I just came back from rebuilding homes of Hurricane Katerina victims in New Orleans and totally fell in love with the city. I'm planning on applying to Tulane as well, but from what I've heard LUNO is also a good school if you're wanting to study in NOLA. Does anyone have any personal experience with this school or could offer any insight?
Ok, I've spent every summer in New Orleans, so going to college there was definitely on the top of my list. Tulane is just way too expensive for me, considering I'll be going to dental school and I don't want to spend all the money on undergrad, and my chances of getting a scholarship there are minimal. But that's another story.
Loyola, on the other hand, seemed perfect. While the price is about the same, I looked up the stats and I was confident I could get a full ride. So, last spring I went to visit. I'm so glad I did, because boy was that a wake-up call.
Here's the thing about Loyola: it is definitely not a "preppy" school, by any means. I don't mean to stereotype, but it's true, and that's the only way I know how to describe it, really. Jocks and preps will hate it. Loyola is a school much more fitted for the artsy and hipster types, the ones who smoke cigarettes, play the guitar in the hallway, and are very geared toward the drama department. The people who go there seem to love it, but it just really wasn't for me.
I'm a very detailed and organized person, and Loyola just didn't seem that way to me at all. They have a BEAUTIFUL campus, but only on the outside. The inside looks dated, and still under construction, which bothered me to no end, but it seems to not even phase the students there.
You really just have to go and visit.... if you can get into Tulane and afford it, go there. It's a much better school.
Loyno is definitely a very hipster school. Yes, people smoke everywhere and it can get annoying but other aspects the previous poster mentioned are very nice. People playing guitars in the quad gives the school a homey feeling. And the campus is definitely gorgeous from the outside but pretty old, and it shows on the inside. Good news is that two of the four dorms are being renovated as we speak!
I also believe that Loyno can result in a much more valuable experience than Tulane. First off, you will rarely if ever be wait listed for class, regardless of the class. Tulane students, however, must create several back up schedules and most do not even get one class from their original schedule. Second, class sizes are tiny! The largest class offered has no more than 100 students and the majority, including intro classes, have less than 30. Teachers come to teach where at Tulane they come for research. Loyno is also a Jesuit school so church life will be incorporated everywhere. As a practicing Jew, I have had zero problems with this. In fact, I like it as teachers are very understand during high holy days and I get to learn a ton about different religions. Loyno is all about educating the whole person and the variety of common curriculum classes you have to take shows that value.
Loyno is not the hardest school out there but it is extremely enriching and caring of every student. They also give out scholarships like beads during mardi gras so you will definitely get a portion of your tuition covered. And either way, it's $10k less than Tulane.
I love going to Loyno. Yes, there is construction but that just means the school is constantly renovating and keeping (or attempting to keep) updated and new. And dealing with smokers is unfortunate but that should not be what stops you from going.
You already know you love the city so why not apply to the school? It's a free app!
Please let me know if you have any questions about Loyno, I would be more than happy to answer anything. Good luck!
Also, since Tulane is a lot bigger, they offer way more classes than Loyno. But if you want to take a class at Tulane you just fill out a form and sign up (as long as there's room in the class, of course). No extra fees, just part of a Tulane Loyno agreement. And it directly applies to your degree, no transferring credits nonsense.
Thank you for all the input! I definitely learned a lot about the school and it's students from your replies. I don't see any harm in applying, so I'm planning on it at this point. And after that I'll take it one step at a time. Thanks again!
I will be a freshman this fall at Loyola of New Orleans, majoring in vocal performance. I am trying to choose a good vocal instructor at Loyola for the fall-a professor who can take my voice to the next level. Does anyone know anything about the vocal professors at Loyola and who is generally considered the best. By the way, I am a male tenor
Thanks for your replies to this topic, Scutrules!
You answered a lot of questions that I had. (I'm a Jewish Mother sending her kid to Loyno). I'm really glad to see there is accommodation for HHD. The kid has contacted Hillel and does have several friends starting this fall at Tulane.
We are coming from overseas, so we haven't had any opportunity to visit the campus - we are relying on friends and strangers for advice and feedback.
We're all really excited. (And she's not the kind to die from shame that I'm posting here).
LMagid, no problem, I'm happy to help! Hillel and Chabad are both great since Tulane has such a large Jewish population. I've found no problem being Jewish at a Jesuit school.
Thanks Scutrules for looking into the voice professors for me. The voice professors that I have heard of are Phillip Frohnmeyer, Dr. Smith, Dr. Montegut and Dr. Harris.
I am already at Loyola for the orientation and will be leaving tomorrow morning..
Yesterday was the last day for the mandatory orientation session for Loyola and I met some wonderful students. I really look forward to the beginning of school but I do have a few concerns.
For one, I do not like the fact that Loyola chooses classes for incoming freshman. One of the benefits of going to college is freedom to make decisions-I felt like I am in high school with Loyola deciding what classes I am to enroll in during my freshman year. To make matters even worse, Loyola does not make this known until mid may-no where in the packet material that was sent does it say freshmans do not choose their own classes-this is kinda shady I think.
Secondly, I was told months before the orientation that once I arrived at the orientation i would learn what dorm I would be residing. However, yesterday I was informed that the dorm assignments have not been assigned just yet.
Last but no least, I have been contacted twice by the financial aid office and another department stating that they have not received certain paperwork-only to email me back stating that they have since located it.
I can only hope that all of these problems are not typical of Loyola! If so I am going to kick myself for passing up on other schools like Vandy and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
I would like to address your concerns. In terms of Loyola picking your schedule, yes they do at first but you have the freedom to change every class if you like. Just email your advisor with the classes you'd like to remove and the class IDs of your new classes. As long as the class is open and you have no unfulfilled pre-reqs you'll be able to take the class. You do this by going on lorasec dot loyno dot edu, signing in under "login for student services" and go to "courses," "course sections". There you can see every class offered by major. Loyola typically chooses your classes for you based on the major you provided and early pre reqs that need to be completed. However, you can sometimes get stuck with bad teachers so I would definitely recommend going on ratemyprofessor and making sure the teachers are good. You can also PM me with your schedule and I can give suggestions. I think I changed 3 of my 5 classes my first semester so it is definitely doable.
I understand your frustration over dorms and there isn't a great excuse for that. You should know, however, that Loyola is closing one of the four dorms next year for construction (Cabra) so housing has been a bit different this year. There are many students, incoming soph through senior that still do not have housing when they were supposed to know months ago. Loyola is working on this and hopefully you will hear about your housing soon.
As for the financial aid problems, there is really nothing I can say about that. The financial aid office, much like all offices on campus, is essentially run by students on work study (of course there are professionals there and you will never have to meet with a student when you go there). Your problems may have stemmed from there but I don't really have any suggestions on how to deal with that (although it seems you have resolved that issue).
Also, I am looking into the music profs, will hopefully let you know soon (I am not even close to a music major so I know nothing about this department but I'm working on it).
I got accepted to Loyola. Yayy me.. lol Im coming from florida & I wanted to get others imput on this. DO you guys thing that Loyola is a little on the expensive side ? Are any of you worried about how much debt you will be in after you graduate college ? or is this me thinking to hard on things again ?
