Northwestern Class of 2016 Forum

[CalAlumni]

I have a high-ish floor studio (the smallest floorplan) in McClurg on the lake side and just renewed my lease for $1365. Kitchen also not remodeled. Aside from the thermostat thing, it's been pretty decent.

Could you share how much you spend on gas, electric, water (utilities) per month? Thanks so much!

[Solistus]

Anyone have any recommendations for cheaper places, closer to 1000/mo? I'm looking through craigslist/domu/padmapper listings for good deals, and I'll be in Chicago in a couple weeks to apartment hunt, but any suggestions on buildings or areas to look into (or to avoid) would be appreciated. I'm mostly looking at studios and 1BRs close to red line stops in Gold Coast / Lincoln Park / Lakeview.

[cookiejar1]

Anyone else worried they're gonna make Kanye's kid our new mascot?

This post isn't getting the appreciation that it deserves. When's Kanye going to move back home?

[M458]

Anyone have any recommendations for cheaper places, closer to 1000/mo? I'm looking through craigslist/domu/padmapper listings for good deals, and I'll be in Chicago in a couple weeks to apartment hunt, but any suggestions on buildings or areas to look into (or to avoid) would be appreciated. I'm mostly looking at studios and 1BRs close to red line stops in Gold Coast / Lincoln Park / Lakeview.

You can definitely do cheaper than $1000 in Lakeview. I'm starting the apartment hunt right now and hoping to keep it in the $800-$850 range; I've looked on padmapper and seems like there are places within that price range...just might be a small studio or a bit older, but still in a good neighborhood. I can let you know of specific places I find if you want. I live in Chicago, just further away, so I'll be looking at a bunch in the next week or so.

[crumpetsandtea]

Anyone have any recommendations for cheaper places, closer to 1000/mo? I'm looking through craigslist/domu/padmapper listings for good deals, and I'll be in Chicago in a couple weeks to apartment hunt, but any suggestions on buildings or areas to look into (or to avoid) would be appreciated. I'm mostly looking at studios and 1BRs close to red line stops in Gold Coast / Lincoln Park / Lakeview.

You cna find 1000/month in most of the neighborhoods that require a 15-20 minute commute from school, including LP/Lakeview and River West, Ukranian Village, etc.

River North/Gold Coast are gonna be more expensive though (similar or equal to Streeterville) JSYK

[franklyscarlet]

FYI, I just moved to Lakeview and can confirm that if you live close to LSD, the commute is very easy.

[feralinfant]

FYI, I just moved to Lakeview and can confirm that if you live close to LSD, the commute is very easy.

Express bus FTW

[franklyscarlet]

FYI, I just moved to Lakeview and can confirm that if you live close to LSD, the commute is very easy.

Express bus FTW

You know it. Plus, there's an express to the loop for summer work, too. I lived in streeterville last year and I'm glad I did because it helped me adjust and feel safe/comfortable after moving from rural Texas, but I'm so so so so happy i'm in Lakeview now. I'd say that if y'all want to do 1L streeterville it's a pretty good idea, but keep your life spartan enough that moving 1 year later won't be awful, because you'll probably want to.

[rinkrat19]

I have a high-ish floor studio (the smallest floorplan) in McClurg on the lake side and just renewed my lease for $1365. Kitchen also not remodeled. Aside from the thermostat thing, it's been pretty decent.

Could you share how much you spend on gas, electric, water (utilities) per month? Thanks so much!

Um... Electric is pretty consistent, 35-40/mo. Gas varies because it's shared by the whole building (which sucks because I basically don't run my heat ever while everyone else is apparently heating to 90°) maybe $35-50/mo? No water bill. Cable/Internet is through U-Verse, and I think my total for the basic digital cable plan and fast enough Internet to watch Netflix is $75 after the first $30 for basic cable is taken care of by the building.

[CalAlumni]

I have a high-ish floor studio (the smallest floorplan) in McClurg on the lake side and just renewed my lease for $1365. Kitchen also not remodeled. Aside from the thermostat thing, it's been pretty decent.

Could you share how much you spend on gas, electric, water (utilities) per month? Thanks so much!

Um... Electric is pretty consistent, 35-40/mo. Gas varies because it's shared by the whole building (which sucks because I basically don't run my heat ever while everyone else is apparently heating to 90°) maybe $35-50/mo? No water bill. Cable/Internet is through U-Verse, and I think my total for the basic digital cable plan and fast enough Internet to watch Netflix is $75 after the first $30 for basic cable is taken care of by the building.

You rock! Thanks so much!

[pammie0415]

Thanks everyone for the input on both Onterie and McClurg. I've contacted both agencies and will be getting a place at either. Depending what is available at the 2 buildings. Thanks again!! You guys are great!!

[Solistus]

Thanks for the info. How do the LSD and red line buses compare for commuting time/convenience? There are a *ton* of listings near LSD, so that opens up a lot more options.

Padmapper shows some decent looking studios for ~1k/month around Clark/Division. I think that's what I found earlier that was labeled as 'Gold Coast'. The other approach would be to find something farther north in LP/LV, where I could choose between getting a bigger 1br instead of a studio or going a good bit under budget on a studio. I'm just not sure which cheap listings are good deals and which ones are just in undesirable locations. Are there any specific areas between campus and Buena Park that I should definitely avoid?

[Flips88]

Thanks for the info. How do the LSD and red line buses compare for commuting time/convenience? There are a *ton* of listings near LSD, so that opens up a lot more options.

Padmapper shows some decent looking studios for ~1k/month around Clark/Division. I think that's what I found earlier that was labeled as 'Gold Coast'. The other approach would be to find something farther north in LP/LV, where I could choose between getting a bigger 1br instead of a studio or going a good bit under budget on a studio. I'm just not sure which cheap listings are good deals and which ones are just in undesirable locations. Are there any specific areas between campus and Buena Park that I should definitely avoid?

The closer to Belmont you are, the more convenient the express buses will be since they hop on lake shore right there. I lived on Melrose for 1L (1 block north of Belmont) so i'd just walk half a block to the bus stop and get on and I'd get off a couple stops once it gets off on Michigan and walk to school. It was 20 mins or so door to door on average days.

The one downside of being the last stop before it hops on is that sometimes during rush hours you have a bus come that's completely packed so you have to wait for another one.

[feralinfant]

Thanks for the info. How do the LSD and red line buses compare for commuting time/convenience? There are a *ton* of listings near LSD, so that opens up a lot more options.

Padmapper shows some decent looking studios for ~1k/month around Clark/Division. I think that's what I found earlier that was labeled as 'Gold Coast'. The other approach would be to find something farther north in LP/LV, where I could choose between getting a bigger 1br instead of a studio or going a good bit under budget on a studio. I'm just not sure which cheap listings are good deals and which ones are just in undesirable locations. Are there any specific areas between campus and Buena Park that I should definitely avoid?

Someone else who knows Chicago even better than I do might be able to chime in here (i'm familiar, I've just never lived there) but here's my two cents:

When I was looking I set Boystown, which is basically North lakeview, as my northernmost limit. Two reasons for this: It takes about 25 minutes on the express bus to get down to school which is pretty much the longest commute i wanted to put up with. The second reason is that I just find the neighborhoods north of there to be less fun/desirable. Not dangerous or anything like that. I've actually never been in Buena Park but I just looked it up and it seems totally fine. The difference between it and boystown/wrigleyville seems sort of negligible. It looks like there's less shops etc in the immediate vicinity, but they are not far away. I imagine itll be a little bit sleepier/quieter which could be a good or bad thing. Again probably splitting hairs even really considering it all that separate from my own northern limit of Boystown.

As far as everywhere else between there and school? If you find a place I say go for it. There's differences between lake view and lincoln park but i'm not sure they're significant enough to offset finding a good place at a good price. Lakeview will probably be cheaper though in general.

I found my place on padmapper or craigslist (can't remember). One of the things I did when I was looking at places was google the landlords/property management companies and look for reviews. Many of them will have some. This is tricky because the people who are going to be inclined to leave reviews about their landlord are generally not going to happy campers. So you need to take it with a grain of salt. But after looking at a number of these you'll get a feel for which ones might have legitimate issues. This can also tip you off if a building that looks really nice in the photos actually has problems (like bedbugs).

[hmlee]

Up through Buena Park is fine. Uptown gets a little bit sketchy beyond Buena Park, so I'd avoid it if possible. It gets better again in Andersonville and Edgewater (~5200 North) but that would give you a longer commute to school.

I live on Irving Park road, which is the northern border of Lakeview. Have lived here for five years and I love it. I'm right near lake shore too, so the commute was a breeze when I was in school.

[bananasplit19]

Thanks to Cristina Gapasin's e-mail just now re: orientation, I now know that I should get my rear in gear in terms of digging up my medical and vaccination records before July 15.

Also, we shouldn't worry about loans being disbursed the same day as tuition is due (ie Sept 1, which is a Sunday, funnily enough), right?

[Cobretti]

Thanks to Cristina Gapasin's e-mail just now re: orientation, I now know that I should get my rear in gear in terms of digging up my medical and vaccination records before July 15.

Also, we shouldn't worry about loans being disbursed the same day as tuition is due (ie Sept 1, which is a Sunday, funnily enough), right?

The loans that will be going towards tuition (not COL) will go directly to the school, so you don't have to worry about them being issued the day its due.

+1 about the medical records though... a little heads up would have been nice.

[feralinfant]

i can't believe you have to pay lsac to submit transcripts that then don't even count as official. What a scam.

[simplycatalina]

i can't believe you have to pay lsac to submit transcripts that then don't even count as official. What a scam.

Yeah seriously--And now we have to pay even more to have them sent from our university...

[Solistus]

I like how it suggests starting to look for an apartment next month "for a September 1 lease", when there are mandatory events for the last week in August.

Also: any ideas where I could track down my medical records if I don't have health insurance and haven't seen a doctor in years? Maybe my undergrad would still have something on file, but that would be from 2005...

[bananasplit19]

Also: any ideas where I could track down my medical records if I don't have health insurance and haven't seen a doctor in years? Maybe my undergrad would still have something on file, but that would be from 2005...

This is also of interest to me.

[franklyscarlet]

I like how it suggests starting to look for an apartment next month "for a September 1 lease", when there are mandatory events for the last week in August.

Also: any ideas where I could track down my medical records if I don't have health insurance and haven't seen a doctor in years? Maybe my undergrad would still have something on file, but that would be from 2005...

I had this issue; haven't had a primary physician in years. I finally conned my mom's doctor into giving me boosters of the ones I can have and signing a note about the ones I'm allergic to. If you have a family physician, I'd just go in and talk to them about it. You may have to pay out of pocket, so call in first and see what they can do.

[simplycatalina]

Also: any ideas where I could track down my medical records if I don't have health insurance and haven't seen a doctor in years? Maybe my undergrad would still have something on file, but that would be from 2005...

This is also of interest to me.

would you just be able to go through the last doctor/hospital you went to even if it were a few years ago? i would assume they would have your medical records. i haven't been to sutter in years/don't have insurance atm but i can still get my medical records through them.

[pammie0415]

Are the medical and vaccination records due on July 15th? I'm hoping that's the case because I need to get on those too. The forms say the deadline is July 1st though. In that case, we're probably all screwed

[bananasplit19]

Are the medical and vaccination records due on July 15th? I'm hoping that's the case because I need to get on those too. The forms say the deadline is July 1st though. In that case, we probably all screwed

They acknowledge the July 1 head-fake, but yeah, the deadline is July 15:

You must submit an Admission Health Record (“AHR”) demonstrating that you have received all required vaccinations by July 15 even though the form says the deadline is July 1.