Undergraduate Admission Frequently Asked Questions

No. When you apply to Loyola, you’re applying to the university as a whole and not any individual program, school, or major. Once you enroll, you can pursue a major and take classes in any and all of the university’s three schools: Loyola College of Arts & Sciences, School of Education, or the Sellinger School of Business & Management. You also don’t need to officially declare a major until 3 semesters after enrollment. This means you have the freedom to explore your interests and the flexibility to change your mind without falling behind.

We do not require interviews or utilize them in our application review process. However, if you would like to schedule an informal, informational interview with your admission counselor, you can do so by finding the counselor who works with students from your school. We would love to connect with you!

You can track the status of your application materials by logging in to your applicant status portal and viewing your materials checklist.

Following the submission of your application to Loyola, you will receive an email that includes login credentials to your applicant status portal. After logging in for the first time, you will be prompted to create your own password. From there, you can track the status of your application materials, and, ultimately, find out your admission decision.

For assistance in resetting your applicant status portal, please contact admission@loyola.edu.

Students wishing to change their decision plan after they apply can do so if decisions have not yet been released. Written requests to change a decision plan can be submitted to admission@loyola.edu.

Students wishing to change their test plan can do so if application decisions have not yet been released. Written requests to change a test plan can be submitted to admission@loyola.edu.

Yes, Loyola offers several different fee waivers. Please see our Fee Waiver Policy for additional details.

Loyola offers course credit for several AP, IB, and college courses. Please visit our Academic Advising and Support Center website for more information.

Incoming first-year students can transfer up to 30 credits worth of college credits taken while they were dual-enrolled in high school. College level work completed prior to high school graduation will be reviewed for transfer credit upon receipt of an official, seal-bearing transcript from the credit bearing institution, and occasionally a course description or syllabus from the courses in question. This evaluation will be completed in the summer between a student’s graduation from high school and enrollment at Loyola.

No. Students graduating from high school with their associate degree are still eligible to transfer up to 30 credits to Loyola. Students will work with our Academic Advising and Support Center to determine which credits would be most useful to their degree program at Loyola.

Loyola publishes our test score averages for admitted students each year. These ranges should give you a good sense of where your scores are in comparison to other students in our applicant pool.

No! Loyola has been test-optional since 2009, so we are very familiar with evaluating students for admission both with and without their test scores. Learn more about Loyola's full test-optional policies and procedures.

Loyola does not require or consider SAT subject tests or the ACT writing section to be considered for admission. See our standardized testing policy for additional information.

Loyola does accept self-reported test scores for purposes of application review. Students who ultimately enroll at Loyola will be required to submit official test scores from College Board. See our standardized testing policy for additional information.

Loyola does super score the SAT and ACT. We will take your highest math and your highest reading score from all test dates to determine your highest, or “super” composite score. See our standardized testing policy for additional information.

Yes. All Loyola honors and scholars programs require separate applications. Students must submit their application to Loyola before being granted access to the honors/scholars applications. Deadlines vary by program. For a breakdown of the different programs, please visit our Honors and Scholars Programs webpage.

Loyola does not use demonstrated interest as a factor in making admission decisions.

Loyola does not require any additional materials to review home-schooled applicants. We will follow the same holistic review process as we do with all other applicants, considering program curriculum, rigor of courses, recommendations, and extracurricular involvement. Test scores are also not required of home school applicants.

Students who are deferred from Early Action or Early Decision to Regular Decision will be notified of their final admission decision no later than mid-March.

Yearly tuition, room, and food costs can be viewed on our tuition, price, and affordability page.

If you have not yet applied for financial aid, we encourage you to use the Net Price Calculator to estimate your eligibility for financial aid at Loyola. If you have received your financial aid package already, please use the Undergraduate Bill Calculator to estimate your out-of-pocket costs.

No. All students (first-year, transfer, and international) are eligible to receive merit-based scholarships, and every student who completes an application for admission is automatically considered for merit scholarship funding. No separate application is required, and students will be notified of their merit scholarship at the time of admission.

Our goal is to incorporate privately funded awards or awards from other outside sources in a student's financial aid package as favorably as possible. These awards are added to meet any unmet need first and then substituted for self-help forms of financial aid before adjusting institutional grant assistance. Additionally, the awards are applied evenly to the students account between the fall and spring semesters unless otherwise specified by the donor.

Loyola students are not required to declare their major until 3 semesters after you enroll. This means you will have plenty of time to explore your options before finding the right fit. Students who know their major are eligible to declare it after their first year at Loyola.

All of them! Recognizing the importance of international experience to a complete, well rounded, Jesuit education, Loyola encourages all majors to explore opportunities to study abroad through one of our 60+ programs! To see a list of “majors best served” by program, visit our Office of International Program’s website.

Loyola’s Core Curriculum is the set of classes that all students will take no matter their major. These courses allow students to graduate with a well-rounded, adaptable understanding of a variety of topics in a variety of disciplines.

Yes, all students take two Theology courses as part of the Core Curriculum. These courses explore fundamental questions in the Christian tradition about God, humanity, and the world that are relevant to the human condition whatever one's personal beliefs may be.

As part of the Core Curriculum, students will complete through the 104 level (4 semesters) of French, Spanish, German, Italian, Chinese, Arabic, or Latin. The number of courses taken at Loyola will depend on a student’s prior experience with a language and their score on the World Language Placement Test.

Students who place above the 104 level in their chosen language based on placement test results may be exempt from the world language requirement pending confirmation from the Modern Languages and Literatures Department after a proctored, on-site placement exam.

No. Loyola does not offer enough courses in ASL to fulfill a language requirement. While some classes are available through our Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences Department, the world language requirement must be completed in French, Spanish, German, Italian, Chinese, Arabic, or Latin.

Heritage speakers of languages taught at Loyola will take the placement test to demonstrate proficiency and can potentially receive an exemption through a proctored, on-site placement exam. Heritage speakers of languages not taught at Loyola who wish to receive an exemption from the language core may contact the Associate Chair of Modern Languages and Literatures for ways to demonstrate proficiency.

Loyola’s Disability Support Services (DSS) will work closely with students on a case-by-case basis to provide students with disabilities equal opportunity to participate in all Loyola programs and activities but eliminating barriers of any type (physical, programmatic, attitudinal, electronic, etc.). Students can register with DSS to request academic or other accommodations.

Our Allergen Brochure explains our allergen program on campus and provides a good starting point for information. We have informational resources and customized menus to address your specific dietary need. We also suggest setting up a meeting with our wellness manager or executive chef so we can better support your dining experience. We are available to answer questions or set up a meeting via email at dining@loyola.edu. If you require accommodations due to allergens, health concerns, or disabilities please register with Disability Support Services (DSS).

Yes, Loyola-sponsored housing is guaranteed all four years a student attends, and approximately 80% of Loyola students elect to live on campus through their senior year.

No. Loyola does not have chapters of any social fraternities or sororities.

Yes! Loyola is home to the Greyhound Battalion through Army ROTC. Graduates from this program are commissioned as Second Lieutenants in the U.S. Army and are committed to serving full-time in the army for 3 years or serving part-time in the U.S. Army Reserve or Army National Guard while pursuing civilian careers. You can find more information on the Greyhound Battalion website.

No. On-campus parking is only available for first-year students in the case of an accommodation made through Disability Support Services (DSS). Sophomores, juniors, and seniors can purchase on-campus parking passes.