U of C is in a really great neighborhood. Northwestern being on the lake is fantastic. But DePaul definitely wins this for giving you the more urban experience in Chicago.
Which Chicago University has the best location?
By far it would have to be DePaul. It is such a dense and compact campus, and the neighborhood is dense as well. Northwestern would have to be a close second though, for its location on the lake, and being in Evanston alone is great.
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I nominate Loyola.....dense neighborhood, diverse neighborhood, and literally right on the beach something not even NU can say
very difficult question as one would have to determine what makes one location better than another.
i will offer this:
only one of our major universities offers the feeling that when on campus, you really are in your own collegiate world, a place apart.
That would be Northwestern. In a sense, when you are on the NU campus, you could be a million miles away from Chicago. A large piece of land that dominates its landscape and offers the college town atmosphere of Evanston, the NU campus would be as comfortable as a "major university settng" if it were transported far away fromt he city in some sort of Champaign, Iowa City, or Bloomington location. The fact that it is a heavily residential (as opposed to commuter) school adds to the atmosphere.
While the U of C shares some attributes with NU, it is too wed to the Chicago street grid and big city environment to have the same feel as NU.
i will offer this:
only one of our major universities offers the feeling that when on campus, you really are in your own collegiate world, a place apart.
That would be Northwestern. In a sense, when you are on the NU campus, you could be a million miles away from Chicago. A large piece of land that dominates its landscape and offers the college town atmosphere of Evanston, the NU campus would be as comfortable as a "major university settng" if it were transported far away fromt he city in some sort of Champaign, Iowa City, or Bloomington location. The fact that it is a heavily residential (as opposed to commuter) school adds to the atmosphere.
While the U of C shares some attributes with NU, it is too wed to the Chicago street grid and big city environment to have the same feel as NU.
You'd have to give credit to UIC for its downtown location....the only major university whose main campus is downtown (I'm not counting Roosevelt's auditorium building as being a "campus").
My bet?: UIC uses its outstanding location in the heart of Chicago to rise to one of the most prominent state universities int he 21st century.
My bet?: UIC uses its outstanding location in the heart of Chicago to rise to one of the most prominent state universities int he 21st century.
I would agree with you on some accounts, particularly in light of the development in the South Loop. What, however, will prevent this from happening is politics--UIUC won't allow this to happen--IMO. I don't think that Berkeley-UCLA can be used as an analogy because of geography/population distribution considerations. There is absolutely no way that UIUC allows UIC to become a competitor for top-10% type kids from the Chicago suburbs.edsg25 said:You'd have to give credit to UIC for its downtown location....the only major university whose main campus is downtown (I'm not counting Roosevelt's auditorium building as being a "campus").
My bet?: UIC uses its outstanding location in the heart of Chicago to rise to one of the most prominent state universities int he 21st century.
Sam_Harmon said:I would agree with you on some accounts, particularly in light of the development in the South Loop. What, however, will prevent this from happening is politics--UIUC won't allow this to happen--IMO. I don't think that Berkeley-UCLA can be used as an analogy because of geography/population distribution considerations. There is absolutely no way that UIUC allows UIC to become a competitor for top-10% type kids from the Chicago suburbs.
Sam, I do agree; we're not in for a Cal-UCLA relationship with the two U of I campuses. Still, it is fairly impressive that as a relatively young institution, UIC is the second ranked acadeically of all our state universities (being part of the U of I didn't hurt, of course). Even without UCLA status, UIC is, IMHO, on the verge of being taken very seriously not only in Chicago and Illinois, but nationally as well.
Thank you, I was starting to doubt my decsion of turning down money at Marquette, just so I could have the experience of living in Chicago for at least 4 years. You have to love the new tower Loyola is building downtown too.forumly_chgoman said:I nominate Loyola.....dense neighborhood, diverse neighborhood, and literally right on the beach something not even NU can say
EDSG25, I do agree with you that UIC is quickly gaining a great reputation as a stand-alone university. I would guess that the relationship will develop more along the lines of Michigan--Michigan State or Virginia-Virginia Tech, where the secondary school stands on its own as a fine university but is still seen as the junior school.
Somebody mentioned that UIC has membership in the CIC. I believe that this is still under the umberlla of UIUC. If one looks at the CIC Website there is only one listing for the University of Illinois. If you have a full understanding of the nature of their CIC membership, I'd be interested to learn.
I also don't ever see them--even if they were to make all of the proper moves--gaining Big Ten membership. They don't turn on any additional tv sets.
Somebody mentioned that UIC has membership in the CIC. I believe that this is still under the umberlla of UIUC. If one looks at the CIC Website there is only one listing for the University of Illinois. If you have a full understanding of the nature of their CIC membership, I'd be interested to learn.
I also don't ever see them--even if they were to make all of the proper moves--gaining Big Ten membership. They don't turn on any additional tv sets.
I like Columbia College's location in the South Loop. It is a very exciting place to study considering all of the great development going on in the area.
My impression was that the U of C and UIC are the only non-Big Ten members of the CIC. Urbana probably does have something to do with UIC's rembership, but then again...schools like UWM, IUPUI, U-M (Dearborn), U of M (Dultuth) which have the same institutional set up's as UIC are not members.Sam_Harmon said:EDSG25, I do agree with you that UIC is quickly gaining a great reputation as a stand-alone university. I would guess that the relationship will develop more along the lines of Michigan--Michigan State or Virginia-Virginia Tech, where the secondary school stands on its own as a fine university but is still seen as the junior school.
Somebody mentioned that UIC has membership in the CIC. I believe that this is still under the umberlla of UIUC. If one looks at the CIC Website there is only one listing for the University of Illinois. If you have a full understanding of the nature of their CIC membership, I'd be interested to learn.
I also don't ever see them--even if they were to make all of the proper moves--gaining Big Ten membership. They don't turn on any additional tv sets.
Actually the University of Chicago, is a member of the Academic Big Ten Conference. They were one of the founding members of the Big Ten, but when they left the conference in the middle of the last century to focus on academics, they only left the Athletic end of the conference. They are still involved in the other aspects of the conference.
I just spent the weekend in a hostel next to Loyola and I REALLY liked the neighborhood. It had a very strong community feeling, I probably could have worded that better though.
I'll agree with you to a certain point. But, based on your chosen criterion, the main quadrangles at the U of C are best at making you feel like you're own college world. The rigid adherence to the Chicago grid goes completely unnoticed, and you just don't feel like you're in Chicago at all. As a whole, though, UChicago's campus is less completely integrated, so you have some areas (like the Science Quad) that feel like they are "outside" of the university.That would be Northwestern. In a sense, when you are on the NU campus, you could be a million miles away from Chicago. A large piece of land that dominates its landscape and offers the college town atmosphere of Evanston, the NU campus would be as comfortable as a "major university settng" if it were transported far away fromt he city in some sort of Champaign, Iowa City, or Bloomington location. The fact that it is a heavily residential (as opposed to commuter) school adds to the atmosphere.
While the U of C shares some attributes with NU, it is too wed to the Chicago street grid and big city environment to have the same feel as NU.
However, I disagree on your criterion. The best location would have to be one that integrates itself well into the neighborhood and can offer an academic environment while being firmly planted in its roots in Chicago. To that end, I'll have to say that DePaul has the best location. I've never studied there, but I've been up there several times (there's a nearby sandwich place that's worth the 1.5 hours on the CTA, "Frances" if you ever want to drop in on it) and the campus and its integration with the urban fabric cannot be surpassed by any of the other universities/colleges. It doesn't feel completely lost like the Loop-based colleges, nor does it feel out of place like UIC or IIT (the former for too bad architecture, the latter for too good), nor is it insular like NU or UChicago. It is academia, it is Chicago, it is both in one.
EDIT: By the way, NU doesn't technically count as a "Chicago" university, as Evanston is a separate municipality (or so they insist...).
Meh... It's been considered a Chicago university since its conception. It's close enough, don't ya think?simulcra said:EDIT: By the way, NU doesn't technically count as a "Chicago" university, as Evanston is a separate municipality (or so they insist...).
I would say that Depaul wins in a landslide. 18-22 year old kids in Lincoln Park with all the shops, bars, etc. Right on the fullerton red line. So close to downtown, Wrigley, Wicker Park just west. It is not even close.
Now I am a Loyola Alum and lived in Edgewater for 3 years. The best way to discribe Loyola is booooooorrrrrinnnnnng. It is a commuter school and has one bar in the area(Hamiltons). The area is diverse, lots of Middle easterns, African Americans, Hispanics in area. Really nothing near the area at all except Standees, Moody's, or the Delux Diner.
There is more to do in most suburbs then in Edgewater.
The cool part for me were my downtown classes on Pearson. I got to watch the Park Tower go up. The funniest thing of all, my then future wife's father, was a project manager for the Park Tower. I eventually got to tour the penthouse while the exterior was finished. The gentleman who at the time(this is about 4 years ago) lived there only during the summer. He had a piece of art worth millions helicoptored up there.
My wife went to Columbia and after we met while in school we would love to meet at Grant park and have a hot dog. Can you get any better than that??? Well of course, when the taste would come we would walk across the street and eat up!!!!
Now I am a Loyola Alum and lived in Edgewater for 3 years. The best way to discribe Loyola is booooooorrrrrinnnnnng. It is a commuter school and has one bar in the area(Hamiltons). The area is diverse, lots of Middle easterns, African Americans, Hispanics in area. Really nothing near the area at all except Standees, Moody's, or the Delux Diner.
There is more to do in most suburbs then in Edgewater.
The cool part for me were my downtown classes on Pearson. I got to watch the Park Tower go up. The funniest thing of all, my then future wife's father, was a project manager for the Park Tower. I eventually got to tour the penthouse while the exterior was finished. The gentleman who at the time(this is about 4 years ago) lived there only during the summer. He had a piece of art worth millions helicoptored up there.
My wife went to Columbia and after we met while in school we would love to meet at Grant park and have a hot dog. Can you get any better than that??? Well of course, when the taste would come we would walk across the street and eat up!!!!
You can get hot dogs in Grant Park??
^^There are kiosks right by Buckingham Fountain that serve all kinds of food.
I might be a little biased, but I'd say NU's Chicago campus is in the best location at Chicago/LSD.
Other than that, I'd say DePaul. Nothing beats tons of early 20something girls getting wasted on dollar or two beers.
Other than that, I'd say DePaul. Nothing beats tons of early 20something girls getting wasted on dollar or two beers.
Gotta be UIC, because as of January 2007, it will be extremely STR adjacent.
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