Brooke Jackson is a senior in the College of Communication majoring in public relations and advertising with a minor in graphic design. She shared her top three reasons for enrolling at DePaul. 

As an out-of-state student, I’ve been asked why I chose DePaul more times than I can count. For me it was honestly a no-brainer. Between the location, the academics and the opportunities DePaul is able to give students, it was the perfect fit. Despite committing to DePaul being an easy decision for me, I know the stress the entire college application process puts on a student. After countless admission essays, college tours and weighing the costs of different schools, I was more than excited to finally make my decision when May 1st came around. Here are some of the top reasons why I chose DePaul.

Academics
Even before I graduated high school, I knew I wanted to study public relations. When looking up PR programs while I was applying to colleges, I continued to stumble upon DePaul’s program. Through research, I was also able to find that PR Week recognized DePaul as one of the top five PR schools in the U.S. three years in a row. Despite the fact I knew what I wanted to major in long before my first day of college, I know tons of students go into college undecided on what major they might choose. The great part about DePaul is they literally have a major for everybody. Even though I was fairly certain I would stick with PR, I could rest easy knowing if I wanted to switch majors, I had a ton of options to choose from.

Location
I grew up on the seacoast of New Hampshire in a fairly tiny town. And needless to say, I was eager to move to a big city for college. Boston was too close, Los Angeles too far and New York City too big, which made Chicago the perfect fit. The past three years I’ve spent living in Chicago have been such an amazing experience. There are tons of great foods to eat, shows to see and festivals to visit. Not only is it a fantastic city to explore, but the career opportunities that can be found throughout the city were something that immediately drew me to DePaul. When I first toured here and heard that many students get real-life experience through internships [at companies in Chicago] I was beyond excited.

Campus Life
Campus life is also a huge factor that made me choose DePaul for the long run. This includes everything from Vincentian service opportunities to on-campus groups and clubs to study abroad opportunities. While at DePaul, I’ve participated in tons of different community service projects across the city, joined clubs and even spent a semester studying abroad in Budapest. I remember when I first toured DePaul, it seemed like nearly every student was doing something he or she loved outside of class hours. No matter what interests you, there is a group here on campus that would be a perfect fit.

Edited and adapted with permission from DeBlogs.

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