Can we visit Northwestern and U of Chicago in the same day?

College Search & Selection
1

Hello;

We are thinking of flying into Chicago on a Sunday, renting a car and staying in Evanston over night and doing the 9:45 tour at Northwestern Monday morning, then head to U of Chicago for the 2:00 tour/info…would that work? These are his top two choices in the area so I don’t want to short either one, but really don’t want to spread them over two days…

We would then drive to South Bend to do a tour at Notre Dame Tuesday and then on to Michigan to do the same on either Wednesday or Thursday (staying with my parents for a short visit.)

Thanks in advance!

2

Yes, i think that will work if you don’t want to do anything else on campus (like attend a class). I do think the UC info session might be worth attending if you can fit it in, though. Haven’t been to the Northwestern one, so not sure about theirs. They have a pretty different tone as schools. Hopefully he has some matches & safeties on his list as well, as no one can be sure of admissions to any of these.

3

I would think so. We did them on separate days in the morning and used public transportation but having done 2 schools in 1 day elsewhere I can see doing those 2. What are your lunch plans? Drive to Hyde Park and eat depending on how much time you have?

4

That schedule would work well even if you have to rush a little bit. When you drive south, take Lakeshore Drive from Evanston all the way to the south side and Hyde Park. It is a very scenic route.

5

You can do that, but you won’t be able to linger.

6

I did not find the UC info session to be noteworthy, but the tour was good though. If the OP is pressed for time, they can grab something in downtown Evanston and eat it in the car. Gigio’s Pizza which is across from Bennison’s Bakery are both good local choices, and right off the route. They could be in and out in five minutes.

7

I think if they are just starting to visit, the UC one is worth going to.

8

I agree. Of the two, UC is the most out of the mainstream for college campuses and locations, while NU is utterly conventional. If the OP can make it, sticking around for dinner in Hyde Park is well worth it to see if they like the urban environment.

9

Thank you all for the advice. Will discuss with my son, thinking we may do one a day and skip MI on this trip since we can fly there any time. So, will fly into Chicago on a Sunday, drive to S Bend and do ND on Monday, drive to Chicago and do UC Tuesday and NU on Wednesday prior to flying home. Want to be sure he is able to get a feel for each of the campuses and don’t want to feel rushed…

10

Are there any matches or safeties you want to see in the area as well to save a later trip? Those schools are all difficult to get into even for high stats kids. It is more challenging to find matches & safeties kids really like, so it is something to think about.

11

We did just that - in reverse. We saw ND on a Saturday, spent the night in Chicago Sunday night, saw Uof Chicago Monday morning, then NU in the afternoon before flying out. My D1 thought that was enough to decide whether to apply. She ended up not applying to U of Chicago, but to both NU and ND, which she ended up deciding between, then we returned to the area for accepted student visits to spend more time ( this is a couple of years ago)

So I guess it depends on whether your S feels he can see himself there on a shorter visit. Since NU is at 9:45, I would get there early and drive around Evanston. Get breakfast or a snack somewhere. Check out the beaches. For both my kids, Evanston is a selling point.

Have you made a reservation for a hotel in South Bend? I have some favorites, plus good places to eat.

12

Your new schedule is much better. I think there was a good chance of your being late to the UC visit if you did them both on Sunday. People underestimate how big Chicago is (and NW is on the far north side, and UC is on the south) and people vastly underestimate the traffic. Even if you’d made it on time, the traffic would wear you out.

With the new schedule, you have time to check out both Hyde Park and Evanston, too - they both have a very different flavor. Both are nice areas. just different.

Re: checking out safety schools, Loyola is just down the street from NW, on Sheridan Road. DePaul is in Lincoln Park (north side, in between Loyola/NW and downtown) and that’s a fun neighborhood. UIC (U of IL-Chicago) is just west of the Loop and Greektown, and is, imho, an under-rated school. The neighborhood it’s in has been gentrified to the max, and they’ve built new residence halls in recent years.