With only her cat, computer, four days worth of clothing and a quilt her late grandmother made, Amanda Wingfield left her Loyola University home in New Orleans and headed to northern Louisiana. She left the day before Hurricane Katrina touched the southern coast.

“We learned our lesson when Hurricane Ivan came through and left on Saturday,” Wingfield said.

The Urbana native and University graduate found herself back on campus attending classes Tuesday at the University’s College of Law.

“I drove to class this morning and said to myself, ‘I cannot believe I am back here in Illinois going to school,'” the third-year law student said.

Wingfield is just one of 49 students that have found a home at the University after Hurricane Katrina rerouted their southern coastal college agendas.

Forty-six undergraduate and three law students will continue their studies this semester at the University, said Robin Kaler, interim associate chancellor for public affairs. The College of Law has the capacity to admit up to ten students from the southern coastal region and the College of Medicine is prepared to accommodate 30 displaced medical students.

Forty-one of the 46 undergraduate students scheduled to attend the University are Illinois residents. More than 75 percent of the transfer students had already applied to the University and were accepted.

Kaler said the University is also encouraging students who cannot attend their schools because of Hurricane Katrina to look into the University’s Guided Individual Study Program. She said students could start the program later in the school year because the program allows them to work one-on-one with a faculty member in their field instead of attending regular classes.

“Classes are already underway, and it would be hard for a student a week from now to catch up,” Kaler said.

Although classes for students in the College of Law started Monday, Aug. 22, Paul Pless, assistant dean of admissions and financial aid, said the professors are holding make up classes for the transfer students and current students have volunteered their notes.

Pless said the College of Law plans to accept any Tulane or Loyola law student who is in good standing. He said it did not take the college a long time to decide to accept these students.

“I had a student call from Tulane,” Pless said. “I talked to the dean, and right away, he said ‘yes.’ It just took a few more days to open our doors to them.”

Wingfield said she is impressed with the University’s quick reaction to students affected by Hurricane Katrina. She said she is optimistic about attending the University again but plans on going back to Loyola in the spring.

“My first professor was entertaining,” Wingfield said. “If anyone can make tax interesting, I’m impressed.”

In addition to the quick response by the University’s Office of Admissions and Records, accommodations from University Housing also encouraged transfer students to attend the University.

Kirsten Ruby, assistant director of housing, said University Housing has already arranged for 10 students to live in undergraduate dorms and two students to live in graduate housing. She said the large number of incoming freshman this year that caused a housing shortage would not create a problem for students hoping to attend the University. The University still has 100 students in temporary housing, but Ruby said they have room for 130 more students.

“Our first priority is to give the (transfer students) a place to live,” Ruby said.

The transfer students are also coming to the University with different financial arrangements.

“We are offering the students a full tuition waiver because we are expecting them to pay tuition at their home school,” Kaler said. “They will not be able to rebuild unless they give to those schools.”

Pless said he is greatly impressed by the efforts the University and the College of Law made to help the displaced students and others affected by Hurricane Katrina.

“The response from students and staff the last couple of days has made me proud to work here,” Pless said. “We have received more people offering places to live and supplies for these students than we need. We plan on sending the rest down to Houston to help those in the Astrodome.”