For Three Quick Questions, I send the same three questions to admission representatives at colleges all over the country, and then I hope to hear back from them. The three questions are meant to probe some of the things that make a school unique but that aren’t easily captured as a stat to go in a book or web search.

Today’s response is from Mariesa Negosanti, Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admission at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois.

What is a course, tradition, program or event that is unique to DePaul University?

We actually have a list of traditions on our website that you can peruse. One of my personal favorites, though, is the Chicago Quarter. It's a required course for first-year students and is a "Chicago 101" of sorts. It helps get students acclimated to the city and learning different aspects of its history.

Naturally every college wants to recruit the perfect student--high grades, high test scores, involved in their community, leadership...everything. But what kinds of imperfect students tend to flourish at DePaul?

I actually am not sure I subscribe to the notion that we're all looking for the "perfect" student. I'm not even sure what the "perfect" student is or if that even exists, or if we even want it to exist! I think the types of students who thrive at DePaul are independent and creative. Our students really are fully functioning adults living in the city of Chicago, and for some it's their first time living alone and living in a city, but their spirit longs for the challenges and growth that experience brings.

When people come to visit Chicago, what's a place off campus that you recommend they check out while they're there?

Lastly, this question is the toughest because there is simply SO much to do in Chicago. Truly within minutes of leaving your front door, you could be eating at some of the world’s best restaurants in Fulton Market, enjoying the charm of Chinatown or the creativity of Wicker Park, or soaking in the skyline from the lakeshore. Explore a theatre scene that offers everything from Broadway hits to improv groups. Wander through a collection of the world’s finest art and artifacts at The Field Museum or Art Institute of Chicago. And, of course, there are more coffee shops, gardens, monuments, fountains and all-around points of interest than we can fit on this screen.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, here are three easy things you can do:

1. Share it on your social media feeds so your friends and colleagues can see it too.

2. See which other colleges and universities answered the questions.

3. Is there a school you’d like to hear from? Let me know, and I’ll make sure they get the questions.

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Photo by Angela Elisabeth. [The banner photo is not of DePaul. I use the same photo for all Meet the Class posts so you can spot them easily.]

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