City: Chicago, IL

Category: Education

Telephone: (312) 915-6000

Address: 820 N. Michigan Ave.

Description: Founded in 1870 as St. Ignatius College, Loyola is the largest of 28 Jesuit colleges and universities in the US. It has a total enrollment of just under 16,000 students who attend the 10 schools and colleges, including arts and sciences, business administration, law, and communication, just to name a few. Its Lake Shore campus literally hugs the Lake Michigan shoreline in the Rogers Park neighborhood, which means that after hitting the books, most students make plenty of time to hit the beach and bike path. The Water Tower campus is in the heart of downtown, adjacent to the Magnificent Mile, a dynamic place to learn and live, and close to the Loyola University Museum of Art. Besides its city campuses, it also has a suburban campus in Maywood (708-216-9000) where its Stritch School of Medicine and Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing work closely with the Loyola University Health System. Internationally, Loyola has a center in Rome; it serves as the US host to the Beijing Center for Chinese Studies in Beijing, China; and it features an academic center in Saigon-Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Among Loyola’s many diverse alums are two who have risen to pop-culture fame: Bill Rancic, winner of Season 1 of The Apprentice, and Ian Brennan, a co-creator and co-producer of Glee. Athletics may play second fiddle to academic and religious pursuits here, but the Ramblers are, in fact, part of NCAA Division I sports, and the school is a member of the Horizon League.