A cozy private school
Written: Jan 23 '01 (Updated Jan 23 '01)
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Pros: Great "family- feeling", lots of activities for students, near large City(Chicago)
Cons: Way pricey
The Bottom Line: An excellent school, for both graduate and undergraduate students, if you can swing the cost. Great area, great faculty and staff, great school.
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| geovolt's Full Review: Concordia University-River Forest |
Though I'm not, nor have I ever been a student at Concordia University--River Forest, Illinois, I was enrolled there, and have made campus visits. Concordia University-- River Forest (referred to by it's students: RF) is a small Christian Liberal Arts school not too far from Chicago.
Some background
Concordia is a member of the Concordia University System. A higher- learning family of 10 schools all bearing the Concordia name. Each of the schools, including RF is a member of The Lutheran Church-- Missouri Synod.
The school itself was founded in 1864, then referred to as Concordia Teacher's College. It's a beautiful campus on about 40 acres. Recently they built a covered parking area-- not just for Concordia staff, but for students to use as well; a new sport-plex, and some renovation among the dorm rooms.
What it offers
The school offers both graduate and undergraduate degrees. (I was enrolled as an undergraduate student specializing in Youth Ministry.) Concordia isn't just a place to get your degree in religious work, however. You can study education, human services, psychology, and several other areas of study as well.
Enrollment
If you want a larger school, Concordia is probably not for you. Currently enrollment is around 1900 students. They claim to have a rather diverse ethnic population, however, it's not that diverse. The majority of the students are upper- middle class white folk.
Faculty & Staff
Concordia has nearly 90 professors for their course offerings. Which means, excellent teacher- student ratio. They offer "Learning- Assistance" instructors to help those students that need it. Many Academic advisors as well as admissions counselors-- to help out the students before they become "Students of Concordia".
Athletics
There are many sports to participate in their athletic program. Including baseball, softball, basketball, football, tennis, cross- country, track and field,soccer, volleyball, and Spirit Squads (for female athletes). Concordia belongs to the NCAA- III and the Northern Illinois- Iowa conference.
Student Life
Concordia offers many programs for Student Life. Many of the activities are based around the students career path, although that's not always the case. They have study groups, support groups, pep groups, volunteer groups, and many, many others. Many of these groups take trips fairly regularly. For example, my friend who is in the DCE (Director of Christian Education) program at Concordia recently took a group mission trip with the other DCE students to Mexico.
Admissions
Admissions is fast and easy. Once you have sent your transcript along with your admissions application fee and your ACT/SAT scores you'll be notified within a few weeks of when they receive your application of whether or not you're accepted.
Cost
Per semester hour Undergraduate and Graduate classes are from 430.-441$ My tuition/room&board/books for the year would have been 19,125$ This included a meal ticket and was for the 2000- 2001 school year. It's rather expensive, by any means, but it's well worth it. Plus, they offer much financial assistance. I was granted 13,725$ in grants/scholarships. Yep, I typed grants and scholarships. That wasn't including any loan I may have gotten. Of course, due to my projected major in a religious field, I was granted more than some non-religion majors.
Atmosphere
There are tons of clubs and activities for the students to participate in. From clubs focusing on the genre of that student's interest or major to co-ed sport activities. Although, the student population isn't very diverse, they make sure each and every student feels comfortable and at home. They offer clubs and social groups catering to many different ethnic backgrounds. Also, because of the religious affiliation, one might suspect that they give special treatment to those students belonging to the Lutheran Church-- Missouri Synod (LCMS), however, they do not! I've talked to many a persons that aren't affiliated with the church in any way, and they feel just as welcomed at RF as any member of the Synod. The only advantage LCMS students (or Lutheran students for that matter) have over non- Synod students is financial aid. If you're a student belonging to a church in the LCMS, you get a little extra cash.
Dorms
Being a smaller school, they have fewer dorms than many others. All are male only or female only (after all, it's a Religious school). The dorms is one area where the school doesn't get 5- stars. They're rather small and most aren't yet air-conditioned.
Other stuff
When I first enrolled at Concordia I received a huge package of stuff for not only me, but my parents to look through. Those were accompanied by a friendly telephone call from my Admissions Counselor (one of many calls I got from him). Any questions my parents or I had were answered, plus any questions we didn't have. The only problem I had was when I decided to put off admission for another year, I felt bad to tell my counselor. He really made me feel as if HE wanted me there and that I'd be a great asset to the "Concordia Family". I felt like I'd let him down when I told him. He was supportive and told me that he'd be in touch, if I changed my mind or needed ANY help with anything. He also told me that he'd put my name on the enrollment list for next year. He still checks back with me on a pretty frequent basis.
I'm sure many of you can say "Well, that's how they're suppose to make you feel. Which is true, but he was different than some other admission counselors I've spoken to. He remembered little details about me, and my family. Which made me feel good.
Another thing I really liked about Concordia--RF is their program for freshmen. Concordia's mascot is a Cougar. Each freshman gets him/herself a couple "Cougar Parents"--an upperclassman, usually a senior. I had 3 Cougar Parents, a Cougar ma, and 2 Cougar dads. Basically, these Cougar Parents contact their "child" a few months before school is to start via snail mail; explain to them what the deal is with the "Cougar Parent/child", tell the Cougar Kid a little about him/herself, and ask some questions. They give them some information as to how to contact them (e.g. their email address, phone number, etc.) and tell them about the Freshman Orientation Day.
Freshman Orientation Day is great for the Freshman. It's a bit cheesy, and there's probably not many students that will claim they enjoyed it, but it's a good way to get yourself familiarized with the school and people, and to become comfortable with your new surroundings. On FOD you go through the "dos and don'ts" as well as take the tour of the campus and get all your information. Freshmen arrive before the Upper-classmen do (other than the Cougar Parents) so that you can become comfortable with everything before the rush comes in. They have a ice breaker kind of party. With games and food (ice cream, pizza, etc.). This is when you meet your "Cougar Parent". They take you under their wing and help you get through the freshman fright.
Recommended:
Yes
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geovolt
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Member: Rachel
Location: Rutherford, TN
Reviews written: 29
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