Anyone at UIC have living suggestions?

[purduephigam]

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I'm not sure if there are many of you out there or not, but I thought I'd just throw this out there.

I'm not sure what to do about living. I look at it as having two options: 1) room with a pharm/med student (by the way do the campuses have some sort of potluck program?), or 2) room with an old roomate from college in the mid-north area (Old Town, Lincoln Park, etc.).

Obviously there are advantages and disadvantages to both; but for one, I am not about a 40 min trip into campus riding buses/trains. I feel that's too much time wasted, but if it's the norm I'll have to keep an open mind. I was just curious if any of you Chi-towners might have any recommendations/suggestions/comments?

 

[Joe70h8]

The area around the campus has really taken off over the past couple years. Lots of places to eat, drink, and see. It's just going to be getting nicer and nicer in that area as well. It's a short ride to Michigan Ave and all the sites that the Magnificent Mile has to offer and just a little longer ride to Millenium Park and the Lakefront. There's no reason to believe that you and your Pharm friend won't be able to room together and from what I could tell, the Graduate Apartments/Housing are very nice.

I have a good friend that commutes from Wrigleyville to UIC for work everyday. Don't quote me, but I think it might be one transfer stop on the L and then it takes you right there. I'm not sure on how long it takes, but I'll find out and post it later.

Personally if was accepted/get off the waitlist, I would choose to live in Lincoln Park or Wrigleyville. Not that there's anything wrong near campus, but I just know that both LP and WV are amazing places and it would be awesome to live there for the next 4 years.

I don't think you can go wrong with where you choose to live. Both places will be highly accessible to all the possibilities Chicago has to offer. Plenty of the students we talked to during our interview said they commuted from different places (north side, south suburbs,etc) and none of them said it was too much of a burden.

 

[purduephigam]

Personally, I am leaning towards living in the Lincoln Park area with a buddy from college. I believe finding a place with a 20min L commute is within reason. I don't want to rule out living on campus just yet, because I want to fully explore this whole situation. I'd like to hear opinions from both sides, so I'll have to attempt to get in touch with some students or advisors.

Best of luck Joe, I hope to see you in the fall.

 

[rectalt]

It takes 40-45 min. from the fullerton stop (red, brown). There is one transfer to the pink line at Washington and Wells. Best I have every made it was 30 min and worst was little over an hour. I personally like being able to leave school and get away. But sometimes it would nice to be right at school especially for the gym.

 

[rohlcall34]

I will be attending UIC COD after finishing some classes this semester and summer. I currently live just west of the dental school and love it. The entire area has cleaned up over the passed 5 years, especially South of Taylor and between Ogden/Western. I like to be close to campus for several reasons. 1. Dont have to rely on train/bus schedules. 2. Can role out of bed and be to class in 10 minutes( walking) 3. I can take advantage of the workout facilities and 4. If I forget something, I can always run back during lunch or break. I know several people that cummute from farther away and seem to be fine. There are cheaper places to live besides around campus ( obvisously LP and Wrigleyville arent cheap), but I think the extra $200 a month is worth it. Also, One bedroom apts are very expensive. I would recommend a two bedroom to split the cost. It is nice to see others on SDN going to UIC COD. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

Jon

 

[june_sp]

I will be attending UIC COD after finishing some classes this semester and summer. I currently live just west of the dental school and love it. The entire area has cleaned up over the passed 5 years, especially South of Taylor and between Ogden/Western. I like to be close to campus for several reasons. 1. Dont have to rely on train/bus schedules. 2. Can role out of bed and be to class in 10 minutes( walking) 3. I can take advantage of the workout facilities and 4. If I forget something, I can always run back during lunch or break. I know several people that cummute from farther away and seem to be fine. There are cheaper places to live besides around campus ( obvisously LP and Wrigleyville arent cheap), but I think the extra $200 a month is worth it. Also, One bedroom apts are very expensive. I would recommend a two bedroom to split the cost. It is nice to see others on SDN going to UIC COD. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

Jon

may I ask how much you pay for rent? is it pretty easy to get an apartment near the campus and how did you find it?

 

[purduephigam]

I agree with the roomate situation in terms of making rent a little more tolerable, but does UIC have some sort of program to match up kids? Right now I don't know anyone in the school, so my first move is to start looking at places mid-march and hopefully get hooked up with someone later. Will UIC send me information about getting a roomate (or two)? As for the area, I've heard it's been booming. Are there a lot of medical kids in the area? What about the life outside of school. Obviously I would see my friends quite a bit in the Lincoln Park area, but as for campus, is the nightlife any different? I'm still torn on whether to room with a college friend in LP or bunk up with a rando on campus. Right now it seems like it'll be to my advantage for the more difficults years if I were to live on campus (less distraction). And I'm not really prepared to spend 1 1/2 hours on a train every day.


Also, Jon, you wouldn't happen to have a buddy that went to podiatry school would you? I worked with a guy this summer who had a friend that was taking classes at UIC to reserve his spot this year.

 

[Chrono1984]

I'm pretty sure there is a graduate student dorm that has single rooms so you would have no roomate. I have no clue how expensive or "in-demand" those dorms are though or how big/accomodating they are. They will send you an email about financial aid and housing after you give them the deposit.

I met a few students, one of them commuted from the burbs, another lived within walking distance, and a third had a single apt. a mile or so away. I think being happy with where/who you live with is ultimately more important than proximity.

I do agree though, that being close would make things really convenient and there definitely are tons of options in the area. Does anyone know if students get parking permits?

 

[rohlcall34]

may I ask how much you pay for rent? is it pretty easy to get an apartment near the campus and how did you find it?

I pay 750 for a studio. It was remodeled 3 years ago so it is nice, but still very small. I happened to come across it on craigslist. I spent a good month googling chicago apartments and such about every other day to see what was out there. Hope this helps.
JOn

 

[rohlcall34]

I do not know if they have a program to match kids. I think you could contact Ann and see if they have requests from other students in a similar situation. On the west side of the campus, it is all medical and dental people. (some pharm) My neighbors are 2 medical residents and one going for his MBA. As for life outside of school, there are plenty of bars on Taylor, and two off of morgan and halsted that seem a little nicer. Obviously it is no lincoln park, but LP is only a train ride away. You are right, it would be tough romming with a random guy especially when you are trying to focus on school. I will look as I walk through the area and let you know if I see any 1 bedrooms. Check your messages regarding your last statement.

Jon

 

[Toof Doc]

I am a recent graduate of UIC. For your first year or two I suggest living close to UIC. I lived about a 5 minute walk to school just east of the school. It is a good area to live... a lot of preprofessional students live there. When I was there, I had a roommate and we split $1200 which was reasonable for a 2 bedroom in the area.

In fact, I have the website of the lady we rented from, it is: http://www.univrentals.com/

She loves to rent to dental students and a lot of times she has deals for the dental students too so I would check it out. Another place a lot of people rented through was: http://www.newwestrealty.com/

My last year of school I lived in Bucktown which is about 3 miles north of the school, it is just south of Lincoln Park. It took me about 20 to 30 mins to drive from there every morning and if I would've taken the el it would've taken me about 30 to 40 mins from what I remember. Keep that in mind and good luck!

You can PM me with any other questions about the area. (ps - UIC says they have some roommate matching thing, well they don't! What they have is some crappy little message board! Check out craigslist for others going to med school in the area or something)