For those of you who are not as familiar with Chicago, here is a little bit of an introduction to how the city is set up and how Loyola is situated with in it. I am a visual learner myself, so I have included a lot of maps to help you picture everything. Chicago is a city of neighborhoods that vary in personality, size, affordability, and culture. Check out this map to see some of the different neighborhoods and where they are located.
It’s not an exact science. Looking at different maps will set boundaries of neighborhoods differently. In addition to the neighborhoods, there will be names to cover a general area that include several neighborhoods. For example, West Town roughly includes the neighborhoods of Bucktown, Ukraine Village, Wicker Park and Humboldt Park. So if you hear people talking about neighborhoods and it seems to be confusing and changing, it is because it is. (Also, check out this great blog post about what to do in West Town!)
Illustration by Libby VanderPloeg via DesignSponge
[[Illustration by Libby VanderPloeg via Design Sponge]]
As you can see, the city center is called the The Loop. This is where all the trains come and circle before returning to the neighborhoods. The Loop is home to the financial district and some of Chicago’s most famous tourist destinations: Millennium Park, the bean (well technically it is called Cloud Gate, but everyone calls it the bean), and the Art Institute of Chicago Museum.
Go north from the Bean on Michigan Avenue, cross the river and you will find yourself in the Historic Water Tower District. It gets its name because it is home to the Historic Chicago Water Tower built-in 1896 and is famous for surviving the Great Chicago Fire. The district is also home to a mall named Water Tower Place and some great chocolate shops. But most importantly, this is also where Loyola’s downtown campus is located!
Appropriately named the Water Tower Campus (WTC), it is home to several different professional schools: Quinlan School of Business, The School of Education, School of Law (that’s us!), and School of Social Work to name a few. This is mostly a graduate studies campus, however there are opportunities for undergrads to take classes at WTC as well.
The main Loyola campus and home to undergraduate programs is called the Lakeshore campus and has a beautiful location on the lake and is a little farther north. Loyola provides a shuttle bus that runs between the campuses and it takes about 20-30 minutes depending on traffic.
I personally have not been to the Lakeshore campus yet. However, we are invited to events and we have access to the libraries and resources. However, it is a little far and I have everything I need at the law school.
Because Loyola has a fabulous downtown location, apartments within a few minutes from school tend to be a little pricy. As a result, many students prefer to live a little farther out and commute to get a more for their rent money. It is popular for students to live off of the Red Line (a train line) because there is a stop right next to the law school (the Chicago stop). It makes commuting to school very easy, just hop on the Red and you are there!
However, students do live all over the city. Depending on personality, lifestyle and budget, could place students all over the city. Additionally, there is a graduate housing option called Baumhart right across from the law school. Stayed tuned for an upcoming blog where 1Ls talk about where they live and what they like about it!
Questions for Amie? Email law-admissions [at] luc [dot] edu with the subject “Ask Amie” and she will make sure to answer them.