U of I Chicago Campus Tour needed

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appleplshr

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Hi Everyone,

I am in a rather desperate situation and so I'm turning to SDN. I just found out that I received U of I's chicago campus (this morning). My deadline to decide between U of I and Loyola is May 23rd (asked for an extension until I rec'd a campus assignment...i apologize in advance to waitlisters reading this...i am trying to decide as quickly as possible).

The catch is I interviewed in Rockford and have never been to the Chicago campus. I'm going out of town for work tomorrow at 8:50am and returning Thursday May 22nd at 6pm. The only tour date UIC has available is Tuesday May 20th. Are there any UIC students who would be able to give me an informal tour anytime on Friday May 23rd?

Thanks in advance for your help!

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Hi,

I'm not a student there (yet), but I was just there last week for my interview.

I might not be too much help but maybe it'll make it easier for you to decide.

I believe that they are on summer break now since graduation was on last Friday. Therefore, you might not be able to see too many students around. However, you can walk around campus if you like since all the student centers/buildings are open.

What I did before my interview day was that I took the Pink Line to Polk street, and walked west. The College of Medicine West, College of Medicine East are on that street. The lecture halls are on the second and third level of CMW (where the tour guide showed us, and I think you can get upstairs no problem). If you keep going west you'll see the student center where the cafeteria and the bookstore are. The last thing I can think of is the new fitness center. You can't get into this since student ID is required.

If there are other SDNer's here who go to UIC and willing to show you around that would be perfect.

But if that's not the case and you just want to get a feeling about the school, then you can see almost everything on your own. (Of course minus the student inputs).

I'm waiting for them to make a decision towards the end of this month. UIC is my top choice! If you decided not to go, tell them to give me your seat! :) J/K

Best of luck and hope this helps.
 
Hi Parfee,

Thank you so much for the info...I'm going to go down on Friday the 23rd and look around, I haven't heard from anyone yet and since they're on break I'm thinking i'm on my own for this one.

Good luck to you...UIC is a great school (and a lot less expensive than Loyola for me), I think that's why it's such a hard choice.

Apple :)
 
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Hi Parfee,

Thank you so much for the info...I'm going to go down on Friday the 23rd and look around, I haven't heard from anyone yet and since they're on break I'm thinking i'm on my own for this one.

Good luck to you...UIC is a great school (and a lot less expensive than Loyola for me), I think that's why it's such a hard choice.

Apple :)

Hi, I lived within 20 miles of both schools growing up (until late 20's) and wanted to offer another thought or two on this.

If this is a consideration, you may want to look at the areas that you'd be living in. UIC is about as urban as you can get, Loyola is about as suburban as you can get. I don't believe there is an easy way to take public trans to Loyola (probably a bus along 1st, but it would be tough to make connections unless you lived right along 1st) so you're pretty much driving every day.

For UIC, I hate to think of the parking cost per day, congestion is really rough if you were hoping to commute from the suburbs.. if it were me, I'd live in a nearby apartment and take the "el" or a bus (CTA) to school. Which is fine, remember that Chicago is a big city and one has to be very careful at night. (if you want to scare yourself, read the "police beat" in the Chicago Reader to see what all has gone down in your neighborhood).

Just one more thing to add to your considerations (ps I was never mugged or pick-pocketed and worked/lived in Chicago for high school + 9 years after college, it can be safe if you're careful)
 
Thanks nontrdgsbuiucmd,

I actually grew up outside chicago and have lived/worked in the city for a few years now (I'm a nontrad). When I first moved downtown I lived in Presidential Towers which wasn't too far from the Rush/UIC campus, so I'm kind of familiar with that area too, I've just never spent that much time there, apart from volunteering at Rush. I'm going over to the UIC campus on my lunch break today to check things out, but I'm pretty sure I'll be going to Loyola next year. Since I hate to leave the city, I'll probably relocated to the wicker park area (there are a lot of Loyola students around there) and commute. With roommates and carpooling, I think I'll be able to keep expenses reasonable.

Anyway, just wanted to reply and thank you for the input!

Apple :)
 
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