Midwestern CPG, Creighton, or UIC?

UIC is in the middle of Chicago. It is in the Illinois Medical District. The immediate surrounding area is fairly safe. However, if you go more than 1-2 miles west, it gets very dicey. The campus is not beautiful. UIC west campus is like an industrial park and east campus is like a bunker (if you've seen Stranger than Fiction, you've seen UIC east campus). There's a lot of things to do in the city. You'll get a U-Pass, which is unlimited rides on the CTA during the semester.
The program is very well run. You'll learn a lot. Graduation rate is very high at 95%+. Most of the faculty have open door policy or regularly scheduled office hours. You can get in touch with them fairly easily. There are many clubs and activities. The college is going to appoint a new dean for next year.
The actual facility is somewhat old, built in early 1950s. They are doing some renovation work. They are replacing some of the escalators, and are finishing the 2nd floor renovation project. They've completed the Pharmacy simulation lab, and for this summer, will work on the compounding lab. The school is going to celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2009.
When you come down for an interview, the closest CTA el stop is Polk St. (Pink Line) followed by Medical Center (Blue line). You can also take a bus from Union/Oglivie Station. I would not recommend driving down here. Interviews will be done during Spring Break.

 

I can vouch for what Glendale is like. Outside of phoenix it still is a large area. The campus is right off of the local freeway as you probably know if you had the interview and have been accepted. The campus is about a 5 minute drive to several of the spring training stadiums for baseball. It is then 15 minutes from the new hockey and football stadiums. Finally about 25 minutes to the baseball and basketball stadiums. The weather is nice. With the huge storms in the north east it has been in the 70's to 80 over the last week or so.

The professors for the most part are all very nice and live in their offices so going to see them should not be a problem. The campus is small enough to get anywhere in a 5 minute walk. The only downside again is the campus is small so their lack of food facilities is disappointing. On the upside, there are several quick places across the street (hot bagel is a great place) or two blocks down the road there are an unlimited supply of restaurants. The biggest complaint I know of is the cost. The upside is the school is expanding and several new buildings are planned/being built. Their passage rate is extremely high which seems to be a point always noted. Even their new podiatry program graduated their first class with 100% passing the boards on the first try. The school is very dedicated to the students which sometimes can get a little demanding and get their way with things. If you have any other questions about the area feel free to send me a message and I will try to help you to the best of my abilities.

 

So, what's with the bad rap? What is your biggest complaint (besides cost) for Midwestern? What do you think of the integrated sequences vs. the regular program? Did you apply to/look into U of AZ COP? If so, how would you compare the two? Help! Thanks!

 

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.

 

rxrxrx,

when's your interview at uic?