schools offer AP courses, but many offer similar programs such as International Baccalaureate or school-developed honors courses. Ideally, students aim to pursue the most challenging courses offered at their own high school and especially in areas of interest.

Loyola U(new)versity

By | November 17, 2011

If you have had the opportunity to walk around Loyola recently, you may notice a few things that stand out from the traditional college campus. That is because Loyola is not your common college campus.

Aside from being just miles north of one of the biggest cities in the United States, Loyola proudly boasts a split campus format that allows for the best of both worlds; a downtown campus for business, communication, and social work students to get valuable experience working in an urban environment and a northern campus to provide science, language, math and various other students the resources they need to complete their major.

Also occupying the northern campus are cranes, cement trucks and men in hardhats.

That is because Loyola is in the midst of a drastic multi-million dollar make-over. Beginning with Norville Athletic Center, a state-of-the-art training facility for Loyola athletes, Loyola will continue to create and construct multiple venues for students. Next on the illustrious to-do list is the Cuneo, a learning hall for students. With its completion due by the end of second semester 2011, Halas will begin its face-lift. Halas, the current student exercise facility and gym will be replaced by Halas 2.0, complete with new exercise equipment, pool and rock wall for the more daring of Ramblers.

In addition to the construction of Halas, a new student union will be build right next door. This student union will replace and out-do the current CFSU (located on the ground level of the historic Mertz dorm). In addition to Halas, residence halls Rockhurst and Holy Cross (my home) will be torn down at the end of summer to be made into new residence halls.

Understandably, Loyola looks like a Caterpillar parking lot a times, but only because our gracious benefactors wanted to give back to the school that served them. For those feeling like the Water Tower Campus is getting the short end of the deal, no worries because soon construction will begin on a new business school.
Loyola will be a neat place to be over the course of the next few years. For current students like me, we will only have the honor of using a few of the many new buildings going up, but even now I feel spoiled. If you haven’t seen Loyola recently, then you haven’t seen Loyola U(new)versity, and if you can’t wait to check it out in person, here is an overhead diagram of the changes you will see.