I feel compelled to address the safety issue. In short, you shouldn't choose against Chicago due to city crime, because a little diligence can make it a non-issue.
- Violent crime is NOT increasing on campus. I believe one student has been battered in the last 6-months, on the blue line, which caters to the undergrad campus. Violent crime has gone up in the city in general, but that's gang bangers shooting each other. THAT IS NOT AN ISSUE NEAR THIS SCHOOL.
-Never give money to anyone who asks for it. Not a homeless person, not some guy who's a dollar short at Union Station. CPD will tell you not to do this. It encourages the practice, supports drug abuse, and puts you at risk of being robbed. If you feel an obligation to help the needy, donate to a charity.
-Yes, people are occasionally robbed. This may very well be an increasing occurrence. It comes with living in a city. Two things are generally true when this happens: the person is alone, and it is at night. Solution: don't walk alone at night. You wouldn't do it late on a large college campus, so don't do it here either.
-There are bus routes that stop right in front of the school, and the pink line stops on campus. There is a university operated car service that will take you home if you live in the neighborhood. If you like to stay late, you can take it home every night you want. They'll take you to your car if you drive here. As a last resort, keep the number for a cab company in your phone.
On a related note, I feel for everyone caught up in the site placement mess. We probably lose a dozen very qualified students every year because they get placed in Rockford, don't want to risk playing the petition game, and go to Rush/Loyola/elsewhere because they don't want to live in a small town.
And for everyone who thinks there's more to it than first come first serve, there is. Some of it makes sense: obviously, you want a good mix of age/sex/race on each campus, but I think they like to distribute talent equally among the campuses as well. I'm sure they've got some other crazy reasons to do stuff the way they do, which no one is privy to.
