Oops, somehow CC reposted my last post instead of the one I was writing. I’ll try again.
@newmaroonmom Here is the shuttle info: https://safety-security.uchicago.edu/services/university_shuttles/
My D says she used them a fair amount last year for dining hall, getting home from orchestra rehearsal, restaurants, improv night, etc. (They run in the areas off campus as well as on campus.)
She uses an app called Transloc Rider and added CTA and UChicago Transit routes, so she can see exactly when shuttles will arrive at a given stop. I’m sure any O-aide or upperclassman can help him out if he needs it.
^ I can ask my own kid, but guessing that learning about U-Go and the app is part of their mandatory O-Week programming.
I -House location plus: It is very close to the CTA #6 express bus to downtown (free with UPass) and the Metra to downtown. Ubers to downtown can be pretty pricey depending on the day/time and how many people are sharing. My D hops on the #6 a lot, alone or with friends.
“My only real gripe… is the bathroom situation (at least install doors on the showers for more privacy, instead of curtains)…”
I totally get that this can be an issue for those raised with more expectation of privacy than having people of other sex in the bathroom with them.
However, to the extent that any concern is about I-House itself being a worse dorm than others, I’ll say that it’s exactly the same in DD’s Burton-Judson house. She’s technically on a females-only-in-the-bathroom floor (something she didn’t ask for, but maybe others did?). But the women and men residing on the floor both use the bathroom for showering, pooping, and brushing their teeth, rather than walking up or down a staircase. And the showers also do not have doors.
(At least the toilets do have doors. When I was in college, way back in the early 80s, before gender-neutral bathrooms were a thing, an RA (not my RA) living on my floor just decided he didn’t want to walk to another floor to use a men’s bathroom. I was by chance the only female on that floor, and the only person actually authorized to use the bathroom. The toilets and the showers both had a 4-inch gap in the curtain width. It was really uncomfortable for me, and I finally asked him not to keep using the women’s bathroom, but he just ignored me. That, of course, made it even more uncomfortable.)
@JBStillFlying actually the regular shuttles were NOT running over the move-in weekend. We had asked my son’s RA where we could catch one, and she explained that they were not running their normal routes/schedule due to too many cars in the roads with move-in. My son did download the Transloc Rider app. As a parent unfamiliar with UChicago I simply would have liked to see where the stops were and what the ride was like between I-House and Cathey. The shuttle maps online are rather hard to decipher when one is not already familiar with the campus. It looks like there is no stop at I-House - that the students there would need to walk a couple of blocks in either direction to catch the shuttle. Maybe not a big deal in dry weather but would be a real bummer in heavy rain or sleet. @browniesundae do you know whether the drivers will pick-up/drop off between stops? That is great to know about the #6 bus going downtown, but I am just concerned with getting to the dining hall.
“We had asked my son’s RA where we could catch one, and she explained that they were not running their normal routes/schedule due to too many cars in the roads with move-in.”
- that makes sense. They may not run the regular school year schedule till school starts next week. However, they were running, which is what I thought the original point was. In fact, they were running along 59th.
“The shuttle maps online are rather hard to decipher when one is not already familiar with the campus. It looks like there is no stop at I-House - that the students there would need to walk a couple of blocks in either direction to catch the shuttle.”
- The stop at Harper and 59th is .09 miles - less than a 2 min. walk. He'll get off at Ellis and cross the Midway to Cathey. Unless he'd prefer riding around a bit more and getting off in front of BJ. Cathey is located 1/2 block to the south from there.
"Maybe not a big deal in dry weather but would be a real bummer in heavy rain or sleet. "
- EVERYONE will need to walk for a bit in heavy rain or sleet. This is Chicago and Chicago weather, and students generally walk from their dorms to the bus/shuttle stop and/or to dining hall and/or to class. Probably no exceptions with that one. Once your DC uses the app he can time his walk to pick up the shuttle as it arrives. But having proper outwear is going to be the most helpful. Umbrella and rain boots a must, according to my D.
^ Should add that two shuttle routes stop right at I-House at night. It’s the day route that stops at 59th and Harper.
" @browniesundae do you know whether the drivers will pick-up/drop off between stops? That is great to know about the #6 bus going downtown, but I am just concerned with getting to the dining hall."
- They generally aren't supposed to. However, as they stop at or near major intersections, getting to the dining hall will be no problem via shuttle.
- The #6 is a great option for getting downtown. Another is Metra Electric as 59th street station is a very short walk from I-House. Note that Metra fare is not included on the UPass so he'd need to purchase a ticket on the train or at the station.
@newmaroonmom DD confirmed no stopping between stops, but the stops are really close to I-House, so she says it’s a non issue.
JB is right, ALL UChicago students deal with walking in the bad weather. They figure out how to cut through bldgs, etc. I believe there may even be some tunnels to take advantage of, but maybe those are just urban legend 
The timing/location of your classes/job/clubs has way more bearing on how long those walks are than what dorm you live in.
@browniesundae - that is great to hear that your daughter feels the shuttle stops are not an issue for I-House residents. That was what I wanted to know 
@browniesundae not sure about tunnels that are underground; but there have been and currently exist some passageways between adjacent buildings on the quad. you can see some of them as you walk around. They are usually up a few flights so you need to know which level to be on to access it. We used to pass between Stuart and Harper all the time when I was in Business School. . I believe that particular passage way might still be open, although some of it looks like it’s been converted to a study area. It’s also accessible from the social science building, which is attached and accessible to Harper.
Once upon a time, there was also a passageway between BJ and the Law School library. And there are tunnels under the Midway but those are no longer accessible to students.
The Transloc link is available on the UGo page so anyone can see the routes live and time how long it takes to go from Point A to B as well as where each shuttle actually stops. It’s a tad confusing figuring out which routes go on or off system depending on the time of day, but no doubt upper div. students/RA’s will be able to provide advice. Not to mention other students heading to that stop.
We just arrived at our airbnb. I’m so excited to walk over to campus, but the rest of the fam just wants to sit on the couch and watch some Marvel movie that’s on TNT. Grrr. I’ll drag them out to Medici for dinner in a bit ?
^@browniesundae are you in HP proper or surrounding area? I stayed in North Kenwood over the past weekend and it was fine. Son and I had a 2200 sf condo to ourselves for far less than Sophie would have charged for one room. The 2nd night I had the entire place to myself!
@JBStillFlying We are staying at 62nd and Kenwood. It’s nice, but I’d rather be north of the Midway. We are coming back in a few weeks and staying at 55th and Woodlawn in an airbnb billed as “historic campus home UofC Prof owned”. It looks cool. My dream is to find the perfect airbnb and just book way in advance every time.
I stayed at the Sophy in Feb for $119/night. It was great. I thought “I’m never staying anywhere else.” Imagine my surprise when I discovered it was going for $350/night this weekend!
@browniesundae 62nd and Kenwood? I was walking around North Woodlawn this afternoon and I was a couple blocks away from you.
Today was a gorgeous fall day. The sky was blue and the air was crystal clear. And it made the Gothic campus particularly stunning. Too bad it is going to rain tomorrow.
It always makes me happy (and somewhat jealous) to see all these young kids walking around in groups all over campus. The first years look more like high school kids than actual college students.
@newmaroonmom I did some sample walking today. From the bus stop at 59th and Harper to the front door of I-House is a 90 seconds walk. That shouldn’t be a big problem for any college kids. From I-House to the front door of Cathey Dining Commons is an 11 minutes 45 seconds walk. So it is very manageable. Obviously, it will be a much more brutal walk if there is minus 30 degree windchill outside. But of course your kid can take the UGo shuttle then.
It may be not the moment to talk about it. But it is quite likely most of current residents of I-House will be moved to Woodlawn Residential Commons next year. That is a complicate situation and a few of us have discussed in details in this thread:
If your kid is moved to WRC next year, there will no longer an issue of taking a log walk to dining. Even if your kid still stay at I-House, the dining hall at WRC will be much closer to I-House. I clocked 8 minutes 30 seconds from I-House to WRC presumed dining room (the one with high ceiling and glass curtain wall just like Cathey).
@browniesundae you may want to check the WRC construction site as I-House residents are likely to be relocated there next year.
“you may want to check the WRC construction site as I-House residents are likely to be relocated there next year.”
There are only four more houses still to be assigned and yet there are five in I-House. And they are long-established houses. Would they combine two of them, or what?
@85bears46 We did end up going to Medici and walking around campus. It was a beautiful evening. We even peeked in briefly on the “Aims of Education” speech as the side doors to Rockefeller Chapel were standing open. It was funny because earlier in the evening my husband had asked my DD if she could remember what she was doing this time last year during O week. She rolled her eyes and said she didn’t know. Later when we walked by Rockefeller Chapel and saw the speech going on, she said “NOW I know what I was doing a year ago today!”
@JBStillFlying “There are only four more houses still to be assigned and yet there are five in I-House. And they are long-established houses. Would they combine two of them, or what?”
Which houses have already been assigned, and from where? Thanks!
FWIW - My S seems quite content; he’s enjoying the food, although the dining commons gets very congested and it’s sometimes hard to find a seat; the dreaded showers are fine, the low water pressure and the fact he’s too tall for the shower head, means he takes shorter showers - no big deal! He’s met some nice kids, he’s engaged in O-Week etc.
Overall, he’s happy and doing well.
Here is my guess. The Administrator may want to keep their hands free and announce the final arrangement of the WRC houses in the last minute (or after May 1st). They may move a couple of I-House houses 
to WRC or none at all. I am quite sure that they are not going to move everyone to WRC and then just put first years in I-House next year. That won’t work. Most likely it will be the 300/100 mix that @DunBoyer and I talked about in the WRC thread.
@momo2x2018 Only the names of the new houses at WRC have bee assigned. There have not been any details on what exactly will be composition of students body in terms of distribution of first year and second years versus upperclassmen.
https://news.uchicago.edu/story/university-announces-names-seven-new-college-residential-houses