Where do students from University of Chicago live? (Lincoln, Harvard: transfer, neighborhood)

[tallahasseehero1]

I know the school is in hyde park,

but is it too far and unrealistic to live in areas like Ukranian Village, Lincoln Park, and Logan Square?

I am interested in their law school. When I visited Chicago I went to Lincoln Park and loved it and there seems to be affordable housing there as well, it is also close to downtown,

Never really been to the area around UC by I heard it is not too great. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

[chicagobear]

I think most the students live in Hyde Park but it is certainly feasible to live on the northside, especially if you have a car.

[rparz]

I almost ended up taking a job there, and was planning on hopping on the blue line (western) and transfering over to the green line and getting off near the University, or, once you hit downtown, there's a bus that pretty much runs down LSD right into Hyde Park. (Check the schedule, may not be as good as I recall)

That said, everyone is always looking for a hassle free commute coming into town, being from here, I could make the commute you're talking about and not bat an eye. I consider an hour and a half each way a regular commute for the area and any time you shave off that is a bonus.

[snoylekim]

Yes, If you choose to commute as a First Year Law Student, you'll really need a car .. The workload is pretty intense , and there will be the required time in the Law Library, etc that won't mesh with optimal transit schedules .. I know personally of UC Law Students who did live in LP, South Loop and outside of Hyde Park .. some moved after the first year .. Hyde Park itself is OK, plenty of students , faculty, families live there.. and if you find LP prices reasonable, you can find something acceptable in HP with a bit of looking ..

[tallahasseehero1]

Originally Posted by snoylekim

Yes, If you choose to commute as a First Year Law Student, you'll really need a car .. The workload is pretty intense , and there will be the required time in the Law Library, etc that won't mesh with optimal transit schedules .. I know personally of UC Law Students who did live in LP, South Loop and outside of Hyde Park .. some moved after the first year .. Hyde Park itself is OK, plenty of students , faculty, families live there.. and if you find LP prices reasonable, you can find something acceptable in HP with a bit of looking ..

Thanks. I probably wont have a car. Which is unfortunate. Northwestern law seems to be in a more convenient area, (right by the Loop) when it comes to public transportation.

[Kevin J]

If you don't have a car, you should live in Hyde Park. Commuting to Hyde Park from Lincoln Park will take at least an hour and will get get old fast, particularly in winter.

As a neighborhood, Hyde Park is perfectly pleasant. There's almost no night life, but you're not going to have much time for that in law school anyway (and if you need night life on the weekends, just go north). But otherwise, the streets are reasonably safe and all the basic neighborhood amenities you'd need are there. The problem is that it's a square mile of nice surrounded on three sides by poverty and crime.

[sfcambridge]

Originally Posted by Kevin J

If you don't have a car, you should live in Hyde Park. Commuting to Hyde Park from Lincoln Park will take at least an hour and will get get old fast, particularly in winter.

As a neighborhood, Hyde Park is perfectly pleasant. There's almost no night life, but you're not going to have much time for that in law school anyway (and if you need night life on the weekends, just go north). But otherwise, the streets are reasonably safe and all the basic neighborhood amenities you'd need are there. The problem is that it's a square mile of nice surrounded on three sides by poverty and crime.

This.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by rparz

... I consider an hour and a half each way a regular commute for the area and any time you shave off that is a bonus.

You're insane.

I consider any commute over 45 minutes to be obnoxiously long. My current commute is never longer than 25 minutes and usually around 15-20.

[hindukid]

My wife went to uc law so I can chime in. As a 1l she lived in lake view though the vast majority lived in Hyde park. As 2l most students moved north. However a car is needed if you don't live in Hyde park. My wife says not living in Hyde park kept her sane. Nw is more convenient but uc name will take you a lot further. There is a big difference

[Kevin J]

Originally Posted by hindukid

Nw is more convenient but uc name will take you a lot further. There is a big difference

I don't want to get into a big debate off topic here, but unless your aspiration is to become a US Supreme Court justice or go into academia, the career prospects for graduates of the U of C and Northwestern law schools are completely equal. Northwestern Law graduates are recruited just as heavily by major law firms nationwide as U of C graduates. Placement of Northwestern grads in federal judicial clerkships compares favorably with U of C grads as well.

Anyone familiar with the legal industry will tell you that the big dividing line in prestige among law schools (and the associated career prospects) is between the top 14 schools (aka the T14 schools) and everyone else. It's the top 14 instead of a rounder number like the top 10 because there is no consensus top 10 list and these are the 14 schools that routinely appear in top 10 law school lists. Both Northwestern and U of C are in the T14.

It is true that the handful of consensus top five law schools -- Harvard, Yale, U of C, and Columbia -- are seen as a cut above the rest of the T14. But that doesn't matter in terms of who gets hired by major law firms and succeeds there.