Loyola University Chicago

Loyola University Chicago checks a lot of boxes for a lot of students. With about 12,000 undergraduates, it’s that elusive medium-sized institution that’s so popular right now. Situated on Lake Michigan on the north shore of Chicago, it offers a mostly contiguous campus in a major US city. Merit scholarships are exceedingly generous. And as a Jesuit institution, undergraduate teaching is what they do well. But for some reason, Loyola Chicago has just not made it onto the national scene; it remains a local gem with an 80% acceptance rate. I can’t tell you why. US News and World Report ranks Loyola’s nursing program at #26 nationally, the undergraduate marketing program at #19, and the undergraduate accounting program at #21. That doesn’t sound regional to me.

The colleges and schools that offer undergraduate degrees are Arts and Sciences, Business, Communication, Education, Health Sciences & Public Health, Nursing, Social Work, and Environmental Sustainability. Who would expect a whole college of environmental sustainability in Chicago? They offer degrees in Environmental Policy, Environmental Studies, Environmental Economics, as well as Environmental Science, with several tracks available. There are also opportunities to complete a Master of Public Policy or MBA within 5 years.

Interestingly, Loyola was the first university in the Chicago area to achieve carbon neutrality, and 100% of electricity used on campus is powered by renewable energy. Some other really interesting majors include Bilingual/Bicultural Education in the School of Education, Information Systems and Analytics, Human Resource Management, and Supply Chain Management in the School of Business, and Neuroscience in the College of Arts and Sciences, with 2 tracks: Cognitive/Behavioral as well as Molecular Cellular. Neuroscience is a hot new major, and when pursuing this, students need to understand whether they’re pursuing hard science or psychology, as programs differ immensely at various institutions. At Loyola Chicago, I love that the distinction is clear, and that students have a choice.

What I was most struck by during my recent visit to Loyola Chicago was the million-dollar view of Lake Michigan. It’s an absolutely stunning piece of real estate. If you do nothing else, take a virtual tour of campus. Add the beauty of the campus to the size, the location and the academic opportunities, and maybe you can tell me why Loyola Chicago is overlooked by so many outside the Chicago area.