Absolutely. One reason why he didn’t apply to any schools in Texas or the South.
He was told he’d only have to take one or maybe two, “religion” type classes the entire time. Whatever it was (I didn’t go), it was not a big deal, and he was satisfied with that.
We will definitely be visiting Rutgers-
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He can probably find the core curriculum online. If I remember right my S had to take philisophy, theology and distribution requirements in subjects like the arts, English, science, etc. It was a good thing for my S as he got a very well rounded humanities education even as a business major.
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One distinction of the schools - racial diversity. I noted on Loyola’s page that they show 55% students of color.
So I thought I’d look in the CDS.
Don’t know your race or if this matters but it is a distinction:
For degree seeking undergrads, % caucasian by school:
Loyola - 47%
IU = 63%
Rutgers = 31%
As for who gets their kids through, 6 year graduation rates:
Loyola = 75%
IU = 80%
Rutgers = 85%
Just some data that may…or may not interest. Clearly Rutgers is extremely diverse and Loyola as well and IU is too but not near as much. That may have to do with the racial makeup of the state although they get a lot of out of staters too due to their b school.
If your son is learning issues under control, then great. If not, might Loyola even be too big - vs. say an LAC?
Here are Loyola class sizes - it’s an overall thing. You’d have to look at specific classes and sections - about 30% are 10-19. But 40% 30+.
Good luck.
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My son would like that- he’s definitely a liberal arts kind of kid. I’ll look at core curriculum for the schools with him.
Do you think that school is generally more supportive than a big state school would be? My older son is at a state school and it’s definitely a you figure it out on your ownkind of school. I don’t want a hand holding school, and he doesn’t want or need it, but with his adhd, it can be a little harder with classes he doesn’t care about.
The students I know that needed supports at Loyola were very happy.
From what you shared in this thread, I think it sounds like a good fit for your child.
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Neither one of my kids went to a large state school so I can’t compare. The Jesuit school my S attended had a few lectures but I think most classes were not huge (35 or so) and even as a quiet kid he developed relationships with a number of professors. He had some learning issues and found the Office of Disability Services and his professors to be supportive. My S gravitated towards mid-sized urban schools so the fit for him was great.
I think visiting Rutgers will be helpful if that is one of the final options. There will be enough differences between Rutgers and Loyola Chicago that hopefully one will stand out as the better fit for your S.
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Both of my kids have ADHD, neither one of them liked the small schools we visited. They like diversity, bigger cities. I’m hoping he’ll be ok, he’s learned how to get work done and he’s had to suffer the consequences of not getting it done. My older son has worked out a way and I think this son will too.
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I think you’re right. But, ultimately, and if the cost is similar, it’s up to my son. They don’t always listen to parents, lol. I may have to recruit his school counselors to talk to him.
I think you’re right. We’ll see!
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Let us know where he ends up! All good options!
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Thanks, will let you all know!
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Plenty of good food nearby and on campus, I believe 40% live on campus. There’s always a lot going on, things to do. Academics are solid. Location 1 hour to NYC, 1 hour to Philadelphia, 45 minutes to the Jersey shore is good.
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Just something to keep in mind when touring Rutgers - if you take the standard tour then they’re likely going to put you on a bus to go visit all 4.5 campuses (Cook/Douglass is really a single campus). That’s not necessarily that useful to get a feel for what it would be like to attend. Psychology is split between the Busch and Livingston campuses in Piscataway (across the river from New Brunswick). Philosophy is on the old College Avenue campus, which feels like a traditional old college and is adjacent to downtown New Brunswick with its restaurants, fraternities, punk basement shows, train station, etc. You might want to center your efforts on those three campuses to get a feel for each.
Also, as noted earlier, philosophy is outstanding at Rutgers. A professor friend knows quite a few people in the department and recommends it highly, even for undergrad. Psychology is quite a large major at Rutgers (as at many schools) with 570 graduates in the last reporting cycle.
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You’ve mentioned three campuses. How far apart are they from where a student would live? What’s the daily logistics - buses? Walking? Something else?
If i were a student, that’s the type of thing I’d want to know vs. just having everything ten minutes away by foot.
I guess to OP, I would ensure your son knows the logistics to see if that’s what he wants to deal with. You’re on campus four years, day after day - so it sounds like but hopefully @beefeater can clarify, that there will be a lot of logistics involved going to school there, at least within these two majors.
You can live on any of the campuses. Your day-to-day might require busses if you have classes on other campuses. But if your major is on a certain campus, then by third/fourth year, you probably want to live on or close to that campus.
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That is something I will talk to my son about. S23 is at a large state university and has to walk at least 20 min or more in the cold, mostly he’s ok with it, but complains that the buses are full and take too long. I’d have to actually see the layout, and walk it to understand.
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Here’s a snip from the interactive map of Rutgers’ campus:
There are also PDF maps of the campuses available from Rutgers, with this snip showing the overview map (there are campus-specific maps in the link shared):
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Thank you!
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As others are saying, Rutgers has long had one of the top few Philosophy Departments in the entire world. Their Psych Department is well-regarded too. Like with all state flagships, there are going to be a huge variety of kids attending for a variety of reasons, but the kids who end up in upper level courses in, say, Philosophy are not a random sample. A profile like, “loves to read, have intense discussions but also go to punk concerts,” is likely to fit right in.
So basically, unless he had a strong non-academic reason to prefer IU, Rutgers would seem like the most exciting choice to me among those two options.
However, I am generally a big fan of the Jesuit style of undergrad program, not least for kids interested in areas like this. I really don’t believe you need to go to a top research program to have a fantastic undergrad experience. In fact, that can be what grad school is for, should you decide to continue in that direction.
And then in general, I agree with those who have suggested the level of individual support available may be highest there. So that to me would be at least an equally good choice.
So holding aside affordability issues (which are important to be sure), I would otherwise personally advise making his final choice based on where he was most confident he could really thrive.
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