I have been accepted to Midwestern CPG and have interviews at Creighton and UIC. I am interested in all three of those schools and just wanted some feedback from people who have interviewed at or attend any of these schools. What was your impression of the campus, the surrounding area (i.e. are there things to do??), the program, faculty, etc. Thank you.
I live in Lincoln, Nebraska so I can vouch for Omaha and Creighton.
Omaha is a sprawling city of over 400,000 people in a metropolitan area of about 600,000. Relative to Chicago and Phoenix, it's a relatively small town that is much safer overall. Of course, there are no professional sports here, but the Qwest Center arena and the Holland Center bring in notable acts. Omaha does have some cultural elements like jazz festivals in the summer, the Old Market area, and some historic areas that are distinct to Nebraska. Unlike downtown Chicago, you don't have to worry when walking in downtown Omaha.
Creighton's school has a mix of contemporary architecture combined with really cool cathedral-like buildings in its main campus. Since the campus itself is next to downtown Omaha, the immediate region is more urban as opposed to isolated like common college towns. In addition, it is near the University of Nebraska Medical Center, so the region has an active healthcare feel to it.
Aside from Lincoln and Omaha, most of Nebraska is rural and farmland. The people here are nice and friendly, but that comes with our tendacies to interact more. That is, things around here don't "move" as fast as places like New York City. Overall, Omaha is a comfortable place to live though it isn't as lively as the larger cities.