<p>From what I understand, there aren’t too many international flights that fly directly into Ann Arbor either. At any rate, Urbana Champaign is a good hour and a half closer to Chicago, and if you have intentions of working in the city of Chicago or its suburbs, U of I has a wider alumni network here, being the flagship school of Illinois and all. Also to add to what the person above said, comparing Ann Arbor and Urbana Champaign in terms of, say, which is more rural than the other, again, is like splitting hairs. Urbana Champaign being a college town as well has a great variety of restaurants, cafes, shops and theatres around just like Ann Arbor. It’s also a 3 hours less of a trip to come visit Chicago over the weekend. + not that it’s a whole lot warmer in Illinois, but I’ve been told it gets even colder in Ann Arbor in the winter than it does in Illinois which gives me the chill just to think about.</p>