senior in high school! already accepted. Chicago tips!! (Columbia, Irving: transplants, sales)

[callmylifeline]

Originally Posted by linicx

Congrats! Please understand you are moving from a town of 7,000 pop in a sparsly populated state to s mega-metro city of 7,000,000 that is located in the fifth most populated state in America. Be prepared for a huge culture shock from the traffic to the cost of living. My best advice is do not believe everything you hear, do not walk anywhere alone at night It would be good to live in a dorm if possible - at least for the first year. The folks on this forum will help you.

Oh. I know. Haha. I'm prepared for the most HUMONGOUS culture shock out there. I've heard all the bad things about walking around at night. Where I come from you can walk through dark alley-ways and not even worry, but I'm not going to have that type of mindset when I move to Chicago. I'm going to be aware of my surroundings, and not everybody in the city is going to be friendly, or have my best interests at heart. At least for the first year FOR SURE i'm going to live at the dorms in Columbia. My friend that went to Columbia told me to try to get into the 2 east 8th building, and that the Congress building is AWEFUL. but yeah. I'm ready. any other advice?

[Drover]

Originally Posted by callmylifeline

I hear there's a Starbucks right down the street.

"A" Starbucks? Ah, young grasshopper, the things you'll learn about Chicago when you get here. I'm willing to bet there are at least 10 Starbucks within a half-mile radius of the Columbia campus. Columbia is right in the heart of downtown, where you can sometimes literally find two Starbucks on the same block. Same goes with other restaurant chains. I go to a school that's very close to Columbia. I can walk out of my my school, look south, and see two Subway sandwich shops a block apart.

There is no shortage of entry-level service industry jobs around the Columbia campus. Unfortunately, there is also no shortage of people willing to fill them. The trick in these economic times is landing one of them.

[eevee]

hey there, congrats on your hard work! I'm a Columbia student (fiction writing major) and love the school so far (been there for a year and a half). I think one thing you'll love about the film department at Columbia is that they have a Semester in LA program where students go live in LA at some studio (can't remember which) and get a lot of hands on info there. I've heard good things about that program. another great thing about Columbia is that, if the film major is anything like my major, you'll get started on your core class right away. it's not like other colleges where you spend 2 years taking only general ed classes that have little to do with your major

if I'm remembering this correctly, the dorm at 2E 8th St has the indoor pool everyone raves about. the nicest dorm is the Buckingham, but I believe that's only for older students/upperclassmen. I know a lot of students that love living at the University Center, which is the massive dorm building that not only houses Columbia students, but DePaul and Roosevelt students as well. plus, the UC has more amenities in terms of nearby stores (the bottom floors has a Panera, a burger place, a 7-11, and some other smaller stores. across the street is a CVS and the main library).

there is a fairly new Starbucks right near the main Columbia building on Michigan, but I don't think they're hiring. Starbucks is having some...difficulties right now, to say the least. I don't think they'll be having too many massive hiring events anytime soon, but I could be wrong. Columbia is w/in walking distance on tons of stores. State St. is a major shopping mecca (not as big as the Mag Mile, but close) and can be convenient to find a job there, but, like Drover said, there is no shortage on people looking for these jobs, so you'll have to be really persistent. jobs on campus are great to have, but not too easy to come by. I got a job as a tutor last year, which I love, but I had to get a certain grade in my English class in order to even qualify for it (i believe the requirements are the same for the math and science tutors). if you can snag a tutor job, I'd say do it since they seem to pay more than the federal work study jobs (this is according to another student I talked to)

it's a huge culture shock for sure, but it sounds like you're up to it. I would HIGHLY recommend coming out to check out the school during the Manifest festival, which is in May. this is when all the students get to show off their work and there's always tons of live music by student bands and even famous local artists, showings of student movies, displays of art, and parades. this was my first intro to Columbia and Chicago at large and basically made up my mind for me

[callmylifeline]

Originally Posted by long101

Your going to be moving to a big city with people of all sorts. Just be very open minded and be aware of your surroundings at all time. Im sure everyone will tell you to be safe all the time and dont go out alone at night and all that, well its true.

Fun things to do? Im sure there will always be something going on since youll be in college. Wether it be parties, clubs, concerts, poetry slams, whatever you can almost always find something.

There are 100s of places that you may be able to find a job at around that area. The key word being may. Part time jobs are becoming hard to find these days.

You should be excited it will be like moving to a different world

I'm excited for the kind of diversity that Chicago is going to bring. I'm totally stoked to be immersed in it all and to be exposed to all different kinds of people. And oh, I do have an open mind. That's why I kind of find myself hating Montana all the time. People here are so narrow-minded, and I seriously am sick of the people that I've grown up with, but I am going to miss some of them. But annyywayy...

Oh my god. That is so awesome! Finding things to do here are seldom and usually just results with me and my friends driving around in our cars and listening to music and talking. No joke. This small-town life is not for me, I'm so ready for the big city, and all the fun things it has to offer!

I know it will definitely be hard for me to find a job, but I'm reliable, hard-working and have an ambition like no other. Do you recommend getting part-time job while I'm attending Columbia? Or do you think that I should take it easy for the first year, and start looking for jobs my second year?

I cannot wait until I come for orientation this summer and move there!!! ahh!

[Drover]

There's certainly nothing wrong with getting a change of scenery and a change of pace... but I promise you that by the time you reach 40, you'll cherish the days of driving around with your friends and listening to music and talking together just as much as you'll cherish your time spent in the big city. So don't be in too much of a hurry to put those days behind you.

[callmylifeline]

Originally Posted by Drover

"A" Starbucks? Ah, young grasshopper, the things you'll learn about Chicago when you get here. I'm willing to bet there are at least 10 Starbucks within a half-mile radius of the Columbia campus. Columbia is right in the heart of downtown, where you can sometimes literally find two Starbucks on the same block. Same goes with other restaurant chains. I go to a school that's very close to Columbia. I can walk out of my my school, look south, and see two Subway sandwich shops a block apart.

There is no shortage of entry-level service industry jobs around the Columbia campus. Unfortunately, there is also no shortage of people willing to fill them. The trick in these economic times is landing one of them.

wow.... I feel so entirely stupid right now. I guess it's what I get for growing up in a town that you have to drive a half an hour to get to a starbucks. hahaha. But yeah. Jeez. There's going to be a lot of things that I'm going to have to get used to, but you know what? I'm ready. I'm...SO READY.

I think that it would be wise to snag a job while I'm attending Columbia. I have money in the bank from the job I have now, but I know that will eventually dwindle down to nothing once I'm there. What are some good tips on landing a job in a city as big as Chicago? I think I'm going to need more help than I could EVER imagine.

[callmylifeline]

Originally Posted by Drover

There's certainly nothing wrong with getting a change of scenery and a change of pace... but I promise you that by the time you reach 40, you'll cherish the days of driving around with your friends and listening to music and talking together just as much as you'll cherish your time spent in the big city. So don't be in too much of a hurry to put those days behind you.

this is entirely too true. thank you. i will never forget my roots

[Drover]

Originally Posted by callmylifeline

I think that it would be wise to snag a job while I'm attending Columbia. I have money in the bank from the job I have now, but I know that will eventually dwindle down to nothing once I'm there. What are some good tips on landing a job in a city as big as Chicago? I think I'm going to need more help than I could EVER imagine.

The trick to landing an entry-level job here is no different than anywhere else: just keep applying at as many places as you can think to apply until you get an interview. Don't forget to follow up on your application to remind them that you're still interested. Best of luck to you.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by Drover

There's certainly nothing wrong with getting a change of scenery and a change of pace... but I promise you that by the time you reach 40, you'll cherish the days of driving around with your friends and listening to music and talking together just as much as you'll cherish your time spent in the big city. So don't be in too much of a hurry to put those days behind you.

Yeah, I miss those days even though I grew up in Chicago.

On Friday nights we used to drive around until like 4 in the morning.

We would do things like drive the length of Harlem,Western,Cicero,etc... We would drive North Ave (64) to Iowa and back just for the hell of it. Drive just for the hell of it with the music at 11. We had not a care in the world.

There were times when we would be driving,doing things,and hanging until noon on Saturday... Sometimes it would last all weekend!

Ah those were the days...

All you needed was 20 bucks (tops) each and you can have a great weekend.

Gas $1 a gallon. Cigarettes $1.25 a pack. A case of beer $10. A movie (at a good theater) $5. Drive-in movie ticket $3. Bowling $1-2 a game...

This was one of our theme songs:


YouTube - Soul Asylum - Black Gold

My hair in H.S. and college was much like Dave Pirner's (but not receding yet like his was at the time and not as dirty)

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by Drover

The trick to landing an entry-level job here is no different than anywhere else: just keep applying at as many places as you can think to apply until you get an interview. Don't forget to follow up on your application to remind them that you're still interested. Best of luck to you.

And always remember that you only need to convince one person to hire you.

Also, remember that if yous how up and put in an honest effort, you will be in the top 25% of employees.