Loyola Program Opens Doors to Most Vulnerable

Loyola University Chicago was Blanca Rodriguez’s dream school.

The Jesuit institution’s $42,000 tuition was out of the question for her family, but Rodriguez will soon be a graduate of a Loyola school anyway thanks to a program for low-income students designed to get them halfway to a bachelor’s degree with little or no debt.

Rodriguez is in the first graduating class of Arrupe College, a two-year program run by Loyola at its Water Tower Campus in the Gold Coast neighborhood. Established in 2015, Arrupe offers three types of associate degrees, mostly fulfilling general education requirements that will enable students to segue into bachelor’s programs at other schools.

Premium Employers