<p>Chicago is way more than just the downtown anyway; downtown Chicago is the furthest point in Chicago many would go. Almost all of the most popular and nicest neighborhoods are somewhere between Evanston and downtown Chicago.</p>
<p>Definitely true…you don’t want to go past Downtown when bar hopping/shopping. Most nice places are in between Evanston and Chicago.</p>
<p>Rarely heading as far south as downtown unless it’s a museum visit.</p>
<p>Figure about </p>
<p>7 miles to Uptown
8 miles to Wrigley/Wrigleyville
10 miles to Bucktown or Lincoln Park
12 miles to Old Town
13 miles to Streeterville</p>
<p>^ I went to Wrigleyville, Lakeview, & Uptown way more often than downtown.</p>
<p>I grew up in Evanston and around the NU Campus, and went to grad school there so I feel qualified to comment on the environs. The lake is beautiful to look at. In mid summer it’s fun for swimming, but except for the dead of winter it’s a really pretty background and there are parks adjacent to it all the way from the NU Campus to Chicago… many miles of running trails, etc. Weather is hot in the summer - humid too - like midwest - but lots of gardens. Winter is usually quite cold for a few months although this winter was mild. You need warm clothes and coats, but it’s not miserable.</p>
<p>The Evanston campus (where undergrad and Kellogg are located) is really beautiful… buildlings and green spaces) - varied architecture. Take a look online.</p>
<p>Evanston isn’t the most exciting suburb, but it still has quite a few shops and places to eat. Chicago is easy to access via public transport.</p>
<p>I don’t know about Wash U - but NU has a really strong reputation with employers from what I’ve observed.</p>
<p>Can anyone compare and contrast the general personalities of the students and also the workload for undergraduates?</p>
<p>I love WashU. I got in, visited and everything. However, nowadays I can’t help noticing that when somebody mentions the school (at least here on the East Coast-- it’s virtually unknown in Chicago where I lived), the immediate reaction is “Ohh is that the school that wait lists 70% of applicants?” This really gives it a bad impression to not only prospective students but also employers (many of whose children were wait listed there and may hold grudges).</p>
<p>The workload at Wash U is (from what I gather, knowing a few current undergrads there) what one would expect - manageable, if you use time wisely, but certainly not easy-schmeezy. Northwestern is about the same. I think course load depends more on the major; if you went for an Econ path at NU it might be more than Business at Wash U.</p>
<p>Personality-wise, it’s very Midwestern in that the people are not “hicks” but generally very friendly and open. It’s totally different from an Ivy League school (I know someone who went undergrad at Wash U and grad at Columbia, and he basically said Columbia was way more uptight and snobbish than Wash U by far). Northwestern is going to be similar, but as Chicago is less Midwestern and far bigger than St. Louis, the atmosphere is different. I think students at both schools are generally motivated and intelligent students. Neither has a reputation for letting in a ton of lazy children of wealthy people, I think.</p>