Tag: LUREC

Learning Loyola’s Lingo

Learning Loyola’s Lingo

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In the same way that you’ll never understand the language in a foreign country you’ve never studied, you’ll never understand the ins-and-outs of Loyola without brushing up on the lingo. So to get you prepared for campus I’ll give you a quick LUC dictionary:

 

Ramblers (ram-B-lur-z)
mascot
1. Loyola’s mascot, represented by LU Wolf, formerly represented by Bo Rambler, which was short for Hobo. In 1990 the university stopped using Bo based on the fact that using a homeless man as the mascot for a top university was unfitting and decided to use a wolf instead because of the animal’s tie to St. Ignatious
2. The name is derived from Loyola’s previous mascot-less football team of 1926. The team travelled extensively across the United States earning the nickname “ramblers”, the football team is now gone, but the nickname lives on

LSC (el-S-see)
campus
1. Lake Shore Campus
2. Loyola’s main campus located in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood with more than 40 buildings and housing over 3,000 undergrad students
3. As the name implies, the Lake Shore Campus has one of its borders along the shore of Lake Michigan offering beautiful views and the perfect place to study or relax

The IC (eye-see)
place
1. The Information Commons
2. The floor-to-ceiling windowed building (connected to the Library) that sits on the shore of Lake Michigan
3. Three floors of pure study space, with every resource a student could possibly desire

Madonna (mah-D-on-ah)
chapel
1. In no relation to the popstar, Madonna della Estrada is Loyola’s on-campus chapel
2. This stunningly beautiful chapel hosts mass daily and is a proud symbol of the Catholic faith this university is rooted in
3. Voted as one of the most beautiful campus churches in the United States

Core (k-oar)
curriculum
1.Loyola’s layered system of “gen eds” that involves 3 credit hours of college writing seminar, artistic knowledge, quantitative analysis, and ethics and 6 credit hours of historical knowledge, literary knowledge, scientific literacy, philosophical knowledge, and theological and religious studies
2.Designed to provide a well-rounded education for all students while promoting four vales essential to a Loyola education: understanding diversity, understanding and promoting justice, understanding spirituality or faith in action, and promoting engaged learning
3.Required for all students, but some course exemptions apply depending on your major

Sakai (seh-K-eye)
online resource
1. Accessed using your university ID and password
2. An online tool used by Loyola students and professors to access assignments and resources for each of your courses

LOCUS (low-k-us)
online resource
1. Accessed using your university ID and password
2. Loyola’s online student portal used for class scheduling, posting grades, requesting transcripts, paying bills, registering for housing, and more
3. At times complex, but with trial and error will become a familiar and frequently used resource

LUREC (loo-R-eck)
retreat campus
1. Loyola University’s Retreat and Ecology Campus
2. Located in Woodstock, IL this campus is used to host many Loyola sponsored retreats for students throughout the year
3. The campus is dedicated to restoring the wetlands and woodlands it calls home and is also home to an organic farm and apiary, much of this produce is used and served in LUREC’s kitchen

9 Loyola Myths

9 Loyola Myths

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Over the past 3 years in admission, I have noticed there are A LOT of misconceptions about Loyola University Chicago. I am going to use my blog this week to set the record straight. Here are what I consider to be the top 9 Loyola myths:

  1. We are not the same school as Loyola Maryland, Loyola New Orleans or Loyola Marymount. We are all completely separate schools. The only thing we have in common other than our name are our Jesuit background and values. So no, you cannot study at another Loyola in the U.S. However, you can Study Abroad at other universities all over the world or at one of our three campuses in Rome, Beijing or Ho Chi Minh City, which are in fact run by Loyola University Chicago.
  2. You do not have to be Catholic (or even religious) to go to a Jesuit University. About half of our students identify as being Catholic and as a Catholic University, we do offer regular masses, Taize prayer, resources and mentors for our Catholic students. Loyola has the only student-run mosque in Illinois and we have an incredibly strong Hillel Community on campus. We also have several different prayer spaces in our Student Center including a Puja Prayer Room. We are a home to all faiths and encourage interfaith dialogues and for students to lead their own spiritual path with assistance from Campus Ministry which provides resources, services, and mentors on-campus. I also want to throw out that you do not need to be Catholic to attend one of our Retreats at the Loyola University Retreat and Ecology Campus, these retreats are awesome and open to everyone.
  3. We are actually in the city of Chicago (not a suburb) and are right next to Lake Michigan (not a block away, our buildings are a foot or two from the lake).
  4. We are not a commuter school. Yes, in the past, a lot of students did commute to Loyola, but not in recent years. Now all first and second year students are required to live on-campus and while upper-classmen have the option to live on or off-campus, most stay on campus or live within a block or two of campus. However, the students exempt from the housing policy still have a community and home on campus thanks to Off-Campus Student Life.
  5. Housing is not hard to find on or around campus. As mentioned above, we require that 1st and 2nd year students live on-campus and we have several upperclassmen residence halls at both the Lake Shore Campus and the Water Tower Campus. There are also hundreds of non-Loyola owned or operated apartments near campus.
  6. Our acceptance rate is not 92% or 98%. It is closer to 63%. This is one of those cases where you can’t believe everything you read on the internet so if you’re questioning something you read, call or email your admission counselor!
  7. We are not a school that lacks athletic success, spirit, or history. We are a Division One school in the Missouri Valley Conference and last year our Men’s Volleyball Team won the NCAA National Championship on our very own campus. Go Ramblers! We are also the only D1 School in Illinois to ever win a NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship, which we did in 1963, but we are still proud of the win and of our contribution to NCAA history via the Game of Change.
  8. Chicago’s weather isn’t always horrible. Our fall is actually warmer than most of the Midwest thanks to the wind blowing warm air off the lake. Most of the time, we don’t see snow or really cold days until late December when students are already home for Winter Break. Yes the beginning of the spring semester is cold and has some snow, but harsh winters build character and stories you’ll be telling the rest of your life. And don’t forget how much of the year (typically March – November) brings truly amazing weather to Loyola. During these nice months you can find our students hanging out at street festivals, enjoying the great outdoors that you CAN find in the city, and by hanging out at “Loyola Beach” (really called Hartigan Beach).
  9. We are not “the wolves”. We are the Ramblers! However, Lu Wolf is indeed the name of our mascot.