Chicago colleges (Columbia: health insurance, loans, home)

[mjhunter]

Hi, been browsing these forums for a while researching a place to move to (from minneapolis). But this first post isn't about me. My sister is strongly considering going to school in chicago, she just finished up her first semester at community college with straight A's, she went with the goal of transferring to a four year school. She decided she doesn't want to go to U of M, and she is looking at Chicago because it offers the big city experience closer to home than New York or Los Angeles.

So really I only know of two chicago schools, UI-Chicago which I know nothing about but only assume exists, and DePaul which is where a few of my friends go. Does anyone have any suggestions of good colleges within the city? Looking for a school with a good art program (Possibly even an art school), smaller size than the U of M-TC, and affordable (Less than 18k or so a year, but flexible due to available loans and scholarships)

[lincolnparker]

Unfortunately affordable and good do not always go hand in hand. The best art school in town is SAIC and it's been consistently ranked among the top three art schools in the US by US News. Others such as IIA, COLUMBIA COLLEGE, IIT are half decent, but nothing compared to SAIC. Here is a breakdown of a one year budget for a typical undergrad at SAIC.

Fall/Spring 2009-10 15 cr/term-30 cr/year Tuition $34,100 Estimated Living Expenses $7,700 Books and Supplies $2,660 Personal Expenses $2,060 Transportation $910 Health Insurance (if needed or required) $1,478 Total $48,908

Originally Posted by mjhunter

Hi, been browsing these forums for a while researching a place to move to (from minneapolis). But this first post isn't about me. My sister is strongly considering going to school in chicago, she just finished up her first semester at community college with straight A's, she went with the goal of transferring to a four year school. She decided she doesn't want to go to U of M, and she is looking at Chicago because it offers the big city experience closer to home than New York or Los Angeles.

So really I only know of two chicago schools, UI-Chicago which I know nothing about but only assume exists, and DePaul which is where a few of my friends go. Does anyone have any suggestions of good colleges within the city? Looking for a school with a good art program (Possibly even an art school), smaller size than the U of M-TC, and affordable (Less than 18k or so a year, but flexible due to available loans and scholarships)

[mjhunter]

Thanks a lot, thats the kind of response I was looking for. I had never even heard of SAIC. I'm going to tell her about it, it costs a lot but it might not be out of her price range completely.

[knitgirl]

SAIC is the school at the Art Institute of Chicago, right on Michigan Avenue.