<p>Does ND shuttles to Chicago? Flights to the local airport seem expensive and inconvenient. How do OOS kids get to and from school?</p>
<p>The first time we went to ND we flew into the South Bend airport. Since my son started, he found that there is a bus between the ND campus and O’Hare airport and that has been the better, less expensive way to go.<br>
[Tri</a> State Coach / United Limo | O’Hare Airport](<a href=“Tri State Coach / United Limo | Page Not Found”>http://www.coachusa.com/tristateunitedlimo/ss.ohareairport.asp)</p>
<p>It depends where you are trying to get to. I will be a freshman at ND this fall, and this was a slight concern that I had as well (I am from Minnesota). I found out that the ND Alumni club of MN has a bus pick MN students up on campus and brings them back to Minneapolis for really cheap. If you are from somewhere kind of close to ND, this is something you might want to look into. It’s a long drive, but with the money that most of us will be paying for ND, saving money is never a bad thing.</p>
<p>Generally, locals recommend flying in and out of Chicago airports and taking Coach bus to campus. Flights into SB airport from Chicago, Detroit etc, tend to be cancelled on short notice, which means you wind up taking the Coach bus anyway. </p>
<p>There is also Amtrak from Chicago and South Shore for folks in Chicago area (train is about a 15 minute taxi from campus).</p>
<p>My S and D also took Amtrak, but to the East. We are in upstate NY and the South Shore goes all the way to NYC, with a side route to Boston. So any area near that route, the train works well.</p>
<p>My daughter flew into Midway and took the bus (coachusa.com). It was super convenient, relatively fast, and dropped her in the center of campus, right by her dorm. (the bus leaves from O’Hare also),On holidays, they provide non-stop buses. Even on non-holidays, the times were convenient. We joked that it was easier for her to get from Texas to Notre Dame than it was for a lot of her friends to get to their in-state schools here in Texas. It really was not an problem at all.</p>
<p>As others have said, the Coach USA bus stops at ND (outside the ND bookstore) every 2 hours or so (and more frequently at school breaks when the buses fill with ND students headed to or from O’Hare and Midway). We have also occasionally (well, more like rarely) gotten a decently priced flight into or out of the South Bend airport. We live on the west coast so the fairly easy ability to get to and from the campus was one of the minor, but still important, factors in selecting ND for both my kids.</p>
<p>Greta - I am on the West Coast too. Does your daughter fly by herself to O’Hare then go wait for the CoachUSA bus and take it alone to campus? I’m not concerned about going from campus to the airport as I think there are kids driving or other kids to coordinate the bus trip with. But I can’t imagine sending my 18-year -old alone after Thanksgiving Break… HELP!! ;-)</p>
<p>Rice1961: Thanksgiving weekend, she’ll get off the plane and board a bus full of ND students headed for campus. Just make sure the flight lands in Chicago by the early evening. There are later buses, I just didn’t want my kids to be in a situation of trying to make the last bus if the flight was late. Coach USA adds multiple buses to their schedule at school breaks to handle the ND students trying to get to and from campus. If she has to wait at all for the bus at the airport, she will be standing with a bunch of other ND students waiting for the same bus. </p>
<p>I suggested my kids wear ND shirts/sweatshirts while traveling as freshman - it helps them find each other if anyone has questions. FYI - after freshman year, my kids chose to stay on campus over Thanksgiving break. Too much money and travel time for too short a period at home, especially since we don’t live close to a major airport. There are plenty of other students on campus over Easter and Thanksgiving and they use the time to rest and catch up.</p>
<p>"But I can’t imagine sending my 18-year -old alone after Thanksgiving Break… "</p>
<p>Yes, I know the feeling. But, in two years she’ll be a junior and chances are, she’ll be headed off for a semester abroad, traveling who knows where. Getting her to and from ND will pale in comparison! She’ll be fine. Is she still deciding on her school?</p>