college freshman living options

chlcfc
Thu, 14 Jun 2012 12:35:08 +0000

There isn’t a page for UIC only U of I and it’s kind of a general problem so posting it here haha.

Soooooooooo.

Going to be a college freshman at UIC (University of Illinois @ Chicago). I live about 30-45 min away from the city so obviously commuting from home as been option however, because the relationship I’ve had with my parents over the past four years of HS hasnt been super, I really am not looking forward to reliving HS pt. 2.

My other two options have been to find an apartment in the city with a friend or to dorm at UIC. If I dormed I would have to take out 5500 in (3k subsidized 2.5k unsubsidized in student loans). however if I could find an apartment it would be around 850-950/ yr for a 2br and 1b split with my roommate who will be a freshman at depaul.

However she’s being iffy because for her commuting from home would be fine because he parents are really lax about everything i.e. no curfew as long she checks in and whatnot. So she’s not as ready to commit to finding an apartment together as I am although we have gone and looked at a few places.

I don’t want to live by myself in a studio or 1br apt my first year of school because I am more or less a suburbanite and I feel I’d be an easy target in the city as a small freshman girl living by herself. Plus I kind of think it would get lonely. But whatever.

Dorming I’d be getting a single dorm , most likely in SRH (https://www.housing.uic.edu/halls/srh/index.php)

I’d have a upass and a lot of the apartments I have been looking into arent that far from public transit which is free with the upass.

Basically I’ve got no idea what to do. I can see the pros and cons of three choices but having an issue deciding and I’m doing the dorming thing a little late. The main thing with dorming though is that if I chose not too, I would not be taking out any loans for school. Also factoring in the bf to a certain extent, however I feel with a single he could come visit and spend a night or two whenever, but whether he would want to or not idk, I know I would have more freedom to be at his place more often though so there is that.

tl:dr basically I can choose between commuting to college from home, finding an apartment in the city with a roommate or a studio by myself, or dorming at UIC but having to take out loans to do it. Factoring in small details like being able to see my bf and go out and things like getting to class and blah blah. The bf lives in the northwest suburbs so its like 40-45 min commute for him but thats whatever I think.