Tag: Majors

Decision Time

Decision Time

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You’ve made it. You’re nearly finished with your senior year of high school and you can’t wait to take the next steps toward your future in college.

College…that’s the tough part isn’t it? By this point you’re probably dizzy from all the campuses you’ve toured and the pile of acceptance letters at you’ve accumulated. Now that you’ve seen the scholarship options from these schools you’ve probably nailed it down to a top two or three. And by this point you just want to make a decision so that you have a concrete answer to the dreaded “What are your plans for next year?” question.

When it comes down to it here’s a few questions to ask when making your college decision:

1. Does the school offer the major you’re interested in? (And a variety of others in case you change your mind?) Students change their majors much more often than you may think, so even if you can’t predict what you might change your major too, at least look for schools that offer a variety of programs that appeal to you.
2. Are you comfortable with the distance from home? Whether you want to go to school across the country or in your hometown, be sure to think about if you’re comfortable with the distance from home. Consider how often you’ll be able to make the trip home (and how worried your mom will be if you go too far away).
3. Were you offered any grants or scholarships that will make paying for school manageable? College is expensive, which means that schools that don’t offer you large enough scholarships will probably have to be thrown off the list. Don’t forget to look for outside scholarships that can certainly help you pay your way.
4. Do you like the campus? It’s layout, the way it looks, the residence and dining halls? Even if you like everything else, if you don’t like the way a campus looks or feels then you probably won’t end up loving the school. These are the buildings you’ll be taking classes, studying, eating and living in for the next four years—liking them is important.
5. What are the major pros and cons of coming to school here? Go ahead and write it out, when you’re able to see your likes and dislikes in front of you may be able to better understand what is most important to you.
6. Will you be happy calling this school home for the next four years? Loving everything about the college you choose may be impossible, but if this is a place where you can be happy, see yourself grow and ultimately become a better person, then without a doubt, that is the school for you.

Now I must admit that the college decision was much easier for me than it is for most people. In fact, I did exactly what all admissions counselors tell you not to do and only applied to one school. Thankfully, Loyola wanted me and offered me a generous scholarship. For me, LUC checked off all the boxes I needed: plenty of majors, a beautiful campus, academics that would challenge me, Chicago (enough said), opportunities to study abroad and ultimately a place where I could be transformed.

The Downs and Ups of Declaring an Undecided Major

The Downs and Ups of Declaring an Undecided Major

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So you’ve finally decided on a college, it was a long process, but you’re here. You went on countless college visits, received way too many college letters, felt pressure from your parents as you filled out applications, and now you’re home free. All you have to do is buy some extra-long twin sheets and meet your roommate. Oh, and pick a major.

As soon as you step onto a college campus there is pressure to know exactly what you want to do with your life. But if you are anything like me then you aren’t quite ready to commit to a major. I assure you that you can rest easy because guess what? You’re 18 and you don’t have to have your life figured out. So as a college sophomore -who is still technically an undecided major- I want to help you navigate the nearly uncharted waters of the Undecided Major.

The Downs:

  • When other people tell you a detailed plan of their major and career path you’ll feel a little awkward telling them that you just don’t know yet.
  • You won’t have a group of friends from within your major right off the bat, so you’ll have to wait on ordering a “Quinlan School of Business” or “Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing” t-shirt.
  • The “freedom to explore” is pretty intimidating. Loyola has a lot of majors, which means you won’t be able to try them all. (You might want to spend some extra time with your advisor to get a feel for your options)
  • You might get stuck. Now that I’m going on year two of being undecided I’m pretty comfortable where I’m at, but am also feeling the pressure to choose a major soon. This has made it tough for me to abandon the Undecided Major ship.

The Ups:

  • When people ask you what your major is you get to be creative in your answers like, “Oh, I’m just here to hang out” or “I’m majoring in a little bit of everything” or “I’m majoring in the Magnificent Mile”. These answers might spark some genuine concern, but I get the most worried facial expressions when I say, “Nothing”.
  • Meeting other Undecided Majors is the best feeling in the world because they know exactly what you’re going through.
  • All your friends will try and pick a major that they think best suits you, which may actually give you some direction. (Asking for advice has definitely helped me!)
  • Your freshman year is going to consist of a lot of CORE classes, which is good for two reasons. You get to explore a lot of different academic areas that may help you decide on a major- while staying on track for graduation. Plus you’ll finish your CORE in a timely manner and won’t be a senior taking UCLR (University Core Literature Requirement).

I highly recommend starting your undergrad years as an undecided major, because we’re young and our thoughts about the future change. But don’t forget that Loyola won’t actually print you a degree that says “Bachelor’s of Undecided”. Don’t panic about starting college without a major. It’s definitely scary at first, but you’ll learn to own it and eventually learn to let it go. Who knows maybe next year we can get some “Undecided Major” t-shirts, too.

Find Yourself at Open House!

Find Yourself at Open House!

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As the on-campus event coordinator in the Undergraduate Admission Office, some of my favorite weekends of the year are coming up – our Fall Open Houses! This year we will be offering two Fall Open Houses on Saturday, October 18th and Saturday and Saturday, November 8th on our Lake Shore Campus for High School Seniors, High School Juniors, and Transfer Students. Open Houses are a great way to spend some time on campus to see if Loyola is the best “fit” for you. All of the different tours, sessions, and activities are designed to introduce you and your guests to the Loyola community.

Open Houses at Loyola differ from our daily campus visits in that they offer students, parents, and guests insight into the entire Loyola Community.

We offer presentations on: Freshmen Admission/Scholarship, Transfer Admission/Scholarship, Financial Aid, Study Abroad, Pre-Health Advising, Career Development & Experiential Learning, and Residence Life.

We offer tours of the Lake Shore Campus, all first year Residence Halls, and the Institute of Environmental Sustainability.

We also offer a Department Fair where guests have the opportunity to meet with faculty, staff, or students from every major at Loyola.

 

 Click here to register for Open House!

Click here to view the full agenda for Open House!

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to bring anything to Open House?

You are not required to bring anything to Open House. Though we do recommend that you spend some time looking at the schedule before hand so you can select which sessions you would like to attend. Also, be sure to come prepared with any questions you have for admission counselors, financial aid counselors, or faculty members from your major/program of interest.

Do you have hotel recommendations for the weekend?

Yes, click here for recommended lodging options nearby.

Is parking available on campus?

Yes, we recommend that all visits park in our main parking structure on campus. Parking will be free on both Saturdays.

If I cannot attend Open House, is there another time I can visit campus?

Yes, you can attend a campus visit at our Lake Shore Campus on Monday – Saturday and our Water Tower Campus on Monday – Friday.

 

If you have any additional questions, give us a call at 800.262.2373 or email us at admission@luc.edu.

 

A Summer To Do List for Prospective Students

A Summer To Do List for Prospective Students

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While the start of application season is still about a month away, there is still plenty to do for rising seniors this summer before the school year begins:

  1. The first step, create an appropriate email address to use for the college application process. Keep in mind that your parents, admission counselors, and high school counselors/teachers will likely see this. Avoid using your high school email address because these email addresses are often deactivated right when you graduate and you may miss out on emails from colleges that are sent over the summer after you graduate.
  2. Create a list of schools of interest and gather suggestions from your classmates, teachers, parents, and family friends by asking about their alma maters and collegiate experiences. Spend a lot of time on their websites researching student life, study abroad, athletics, available majors and minors, or anything else you deem a significant factor in your collegiate decision-making process. Don’t forget to sign up to receive more information from the school’s on their websites. Also, follow your prospective schools on Facebook and Twitter for up-to-date information.
  3. After you have a list, create a calendar with all application deadlines, scholarship deadlines, honors program application due dates, campus visit dates, etc. Once the school year starts, it’s important to keep track of all admission-related dates in addition to your homework assignments and test dates.
  4. Visit as many schools as you can over the summer while you don’t have to worry about missing classes or interrupting your extra-curricular schedule. If you can’t visit campus, look on school websites for virtual tours of residence halls or campus to at least get a feel for the institution.
  5. Start working on components of your application: You can start working on college essays before even opening the application. Click here for college essay tips!
  6. You can also start creating a resume. Be sure to include all leadership positions, community service, involvement with clubs/organizations/sports, internships, research experiences, ministry youth groups, part-time jobs, or whatever it is that you’re involved with outside of the classroom!
  7. Send your test scores to schools you are definitely applying to in the fall (Loyola’s ACT Code is 1064 and the SAT Code is 1412). If you’re unhappy with your original scores, sign up for a new test date and use your time off in the summer to prepare.
  8. Start searching for scholarships. Many scholarships are looking for students with very specific majors, interests, or skill-sets or cast a broad net when searching and use as many research resources as possible (websites like scholarships.com or fastweb.com; talking to your high school counselors about local opportunities; have your parents ask their employers about any company scholarships; etc.)
  9. Make a list of possible people to send in letters of recommendation for you- consider teachers, employers, coaches, supervisors, counselors (anyone who knows you professionally or academically). While it’s a little soon to ask them for a letter now, you certainly want to ask right away in the fall so they have plenty of time to write and send in letters before the application deadline.
  10. Enjoy your summer!

 

September’s Business Career Fair

September’s Business Career Fair

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Only a week ago during work did I realize that I never wrote a blog about the Business Career Fair that I attended back at the end of September. Even though it was almost a month ago, I still think it is important that I write about it to emphasize the importance of going to these fairs.

I can truly say that this Career Fair was worth going to because whether it opens doors to job or internship opportunities or not, it is a necessary experience to get a small glance into what is to come in your near future. I met many different employers dealing with a range of different business occupations, collected a lot of pamphlets of information and passed out over half of my resumes. For several companies that grabbed my attention, I also managed to speak with a representative, which in a way felt like a miniature interview. I treated it as my first impression with the company and used it as practice for what I would say in a real interview.

Because I am an Information Systems major, the companies that had Information Systems in their target majors on RamblerLink were the ones I focused on approaching. These included WMS Gaming, Discover, Reyes Holdings, and Robert Bosch Tool Corporation. These four were some of my favorite companies that I spoke with and they caught my attention most. I got most in depth with these companies and they will be some of my top choices to research and apply to in the next month or so.

I was at the Career Fair for at least an hour and a half, which is about the perfect amount of time to attend and really get the most out of your visit. It should give you plenty of time to speak with several people, take a look at all the companies you want check out and hand out your resume to some of those companies.

As a side note, before going to the Career Fair, I made a note of all the companies that were related to my major so that I wasn’t walking around aimlessly; this helped incredibly when I was there because I knew exactly who I needed to talk to so I didn’t waste time talking to companies that had nothing to do with my major.

Overall, I really enjoyed going to the Career Fair because it gave me a good starting base for job-hunting, which I began a few days ago. I went onto RamblerLink and knew exactly who I wanted to look up first, something that wouldn’t have happened had I not attended the fair. I am now slowly beginning to apply to more and more places every day, and I’m glad the Career Fair gave me my kick-start.