If at all possible use Southwest out of Midway for flights. You can change their flights without penalty and we have needed to change a number of times when finals ended up being earlier than the dates posted (especially for classes that just have a paper not a test). Getting to O’Hare is a complete pain most times of the day. It’s rare to take longer than 30 minutes to get to Midway even when there is traffic. For move in shipping to school is by far the easiest solution as the package center is in the dorm. We really regretted bringing as much as we did and not just shipping to the dorm especially for things like the fridge and a big rug.
Also, for those who don’t wish to own a fridge, you can rent a microfridge. They provide all the information on how to do that so no worries about details at this point. It’s more expensive because the company is incurring the storage costs and so charge an appropriate seasonal rental amount; but as long as you empty out and wipe down, they cart it away 
They also have it in your room by the time you move-in. My daughter really wanted one so we split the cost.
Yes, the rented microfridges also have the option of an attached microwave.
When moving in our now junior son three years ago, we flew Southwest, partially because of their generous checked bag policy, plus it’s an easy route for us from the San Francisco area. We were a party of 4 cos younger sib was in tow, so we were able to check all of our first years bags at no extra cost!
We ordered through Bed, Bath & Beyond and set up pickup at one of the local stores. Easy peasy and made for a lot less ‘stuff’ to fly out.
Move in was smooth, smooth, smooth! We qued up outside his dorm a little early and parking our rented minivan was a complete non-issue, a pleasant surprise for us Californians.
All in all, everything went well. The school has this move in stuff down!
Thank you everyone for all of the comments. My DD and I were on campus this week for the admitted student’s open house, and we have a much better feel for how everything is going to work. We chose to do public transportation from campus back to O’hare yesterday, so that was helpful for my DD to see how that all worked. Now she is thinking about applying for one of the pre-orientation programs in Chicago, so I guess that will change how her move-in works a bit, but we will figure it out. DD is so excited!
@lilchaz - can you please expand upon that pre-orientation program - is that one of the Career Exploration things described by Career Advancement or separate? I wasn’t able to attend the Pre-Orientation session yesterday as I had a seprate appt. off campus that I had to keep. Son opted for coffee in the Div. School with his new friends over sitting in Rock. Chapel listening to this. So we are in the dark! Thanks for anything you can provide.
^ Edit/update - might have found the link. Is it this? https://college.uchicago.edu/student-life/summer-experiences
This appears to be expanded over what we read about two years ago when my D was matriculating. Wow.
Yes, @JBStillFlying that is the link for the pre-orientation programs being offered this summer. It is quite an assortment… all the way from Beijing to Paris to career-specific opportunities around the country. The outdoor backpacking trip in Michigan is new for this summer. They said that around 30% of the incoming class will do 1 of these pre-orientation programs.
Several of them intrigued my DD. Since we live in the middle of the country and are “city-challenged,” I think my DD is going to apply for one of the programs being offered in Chicago. All students who are in a Chicago-based program will be housed in North for the week, and if I understood correctly, these students will then move into their assigned dorms 1 day prior to everyone else coming to campus for Move-In.
There was a panel of 4 current students who each did a different program in the last 2 years. All 4 gave personal information about their specific experiences, and all 4 stressed how wonderful it was to have an instant group of friends when O-Week started.
Someone asked the question if these programs were competitive, and the answer given was that generally students get the program that they applied for, but if their top choice is full, they will work with students to try and find another pre-orientation opportunity.
Applications for the study abroad programs are due May 31, all others are due June 14.
I hope that helps!
^ Thank you @lilchaz - it does! Just forwarded to my son. He’ll be interested in one of the career explorations, I’m pretty sure.
It’s good that they expanded the offerings because I had the impression that the programs a couple years ago were actually competitive. I’m sure that demand must have way outstripped supply.
I originally thought those programs were intended for first gen or students with significant financial need, so I didn’t go to that information session. However, when my D and I looked at the offerings online a few days ago, we couldn’t believe what amazing options were available to all interested. We are looking at LA, DC, or NY options.
My son is looking at NY as well. Can’t remember exactly but thought I heard that for at least some of them, if you are on financial aid you get part of your airfare paid for? Or are those just the Treks?
JB
Here’s the link. It appears some programs can be covered with FA.
https://college.uchicago.edu/student-life/summer-experiences
I believe need-based financial aid is available for most of the programs. I’m not sure what that covers and how airfare would work into it, though. I was under the impression that all of the offerings were available for all students regardless of financial status. They do have a couple of specific programs for international students to acclimate them to the US and the American classroom, and only international students can participate in these.
^ I think that’s right @lilchaz - the F/A aspect is a cost issue not an availability issue. I’ve noticed that UChicago doesn’t restrict anyone from access to things like Metcalf, treks, exploration, or other programs but they might have funds available for those who need it. Anecdotally, this seems very different from some other top schools. Yale, for instance, just instituted a $4,000 summer stipend program that sounds very similar to Metcalf, only you have to be on financial aid to be eligible.