Roosevelt University is one building people notice and one they mostly do not: the historic Auditorium Building on Michigan Avenue, and the tall Wabash tower next to it where most student life happens. Everything is stacked — classrooms, residence floors, lounges, the library — so your social life happens in lifts, lounges and study rooms rather than on lawns.
Roosevelt is small, diverse, part-commuter and built on a social-justice founding story, which shows up in the kinds of student organisations that thrive here. Small plus purposeful is a good combination for making friends, provided you stop treating the building as a place you pass through.
What the campus is actually like
- Vertical. The Wabash building holds classrooms, residences and social spaces in one stack — the lounges with the skyline views are the closest thing to a quad.
- Small classes. You will recognise people from other courses within weeks, which is a real advantage over big campuses.
- Mixed population. Traditional undergraduates, commuters, working adults and graduate students in performing arts, business, psychology and education.
- The Loop is the campus. Grant Park, the lakefront, the theatre district and the museums are minutes away on foot.
Where friendships actually start
The lounges, not your room
The student lounges and study floors are where a vertical campus does its socialising. Pick one, use it at the same times weekly, and sit at a shared table.
Student organisations and student government
Roosevelt''s clubs skew toward advocacy, cultural organisations, professional societies and performing arts. Because the school is small, joining one puts you within one degree of most of the active student body — and student government or event planning makes you a face people recognise.
Performing arts and the Conservatory
If you are in the music conservatory or theatre programmes, your ensemble or cast is your social life: rehearsal is repetition with a shared goal, which is the ideal condition. Non-performers should still attend student concerts and shows, then stay after.
Sport and recreation
Athletics and recreation are modest here, but intramurals and the fitness centre still deliver the weekly appointment that friendships need — as do downtown gyms and run clubs if you want more.
Off campus: the Loop and the South Loop
- Free culture on your doorstep: Millennium Park, the lakefront, Grant Park and museum free days — start with free things to do in Chicago and galleries and museums.
- Food halls downtown are the natural student lunch: see the best food halls and markets in Chicago.
- Nights out: live music, comedy, and rooftop bars when someone is celebrating.
- Nearby neighbourhoods: the West Loop and Pilsen are both short rides for cheaper food and a younger crowd.
If you commute or work
Stack your campus time into one long day, join a club that meets on it, and always take the twenty minutes afterwards for coffee or food. Then add one weekly commitment near home — a run club, trivia night or book club — so your social life is not hostage to your timetable.
Graduate, adult and international students
Roosevelt has a lot of adult learners, so mixed-age friendships are normal and nobody will ask why you are here at thirty-five. Graduate students should build the cohort ritual themselves — a pre-class dinner in the food hall works. International students benefit from the small class sizes: you will be a familiar face quickly, and the cultural organisations do the rest.
Your first term, in order
- Weeks 1–2: claim a lounge, join one organisation, attend one student performance.
- Weeks 3–6: four consecutive meetings, four names, one coffee after.
- Weeks 7–10: volunteer to help run an event — organisers make friends fastest at small schools.
- Weeks 11+: take two people to Millennium Park, a show or a food hall dinner.
Common questions
Is Roosevelt a social university?
Quietly, yes — small classes and shared lounges make recognition easy. It does not have big-campus spectacle, so you have to join things.
Where do Roosevelt students hang out?
The Wabash building lounges and library floors, downtown food halls and cafés, and Grant Park or the lakefront in warm weather.
Is living downtown good for students?
For transit, culture and free things, it is excellent. For cheap nightlife it is not, so learn the trains west and north.
I am a working adult student. Will I fit in?
Yes — a large share of the student body is in the same position, and study groups and programme clubs are where those friendships form.
How do I meet people beyond campus?
See the Chicago city guide and the best apps for making friends in Chicago.
