I had a great visit to Loyola University in New Orleans Louisiana! The campus is adjacent to Tulane University's campus and all students can take any classes that they wish at Tulane.The dining plans also allow for unlimited dining at each other's campuses.

The College of Music and Media is big here. I'm told that there are more recording studios than practice rooms, so I'm going to assume that Music Industry Studies, Popular and Commercial Music majors, and Hip Hop and R&B majors may be more popular than classical performance. In fact, my tour guide told me that recently, two students from Loyola were signed by Atlantic Records, and two students are interning at Sony. The Nursing School has a brand new $5M simulation lab, just opened last year. And all business students are paired with an alumni mentor junior year, and do one required internship.

99% of Loyola students receive financial aid, 54% are students of color, and 32% are first generation. 40% come from Louisiana. The university has a wonderful program called Iggy's Cupboard which provides toiletries, food and clothing for students who need them.

There's a beautiful sculpture garden in the middle of campus with a very special Hurricane Katrina statue, engraved with the names of all colleges and universities that housed Loyala students after Hurricane Katrina. In recent news, Loyala has announced a new president: Xavier A. Cole is the university's 18th president, the first president of color and the second lay person to lead Loyola New Orleans.He begins his tenure June first.