<p>^ True. Midway’s pretty easy to navigate, though for some reason I hated driving there from Wisconsin. But if you were a student and not driving, it would be fine.</p>
<p>It is easy to drive between Milwaukee and Chicago. However, must of the buses between the cities start at the Intermodal station in downtown Milwaukee. General Mitchell is on the south side of Milwaukee, and it’ll be 90-120 minutes to River Forest.</p>
<p>Then there is the Van Galder bus that runs from Mitchell to (gasp!) O’Hare, a bit more money than the one from downtown Milwaukee to Union Station.</p>
<p>Concordia is also part of ACCA which stands for Associated Colleges of the Chicago Area which is a consortium of many (10? 15?) smaller colleges and universities in the Chicago area. Students at ACCA schools have the opportunity to take courses through the consortium at other schools and at area institutions like the Shedd Aquarium and the Morton Arboretum as part of tuition at their own schools. Those are wonderful opportunities for students who choose to take advantage of them.</p>
<p>ACCA also hosts a weekly seminar series in several disciplines, hosted at one of the member colleges. This semester, the Biology seminar series is being hosted by Benedictine University and features many notable and interesting speakers. The fall biology series tends to be more environmental or organismal focused, and the spring series tends to be more molecular or medical focused, and the host institution changes. Some member colleges use vans to bring their students to the different locations, some colleges have students find their own transportation.</p>
<p>Also, ACCA hosts an annual student symposium where students can present research on a variety of subjects. Last weekend, students presented their work in social science, biological science, and physical science at the symposium, hosted at Elmhurst College. Students were treated to free breakfast and lunch, and it was a wonderful experience for those presenting or just attending. Concordia had many students who participated.</p>
<p>So, this is a plug for the opportunities at a smaller school in the Chicago area. </p>
<p>Also, I second the opinion that Midway is an easier airport to negotiate than O’Hare.</p>
<p>I am an Undergraduate Admission Counselor at Concordia University Chicago. We were thrilled to have your student visit campus for the Admitted Student Day earlier this month and would be glad to provide more information in response to the questions you have posted. Concordia Chicago students find our location in the upscale suburb of River Forest - but within a short commute of downtown Chicago - to be the best of both worlds. Our convenient location and beautiful campus in the picturesque suburb of River Forest not only enhances the social experience of our students but also benefits their career goals by offering outstanding educational opportunities. </p>
<p>We would appreciate the opportunity to continue this conversation with you or your student personally. Feel free to call or email us directly at 708-209-3100 or <a href=“mailto:Admission@CUChicago.edu”>Admission@CUChicago.edu</a>. We also believe that visiting campus again may help to make your student feel even more at home here. If you would like to schedule a visit, please let us know and we would be happy to arrange this. Thank you for your interest in Concordia University Chicago!</p>
<p>No, you do not have the only one, I have the other kid in history who does not want a drivers license. Almost 21 and no sign if wanting to drive. </p>
<p>I asked her about it & she says she is scared of the power of the car, how it weighs more than a ton & can kill people.</p>
<p>Well, I guess that is better than not giving a damn it can kill people & tearing up the roads. She will come to it.</p>
<p>limulus, thanks so much for that information, I had no idea that they had a consortium of schools like that, it’s one thing I will ask about, I’m not sure S knows that either. I’m a really big fan of the smaller schools too and S does better in them. </p>
<p>CUCAdmission, thank you, I will be in touch, I think it’s just a matter of getting S comfortable in a place he’s never been, he really enjoyed his time at the school, I think he’s just nervous about moving so far away although he won’t admit it, if he was familiar with the area I think (well I know) he’d be more confident.</p>
<p>JRZMom I had to laugh, S says the same thing about driving, he’s afraid he will hurt someone with the car, he does have his permit and he is really a good driver, but he’s had his permit more than 2 years and shows NO inclination of getting his license, he’s downright refused LOL… He’d better get used to the busses and subways around the Country because that’s how he’ll have to get around other than flying (that’s what he does at home - busses or bikes, he’s big into cycling). </p>
<p>Actually that’s another issue, he is really big into cycling (like crazy passionate), is there a cycling scene in the Chicago area?</p>
<p>I’d recommend Midway. Southwest and Air Tran fly into there, lots of cheap flights, pretty easy to negotiate the airport, though it’s popular and can get crowded. Short cab ride from there to River Forest which is about halfway between Midway and O’Hare, but much farther from Milwaukee.</p>
<p>As for River Forest: Chicago has a seemingly endless supply of suburbs with names that are two-word combinations of “river,” “forest,” “park,” “oak,” “lake,” and “brook.” Like River Forest, Forest Park, Park Forest, Lake Forest, Forest Lake, Oak Forest, Oak Park, and Oak Brook, not to mention Lake Bluff, Lake Villa, Park Villa, Oak Lawn, Oakbrook Terrace, Green Oaks, Riverwoods, Riverdale, Riverside, North Riverside, Brookfield, Northbrook, Deerfield, Deer Park, Park Ridge, and Woodridge. Then if you want to get into the groves, there’s Long Grove, Buffalo Grove, Elk Grove Village, Morton Grove, and Downers Grove; streams, you can add Streamwood and Carol Stream; willows, there’s Willow Springs and Willowbrook.</p>
<p>When I lived in Chicago, I pretty much stayed in the city; I’d get hopelessly lost in the welter of oaks, parks, forests, lakes, rivers, streams, and brooks, all pretty much indistinguishable as far as I could tell.</p>
<p>I’ll look into Midway, American flies into ORD, but if he’s more comfortable, you’re right Midway is smaller.</p>
<p>I think I’d better not mention all the Rivers, Forests, Oaks and Groves 
Start with downtown and work our way out He’s a Boston/NYC kid but didn’t like the NYC school and can’t afford the Boston school. He’s more a slightly suburban kid (nicer part within a city) although he’s comfortable in Downtown Boston, and surrounding sections of Boston. It’s just his comfort level… He wants to be in a place where there are medical facilities for work/school, art museums and the like. He wants an urban feel when he wants to go out and we want him in a smaller university or college where he won’t be a number but a name. Having been to Chicago just a few times, to me it seemed like a place he could grow to love once he got used to it. I know he’d love to take a year and go to Rome and work (On a completely different note of what’s coming from his head)</p>
<p>A year in Chicago, and he’ll be very conscious of how relatively small and provincial Boston is. Of course Boston is great for “medical facilities for work/school,” but Chicago has it all over Boston in the “art museums and the like” department.</p>
<p>Re: River Forest/Oak Park, Oak Park is quite “crunchy-granola” and biking for recreation as well as commuting is important to the community. There’s a good independent bike shop within easy walking distance of Concordia. There’s also a long multi-county bike trail that starts one town to the west.</p>
<p>Neither Oak Park nor River Forest feel like “small town”, nor is there any suburban subdivision “cookie-cutter” atmosphere. Both are “streetcar suburbs” with older architecturally-distinct homes and buildings. Downtown Oak Park is similar to retail area of a small regional city, minus the big-box retail like Target or Walmart. Great independent bookstore, plus Gap and Old Navy. A student at Concordia would not need a car, nor feel the lack of a car.</p>
<p>Higgins, good information on the bike shop. He has a touring bike, what kind of surface is the multi county bike trail? He rides 60 miles a week in the winter and a few hundred miles a week in the summer. He’s been wondering if he could or should bring the bike.</p>
<p>Illinois Prairie Path - [Illinois</a> Prairie Path. North America’s first successful rails-to-trails conversion. Founded 1963.](<a href=“http://www.ipp.org/]Illinois”>http://www.ipp.org/)</p>
<p>Multiple surface types depending on location.</p>
<p>I second the Prairie Path. I bike it all the time. </p>
<p>I think the suggestions to fly to Milwaukee are preposterous. The ground transportation to River Forest would be a huge hassle. I too recommend Midway first, though O’Hare is doable. </p>
<p>Oak Park is kind-of-sort-of like a mini Evanston without a big university. He might like that area.</p>
<p>The poster’s kid doesn’t like Chicago, Midway is still in Chicago, Milwaukee is not :D.</p>
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<p>This is incredibly bad advice. Who would do this? RF is about a 15- to 20-minute cab ride from O’Hare. Midway is not much further. Getting to Milwaukee from the western suburbs of Chicago is a GIGANTIC hassle and would be the thing that might make a kid not want to go back after winter break. There is no way you could do it in less than two hours, and with traffic it could be worse.</p>
<p>Also, not sure where you live, OP, but Chicago is a major Amtrak hub. My son has taken a 14-hour ride overnight train from his college to Union Station and I have picked him up from there. There is a Metra train to River Forest as well as el stops nearby.</p>
<p>OP - just ignore the advice about using the Milwaukee airport. It’s someone clearly not familiar with the area at all.</p>
<p>I went to summer music camp at Concordia Chicago (back when it was called Concordia River Forrest) back in the early '90s. It was a beautiful campus and a beautiful, suburban area around it. I went back a few years ago to visit a friend and got to see the campus again when her father spoke on campus. It was still very, very lovely. </p>
<p>I have cousins who have attended several of the Concordia system schools and they were all gainfully employed at graduation time. The most recent graduated from Concordia in Mequon, Wisconsin with a degree in Biology and Nursing. She was immediately accepted to grad school is doing very well for herself. </p>
<p>I agree with the other posters, don’t feel compelled to co-sign for a loan. My dad refused and although she is a stellar student, I have told my D I wouldn’t be co-signing either. Especially since she has lower cost options. It’s all fun and games until the payments are due and life kicks in.</p>
<p>I agree with everyone about Midway. Sorry, I just saw someone recommending MKE and wasn’t thinking hard when I chimed in. For us, MKE is a lot closer than Chicago airports, use it when looking for cheap flights. ORD we use very occasionally for intl travel. Never have used Midway but I see now they have all the same cheap options as MKE and the natural airport to use when you are in Chicago.Sorry.</p>
<p>Given all the retail, entertainment, and recreational stuff immediately available in Oak Park/River Forest, a Concordia student could avoid “Chicago” altogether, though not to avail himself to the cultural opportunities in downtown and elsewhere in Chicago would be odd.</p>
<p>SteveMA: please stop promoting Milwaukee airport - it’s at least 90 miles away from this Concordia. Student would need to take a shuttle to O’Hare, likely get stuck in highway rush-hour traffic, then take a cab to River Forest - why add to the travel agony?</p>