<p>I read somewhere that from some dorms it could take an hour or more, while from others it takes less than half that time.</p>
<p>Broadview and Stony Island. There are #6 bus stops literally right across the street from Broadview and Stony Island. Breckinridge is pretty convenient too.</p>
<p>Uh. It should never take an hour to get downtown. Broadview and Stony do have the advantage, but it takes maybe 5-10 minutes to get there from the rest of campus. Less if you take the 55 there. Really, the max it should take you at any time is 40 minutes. You can also get the the green/red lines via the 55 really easily from other dorms. South/BJ are probably the longest overall travel time.</p>
<p>Or, if you use the Metra, it will take you literally 15 minutes (and they actually follow a schedule which means you can plan things out pretty well). Though, this isn’t very convenient if you want to go outside of directly downtown.</p>
<p>Breck is right next to the Metra</p>
<p>Just my opinion here, but it doesn’t really matter as long as you aren’t too far away from the center of campus. I can honestly say you won’t be going to go to downtown every weekend, so you shouldn’t decide your dormitory based on this, but rather on location (are you an athlete? You might want to be closer to the gym, are you a big studier? You might want to be closer to the library. Are you lazy? You might want to be closer to the quad/dining hall, so you don’t blame the weather to being a reason to skip class)… just my opinion here. Sorry to barge in.</p>
<p>^ Well, I mean, some people go downtown a lot more than others. I know a good number of people that are downtown 3-4 times a week for work or whatever.</p>
<p>^A entering first year, however, is less likely to have that sort of need, let alone know about it now. It really doesn’t matter which dorm you’re in for getting downtown because as someone mentioned above, it’s only a range of 5-10 minutes difference at the most.</p>
<p>Shootastar, do heed Splam’s advice. Convenience in your daily routines (as well as personality fit) are FAR MORE IMPORTANT than saving a bit of time on the downtown run, unless you snag a multi-day term-time internship downtown, and even then . . . . </p>
<p>Snell-Hitchcock, being on the main quad and steps from Bartlett and the Reg, is the most convenient of the dorms. Max is probably second in this regard and BJ 3rd. Max has a big advantage for working out at Ratner, but BJ has dining in situ; then again, the adventure of crossing the open expanses of the Midway on a blustery winter day is not to everyone’s taste. </p>
<p>The other considerations have to do with how well you match up to the character of the dorm, and whether you’re hell-bent on having a single as a first year, (though the housing people generally do a wizardly job of matching roommates). You’re likely to have a generally interesting, easy-to-bond-with crew in any dorm/house, so it really should come down to how you, personally, weight the various convenience factors against your taste in the respective architectures, layouts, and varying amenities among the dorms.</p>
<p>When I visited, I went downtown with my host - she lives in Pierce, and the bus stop was right outside the entrance to the building.</p>
<p>I agree with spike.</p>
<p>I go downtown once or twice a weekend, and worked in the Loop three days a week last quarter for an internship. Living right near the 55 bus stop (which takes you to both the Metra, the 6, the Red Line, the Green Line) was wonderful - and both Pierce and Max have that advantage, while Broadview is right next to the 6 and the Metra - but I actually ended up taking the 2 a lot. It runs right up Michigan Avenue.
In general, getting downtown is really easy.</p>