research – College Admission at Loyola

The Little Things Add Up.

By Lindsy Fagerstrom | January 27, 2015

Here’s a secret – this is really a list of common pet-peeves among admission counselors. Most of us really love our jobs and really love assisting you through your college search/decision process, but those of you who do the following will definitely make us loves our jobs that much more.

Research ahead of time. Most of the questions we get are easily answered by spending 30 seconds our our website or Google.
Ask the questions that actually matter to you. Don’t ask what the most popular major is at Loyola. Instead ask about experiential learning opportunities or about class offerings for a major (or majors) that you are actually interested in. Ultimately it doesn’t matter if our most popular major is Biology if you are interested in Business or History, those are great majors too. Skip the generic question and ask what you really want to know about.
Ask questions yourself instead of having your parents or counselors call or email on your behalf. This is your college search and decision process, not theirs!
Learn how to write a professional email. It should have a greeting, a body, and a signature. Your email address should also be appropriate. All text in your email should have proper spelling and grammar (don’t forget your punctuation).
Don’t send generic emails to multiple schools at once. This makes us question your interest in our respective schools, so take a few extra minutes to send us individual emails.
Spell Check. And double check that you have spelled the school’s name and the counselor’s name correctly.
Make appointments with us. Show up on time. Show up prepared. We love meeting with you but if you show up 25 minutes late and don’t have any questions, you won’t get the most out of this appointment and we’ll be scrambling to give you a ton of information in a short amount of time.
Remember that we are human beings. If we don’t respond to your email or voicemail within minutes, don’t panic, don’t send us 10 more emails. We’re busy trying to make sure we provide you all with the best support but that takes time, so be patient.

Even if you have already made some of these mistakes, it’s not too late to change! We’re quick to forgive and we’ll be pleasantly surprised by seeing any one of these changes made in your communications with us.

An Opportunity of a Lifetime

By Antoinette Isama | October 5, 2013

In the fall of my junior year, I took a plunge and applied to a new program offered at Loyola University Chicago. To my surprise, I was accepted and my Loyola experience took a turn I was not expecting.

The McNair Scholars Program was named after the academic achievements of Dr. Ronald E. McNair, a physicist and one of seven crew members who perished in the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. Established by the U.S. Congress in 1989, the funding for this program is designed to increase the number of low-income, first-generation and underrepresented college students who pursue and complete doctoral degrees.

One component of the McNair Scholars Program is to conduct a summer research project under the guidance of a faculty mentor. When thinking about how I wanted to go about my summer research project, I made it a point to try to fuse my interests in journalism, media studies, anthropology and international studies to use.

When reflecting on my research experience this past summer, I think of it as peeling off the layers of an onion. Every macro idea revealed many micros that could not be explored in nine weeks.

But, why did I spend time behind the computer exploring the “virtual world” that is New African Social Media?

The advent of African youth having the space to show creativity and to share it through virtual communities hits home. Producers are able to communicate and share what they believe Africa was like in the past, what Africa is like in the present and what Africa will be in the future. New African Social Media is an example of how new forms of media impact culture. Those within this “virtual world” are able to re-appropriate content and attach new meaning to the content they create or share.

With this, it was interesting to unpack how this content differs from Africa-content material in mainstream media. New African Social Media allows producers and consumers to shed a different light on what Africa means and is to them: diverse, progressive, and positive. People are given the freedom to be bold to create, report, and share what they do not see in mainstream media; as well as to give a more balanced view of what occurs on and off the continent.

So far in my research I have found that people most popularly share visually contextual content that depicts people, daily life, and women. The peeling of this onion continues as I unpack the why, how, where, and when of these findings.

Although my summer research portion has finished, I am grateful for the opportunity and time to continue my project as an independent study with my faculty mentor this semester.

The next step in this program is the graduate school application process. Alongside conducting research, my cohort and I were given opportunities to attend conferences off campus, to visit graduate schools that work with McNair Scholars and to become familiar with how to go about submitting applications to programs that we are interested in.

Although the stress of applying to graduate school is prevalent, I find comfort in the support of the McNair Scholars Program I have received thus far. This summer was an eyeopener for so many greater things I can accomplish as a scholar.

The Beginning of the End

By Antoinette Isama | September 4, 2013

It is my senior year at Loyola University Chicago. Typing the sentence itself for my last first post as an undergraduate student is still surreal.

This year I am looking forward to begin the steps needed to embark on the next chapter in my life. I will be enrolled in graduate school, hopefully in the fall of 2o14.

With the help of the Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program, facilitated through the Graduate School, I have begun the process to prepare for my post-graduate education as well as gain research experience.

Conducting this research this past summer has been similar to peeling off the layers of an onion. Every macro idea thus far reveals many micros that cannot be explored in nine weeks.

Why spend time behind the computer exploring the “virtual world” that is New African Social Media? The advent of African youth having the space to show creativity and to share it through virtual communities hits home. Producers are able to communicate and share what they believe Africa was like in the past, what Africa is like in the present, and what Africa will be in the future. New African Social Media is an example of how new forms of media impact culture. Those within this “virtual world” are able to re-appropriate content and attach new meaning to the content they create or share.

With this, it is interesting to unpack how this content differs from Africa-content material in mainstream media. New African Social Media allows producers and consumers to shed a different light on what Africa means and is to them: diverse, progressive, and positive. People are given the freedom to be bold to create, report, and share what they do not see in mainstream media; as well as to give a more balanced view of what occurs on and off the continent.

So far in my research, I have found that people most popularly share visually contextual content that depicts people, daily life, and women. The peeling of this onion continues as I unpack the why, how, where, and when of these findings.

Luckily, with the help of my faculty mentor, I am currently continuing what I started this summer through an independent study. I look forward to interviewing participants to learn their perspective on this topic.

With my research aside, my class schedule is light compared to semesters past. I have a little more free time to study for the GRE, as well as catch up with friends; especially those who studied abroad last semester.

I know that this is the beginning of the end of my undergraduate career at Loyola. My senior year will flash right before my eyes, but I will savor every moment of it.