<p>hello, im an applicant to the weinberg CAS and i jus wanted to know that eventhough the CAS is in evanston, will chicago play a big role in my education/life at NWU ???? any help especially from current NWU students will be appreciated.</p>
<p>thx</p>
<p>What is this "NWU" you speak of? This is the NU forum.</p>
<p>Chicago is pretty much there for "fun and games".</p>
<p>Some students take advantage of it, some don't.</p>
<p>Depends on your year. Freshman year I rarely went downtown, Sophomore it was also rare (about once a month.) By the time Junior and Senior year came along, we started venturing downtown more. When I attended NU for grad school, we'd go downtown every weekend.</p>
<p>Part of the reason was that more of us had cars in our later years. You have to change trains at Howard Street to take the El downtown, and it's not fun to do... particularly in the winter. Another reason was that there was more to do on campus during our beginning years; all our friends were there. And, as a girl, we had all the upperclassmen boys to date. By the time we were seniors, we were looking for older men, or at least other men.</p>
<p>Take my answer with a grain of salt though. I graduated 25 years ago.</p>
<p>I'm NUGraduate's age (ok, maybe just a few years younger :-) ) and I'd also say that if I had to do it over again, I'd take more advantage of everything in Chicago. More than just visiting Water Tower to shop and going to the bars. There's so much there!</p>
<p>Yeah, I've been to Chicago before, and Water Tower is a good place. It's also neat just to walk around, but not in the winter, at least from me. As a Floridian, I thought my face was going to get frostbite after 3 minutes.</p>
<p>Anyway, I am curious to know why Northwestern asks on your application if you visited Chicago recently. I thought it was a strange question.</p>
<p>I'll combine NUgrad's and k&s's points in my answer. Most freshmen have so much new to experience on campus they tend to venture into Chicago rarely. This generally changes soph year and much more as juniors/seniors. Some are content never to leave the campus and Evanston for four years and, given all they offer, there is often no compelling reason to do so. BUT, if you're heavy into music, you're sure to head downtown regularly. If theater or art is your thing, same applies. The other issue is internship/job availability. Lots of opportunities in media, theater, music, medical research, etc. draw kids there throughout the school year. With the option to take only 3 courses in a given term, time can be easily found (and often is) for school-year, not just summer, interning. This can be a great resume builder and offers a real advantage to NU graduates.</p>
<p>I'm a current NU student and I go to Chicago all the time! Chicago is really a wonderful city - there is always something to do, whether it's eating out, going to raves, or going to concerts. Michigan avenue is always fun, but there are tons of other fun places to go. Plus, it's really easy to get to Chicago. I'm an engineering major taking a full load of honors courses and organic chemistry, but I still find time to go into town since it's only 30 minutes away!</p>
<p>Wow, almost forgot Cubs, White Sox, Bears, Bulls. Don't know if pro sports is on your must do list. Wrigley is only about 20 minutes away by El and a big draw.</p>
<p>also, northwestern provides transportation (via bus) to nearby shopping centers and the chicago campus. It is literally free to go into Chicago.</p>
<p>Well, I went to New Chinatown and Lakeview a lot. The New Chinatown is pretty close to NU and accessible by train. They got many authentic Asian restaurants there. Lakeview is a a little more than halfway between downtown and Evanson. That area is extremely walkable and the number, density, and variety of shops and eateries along Broadway St and Clark St are unmatched anywhere I've been to in the US. My friends and I liked going there for food. I was also coming out (gay) during Senior year and that area has higher concentration of gays/lesbians.</p>
<p>I don't mean to sound racist, mean, anti-semetic or anything, but how come it seems that all the Jews, Blacks, and Gays tend to live in the same areas? (I'm Jewish and have gay relatives, just to show I'm not some wacko.)</p>
<p>Its ALL minority groups- Chicago is known for it.</p>
<p>dvm258</p>
<p>well, as far as the gays/lesbians go, there are few reasons:</p>
<ol>
<li>they want to meet people; so they look to hang out or live in an area that they know there's a higher chance for it to happen. </li>
<li>other than the bars/clubs, these "gayborhoods" have gay-friendly businesses and community center that provide support to gays/lesbians.</li>
<li>it's where they can feel more liberal and safe about expressing themselves without worrying about being beat up or confronted.</li>
<li>the areas where gays/lesbians are concentrated are usually either nice already or in the middle of rapid gentrification. they are often clean, safe, walkable, and even trendy. in fact, there's a joke among the gays there that straight people are invading lakeview. lakeview is getting increasing mixed and now one of the most popular among straight people, especially the young couples/singles.<br></li>
</ol>
<p>i heard in places like scandanivian countries where gays/lesbians are widely accepted, gays/lesbians aren't as concentrated in any particular areas. so that sorta partly answers your question too.</p>
<p>Minorities live in cities because of "ethnic neighborhoods". It's not unique to blacks, jews, or gays. The majority of Hispanics, Italians, and Asians live in major cities, as well. Though there are plenty of minorities in the suburbs, especially on the coasts.
The interesting thing about Boystown (the gay neighborhood in Chicago) is that it used to be a run-down area. Many homosexuals moved into this area because it was relatively cheap and lacked the social disapproval and elitism in other areas. The gays built up the area, added a lot of culture and wealth to the point that Boystown is now a really great area with tons of restaurants and things to do.
There is no greater pleasure than going to a Sunday afternoon game at Wrigley (20-30 minutes from campus) walking out and seeing the weekly gay pride parade.
Drunken Cubs fans + men in leather (please pardon the stereotype if only for the hilarity of it) = only in Chicago.</p>
<p>chicago is really nice to have nearby for a couple reasons. the first is that culture permeates, so even if you don't actually go downtown, you are in proximity to a highly gentrified world-class city so you will never be at a loss for culture or class. the second is for internships. Both acquiring and traveling to a top-shelf internship will be easier because you are near the city.</p>
<p>in general, it's really nice to have the city "there" in case you need it, to get away from campus, whatever. I can assure you from transferring that if you go to a school not near a huge city like chicago, things can start to feel very claustrophobic. At northwestern there is civilization for 50 miles in every direction (besides east - the lake) and chicago right next to you, there is always somewhere to go and something to do - if you want to. </p>
<p>I think the most flattering thing is that northwestern is really never boring enough that you will feel a persistent need to visit the city, but having it there is great.</p>
<p>If you're really Jewish, dvm, you would be aware that the Orthodox Jews need to live within walking distance of their shuls to be able to walk there on the Sabbath as they would not otherwise drive. That accounts for the high Jewish population in the Rogers Park / Touhy Avenue / Devon area. As for Conservative and Reform Jews, their distribution in the Chicago area isn't any different from any other major city - some suburbs have more (such as Highland Park or Buffalo Grove or Skokie), some suburbs have fewer.</p>
<p>I did know that of course, but I never associated that with the population distribution.</p>
<p>i heard that theatre kids go down to chicago for parts of their classes a lot</p>