Depaul vs UIC

[Kevin]

hey all, I am both a UIC and a Depaul fan. i do not attend either schools yet as I am in my senior year of high school.

I've been following this board for a while now, and I noticed that a lot of you are very confident that UIC is a better academic institution than Depaul.

I don't agree with this. UIC has great engineering and biological sciences programs, but this doesn't put them over Depaul in terms of an overall academic experience.

with a 106-year history, depaul actually has a tradition and a happier feeling shared by students. everyone who goes to depaul loves the school. UIC's situation is quite different.

both schools are mostly commuter campuses, but both are moving at an equal rate at becoming more residential. university village will work out great for UIC and depaul's plan to build a new 300-student capacity dorm plus their huge university center of chicago dorm in the loop is great.

Depaul was selected to be in Princeton Review's Best Colleges book, and is rated #12 in the nation as having the Happiest Students, and #9 great college towns.

in my honest opinion, UIC and Depaul are tied in terms of academics, but Depaul definitely has an edge in the overall college experience because of these facts...i'm saying this with an unbiased opinion because I do not attend either schools, am a fan of both basketball programs, and am seriously considering both schools to attend next year.

this post doesn't carry any type of insult...but i just wanted to throw this opinion of mine in...

now lets go and destroy detroit!

[UICJohn]

I cannot honestly say that in responding to this, I am not biased towards UIC. Before attending UIC, I applied to both schools and after my first year I reapplied to DePaul. I received a scholarship but still stayed at UIC.

While I do think that the academics offered at UIC are superior, the overall experience at DePaul is probably a little better. However, I don't think by much or by anything that cannot be changed at UIC. UIC is also building a new dormitory on Halsted and Roosevelt which will be accompanied by a new auditorium.

The main thing that is holding UIC back against DePaul is stereotypes. If you asked a common person what is a better school, UIC or DePaul, I think a majority would say DePaul. Assumptions that DePaul is private, older, and has a much higher tuition lead many to believe that it is in fact superior. My friend, who was rejected from UIC and had to go to DePaul, constantly tells me "Well, people can't believe I got into DePaul and not UIC". Well, I do. I mean, it happens alot now actually.

The overall campus experience is improving at UIC. Freshman year, the campus was dead after 3 pm and while it's not this amazing hub of activity, it is improving. And while DePaul is seen as more activity, it is also a pretty dead campus at times. Each school has a similar amount of dorming students, but DePaul has more out of town students which means more actually stay.

I hate that DePaul students are happy. That makes me mad But while DePaul was ranked as one of the best college towns, isn't UIC in the same "town" as them? Either way, none of it taken personally, just my bit of opinion.

We need that win against Detroit!

[FreeRadical]

I think you are confusing academics with aunt Nilly's perception of what's a good school for Joey. There is no way DePaul's faculty are in the same league as UIC's - at least by any OBJECTIVE measure. So forget that.

Instead, make your decision based on the unvarnished truth:

DePaul: Notoriously soft school popular with affluent slackers and night-schoolers. Profs and lecturers are told not to push things too hard. The classes are easy, the girls are plentiful, and the students love it - particularly since the overwhelming majority don't have to pay for it themselves (if they did, a lot of them would be at UIC). Lots of classes with titles containing latest buzzwords (ie, "E-Commerce", "object-oriented", etc.) so looks good on paper. Lincoln Park is SO serene on a sunny winter day. Cushy, Expen$ive and Unchallenging.

UIC: A "top-50 research institution" with all the assorted baggage that goes along with that designation. Popular with inner-city kids, immigrants, and pre-meds. A diverse (and I mean DIVERSE) student body which is a bizarre juxtaposition of both the best and the worst students in the entire U of I system. Profs must bring home lots research grant bacon or they're shown the door. Students must bust tail or THEY are shown the door. Classes are crowded and difficult and the girls are ethnic. Tuition as cheap as it gets, school as hard as rocks. Tough school, tough neighborhood. Wimps and wooses need not apply.

Bottom Line: DePaul is not in the same league as UIC academically, but many consider it a nicer place to be. And those of us who labored in the salt mines of UIC will always see it (rightly or wrongly) as a country club.

You must make your decision based on the relative importance YOU place on cost, academics, and quality of life. UIC wins the first two, hands down. DePaul (at least for a substantial number of students) - the third. And for the typical DePaul student the third is far and away the most important.

Have you considered SIU?

[NewFoundGlory]

Guest-Kevin said:

hey all, I am both a UIC and a Depaul fan. i do not attend either schools yet as I am in my senior year of high school.

I've been following this board for a while now, and I noticed that a lot of you are very confident that UIC is a better academic institution than Depaul.

I don't agree with this. UIC has great engineering and biological sciences programs, but this doesn't put them over Depaul in terms of an overall academic experience.

with a 106-year history, depaul actually has a tradition and a happier feeling shared by students. everyone who goes to depaul loves the school. UIC's situation is quite different.

both schools are mostly commuter campuses, but both are moving at an equal rate at becoming more residential. university village will work out great for UIC and depaul's plan to build a new 300-student capacity dorm plus their huge university center of chicago dorm in the loop is great.

Depaul was selected to be in Princeton Review's Best Colleges book, and is rated #12 in the nation as having the Happiest Students, and #9 great college towns.

in my honest opinion, UIC and Depaul are tied in terms of academics, but Depaul definitely has an edge in the overall college experience because of these facts...i'm saying this with an unbiased opinion because I do not attend either schools, am a fan of both basketball programs, and am seriously considering both schools to attend next year.

this post doesn't carry any type of insult...but i just wanted to throw this opinion of mine in...

now lets go and destroy detroit!

Depaul is located in a "college town"? I think the city of Chicago is above that status. We're not UofI or NIU where the college is the town.

[UICJohn]

Completely agree with your assessment FreeRadical. Although, I have to say the area around UIC is becoming much nicer and accessable. When I was a Freshman, it was out of the question to walk around, and in just four short years, you see many more students who live off campus and are walking around the neighborhoods. With all of the new shops on Taylor Street and University Village. Now we just need some new bars damn it!

But when you get down to it, I agree with all you said. DePaul students are happy because it's a nice little neighborhood and they have alot more out of state students who are amazed by the big city. You can get into DePaul; the key is if you can pay for it. Just like any school, UIC has it's less-gifted students. However, any school, especially one as big as UIC, will have it's lower end students. The fact is that UIC has no tradition. It is basically new. But the strides it has made, in particular in the past 5-10 years, is amazing.

[NewFoundGlory]

Yea, there is no social life (bars, parties, etc) at UIC.

[bigm]

I would also have to agree that academically, UIC is a much better school. I have friends who attend or attended DePaul for grad school, and they say that UIC is much better academically. I was a math and philosophy major at UIC, and I would have to say that UIC is far more superior then DePaul in those two areas. Just check the rankings on those categories. And if the rankings are not a strong defense, look at the faculty of each department. I looked, and I would rather study philosophy under a UIC professor than DePaul. As far as business, I think DePaul is better, but that is only through reputation. Talk to any average person in the “business” world, and they would say DePaul has a better business school. Whether that is true or not, I don’t know. But reputation far out-weighs any rankings we may find in the literature. I believe that if there’s any academic advantage DePaul has over UIC, it is only through reputation, i.e., it’s long history.

[NewFoundGlory]

bigm said:

I would also have to agree that academically, UIC is a much better school. I have friends who attend or attended DePaul for grad school, and they say that UIC is much better academically. I was a math and philosophy major at UIC, and I would have to say that UIC is far more superior then DePaul in those two areas. Just check the rankings on those categories. And if the rankings are not a strong defense, look at the faculty of each department. I looked, and I would rather study philosophy under a UIC professor than DePaul. As far as business, I think DePaul is better, but that is only through reputation. Talk to any average person in the “business” world, and they would say DePaul has a better business school. Whether that is true or not, I don’t know. But reputation far out-weighs any rankings we may find in the literature. I believe that if there’s any academic advantage DePaul has over UIC, it is only through reputation, i.e., it’s long history.

Yea, I agree. If you wanted to compare schools depending on the area of study, depaul and uic would be better depending on the specialty, but OVERALL, right now at least, Depaul is a better school academically. But if we wanna talk about medical school and similar things, UIC has the upper hand.. Economics, business, that's all Univ. of Chicago.

[catalum2000]

I think I shall stay out of this discussion. ;D

[Kevin]

Thank you all for giving me some valuable opinions about academics at UIC versus DePaul. I am trying to gather opinions from both biased and neutral people to get a feel for how these two schools are.

However, there's one thing that you guys who replied in this thread need to know: I'm from Munster, Indiana, so if I attended UIC, I would be paying UIC's $9,200 per semester tuition rate. DePaul's tuition is roughly 20,000 per year, which is lower than most private schools. If I attended UIC, I would be paying around $18 grand, so tuition rates are not a factor for deciding between UIC and DePaul.

UIC's biology, philosphy, chemistry, and pre-pharmacy programs are superior than DePaul, but from what I've gathered so far, DePaul's communications, business, and info tech programs have an edge.

Overall, I still don't think UIC is "far superior" like many of you said compared to DePaul, because there has to be a reason why college guide books like Princeton Review's Best 331 Colleges and Kaplan's "328 Most Interesting Colleges" and numerous other "best college" guides profile DePaul and not UIC...

but anyway, UIC basketball isn't looking too good right now. granted, we lost to detriot without mcghee AND armond, but it is ridiculous that armond got into a fight with someone from a DII team, where the game doesn't even matter, and as a result, costed us a Horizon conference game.

i guess it's time to kinda "tune out" from UIC basketball until the Horizon tournament because that is when the games will actually "count". no point in conference games from here on out...

[Big D]

Kevin,

It's good to do your research, but the rankings you speak of should be looked at carefully. We have talked about these types of rankings on this board many times before, and it is my opinion that they are greatly biased towards private, established, big-name universities....and they're mostly based on reputation alone. For instance, take the USNews rankings....what a load of garbage they are. If you look at the breakdown of what makes you a top college, you'd see the following categories...

www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/about/weight_brief.php

Here a just a couple of problems with these categories...

1) They use alumni giving as a measure of quality. Well right there, this is biased towards schools like Yale, Harvard, blah....I mean, when you educate rich people (Yale, Harvard), you are much more likely to get a donation than a school which educates a very diverse middle class. I mean, since I can't afford to donate to UIC right now, does that mean I think it's a bad institution or that I'm unhappy with the education I received? No, it means I probably can't afford it at this time.

2) They use retention and graduation rates, yet they fail to take into account whether or not a school is a commuter school. UIC has a notoriously low retention rate because a lot of students leave after their first year due to their dislike of commuting or dislike of the commuter school atmosphere. And, as far as graduation rates are concerned, if you have a low retention rate, you will have a problem with graduation rate.

3) Peer assessment? Do you know anybody that wouldn't say Yale is a good school? Yet, they have probably never taken a class there. This is based on reputation alone and although UIC is a great school and has a pretty darn good reputation, it is a young school trying to gain respect (compare it to a rookie in the NBA.....they get no foul calls).

I believe you cannot see the complete rankings anymore at usnews, but UIC's academic score is pretty good....in the midst of the tier-2 universities, but the other categories (some of which I mentioned above) bring us down to tier-3.....but should the amount of money I donate help you decide that UIC is not a great school? I guess that's up to you.

I will say that UIC whipped me into shape....I came out of high-school near the top of my class and I thought college would be just as easy. After getting kicked out of the honor's college my first year and nearly being put on probation, I worked my ass off and got great grades the rest of my time at UIC. I graduated with a computer engineering degree and now at my job, people with degrees from other schools all over the country come to me for help.....big ten schools, ACC schools, private schools, etc. So I feel I was well-prepared. Now you can go visit the Loyola board (they have a thread talking about UIC vs. Depaul) and other Horizon League boards and read their UIC academic bashing, but they're just ignorant...they must think we have horrible academics because we gamble on prop48 basketball players. Loyola fans still contend that Banks and Bailey would've attended Loyola had they had better grades....yet I have never seen an article about this.

So, maybe you should visit each campus and see what you like better. In the end, both schools are good schools, and you will receive the education you want to receive....it's all based on what you want to get out of it. What do you want to major in?

[Kevin]

I don't really care about and don't really consider US News' rankings list. Many people have told me the same thing that you said, so you are probably right in that respect.

I am undecided as to what to major in, but am interested in communications, business/finance, and/or philosphy. I'm not a science guy so no bio/chem stuff that UIC is esteemed for.

[UICgrad]

I saw that you are considering a degree in Communications. I majored in Comm and I just wanted to let you know that it is mostly a theory based curriculum. The professors are top notch, you will be challenged and you won't be bored, but if you are looking to be a journalist or for broadcasting classes, I don't think you will get the training you need. If it is writing you are interested in, at least consider minoring in English- that department caters more toward that area of communications and it is a good program. But if you do decide Communications is what you want, you have to put yourself into it- maybe join one of the papers. And be sure to check out the internship department at UIC and internships in general on your own. As with anything you decide to go into, hands-on practical skills are key. Good luck with your decision!

[mr blue]

Kevin,

I am a DePaul student, and I can truly say that academics are first at DePaul, just like they are at UIC. However, DePaul with a century-long history has at least some tradition. We have a ton of alumni in the Chicago area because of that long history which is nothing but good news for DePaul students.

UIC is a great institution for those who cannot afford dishing out 20 grand or more a year, but since you're out of state and considering Chicago to study, DePaul would be the premier choice.

For those of you UIC fans who say that professors at UIC are much more qualified, why do DePaul professors have significantly more published textbooks that are used throughout the country? I'm a junior finance major and my professors in FIN 320 and 330 give lectures in Hong Kong and London.

i'm glad you're doing some research. UIC faculty is great, but thats about the only thing good about the school (haha... ;D ). at least depaul doesn't have those ugly, solid brown concrete as our campus buildings.

[UICJohn]

Well, the typical response I get from a DePaul student usually is that UIC has ugly concrete buildings or doesn't have as many bars around the neighborhood. Now, if you want to consider that as the reason you chose one school or another, that's okay. I didn't go to UIC because I couldn't afford DePaul; money was not an issue at all. In fact, after the scholarship I was offered, they were about the same price. It came down to me feeling more comfortable at UIC and feeling like, because it was a public university, having more opportunities. However, I also agree that it depends on what you're going to major in. Certain majors are probably better at DePaul than at UIC and vice versa. My friend is taking a Finance class, a 300 level class, and they're using the same text book as Northwestern uses in its graduate courses.

When it comes down to it, both schools have their good points and their not so good points. Maybe a better way for me to put it is that DePaul has been a good school for years while UIC is becoming a better school. I think that if you used projections, UIC has the opportunity to become a better school judging from advancements made in the past 10 or so years. Research at UIC, for example, has doubled in the past 5 years alone and they are the only university who can say that. And with research money comes professors and so on.