10 Things I Did Not Expect About Loyola

 

 

Every school is different, and for the incoming college freshman, they’re all unknown territory. Now you can read any number of student testimonials and pictures, but you’ll never actually know till you’re there. So why should you read my list? Well, because you still want to know what you’re getting yourself into before you actually move on campus next fall. So here’s a list of the aspects of Loyola that I never understood from the website, pictures, and even campus visits!

1). Loyola is NOT a state school – Yes, you’re thinking, I already know that idiot. But I say this just as a reminder not to expect a lot of the same campus trends as your friends who go to state school. You’re in the city, and even though you have a campus – it’s nothing like any school you’ve seen in the movies.

2). People “dress up” on campus – This is one of the differences between state school and city schools that I didn’t really expect. Students – practically everyone – actually get up and get dressed in actual clothes for class. This is different from what I had heard about other schools and everyone living in sweats and pajamas because on campus no one cares – people kind of care here.

3). Greek Life is actually a thing – because Loyola isn’t exactly known for it’s greek life, I never imagined that being part of the greek community would mean anything. I was surprised to find out just how developed and thriving this community is. Check it out, it’s worth it.

4). A lot of students have on campus jobs – I clearly work for the university since you’re reading my blog post right now, but I was slightly surprised to find out just how many kids actually have on campus jobs with Loyola. You can get involved with these different opportunities at job fairs and through the information on the website.

5).Even though we aren’t a party school, people still go out – Yeah, finding weekend activities is a little more challenging here than at any big ten state school, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t good times to be had. Once you find your friends or join a group on campus you will find that going out and having a good time becomes much easier.

6). Not everyone is Catholic/Jesuit – You might not be surprised by this, but I kind of was. I didn’t think everyone would be Catholic, Jesuit, or even Christian, but I didn’t really understand just how diverse Loyola would be. There is a place for everyone of every religious or cultural background on Loyola’s campus.

7). Taking the ‘el’ get’s 100% easier after the first time – I was really scared that I would never figure out the public transportation system, or be confident using it. Don’t worry though, after you do it once you’ll be much more calm and you’ll be able to start using it all the time.  (pro tip – save a picture of the CTA train map on your phone for ref).

8). Living In Mertz isn’t all Bad – There’s a lot of hype surrounding the biggest oldest freshman dorm on campus, “Mertz till it Hurts” is everyone’s favorite mantra. But Mertz has the best community feeling of any of the dorms I know. I lived in De Nobili (loved it btw), but kids who lived in Mertz seemed to always know what was going on.

9). You’ll see people around campus constantly! – Because of Loyola’s size you’re going to see people in random places around campus and downtown like all the time. This isn’t a bad thing! It actually makes living in the city a little more homey! I love running into friends downtown, always a fun surprise!

10). College is what you make of it – Going to any school, whether it’s Loyola or a state school, is going to give you exactly what you put into it. What I mean by this is that there are a lot of stigma’s surrounding private schools and city schools that can seem hard to break through, but after a year at Loyola I can honestly say that whatever aspect of college you really want you can probably find at Loyola. If you really want to be in a sorority, you can do that; If you really want to be independent and never see anyone, you can do that; If you want to go out every weekend, you can do that; If you want to bum around your dorm 24/7, you can do that too. Loyola is unique, but it has a wide variety of activities and qualities to offer it’s students that you might not realize till you’re here.