UChicago and Northwestern in one hectic day- logistics?

Parents Forum
1

<p>I have precisely 20 hours of a weekday in Chicago with my HS Senior daughter. She has previously done the info session and tour of UChicago, but this was in the summer when there were not too many students on campus. She is interested in visiting briefly and possibly interviewing on campus while school is in session. She has never been to Northwestern and would like to see the campus well, since it is a school that seems to fit her interests a lot. I am not too familiar with Chicago- public transportation or traffic patterns. Does the following sound like a feasible (not optimal, but feasible) plan?</p>

<ol>
<li> Fly in to O'Hare, arriving at 11pm.</li>
<li> Rent a car, drive into Chicago, stay in a hotel as close as possible to the U of C.</li>
<li> Get to campus at 9 am, spend a couple hours on campus, possibly interview.</li>
<li> 11-12pm: Drive to Northwestern.</li>
<li> Afternoon at Northwestern (info session and tour starts at 1.15 pm).</li>
<li> Drive back to O'Hare, return car, and catch flight departing at 7pm.</li>
</ol>

<p>Some points/questions:</p>

<p>-The flight times are fixed, I already have the tickets so please don't suggest Midway, etc.
- All other plans can be changed depending on what people suggest.<br>
- Are taxis and/or public transportation a viable alternative for such a hectic schedule?
- Is it better to see Northwestern first and then go to UChicago?
- If we decide to stay closer to O'Hare and drive to UChicago in the early morning, will we encounter a lot of morning rush traffic?
-Google maps tells me I should take the highway along the lakeshore to go up to NU from U of C and that it will take under 1 hr. Is that realistic around noon on a weekday?
- What is a good hotel close to U of Chicago campus?
- Any other suggestions? </p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>Busy trip but I think you can do it. Taxis for such an itinerary will be expensive and you’ll be dependent upon calling for cabs (except at O’Hare and the hotel). I suggest staying in a downtown hotel. U Chicago is not in a great neighborhood, as I’m sure you know, and you’ll be arriving around or a little after midnight. You can sometimes get very good hotel prices at the Swissotel, and some parents here give good reviews to Priceline–select 4 star and above in downtown Chicago and bid low.</p>

<p>Drive south from downtown on Lake Shore Drive to get to U Chicago (leave an hour for morning rush hour, but should normally take 20 minutes). Really too bad you won’t have time to visit the Museum of Science & Industry. Midday traffic would make the drive from U Chicago to Northwestern about an hour–maybe a little longer? Don’t forget to allow a little time to drive around Evanston and see the neighborhood there.</p>

<p>A real shame you won’t get to see the Art Institute or an architectural boat tour. :)</p>

<p>Have fun.</p>

3

<p>When you rent the car, don’t forget go ask for a GPS!! It could save a LOT of trouble with such a tight schedule. And I would stay at a hotel near Evanston and go to Northwestern first, because of the neighborhood U Chicago’s in, and because I think Evanston is closer to the airport, and you’ll be tired when you get in at 11 p.m.</p>

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<p>I agree with going from OHare to Evanston and seeing Northwestern first. There are fewer hotels in Hyde Park and it is easy to get from OHare to Evanston (there used to be an airport bus but I guess you will want a car for the other legs of this trip.) Since she has already seen UC, I’d say do the morning in Evanston, then zip down Lake Shore to UC (an easy drive mid-day and beautiful in the fall)–then go back up Lake Shore and out to OHare. It will be a full day but a good way to compare campuses. If you are tight for time, visit UC campus and have an interview with an adcom back home once she is full of details from seeing students. (Although I am an NU grad I think UC is a better undergrad setting; it will be interesting to see your daughter’s take on the differences in the campus cultures)</p>

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<p>S and I did NU first then UC on the same day - taking the route described by mmah above - not bad at all.</p>

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<p>OTOH, if you go to NW first, you will be looking at driving from Hyde Park to O’Hare during peak rush hour = bad. O’Hare to HP at midnight, on the other hand, won’t take you more than 45min or so, and the next day, you’ll be doing Evanston to O’Hare which is much more manageable. If you do end up doing HP to O’hare, consider taking LSD north to I-55 (=Stevenson) west to I-294 (= tristate tollway) N. Looks way the heck out on map, but it’s worth avoiding the loop/Kennedy during rush hour. </p>

<p>Do not stay at O’Hare and try to get to HP in AM. If you stay downtown, stay on the south side of the Loop. I think S. Michigan Ave has some reasonable hotels. From there in the morning, it should not be hard to get to HP.</p>

<p>Also, HP to Evanston may take more than an hour during day.</p>

<p>I say, stick with your plan, stay in south Loop if there’s nothing attractive in HP. Spend the afternoon in NW and you won’t be so rushed, no pun intended, in evening. Now, Evanston to O’Hare is not easy, given lack of horizontal highways. I don’t know that route, maybe you could ask on NW board as to how long it might take.</p>

<p>Stop in the Seminary Bookstore, in the basement of Chicago Theological Seminary at 58t and University, right off the quads. I consider this the acid test for U of C. If D loves it, she should go to U of C.</p>

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<p>I agree about staying downtown rather than near O’Hare, going to UChicago in the AM, then to Evanston, then to O’Hare. If you have time, take Lake Shore drive all the way to Evanston. It’s a prettier drive than the freeways as it runs all along the lake past all the neighborhoods. It’s about 25 miles or so, but allow time for traffic. From Evanston to O’Hare it’s freeway, but it will be busy… again maybe 25 miles or so but since you’ll be heading to the airport right at rush hour, allow time.</p>

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<p>Another alternative: public transit/cab and NU first
O’Hare –> Evanston (Taxi)
Evanstown –> Downtown (Train)
Downtown –> UChicago –> Downtown (Cab)
Downtown –> O’Hare (Blueline)</p>

<p>It may be a bit more expensive. But I am not sure if it’s really much more, if at all. If you rent a car, you have to pay for the car rental, parking at the hotel, and possibly parking at both NU and Chicago (I doubt visitor parking is free).</p>

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<p>Wow. I’m not sure you’ll get a good feel for either school on that schedule, but good luck. Just remember that they are both awesome schools in their own ways, so if you come away not liking them, it’s probably sleep deprivation or traffic, not the schools themselves.</p>

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<p>We were charged $8/hour at U Chi when we visited.</p>

<p>I also had the displeasure of moving 0.8 mile in 1 hour on I-55 out of midway around 4:00 PM. </p>

<p>So, to catch you 7:00 PM flight, you might have to leave downtown around 4:00 PM</p>

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<p>Thanks for all the tips guys, I am listening carefully! </p>

<p>What time would I have to leave Northwestern campus to catch my 7pm flight (after returning my Avis rental car)?</p>

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<p>To get to O’Hare from Northwestern, you would take Emerson Street (turns into Golf Road) west for maybe 10 miles, then zag south to Dempster Street and take I-294 south to the airport. Point is, it’s a lot of stop and go traffic versus highway traffic. Personally, I’d leave Evanston no later than 5 pm for a 7 pm flight (and I know what I’m doing, if that makes sense!).</p>

<p>Also, if I were planning this trip, I think I’d rather do U of C first and then Northwestern … because you’re still more within spitting distance of O’Hare from NU than from U of Chicago. I’d get the long schlep down to the U of C over with first thing versus have that be my last thing before I’m catching a flight out. </p>

<p>In other words - if it’s the late afternoon and there is traffic from U of C back to O’Hare, you are hosed. If it’s the late afternoon and there is traffic from NU back to O’Hare, there are still enough side streets, etc. that you could make it there. I would think that would be a lot less stressful. </p>

<p>Good luck to you! Can’t go wrong with either!</p>

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<p>Another alternative: public transit/cab and NU first
O’Hare –> Evanston (Taxi)
Evanstown –> Downtown (Train)
Downtown –> UChicago –> Downtown (Cab)
Downtown –> O’Hare (Blueline)"</p>

<p>Only issue I see with this is that you can’t really get a full feel for Evanston – I would strongly advise the ability to drive up and down the streets of downtown Evanston (Orrington, Sherman, etc.) to get a feel for downtown. You may miss that aspect if you are cabbing and focused only on the campus.</p>

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<p>Totally agree with taking Lake Shore Drive from U of C / downtown into Evanston. It’s not THAT much of a time difference, and it puts the two schools into the broader context of the city of Chicago and all the neighborhoods.</p>

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<p>With your timeline, you won’t be able to do this schedule on public transportation. Fortunately, most of your travel will be at off times.</p>

<p>Evanston is the nicer area to stay in - the Hilton Garden Inn is a hotel I would recommend, and it’s walking distance to campus. Taking Lake Shore Drive from Evanston to Hyde Park is about an hour, but you’ll want 15-20 extra minutes for parking and walking. Watch your speed on LSD.</p>

<p>The problem with the north-to-south plan, as others have pointed out, is that going from Hyde Park to O’Hare during evening rush can take two hours. You’ll be going through one of the most congested sections of a very congested freeway system. I doubt if 55 to 294 would be better as 294 has had repair work going on all summer and still is not completed.</p>

<p>Options for staying around Hyde Park are few - the Ramada gets sad reviews, but there is a nice B and B called University Quarters. [University</a> Quarters Bed & Breakfast & Suites near The University of Chicago, McCormick Place, and downtown Chicago](<a href=“http://www.universityquarters.net/]University”>http://www.universityquarters.net/) Paying for parking is the norm in almost all tourist sections of Chicago, and city-controlled rates were raised this year to painful heights.</p>

<p>Evanston to O’Hare: leave before 4 PM to avoid the worst traffic and have time to return the rental car. Traffic is considerably worse after 4. Also, a previous poster said that Evanston to O’Hare is all expressway, which is inaccurate and misleading. No expressway reaches Evanston, and the nearest expressway, 94, does not go to the airport - it takes you to “The Junction” of 90 and 94, which is the worst bottleneck on the north side. You’ll need to cut across town on regular streets and pick up 294 not far from the airport. </p>

<p>Even if you leave Evanston by 4, you will be on a tight schedule. Once you are at O’Hare, you can often get through security faster by using the small stations at the end of the terminal - for terminal 3, walk in the direction of terminal two (walking against the flow of traffic), and the small station is at the very end of terminal 3. For terminal 1, walk towards terminal 2 (walk with the flow of traffic) and the small station is just before the walkway to terminal 2. These look like they are for employees only, but anyone can use them.</p>

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<p>Awesome tips, thanks! I had just discovered the B&B myself too and it seems very convenient. </p>

<p>Unfortunately I just doublechecked my plane tickets and realized that our flight gets in to ORD at 12.30am! That would mean even less time than I thought we would have. I am now thinking of just sticking to NU for the trip, though the LSD drive is still tempting!</p>

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<p>Oh, wow, that’s really unfortunate. Are you even able to get a rental car at that hour?</p>

<p>I would just cab it to Evanston at that point and crash. If your tour isn’t til early afternoon, that gives you the morning to walk around Evanston, get the feel for the downtown area, campus, and maybe even just walk the whole campus and / or lakefront yourself prior to her interview / session in early afternoon.</p>

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<p>My wife once got a ticket there for turning too late after a light changed. The police officer wrote on it, “Illegal turn on LSD”. I thought that was hilarious and told her she should have it framed. (She didn’t.)</p>

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<p>Pizzagirl: Yes, car rentals are available 24 hrs at ORD. Despite the fact that both D and I can do fine on 4-5 hrs of sleep, based on the traffic concerns for the afternoon described above, I am thinking of limiting the trip to NU.</p>

<p>M.S: Now you are tempting me even more to try LSD!</p>

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<p>It might get you to Chicago faster than a plane!</p>