UChi Students & Alumni Taking Questions Forum

[Rahviveh]

Any recs for furniture stores in the area besides IKEA?

[badaboom61]

Any recs for furniture stores in the area besides IKEA?

IKEA is probably an hour away by car, so it would be a day trip. Other than that... not really. Furniture is often given away or sold cheap on lawannounce, but that's pretty random. Craigslist is usually a good bet for furniture if you have the means to transport it.

[ellewoods110]

Any recs for furniture stores in the area besides IKEA?

There's Ashley Furniture and Value City Furniture for pretty affordable/not-super-well-made-but-nice-looking furniture in the area and they will deliver.

[cwid1391]

Some people at ASW mentioned that they rented their furniture? Any thoughts about that? Cost?

[Greenandgold]

Some people at ASW mentioned that they rented their furniture? Any thoughts about that? Cost?

That's what my roommate and I do. Like $175 a month for a couch, chair, and coffee table in the living room, then a table with 4 chairs in the dining room and both of our bedrooms furnished. I think it's the way to go if you won't be buying furniture that you plan on keeping for a while.

ETA: They deliver it and set it all up for you as well. Was pretty nice moving in and a few hours later having the place fully furnished with no effort on our part.

[StarJammer]

Some people at ASW mentioned that they rented their furniture? Any thoughts about that? Cost?

That's what my roommate and I do. Like $175 a month for a couch, chair, and coffee table in the living room, then a table with 4 chairs in the dining room and both of our bedrooms furnished. I think it's the way to go if you won't be buying furniture that you plan on keeping for a while.

ETA: They deliver it and set it all up for you as well. Was pretty nice moving in and a few hours later having the place fully furnished with no effort on our part.

Does the company that does this have a website?

[Greenandgold]

Some people at ASW mentioned that they rented their furniture? Any thoughts about that? Cost?

That's what my roommate and I do. Like $175 a month for a couch, chair, and coffee table in the living room, then a table with 4 chairs in the dining room and both of our bedrooms furnished. I think it's the way to go if you won't be buying furniture that you plan on keeping for a while.

ETA: They deliver it and set it all up for you as well. Was pretty nice moving in and a few hours later having the place fully furnished with no effort on our part.

Does the company that does this have a website?

http://www.cort.com

[StarJammer]

Does the company that does this have a website?

http://www.cort.com

Thanks!

[2014]

Will we get our elective grades back before our other ones, or do they just grade the 3Ls/LLMs first and sit on the 1L grades?

[JollyGreenGiant]

Will we get our elective grades back before our other ones, or do they just grade the 3Ls/LLMs first and sit on the 1L grades?

Depends on the professor.

[courtneylove]

re: furniture questions, I bought my staple furniture (desk/couch/bed/table) at a Macy's in my state and they shipped it from the warehouse and delivered to my Chi apartment for free. I was able to schedule the delivery date and time. The advantage was paying my home state's sales tax, and not 9.25%! Other department stores may do the same. Plus, labor day sales!

[jbiresq]

Some people at ASW mentioned that they rented their furniture? Any thoughts about that? Cost?

That's what my roommate and I do. Like $175 a month for a couch, chair, and coffee table in the living room, then a table with 4 chairs in the dining room and both of our bedrooms furnished. I think it's the way to go if you won't be buying furniture that you plan on keeping for a while.

ETA: They deliver it and set it all up for you as well. Was pretty nice moving in and a few hours later having the place fully furnished with no effort on our part.

Does the company that does this have a website?

http://www.cort.com

They sell their used furniture too: http://chicagoil.cortclearancefurniture.com/

I furnished an entire apartment for a good price. Stuff wasn't bad either.

[Lurkington]

.

[badaboom61]

Anyone have a recommendation for a realtor? Preferably one who does rentals as well (I'm on the fence between renting and buying)

There are apartment locator services in Chicago which will basically broker an apartment for free (apt management will eventually pay the fee). Student Space was decent a few years ago, although I think they're having some management issues of late. I'm sure there are plenty of others. Also, MAC property owns most of the property in Hyde Park, although they're terrible management, but not a bad option if you don't mind that.

I'm not too familiar with the realty market, though. If you want to stay in Chicago for 3 years or less, renting is almost certainly a better option.

[beepboopbeep]

Anyone have a recommendation for a realtor? Preferably one who does rentals as well (I'm on the fence between renting and buying)

There are apartment locator services in Chicago which will basically broker an apartment for free (apt management will eventually pay the fee). Student Space was decent a few years ago, although I think they're having some management issues of late. I'm sure there are plenty of others. Also, MAC property owns most of the property in Hyde Park, although they're terrible management, but not a bad option if you don't mind that.

I'm not too familiar with the realty market, though. If you want to stay in Chicago for 3 years or less, renting is almost certainly a better option.

MAC is the big one for rentals. There's also TLC, which is significantly more competent and better-priced. If you're looking at smaller rental companies, McKey/Poague and Parker/Holtzmann have a good presence and are generally regarded better than MAC. Most undergrads find stuff on http://marketplace.uchicago.edu/. Lots of small independent brokers.

I don't really know the realty market either, but Urban Search is pretty big on the high end, from what I can tell. From there you see yard signs for the standard nationwide realtors plus some other local Chicago ones, but I don't know of any others aside from Urban Search that specialize in the area. There are probably some.

ETA that I've heard good things about the price/quality of UChicago grad housing.

[WhiteyCakes]

Around what time would loan refunds be disbursed? I am trying to figure out how long my savings will need to last...

[Dany]

Around what time would loan refunds be disbursed? I am trying to figure out how long my savings will need to last...

End of September right around when classes start. So you'll need to cover living expenses up through the end of September but will have loan money for October rent/living expenses.

[Crowing]

Does anybody have any feedback regarding 5550 S Dorchester? The reviews for it are really good, and the location seems great and the rent reasonable. My SO and I are driving to Chicago next week to look at some apartments. We are also interested in Scholar's Corner, Del Prado, Algonquin, and Windermere right now but I'm trying to find out more before we start calling about availability.

[Dany]

Does anybody have any feedback regarding 5550 S Dorchester? The reviews for it are really good, and the location seems great and the rent reasonable. My SO and I are driving to Chicago next week to look at some apartments. We are also interested in Scholar's Corner, Del Prado, Algonquin, and Windermere right now but I'm trying to find out more before we start calling about availability.

The only issue I see with it is that it looks like a ~5 minute walk to the 171 stop to get to school and an ~8 minute walk to the 6 to get downtown. One of the best things (IMO) about Algonquin/Del Prado/Regents is that all are right next to bus stops for school and downtown. When it's cold or snowy or rainy, I love not having to walk a few blocks to get to transportation. That's pretty minor though, and it might not matter to you.

[beepboopbeep]

Does anybody have any feedback regarding 5550 S Dorchester? The reviews for it are really good, and the location seems great and the rent reasonable. My SO and I are driving to Chicago next week to look at some apartments. We are also interested in Scholar's Corner, Del Prado, Algonquin, and Windermere right now but I'm trying to find out more before we start calling about availability.

The only issue I see with it is that it looks like a ~5 minute walk to the 171 stop to get to school and an ~8 minute walk to the 6 to get downtown. One of the best things (IMO) about Algonquin/Del Prado/Regents is that all are right next to bus stops for school and downtown. When it's cold or snowy or rainy, I love not having to walk a few blocks to get to transportation. That's pretty minor though, and it might not matter to you.

There's a 171 stop at 55th and Kenwood, but especially in the winter the bus drivers like to forget that it exists.

Otherwise I'd agree with all the above. It's a quiet part of Hyde Park; the address is a bit deceiving as it's really on the corner of 56th and Dorchester. Whether you'd rather have that or proximity to transportation is preference. Just know that the way Hyde Park transit works, it's easier to get to campus from certain further-away places like 51st/Cornell than some closer places like 58th/Blackstone.

[20141023]

.

[Mad Hatter]

Is there a way to add UChicago's xMail as one of your email accounts on an iPhone?

Not sure, but I think most people hook it up to their gmail account. That way you never have to go to your actual xMail account (which is nice because the interface looks like it's from 2003).

[Lurkington]

.

[20141023]

.

[happygrl]

Incoming 1L here with a question re: spring quarter appellate brief. The description on the website suggests that the sections are divided into teams for this, but nothing I've read on TLS indicates that is the case. Does dividing into teams refer to which side you are assigned, or do you actually do the work in teams?