Loyola Marymount University sits in Los Angeles and is genuinely shaped by that location. With 9,000 undergrads (making it the largest on this list), it's a Jesuit school that's integrated into LA's creative and professional communities. The film school is excellent and nationally recognized. You're in a place where film industry professionals teach and intern at your school, where networking happens naturally, and where creative work is genuinely valued. The Jesuit mission emphasizes service and ethics alongside professional development. If you're interested in film, media, or just want a large university in an incredible city with strong academics and values-driven education, LMU is distinctive.
The academics vary by school—the Seaver College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences is solid with good faculty and small classes. The film school is exceptional; professors are industry professionals, and you'll work with professional-grade equipment. The business school is strong. The engineering program is solid. You'll find collaboration between schools—film students work with business students on projects, which is rare. Class sizes are reasonable in upper-level courses. The career outcomes for film graduates are genuinely strong due to LA location. Your trade-off: the film school is competitive and resource-intensive, which means other programs receive less attention. The student body is large, so you won't get the intimacy of smaller schools.
The culture is creative and professionally minded. Los Angeles itself is your campus—beaches, entertainment industry, diverse neighborhoods. Greek life is present but not dominant. The social scene is active and influenced by the entertainment industry proximity. You'll graduate with strong technical skills (especially if film), industry connections, and a network of peers heading into creative fields. The Jesuit mission means you're asked to think about purpose, not just profit. LMU is for students interested in creative fields, entrepreneurship, or just want a large university in an amazing city with solid academics and values-driven education.