Getting To Know: DePaul University (IL)

Published by Stuart Nachbar at December 10, 2023

DePaul’s relationship to Loyola University-Chicago appears to be similar to St. John’s University’s relationship to Fordham in New York.

DePaul is “more Chicago,” in the same way as St. John’s is “more New York.” Fordham and Loyola-Chicago are smaller Jesuit schools that pull the majority of their undergrads from out of state. Much like St. John’s has more local area students and programs than Fordham, DePaul has more local area students and academic opportunities than Loyola-Chicago, especially in computing and digital media as well as the health professions.

DePaul and Loyola-Chicago have notable similarities.

They share the advantages of having “college town” and downtown campuses.
Their college town campuses are about the same size, 36 acres for DePaul versus 35 for Loyola.
Neither school is exceptionally selective except for the programs in the health professions, especially nursing.
Both are test-optional for all majors and use Early Action admissions with priority deadlines.
Freshman retention rates are the same for both schools: 87 percent.
The percentage of classes with fewer than 20 students is about the same, 42 percent for DePaul versus 40 percent for Loyola-Chicago.

But in addition, DePaul:

Has a smaller endowment ($825 million vs. $890 million in 2022) than Loyola-Chicago, according to the National Association of College and University Business Officers.
Charges less for tuition, fees and room and board. These charges, just under $63,000, are about $2,000 lower than Loyola-Chicago’s.
Granted merit awards averaging just under $19,000 to about a quarter of the Class of 2026. Loyola-Chicago had this information for the Class of 2025. They awarded merit scholarships that averaged just over $21,000 to about a third of the class.
Fulfilled, on average 73 percent of need for the Class of 2026 while Loyola-Chicago fulfilled, on average, 81 percent for the Class of 2025.
Is the less residential of the two schools. Less than a fifth of DePaul’s undergraduate student body lives on campus, including half of the first-year students. Over 40 percent of Loyola’s students live on campus, including 84 percent of the freshmen.
Operates on a quarter system calendar. Loyola-Chicago operates on a semester calendar.
Does not do as well at graduating a freshman class. (58 percent versus around two-thirds for Loyola-Chicago)

My feeling is that anyone who is interested in both should visit both and compare similarities and differences in the campuses and programs. While Loyola might appear to award more generous aid on paper, each school has its own procedures for evaluating candidates for merit awards.

Both schools have been called “basketball schools.” However, DePaul:

Plays in the higher profile conference for men’s basketball, the Big East vs. the Atlantic 10. While Loyola has had more recent success, DePaul has a longer history of success in the men’s game. DePaul has made 22 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, last reaching the Final Four in 1979. The Blue Demons have also made 16 appearances in the NIT, last winning the title in 1945. Loyola has made eight appearances in the NCAA Tournament and five in the NIT. However, the Ramblers have won an NCAA Title (1963), more recently made the Final Four (2018) and won the NIT (2015).
Has had more success in women’s basketball. The Blue Demons have made 20 NCAA Tournament appearances including a Final Four appearance in 2022 and won five Big East Conference titles since 2014. Loyola-Chicago has never played in the NCAA Tournament and made only one appearance in the NIT.

DePaul is headed in some interesting directions.

It is a minority-majority school that aspires to become a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), partly to improve Illinois outreach and partly to attract more Federal funding. If successful, DePaul, which is 23 percent Hispanic, would be the largest private university in the US to become an HSI. The DePaulia, the student newspaper, was the first college paper I have seen that has a Spanish language section in the middle of the print edition as well as a section in the digital edition. The designation as an HSI would certainly raise DePaul’s profile within Chicago. The University of Illinois-Chicago, one of the four schools considered most often vs. DePaul, is an HSI that is 35 percent Hispanic. Other schools chosen most often vs. DePaul are the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (14% Hispanic), Loyola-Chicago (21% Hispanic), and Indiana University-Bloomington (8% Hispanic).

DePaul is also trying to increase interest from out-of-state students.

They currently make up 27 percent of the undergraduate student body. Targeted strategies towards growing this share of the student body make sense. The 15-24 year old population in Illinois is expected to decline by 2030 according to the state’s Department of Public Health. Chicago is as attractive a college town as Boston or New York. DePaul takes an extra step to help new students become more familiar with the Windy City, offering freshmen the option of one of two quarter programs, Discover Chicago or Explore Chicago..These will be especially helpful for new students who have not lived in a city.

There are some great academic reasons to consider DePaul.

Last year, Hollywood Reporter ranked DePaul’s School of Cinematic Arts 15^th in the nation, ahead of Boston University, Syracuse, and Northwestern.
This year, the same source ranked the drama program 17^th. Alumni include John C. Reilly and Gillian Anderson.
Popular programs within Business (especially Accounting and Entrepreneurship), Game Design, Journalism and Public Relations.
Some of the most comprehensive offerings of any US music school.
The Pathways Honors program is one of the most ambitious programs in the health professions that I have seen at any school. It has many accelerated options for well-qualified students. According to the university, strong candidates typically have a cumulative high school GPA of 3.5 or higher, an average ACT composite score of 27 or higher, or a combined SAT score of 1200 or higher. However, students may apply test optional to these programs.
A huge number of other combined degree programs outside the health fields. Students who commit early to those programs may receive a 40 percent “Double Demon” discount towards the tuition for the master’s degree after they finish the bachelors.

There are generous merit awards to help attract more students.

The largest, the State Scholar Plus Scholarship, valued at $25,000/year, is intended to help DePaul to become cost competitive for Illinois residents, who might otherwise go to the University of Illinois. I have visited only one private university, Seton Hall in New Jersey, attempt to be as aggressive at drawing students who would otherwise choose the flagship campus of Home State U. The larger awards might help DePaul to undercut out-of-state charges at other flagship campuses.

Our tour covered the Lincoln Park and Loop campuses.

It’s easy for students to get between campuses with stations for the “EL” and below-ground trains close by. The Red Line below ground is the faster ride, I learned on YouTube; the Brown above ground is the one you take when you have more time and want a more scenic trip. It’s fairly easy for students to find internships while going to school at DePaul because of the mass transit.

While only 250 undergraduates live in university-affiliated housing by the Loop campus (photo below), I felt, from both tours, that more of DePaul’s academic and student-focused resources were invested there. I can understand one reason on the academic side: the Loop campus is home to popular master’s programs in Business as well as Computing and Digital Media that attract the downtown workforce who want the easiest possible commute. The impressive apartment-style living options are shared with other schools, but each school has its own floors and entrances.

While I liked the Lincoln Park residential neighborhood, I felt that the student center and dining spaces on campus needed an interior update. I did not have the feeling that I was getting a premium experience in those spaces for the added costs of a private school. The fitness center seemed like a much nicer social center than the student center. The Wintrust Arena, where DePaul plays basketball, would be state of the art in the Big Ten, let alone the Big East, if it had 5,000 more seats.

Conclusions

DePaul appears to be trying to hit a middle ground between the University of Illinois, trying to be more affordable and inclusive, while also trying to grow popular programs that are considered against more selective higher-profile schools. This seems difficult to do, given that the State of Illinois helps the state university to be affordable and accessible to Illinois residents and DePaul has a small endowment for a school that serves over 24,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students.

At the same time DePaul is deservedly proud of so many academic offerings that attract students who might also be considering more selective institutions. There are many good academic reasons to choose DePaul, as long as the costs work out. The “prep for work” experience is there and so is the fun of the city. There are plenty of DePaul alumni in many cities to meet up for events and watch parties, though they are more likely to see the women succeed in the post season at this point. DePaul should be considered vs. Loyola-Chicago when programs overlap. However, keep in mind that the DePaul students move off campus faster and the work goes faster in a quarter system.