My OOS son is admitted into Industrial Design and plan to visit in March. Does anyone know what shuttle servicesare available from the O’Hara and Midway airports? I thought I saw a list somewhere, but can’t find the thread now. Thanks for any help you can offer. Also, any other ID students/parents out there that can share how the program is going for your family?
Peoria https://peoriacharter.com/
Illini Shuttle http://www.illinishuttle.com/
Don’t ride Illini Shuttle, terrible company with a terrible owner.
Your best bet is Peoria or taking the Blue/Orange line downtown and then getting on an Amtrak (can be very cheap if booked in advance, I’ve gotten tickets for ~$14)
thank you @ccyen328 & @literallymarx
Let us know if you have any other questions. I’m a parent of an out of state UIUC student in the engineering school.
yup, Im a current CS/Engineering student, so feel free to ask me anything
Thanks @mybstnw & @literallymarx . Actually, I do have another travel question maybe you can weigh in on. We’re looking at options to get from UIUC to UCincinnati. CMI to CVG is most direct, but expensive. Renting a car seems most economical, and Google maps says it’s about 3 1/2-4 hr drive on I-74. Would you know if that’s a pleasant drive? Will weather be a concern the first week of March?
Also, any dorm suggestions? Son will be a FAA student (industrial design).
Driving to Cincinnati isn’t too bad, though its a kinda boring drive since Indiana is all corn outside of Indianapolis on I-74. Weather should be fine outside of spring rains.
FAA buildings are generally on the southwest side of campus, so in terms of location any of the Ike dorms would be closest. However, most freshman, myself included at one point, make too much of a deal about dorms in my opinion. The bus system is great; you can get between any dorms and any campus buildings within roughly 10 minutes. You can eat at any dorm too. Check out the housing website and see what interests you.
If he takes Amtrak down, he would take a bus from Champaign Amtrak station to the campus. The Peoria Shuttles would go to the campus.
Is he staying overnight somewhere? Will you be traveling with him? Some hotels won’t rent rooms to under 21 yr olds with out a parent/older person present.
UIUC to Cincinnati is a very straightfoward drive and it is flat and all highway. Cincinnati is a bit more hilly and navigating around Clifton near the university consists of one way streets and some traffic but it’s not bad. Weather can be dicey. Freezing rain is more probable than actual snow but it there can be some snow in April. Alternatively, there is a bus or train to Indianapolis from Champaign, And there could be a megabus from Indy to Cincinnati. There is a megabus stop at UC in Clifton.
About the dorms, my daughter lived in the six pack area (notorious for being a good freshman area). She enjoyed the location which was close to the gym. If the dorms mean alot to your son, definitely have him tour some of the dorms. Students at UIUC are some of the most helpful and friendly resources we met in all of our campus visits. The on campus bus system is very easy to use and my daughter uses it all the time. And as mentioned above, freshman can eat in any dorm and she made a point of choosing cafeterias through the week based on their menus!!
If you weren’t planning to travel with your son, I bet both universities can offer a student host for your son.