DePaul University

It was great to be back on the DePaul University campus. Originally called Saint Vincent’s College which was founded in 1898, the name changed soon thereafter to DePaul University in honor of St. Vincent DePaul who founded the order. It has since grown from a small, Catholic, regional institution into “One of the Best Colleges in the US” according to the Wall Street Journal in 2025 and one of the Nation’s Best Value Colleges by US News and World Report in 2025.

The main campus is located in Lincoln Park, a very hip section of Chicago, and the campus is spread around the neighborhood as one would expect in an urban setting. There’s another campus downtown at the Loop, where the College of Business, College of Communication, and College of Computing and Digital Media are located. Let’s talk about that last one for a minute – it includes the School of Computing, School of Design and School of Cinematic Arts – which the Hollywood Reporter ranked the #10 film school in the US in 2026. The facilities are outrageous; you must visit the Cinespace Chicago, a tremendous 60,000-square foot professional production facility with soundstages, professional cameras and lighting equipment, editing suites, animation studios, dressing rooms, and more. This is hands-on education at its finest!

DePaul has many other notable programs including a School of Music with faculty who are members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Lyric Opera of Chicago, a Theatre School, a College of Education, direct-admit nursing, and more. Some interesting majors include Actuarial Science, Industrial Design, Media and Popular Culture, Applied Diplomacy, Robotics, Business Analytics, Writing and Rhetoric, Network Engineering and Security, Costume Design, Costume Technology, Organizational Communication, Performing Arts Management, and…. Are you ready? Wig and Makeup Design and Technology.

I love’s DePaul’s Vincentian mission, always asking the question: What Must Be Done? This philosophy has made DePaul a top institution for social mobility; a third of its students are first generation. And merit scholarships of up to $33K make the price more affordable than many other universities these days. For students who want the energy and opportunities of a large, urban university, a visit to DePaul is a must!

DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois, is a very cool place. When I have students who love NYU, I often add DePaul to their list. Why? They’re both urban, diverse institutions, well-integrated into their respective cities, in very cool neighborhoods – NYU in the Village, and DePaul primarily based in Lincoln Park. But DePaul, with 14,000 undergraduates, is a more manageable size. And DePaul has a much more reasonable bar for admission. And DePaul gives very generous merit scholarships, making it far more affordable for many.

DePaul was founded in 1898 by Vincentians, a Catholic order which takes its name from St. Vincent DePaul, with one question in mind: What must be done? So yes, DePaul is Catholic, but it doesn’t feel, look, or smell Catholic. Like other Catholic institutions, two religion courses are required for graduation, but they don’t have to be Christian in nature; in fact, a bioethics class counts toward the requirement.

There is actually a second campus in the Loop neighborhood, a 15-20 minute train ride away, and the university also provides a free shuttle between the two campuses all day, following the class schedule. The Loop campus is smaller: about one city block in size. And all DePaul students get a free Chicago Transit Authority pass. On the Lincoln Park campus, there are 12 residence halls. They don’t like to use the word “guaranteed” regarding freshman housing, but they do prioritize out-of-state students. If second-year students want to live on campus as well, they can almost always accommodate them, although most students move off campus after freshman year, and living on campus is never required. Interestingly, Chicago remains a relatively affordable housing market, and students can cut the $19K room and board fee by half by moving off campus.

Some other tidbits: one-third of DePaul students are first generation. The nursing program is direct-admit. The honors programs includes an honors living learning community. The BSMD program requires test scores, while all other programs are test-optional. They work on a quarter system, and students are on break from Thanksgiving until early January. 40% of students are from out-of-state. And lastly, merit scholarships range from $13K to $31K, and they’re happy to consider appeals with a new transcript.

The best moment of our visit was when we unexpectedly ran into a member of the faculty who stopped to chat with us. She introduced herself and was eager to share how much she valued the community and the mission of the university. She said that anyone can walk into the office of any faculty or staff member on campus at any time and ask: how are you living up to the Vencentian mission? And they can tell you. And that’s DePaul. Not hit-you-over-the-head Catholic at all. But absolutely living up to the spirit of the Church and the order of St. Vincent de Paul.