<p>San Francisco is not the only worthwhile place in the Bay Area. There are tons of places to go all over the peninsula, south bay, east bay, etc. The natural landscape is truly amazing as well - from the Bay 10 mins away, to the ocean 30 mins away, to the Santa Cruz Mountains to the myriad nature reserves just off campus.</p>
<p>Most students are too busy during the week to go to SF (or even go off campus), but on the weekend you have time to spend much of the day there. The Caltrain also has bullet service to SF on the weekend, cutting down the transit time.</p>
<p>Downtown Palo Alto may not be San Francisco, but it’s pretty decent, with lots of people around (busier than most of the SF streets, actually), bars, ethnic restaurants (so under-appreciated by the student body), etc. It’s also not as expensive as many people make it seem. There are also a ton of cheaper restaurants/stores in downtown - they just aren’t on University Ave generally.</p>
<p>“Downtown Palo Alto” is about as interesting as a trip to the mall. Nothing else is easily accessible without a car; public transportation is awkward by design. But, as they say, “different strokes for different folks…”</p>
<p>Setting that aside, here’s the fact: Wherever you go, you’ll be spending 99% of your time within walking distance of the library…IF you plan to extract the most from the experience. Believe me, whether you choose to go to Stanford or UChicago, you will be working HARD. So set aside romantic notions of city lights or thundering surf. Your home will be the campus. </p>
<p>I have to add a couple things that nobody has mentioned.</p>
<p>The Chicago application is HELL to fill out. The essay questions take a long time to figure out a good idea to write about. I got about halfway through then decided to just not apply to Chicago (the annoying application was the straw that broke the camels back, there were a couple other things that made me not apply). On the other hand, I really enjoyed the Stanford application. I feel like of all the colleges I applied to, their essays gave them the biggest insight into my character. </p>
<p>Also, people are throwing around other places you might want to apply like Berkeley. I would say you should apply to University of Michigan if you want the best public school experience in the nation. Also, the Toronto - Windsor flight is only an hour and a half and a pretty easy commute to make.</p>
<p>Bimbop: Ahaha, I’m actually looking forward to filling out the Uchicago application - especially the essay! XD Thanks for the suggestion - I’ll check out U of M! </p>
<p>Thanks tortoise and phantasmagoric - I really appreciate you both sharing your perspectives. You both provide some awesome points and things to think about.</p>