March 2015 – Page 5 – College Admission at Loyola

9 Loyola Myths

By Lindsy Fagerstrom | March 10, 2015

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:

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.
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.
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).
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.
Housing is not hard to find on or around campus. As mentioned above, we require that 1^st and 2^nd 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.
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!
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.
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).
We are not “the wolves”. We are the Ramblers! However, Lu Wolf is indeed the name of our mascot.

Tôi Là Người Việt Nam ~ I Am Vietnamese

By | March 10, 2015

If you read my other blogs, by now you should know that I am Vietnamese. Both my parents are refugees that came from Vietnam and wanted to start a new life, especially after the destruction of the war, traveling by boat and plane over to the United States.

As a first-born and first generation American, my first language learned was English. At school, I would learn and speak English and at home, I would speak Vietnamese. Language switching from school to home wasn’t a big problem for me because I learned the dialect and terminology well.

Culturally, there are so many distinct holidays and traditions that I love and find very interesting. To me, things like that made me considerably unique from the rest of my friends who did not know much of their heritage. In other words, I could show off more things than they could (culturally speaking)! For one thing, New Years in the Vietnamese household is always significantly festive, colorful, exuberant, and joyous. (I have a blog post about this). Weddings and funerals too, for example, are celebrated in a big fashion; there are many traditions and customs to doing everything.

Expectations. Going to school, I found that many people were judgmental of my ethnicity. As an “Asian”, they expected people like me would be intelligent, creative, and wise. Sadly, this carried on throughout all of grade school and high school. From that, I somewhat molded into the person they thought I should be. But it is inevitable- judging and stereotyping. We must admit that. All of my family and friends have been through that and through time, it just comes natural in the Vietnamese society to be highly looked upon. Hopefully through time and patience, things will be better and the majority of people won’t have biased mindsets.

Many older Vietnamese living in America (who have come to the United States for the same/similar reasons as my parents did) dream of flying back to their homeland of Vietnam. They miss the weather, the rural lifestyle, the people, and memories they had there. When they pack up and get ready for their flight, they pack some things for themselves, but usually they pack more things for others. Noting that Vietnam is a third-world country with many people living in the poverty level, all of us (living in America) try to help them out. The people will appreciate anything given to them, from clothes to vitamins to chocolate. Many people cannot afford things that can be purchased here in the U.S., even at a cheap price.

Arch Madness!

By | March 8, 2015

Welcome back from spring break, Ramblers! This afternoon, about 60 Loyola students returned from St. Louis for Arch Madness this past weekend! I was lucky enough to attend this trip to support our men’s basketball team and to visit such a beautiful city. In this post, I will be talking about my experience attending Arch Madness in the beautiful city of St. Louis, Missouri!

Arch Madness is the basketball tournament held in St. Louis, Missouri every year to see which teams will advance to further tournaments. Loyola offered two student packs, one for $40 that included 2 dinners, a Rambler scarf, a commemorative T-shirt, and tickets to the games, and another package for $50 that included everything pre-listed plus transportation to and from St. Louis. I purchased the $50 pack, and paired with a cheap hotel price, ended up paying a wonderful price for such a great trip!

I have never been west of Chicago, and have never crossed the Mississippi River before. When I first heard about the trip to St. Louis for Arch Madness, I was really excited to go! All of my friends wanted to go too; it would be a fun thing for us all to do over spring break! When last Thursday finally rolled around, we all boarded the buses and departed Loyola ready to cheer the Ramblers on!
After the crazy 6 hour-long bus ride, we finally arrived in St. Louis. The next day, game day, was extremely long for us! We wanted to see and do as many things in St. Louis as we could within the small amount of time we had. We had complementary tickets to the St. Louis City Museum, which was basically a giant playground for kids and adults alike! We spent the whole morning climbing and crawling through tunnels and sliding down slides both indoors and outdoors! It was great to feel like a child again. I truly can’t remember the last time I yelled, “there’s a line for the slide!” This place was definitely worth visiting, and I’d love to go back sometime!

Later that day, we visited the legendary Gateway Arch. I absolutely loved viewing the arch from the ground, and was so excited to view the ground from the top of the arch! We bought our tickets from the Old Courthouse (which an extremely historic place all in itself! This courthouse held the Dred Scott case and many others, and was visited by many famous historic people such as Alexander Hamilton!) and headed over to the elevators! The elevators to reach the top of the arch are extremely tiny! They seat five people, are round in shape, and are really low! Definitely not something for people with claustrophobia! Once we reached the top though, the view was breathtaking and definitely worth the scary trip up! We viewed down over St. Louis and the Mississippi River from 630 feet up! It was an amazing experience!

Later that day, we began preparations for the big game! There was a huge pep rally in the hotel we were staying at, and with the band playing and cheerleaders cheering we welcomed the team and sent them off to win! Once at the game, the stands were a sea of maroon and gold! Everyone knew that the Ramblers were there to win! We cheered harder than we have ever cheered before, and it led to a victory against Indiana State University! That meant the Ramblers were staying another day to take on the University of Northern Iowa on Saturday afternoon! That game we unfortunately ended up losing, but the Ramblers played a good and hard game, and we never let our pride down!

Upon returning, I am able to look back at this amazing trip with great memories and happiness. I had a wonderful time touring St. Louis with my friends, and an even greater time cheering the team on with all of my fellow Ramblers in our legendary Gryffindor-looking Loyola scarves! Our presence was definitely felt in that city, and we will be remembered! It was truly a great weekend to be a Rambler. Onward LU!

Springing Forward

By Samantha Eddmeiri | March 8, 2015

Hi guys, before we get started: a reminder to make sure that you set your clocks an hour ahead due to Daylight Savings Time!

Additionally, a gentle reminder that we have school starting again tomorrow. Although this means that we have to start classes and homework again, look on the bright side! We’re back in the city, back to exploring new things and adventuring around us.

Make sure to check Sakai (sakai.luc.edu, or you can just go to luc.edu, find the search bar in the top right corner, click on the menu near it, located sakai and click it there) so you make sure that you’re not missing any homework assignments that may have been assigned over break.

While a lot of professors don’t assign long over-break assignments, some might. (Especially if it’s a writing class, papers can get heavy over breaks depending on who is your professor!) Just make sure you’re safe and give it a check. Forgetting an assignment over the break happens to the best of us.

I hope everyone had a great spring break and that getting back to classes is an easy and relatively painless thing for all of us, and I’ll see you around campus on Monday!

A Few Words Before School Starts, again…

By Stephanie Rodriguez | March 7, 2015

I am at Starbucks trying to figure out what is next?! There are so many degrees that I can pursue after graduation, but how do I know which one is the right one for me? I have been trying to keep myself busy by applying to internships. I think that this is the best way to find out what is for you and what is not. There are so many questions marks on top of my head right now. There are so many arrows pointing to different paths, schools, and majors. However, I think that we all have one area of understanding after Loyola: what it is that we love.

My best friend added an English major to her Biology major because she knew that English is what she loved. I could not be more proud of her for deciding to stay another year and pursue what she truly enjoys! In my case, I have always loved two things: science and health care. This makes me feel a lot better because I know that whatever I choose to pursue my graduate career in has to include one or the other, or maybe both! What I did not realize is that there are so many majors out there that I can choose from!

Currently, I am in the search for the right one. I will apply to various ones in hopes of getting accepted into one. However, what if this doesn’t work? Do not worry because there is always a plan B. Yes, after college you have a degree and this is very marketable! You can get so many different jobs after college. You will not be making a lot of money, but you will have a sustainable job. This is my Plan B. Luckily, my major has many career opportunities after college, and I am willing to take advantage of it if I do not get accepted the first time around.

Brush off the insecurities because there is always something for you. Patience is key, and I have learned this the hard way! However, if it is something you love, you must sacrifice and look past all of your friends that are already making money and give it time; your time will come, too. 🙂 Till next time!

Planning & Packing for Spring Break Abroad

By | March 5, 2015

Last year for spring break a friend and I visited her grandma in Denver, Colorado. I thought packing and planning for a week across the country was overwhelming. This year though, I’m learning how much of a breeze that trip was compared to the 3 country journey I have planned this year.

In the next 10 days my friend Jordan and I will be traveling from Paris to London to Ireland. During our weekend in Paris we’ll be staying in an “AirBnB”—a company that allows people to rent out a house or apartment for a few days—that is near the city center. We’ll be sharing the apartment with two friends who are studying abroad in Spain this semester. Our to-do list in Paris includes all of the essentials: the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, The Louvre, and Versailles. Plus some extras: the Luxemburg Gardens, the Musee D’Orsay, and catching a glimpse of Fashion Week. Fingers crossed we find time to do it all before we fly out to London on Monday morning.

In London we will be staying with a close friend of my aunt who lives just outside the city–so we’ll become experts of “the tube”. Our London to do list is a little more easy-going than in Paris. I think most of what we see will depend on whether or not it’s free and how long the lines are. The one thing we purchased ahead of time are tickets to see Les Miserables at the Queen’s Theater. A show that I absolutely love and cannot wait to see on such a big stage. I’m also thinking that it won’t be such a bad thing to speak English again.

The 4 days we spend in Ireland are going to allow us to tour the countryside and the city of Dublin. My uncle’s family still lives in Ireland and are graciously hosting Jordan and I for 2 nights. They live in County Mayo and are helping us organize a bus trip to Galway and the Cliffs of Moher, are taking us to Westport, and potentially a castle. I am beyond excited for this tour of the Irish countryside. Our spring break trip will be wrapped up in Dublin where we will be staying in another AirBnB just outside the city. In Dublin I’m hoping for some authentic Irish music and a bit of relaxing before we head back to Rome.

Packing for this trip has been an adventure in itself. I’ve managed to fit all of my things into the “backpackers backpack” I brought with me—with the help of a space bag. I’ll have to wear some outfits twice and deal with limited options, but I think what I’ve packed will be versatile enough for the weather—that will hopefully be staying between the 50s and 60s.

Now that we have just about everything squared away I think I’m ready to embark on this spring break adventure. There’s no doubt in my mind that this will be a trip that I take with me for a lifetime.

Photography

By | March 5, 2015

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Photography is simply breathtaking. When I borrow my uncle’s Cannon camera, I will take as many photos as I can. With the right lighting, pose, placement, focus, and colors, some pictures actually look professional. Whether it is a birthday, wedding, or vacation trip, I’ll always offer to be the photographer. It’s fun, it makes you productive, and you get to capture memories that cannot be redone again. With that being said, most family pictures do not include me in the picture because obviously, I am the one taking the picture (unless I do selfies!).

Besides being a amateur photographer, I enjoy looking at a lot of inspiring photos through boredpanda.com. I don’t want to sound like I am advertising or promoting this site, but this blog has tons of inspiring, funny, creative, and breathtaking photographs. Here, the quote (from above) speaks for itself; so much can be said about one picture- the descriptions are endless. If people are a part of the picture, you can instantly envision the lifestyle they live, what their emotions are, and more. For more of an abstract photograph, you can see the amount of creativity and open-mindedness the person put in.

All in all, photography is a wonderful hobby and I love to capture memories. To me, a picture is worth a million words.

Fun Things To Do In Chicago Over Spring Break

By | March 4, 2015

Happy spring break Ramblers! Although it seemed as though the time between winter break and now dragged on, spring break is finally here! Many students choose to go elsewhere for spring break, such as home or vacation. I went home for a few days to visit family and it felt great to take a break from schoolwork! However, if you are unable to go home or have nowhere to travel to this break, Chicago offers many wonderful things to do over break so you will never be bored!

Some suggestions are:
• Any of the museums: The Field Museum, The Art Institute, The Museum of Science and Industry, Shedd Aquarium, Adler Planetarium, etc.
• Ice skating at Millennium Park-Only open until March 8th!
• Shopping-Water Tower Place, Block Thirty Seven, etc.
• Going to a movie at a movie theatre
• Navy Pier
• The sky deck at the Hancock Center or the Willis Tower
• Going to a musical or play!
• Eating at your favorite restaurants or cafes
• The Brookfield or Lincoln Park Zoo-Lincoln Park Zoo is free!

The list does not end here! There are plenty of things to do if staying in Chicago over break! Enjoy exploring and enjoy your break, Ramblers!

A Weekend in the Homeland, Ja!

By | March 4, 2015

My Swedish heritage has always been a big part of my life thanks to my grandparents, who are both proud of where their ancestors came from. I’ve eaten plenty of Swedish meatballs (and Swedish Fish), taken many visits to a local Swedish settlement, and have always wanted to visit “the Homeland”. Over the years my family has done some extensive genealogy research. Extensive enough to find relatives who still live in Sweden. I got really excited when my grandma talked about our Swedish cousins–which is definitely great–I just didn’t realize that our relation goes back about 5 generations. But family is family! Over the last 10 years my family has been getting to know our cousins on the other side of the pond and have both visited in our respective countries. I planned to visit them at some point during my time abroad and when my grandparents planned a trip to Rome they went ahead and added a weekend trip to Sweden for us and one of my friends.

Friday morning we set out for Sweden. As soon as we landed I could tell how relieved my grandpa was to be out of the city and back in a country he understood a little better. After we finally found our hotel just south of Stockhom, we went to visit my grandpa’s cousins Rolf, Brigitta, and Elizabeth. Even though we were nearly 2 hours late thanks to traffic, they welcomed us in for coffee and desserts. The dessert was delicious and I really enjoyed their company–especially Elizabeth’s who at 96 baked us a cake, still lives on her own, and said her English was no good, but she actually spoke quite well and is leagues ahead of my Swedish.

Dinner that evening was hosted by my grandma’s cousin Martin and his wife Anna. They prepared a Swedish feast for us. And after eating huge amounts of pizza and pasta this semester the meat and potatoes on the stove were an enormously welcome sight. Before serving us, Martin joked with us that we weren’t eating Rudolph, but one of his relatives…as in reindeer stew. I was a little hesitant, but Rudolph was absolutely delicious. We enjoyed a traditional Swedish dessert of ostakaka, which you might compare to cheesecake or custard, but you’ve got to eat it with lingonberries of course.

Saturday morning we left for my Grandpa’s cousins’ farm near Vastervik. We spent the afternoon visiting and relaxing (and of course eating more good food). My cousin Tonja took Jordan and I on walk around the farm, we got to pet her horses and enjoy some fresh (cold) air. That evening a few more of my Grandpa’s cousins joined us for dinner. To keep in our theme of not-so-typical meat, moose was on the menu and it was really tasty. Elsie (another Swedish cousin) made a cake for dessert and even though she didn’t speak English she talked my friend and I into at least 3 pieces. We talked and ate for hours, and even had a little concert partway through performed by cousin Peter and Jordan.

Sunday the girls went into the bayside town of Vastervik to do a little shopping and the boys went to the forest. I really enjoyed wandering through the town and getting to touch the Baltic Sea, even on this chilly day. I couldn’t have asked for a better or more relaxing weekend, which was the perfect mid-terms week prep. I loved seeing my grandparents so happy to be with family and in country that is their home away from home. Sverigie has a way of making you feel extra valkommen, ja?

Inspirations

By | March 3, 2015

From people to TV shows to hobbies, there are many things and people that truly inspire me. I find myself motivated to get through everyday hardships and challenges because of these inspirations.

FRIENDS

Here at Loyola, I have found several close friends I can consider life-long. Each person has a unique personality that everyone adores; we all are compatible and extremely amicable. We all met within a week before first semester of fall and have been close ever since. One of these friends was my first college friend I met during orientation. After hours, we were consistently talking and found a surprising amount of similarities. Another friend has an exuberant demeanor that loves animals and enjoys morbid topics; nonetheless we all love him. Two of these girls both are well-rounded and so intelligent; they are caring and are wonderful examples of peacemakers. All in all, these people help me enjoy going to school and inspire me to succeed academically and socially. Without them, I would not have been so open to meeting new people and would not have enjoyed my first year of college as much.

DOCTOR WHO

Introduced by one of my friends, Doctor Who, is the TV show I consider most exciting and full of hope. The Doctor (9th, 10th, and 11th) gives me hope and happiness. He is really funny, laid-back, adventurous, and smart. I admire him and want to be like him. I want to help others the way he does and be known for fighting for justice.

MUSIC

Music will always be a part of who I am. I cannot even think of a day where music was not influential. I have learned to play the guitar and piano since I was around 9 years old. Now, I want to learn how to play the cello and be able to create the deep, gentleman-like melodies. Besides that part of music, I love to listen to a variety of genres- pop, rock, instrumentals, and a little alternative.