Northwestern 1L/2L/3L/Grads Taking Questions and Challenges Forum

[Lightworks]

What's the cheapest decent neighborhood? I don't mind a commute, as long as there is public transportation.

[bjsesq]

What's the cheapest decent neighborhood? I don't mind a commute, as long as there is public transportation.

I had a place in River West that was a really big 2 bedroom with tall ceilings and an outdoor patio that cost 1500 a month. With 2 people living there, it was the cheapest I ever found. YMMV, of course, since there are so many places in the city to be had.

[franklyscarlet]

What's the cheapest decent neighborhood? I don't mind a commute, as long as there is public transportation.

Also be careful about what kind of commute you have. Two busses makes for a wildly unpredictable commute, while one bus or a train or two is probably ok.

[Cobretti]

NU is now in the top 3 at USNews!
(for most debt at graduation)

http://abovethelaw.com/2015/03/the-top- ... s#comments

[zozin]

Cheapest area that still has a short commute is probably Uptown: http://[link redacted]/VZGWyn

#147 Express takes ~12-15 minutes to get to Michigan Avenue. Studios are probably ~600.

[rinkrat19]

NU is now in the top 3 at USNews!
(for most debt at graduation)

http://abovethelaw.com/2015/03/the-top- ... s#comments

CLS must be a new addition; I think NU used to be the only decent school on that list.

[cookiejar1]

The more west you head out on Grand or Chicago the cheaper your rent will be and you'll just be one bus away from school (65/66).

What's the cheapest decent neighborhood? I don't mind a commute, as long as there is public transportation.

[bjsesq]

Cheapest area that still has a short commute is probably Uptown: http://[link redacted]/VZGWyn

#147 Express takes ~12-15 minutes to get to Michigan Avenue. Studios are probably ~600.

Uptown is rough in spots, though.

[Cobretti]

Cheapest area that still has a short commute is probably Uptown: http://[link redacted]/VZGWyn

#147 Express takes ~12-15 minutes to get to Michigan Avenue. Studios are probably ~600.

Uptown is rough in spots, though.

Had a bunch of shootings outside my apartment around Christmas 1L... Broke my lease and moved to gold coast, no regrets.

[Desert Fox]

Uptown is so weird. It's not surrounded by ghetto really. But I'll be damned if there isn't a bunch of literal heroine addicts and shit right there.

[Holly Golightly]

For some reason, people who don't like Streeterville feel VERY STRONGLY that their opinion is the only valid one.

That's because it is. Hell, most of the people who never dislodged themselves from the rotten tit of that neighborhood admit it.

This. And also, I've lived in and/or spent a lot of time in more Chicago neighborhoods than most people ITT have even been to.

[carbo09]

Took herrowww's advice and contacted a real estate company to show me some places from Streeterville up to Lakeview when I come in April. The main area that I asked them to focus on was Lincoln Park/Old Town. What price range should I be looking for a 1 or 2 bedroom in those areas? I'm coming from DC where we were paying about $1500/per person for a 3 bedroom, so seeing 1 bedrooms for 1300-1500 seems cheap to me. I want to adjust my expectations to match the Chicago housing market.

[Cobretti]

Took herrowww's advice and contacted a real estate company to show me some places from Streeterville up to Lakeview when I come in April. The main area that I asked them to focus on was Lincoln Park/Old Town. What price range should I be looking for a 1 or 2 bedroom in those areas? I'm coming from DC where we were paying about $1500/per person for a 3 bedroom, so seeing 1 bedrooms for 1300-1500 seems cheap to me. I want to adjust my expectations to match the Chicago housing market.

1300-1500 would be on the upper end in this areas. You can get a 1br in gold coast right on the lake for ~1400

[lhanvt13]

Took herrowww's advice and contacted a real estate company to show me some places from Streeterville up to Lakeview when I come in April. The main area that I asked them to focus on was Lincoln Park/Old Town. What price range should I be looking for a 1 or 2 bedroom in those areas? I'm coming from DC where we were paying about $1500/per person for a 3 bedroom, so seeing 1 bedrooms for 1300-1500 seems cheap to me. I want to adjust my expectations to match the Chicago housing market.

1300-1500 in Lincoln park old town will get you one kick ass place. GC has good apts for 1500.

[suppy183]

Took herrowww's advice and contacted a real estate company to show me some places from Streeterville up to Lakeview when I come in April. The main area that I asked them to focus on was Lincoln Park/Old Town. What price range should I be looking for a 1 or 2 bedroom in those areas? I'm coming from DC where we were paying about $1500/per person for a 3 bedroom, so seeing 1 bedrooms for 1300-1500 seems cheap to me. I want to adjust my expectations to match the Chicago housing market.

1300-1500 in Lincoln park old town will get you one kick ass place. GC has good apts for 1500.

Really? I live in Lakeview/LP and pay $1600 for a 1BR. Also know a couple that lives close by and pays about the same for a 1BR and a guy living in river north paying about the same for a studio. Now, these are all decent places but nothing insane. I figured it would be very hard to find anything at all at $1400 or under (which is my target) in the Gold Coast if I were to move down there for 1L. I haven't started looking yet, and I hope you guys are right- I'm still a bit skeptical though.

[lhanvt13]

Took herrowww's advice and contacted a real estate company to show me some places from Streeterville up to Lakeview when I come in April. The main area that I asked them to focus on was Lincoln Park/Old Town. What price range should I be looking for a 1 or 2 bedroom in those areas? I'm coming from DC where we were paying about $1500/per person for a 3 bedroom, so seeing 1 bedrooms for 1300-1500 seems cheap to me. I want to adjust my expectations to match the Chicago housing market.

1300-1500 in Lincoln park old town will get you one kick ass place. GC has good apts for 1500.

Really? I live in Lakeview/LP and pay $1600 for a 1BR. Also know a couple that lives close by and pays about the same for a 1BR and a guy living in river north paying about the same for a studio. Now, these are all decent places but nothing insane. I figured it would be very hard to find anything at all at $1400 or under (which is my target) in the Gold Coast if I were to move down there for 1L. I haven't started looking yet, and I hope you guys are right- I'm still a bit skeptical though.

Oh woops with the roommate ordeal my bad. I looked around a couple places up north before settling on Gold Coast. My rent is ~1200 studio

[keosu11]

How difficult is it to get a parking pass as a 1L? I'll have my car and I'd like to avoid the unpredictability of public transit, especially in the winter

[Dog]

How difficult is it to get a parking pass as a 1L? I'll have my car and I'd like to avoid the unpredictability of public transit, especially in the winter

I've never lived in Chicago, but being from the northern part of the Midwest I'm not so sure a car will save you from "unpredictability" in the winter.

[sandwhich]

Berkeley and NU are kind of unique in that they're both objectively great schools, but are still the 'second' in the state. NU, however, is in the same city as the 'better' school. In your honest opinion, do you recognize any noticeable employer preference of UChi over NU? It's my understanding that NU still does great in Chicago (at least in biglawl). I was just curious if this interesting situation yields any noticeable effects.

[lhanvt13]

Berkeley and NU are kind of unique in that they're both objectively great schools, but are still the 'second' in the state. NU, however, is in the same city as the 'better' school. In your honest opinion, do you recognize any noticeable employer preference of UChi over NU? It's my understanding that NU still does great in Chicago (at least in biglawl). I was just curious if this interesting situation yields any noticeable effects.

arguable that NU does better in Chicago than UChi as well. Similar % going to big chicago firms/offices.

Class Size:
NU: upper 200s
Chi: lower 200s
too lazy to find exact #s

From the summer class thread:

Kirkland Ellis Chicago wrote:
41 Total

Yale: 1
Harvard: 2
Stanford: 1
Columbia: 1
Chicago: 10
Penn: 1
UVA: 2
Michigan: 1
Northwestern: 13

Vanderbilt: 2
GW: 1
Notre Dame: 2
UIUC: 1
Chicago-Kent: 3

Latham Chicago wrote:
15 Total

Yale: 1
Harvard: 1
Chicago: 1
Virginia: 1
Michigan: 4
Northwestern: 3
Cornell: 1
Georgetown: 1
WUSTL: 1
USC: 1

Skadden Chicago (Last Year)


Yale 2
Harvard 2
Stanford 1
Chicago 4
Penn 2
Michigan 4
Northwestern 5
Georgetown 2
Boston U 1
Loyola Chicago 2
U. of Maryland 1

Total 26

Jones Day Chicago, including 1Ls (Last Year):

1 Yale
5 Harvard
2 Chicago
3 Michigan
1 Virginia
2 Northwestern
4 Notre Dame
2 Boston College
3 Illinois

Total: 23

[sandwhich]

Interesting. Those stats are encouraging. I'll be applying to NU as a transfer and I think I have a decent shot.

I think NU is in a much better location than UChi and it seems like the student lifestyle would be a better fit for me (only in that it's not UChi).

[lurkerlarry]

NU is on my radar, and the people who have been posting on TLS from NU seem to be my people.

Do you guys have any idea how they view post grad fellowships? I did that for the majority of 2014 and I just started working at a big tech company which I will have a little over a year of experience with by the time I plan on attending (Fall 2016). Does that work?

[Micdiddy]

How difficult is it to get a parking pass as a 1L? I'll have my car and I'd like to avoid the unpredictability of public transit, especially in the winter

I've never lived in Chicago, but being from the northern part of the Midwest I'm not so sure a car will save you from "unpredictability" in the winter.

I don't know a single person who routinely drives to school (maybe some of my friends do, I just don't know about it). If you want predictability during winter take the El or just wait for a bus earlier than normal. I showed up to class late only once because of public transit and the professor was understanding (AND it was Prof. Allen whose normally the least understanding about being late).
Having a car in an uncovered parking spot seems like it would be the worst thing ever, but maybe it's not as bad as it looks.

[cookiejar1]

Interesting. Those stats are encouraging. I'll be applying to NU as a transfer and I think I have a decent shot.

I think NU is in a much better location than UChi and it seems like the student lifestyle would be a better fit for me (only in that it's not UChi).

I think it's generally understood that U of Chi is a much better school across the board and this will be evidenced by a top 25% Chicago student's opportunities compared to a top 25% NU student's opportunities. Clerking out of Chicago will be much easier as will nabbing some of the more selective firms come OCI. In my experience, I think the differences become less meaningful the higher up you end up in class but I can't comment on what it's like to be at median from Chicago v. NU - which would be crucial datapoint to have.

Overall, I think you'll be fine targeting Chicago. Firms here view NU and Chicago students interchangeably.

NU is on my radar, and the people who have been posting on TLS from NU seem to be my people.

Do you guys have any idea how they view post grad fellowships? I did that for the majority of 2014 and I just started working at a big tech company which I will have a little over a year of experience with by the time I plan on attending (Fall 2016). Does that work?

This sounds like the perfect amount of work experience for NU to me but someone more knowledgeable about our admissions process should comment.

[bjsesq]

Speaking of Prof. Allen: has the man figured out a way to actually fuck himself yet? I figured he'd be working hard at it since he thinks he is so hot and awesome and not a douche