I've started looking at colleges...

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LikeNoOneBefore

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I wondered how long I could put this off, but realizing that one of my best friends is a senior and leaving after this year and another is in his second year at North Central College (IL), I figured I'd better start looking.

I'm only a junior, but I'm really sad to start looking at schools I want to go to. I guess I figured the rapture would happen before I got this far. :wink:

So my real question is does anyone know of good schools close to Chicago? I decided that I want to go to school there, even though my heart lies at U of I Champaign-Urbana. :drool: I'm not attending that one because after a ride down to EIU which is about a half hour away, I saw that it takes about 3 1/2 hours to get there, and I'm like "Errrmm...heck no?" :huh:

So yeah...it'll probably freak my mom out when we get college mail that I don't want to throw away because I signed up for it, but who knows of good Chicago (or at least Illinois) colleges, specifically for a journalism, music or photography major?
 
I think it's good you're starting early. It shows you're taking it seriously.

However, I wouldn't limit myself just based on travel distance. It is an important factor, but if you are interested in any schools farther away, make sure to do a visit or tour before ruling them out.

Besides Trinity and Wheaton, I'm not familiar with schools in that area, but good luck!
 
If you're looking close to Chicago...you might think about the University Of Chicago. It's a great school. My brother went there.
 
What are your grades like and how much are you looking to spend on tuition?

As a University of Illinois alum I don't think you should count it out b/c of a 2 hour & 45 minute drive. ;) If you get accepted, go! :D
 
tpsglick2424 said:
How about Duke?

Isn't Duke in North Carolina? I thought LikeNoOneBefore was looking for schools close to Chicago?

anyway:

Loyola
U of Chicago
U Illinois - Chicago
Wheaton
Depaul
Northern Illinois

a three hour drive is not that bad. You could also open your horizons on schools if you aren't too worried about a three hour drive.

I ended up 1000 miles from home for college. Worth it!
 
I was going to suggest Purdue until you said "for journalism, music, or photography"... bad idea, there.

if you're interested in the sciences or engineering or agriculture or communications or econ, then I suggest Purdue. It's not far from Chicago, 2.5 hours. IU is good for liberal arts, that's 4-5 hours away I think. That's not too far.
All the other colleges I know in the area have been said already.
 
Congratulations and do thorough research before making your decisions. It was so stressful when we went through this with our son 4-1/2 years ago. Wow, I can't believe it was that long ago, but time sure passes quickly. There is so much involved in researching colleges, applying then the financial stuff, FAFSA, loans, etc. It's a huge investment in your future. :up: Best of luck!
 
WildHoneyAlways said:
What are your grades like and how much are you looking to spend on tuition?


Umm let's just say my GPA, last I checked, was a 5.27. :shifty: (Yes, my school has GPAs in 5's.) Yeah. I'm in all Honors and AP classes, and I've been in accelerated classes since I was eight...soooo hahaha...

And I don't know about tuition. I have noooo idea on that one.

I tried going on college websites to find a thing I could fill out so that they would send me more information, but the only one I found that on was Vandercook, and I don't even really want to go there. I just ordered it for the heck of it, in case I changed my mind. :shrug:
 
LikeNoOneBefore said:



Umm let's just say my GPA, last I checked, was a 5.27. :shifty: (Yes, my school has GPAs in 5's.) Yeah. I'm in all Honors and AP classes, and I've been in accelerated classes since I was eight...soooo hahaha...

:ohmy: Has the GPA scale changed since I finished high school?

So if you've got all As, that makes the grades part easy, you don't have to worry about that!
 
LikeNoOneBefore said:



Umm let's just say my GPA, last I checked, was a 5.27. :shifty: (Yes, my school has GPAs in 5's.) Yeah. I'm in all Honors and AP classes, and I've been in accelerated classes since I was eight...soooo hahaha...

And I don't know about tuition. I have noooo idea on that one.

I tried going on college websites to find a thing I could fill out so that they would send me more information, but the only one I found that on was Vandercook, and I don't even really want to go there. I just ordered it for the heck of it, in case I changed my mind. :shrug:

I think most of them have the information online these days.. you can probably call the department and get it mailed to you if you really want.
With that good of grades, you should apply to a fancy pants school!
I recommend Yale.
But I'm biased.

and yes, yalies say "fancy pants" :shifty:
 
I don't have much advice for you, but just popped in to say good luck! I applied to UW-Madison on the 15th of September, so I'm waiting on a reply from them *fingers crossed*.
 
onebloodonelife said:
I don't have much advice for you, but just popped in to say good luck! I applied to UW-Madison on the 15th of September, so I'm waiting on a reply from them *fingers crossed*.

Ohhh good luck! :wink:


And yeah I don't think I'm smart enough to get into Ivy Leagues, but I'm okay with that. I don't really want to be a doctor or lawyer or something that badly.
 
LikeNoOneBefore said:


Ohhh good luck! :wink:


And yeah I don't think I'm smart enough to get into Ivy Leagues, but I'm okay with that. I don't really want to be a doctor or lawyer or something that badly.

doesn't hurt to try :yes:

and they let you major in other stuff, too...
 
i was going to suggest loyola. I was going to go to Loyola and at the last minute decided to go to American University in DC.

You'd have no problem getting into whatever school you want.
The best advice I have is don't wait (and it doesn't seem like you are) and then really know what you want, and don't let anyone try to sway you away from what YOU want to do.
 
You're already looking at colleges :ohmy:

I am going to college next year, and though I am half sure of which college I am going to, I have no idea what I am going to study

well good luck with your search
 
I found another college I like. Columbia College. All arts and music so it's PERFECT for me. But...it's $30,000

...I don't know what I'm going to do about that. I could get a scholarship, but I don't know how easily or how much.
 
LikeNoOneBefore said:
I found another college I like. Columbia College. All arts and music so it's PERFECT for me. But...it's $30,000

...I don't know what I'm going to do about that. I could get a scholarship, but I don't know how easily or how much.

Make sure to do the FAFSA on time, apply for ANY scholarship from the school, apply for other scholarships (I used to use FastWeb), and the rest can be funded via gov't and/or private student loans. Consider it an investment into your future.
 
Best advice I can give you is to go see as many schools as you can afford to see. Get a feel of the place, to see whether you can see yourself spending 4 years there.

A lot of times that might change your original opinions, and so on.
 
Northwestern is an amazing school. My friend just applied early decision there. :up:


I'm applying to colleges right now, actually. :crazy: Good luck with your search!! I hope it's easier for you than it was for me, to narrow it down to the schools you're actually going to apply to. :lol:
 
I must also reitterate the suggestion that visiting the colleges you are interested in can be the most important deciding factor when finally choosing. Personally, I had three school lined up that before my visits all seemed amazing, and each a viable choice. The first two I visited were immediately out of consideration the same day I went, and the last one, American University, the one I'm in now, I knew immediately that it was were I wanted to go. So, the visits are CRUCIAL for deciding what school you want to attend. You just never know until you're there.
 
Go somewhere far, and fun. Don't be limited by geography. You can always fly home on holidays.

Go to Berkeley. I went there after growing up on the east coast, and it was one of the best decisions of my life.
 
college :up:

And you were worried by a 3 1/2 hour drive? :ohmy: I'm a 6-hour flight across the Atlantic!

I applied to schools ten minutes away and ... well, where I am now! Don't let distance limit you.
 
Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI is an excellent school with an amazing journalism program.

I am an MU alum from the journalism program.

MU is not very far from Chicago ... in fact many people from the Chicagoland area go to MU (so many that we joke about Marquette being Chicago's northernmost suburb).

Email or pm me if you would like more info.
 
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