FRESHMEN FLOCK

TO ROOSEVELT U.

More campus housing, aid attract students   

September 13, 2008 

BY DAVE NEWBART Staff Reporter dnewbart@suntimes.com

Aubrey Stanton and Joshua Kolapo are two reasons why Roosevelt University saw a whopping 70 percent increase in its freshman class this year.

Both are 18 and both came to Roosevelt straight out of high school -- a target group that Roosevelt, long known as a commuter school, hasn't gone after much in the past.

Aubrey Stanton and Joshua Kolapo were attracted to Roosevelt Univerity's theater programs and proximity to Chicago theaters. They both chose Chicago over schools in New York. "It's more friendly here," Stanton said.

Both are from out of state but were attracted to the school's theater programs and proximity to several top theaters.

And both visited the campus and fell in love with the city and the school's location in the heart of downtown on South Michigan Avenue, near Congress.

"Chicago is the new New York," said Kolapo, who's from Jacksonville, Fla. "We have everything we need. The city is perfect."

Mary Hendry, Roosevelt's vice president for enrollment and student services, said the location, as well as its social justice mission, have helped attract a record 520 new freshmen -- up from 306 last year.

The school also increased financial aid, beefed up its liberal arts curriculum and recruited heavily among high school students. And it increased on-campus housing and added attractions such as first-run movies to transform the school into a more traditional university.

"When I came here 12 years ago, you could shoot cannons down the hall during the day," Hendry said, noting that most students worked full-time and attended class at night. That's changing rapidly, she said.

Roosevelt's total enrollment this fall is 7,650 -- second-highest in school history. Students have registered to take 72,000 credit hours of classes -- the most ever at Roosevelt, reflecting its shift from part-time commuter school to one that aims to attract more full-time students.

Stanton, of Warrenton, Va., a musical theater major, likes being in the middle of a big city but also having small classes and access to teachers who are actors in top theater companies.

"There are so many opportunities," she said. "Theaters everywhere. We have parks. We are right across the street from Lake Michigan."

Stanton considered going to school in New York, with its varied theater scene. But, like Kolapo, she rejected New York in favor of Chicago.

"It's more friendly here," she said.