Loyola University Chicago

International Admission

Life at the Rome Center

DISCOVER LOYOLA

Discover Loyola is your Loyola orientation. It's also is your key to unlocking all that Loyola and the Rome Start program have to offer.  At Discover Loyola, you will learn about student life and activities, get more familiar with the campus, and find out more about academics and financial aid. Oh, and last but not least—you'll have fun! The Rome Start Discover Loyola is designed specifically with you in mind: it will be your first step in a smooth transition to the U.S. university system.

Your first week in Rome will be full of orientation and campus community events. Discover Loyola for the Rome Start program will take place during your first three days in Rome. During this time, you and your fellow Rome Start students will have the campus all to yourselves. On your fourth day, the rest of the study abroad students will arrive at the Rome Center and you will be included in their orientation activities as well.  It is tradition at the Rome Center to end orientation with an overnight trip around Italy.

CHICAGO TRIP

As part of the Rome Start students’ ongoing orientation to Loyola and in preparation for your transition to the Chicago campus, a trip to Chicago will be offered during the fall break. Students are asked to cover the cost of the flight to Chicago, however, the University will cover all costs once the students arrive in Chicago. For more information, see the
Chicago trip schedule (note that this schedule is tentative and is subject to change). 

STUDENT LIFE

Rome

At the Rome Center, you will become part of a diverse, tight-knit community. Not only will you form a cohort with your fellow Rome Start students, but you will also be an integral part of a community of 200+ study abroad students. The John Felice Rome Center community often gathers for traditional Italian meals, cookouts, tours of the Eternal City’s famous monuments, nights out at the opera, and a weekly student and faculty "Calcio" (soccer) league. Students may also participate in discussions on European current events, social justice, faith, and humanitarian service with a host of guest speakers and dignitaries who regularly visit campus.

A sampling of the events and activities at the Rome Center include:

  • Off-campus weekend study trips to places such as Tuscany, Pompeii, Sicily, Assisi, and Abruzzo; extended trips to Greece, Tunisia, Northern Ireland, Poland and Prague.
  • A Papal Audience at the Vatican
  • “Wednesday Night Calcio,” the Rome Center’s intramural soccer league
  • Student publications and yearbooks
  • Karaoke nights
  • Guest speakers and lecturers
  • Halloween party and traditional Thanksgiving dinner
  • Talent show

Chicago

When you begin your second year at Loyola, you will have the opportunity to participate in one of the more than 175 clubs and organizations based at our Chicago campuses. You can also participate in Loyola's NCAA Division I athletic programs and numerous service-learning opportunities.

While in Chicago, Loyola students take advantage of many out-of-the-classroom learning opportunities.  The Center for Experiential Learning offers exciting opportunities for academic internships, service-learning, undergraduate research projects, and student employment. 

RESIDENCE LIFE

Residence life is an important aspect of the Loyola experience. The community that results in living with your peers is one that leads to lifelong friendships with roommates, neighbors, faculty, and staff members. For this reason, Loyola requires that all students live on campus during their first two years, unless they live at home with a parent of legal guardian.

Rome Start students living on-campus will live with fellow Rome Start students in their own wing of the John Felice Rome Center residence hall. The residence hall offers double-room occupancy with community bathrooms. There may be times when students are placed in single-, triple-, or quadruple-room occupancy. All rooms are fully furnished with a bed, closet, desk, and chair for every student. Rooms also include a refrigerator, sink, and ceiling fan. Take a look at the JFRC residence hall!