Frequent Asked Questions

Hi, Chinese Students and Scholars in UIC

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1.      As a new student to UIC, could you give me some advice?

2.      Could you tell me how to rent an apartment in Chicago?

3.      My friend is going to study in UIC and want to find a room sharing with others. Does your web have a rent information and how can I get it, thanks!

Answer:

1. As a new student to UIC, could you give me some advice?

UIC campus is very close to the Chicago Downtown and is the largest public university in Chicago area.

We hope you can achieve a lot here. To make you familiar with the environment quickly, we want to inform some useful tips and guidelines and we hope that this information would be helpful to you. You had better contact your relatives or friends in U.S.A. before you reach here so that they can arrange for your arrival and accommodation. It is important that you have at least $1,000 initial expenses for a month. For the students without financial support, you had better have essential funds (tuition and fees etc) except with living expense (about $500 a month). It is useful that you get some cashes and coins with you.

Please bring indispensable living utilities such as clothing, daily necessities, some medicine, etc. You may prepare some little gifts of Chinese style, which would be helpful to your association with your foreign friends.

If you cannot find any friend, we UIC CSSA (Chinese Student and Scholar Association) would like to help you. You may contact us and we try our best to find a volunteer to meet you at airport. You need to pay $10 for necessary expense (oil, parking fee etc). Please inform the person who is going to meet you if you change your flight or your airplane might not arrive on time.

You can also come to school by yourself. You may take a taxi ($25) or use CTA train, which cost $1.5 to the station, U of I, Halsted. UIC CSSA (Chinese Student and Scholar Association) is a volunteer organization, which is somehow the home of Chinese students and scholars studying and working in UIC. We now have an mailing list, which you can get a lot of useful information such as renting a house, buying some necessities etc. If you have any question, do not hesitate to contact us. Finally wish you a pleasant journey!

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2. Could you tell me how to rent an apartment in UIC area?

Usually new coming student will share an apartment with others near UIC Campus because it is convenient and relatively safe. The rent fee is different for east campus and west campus. One bedroom in east campus may cost from $250 to $400 or more, while in west campus it may be as low as $200. The more bedrooms in one apartment the less expensive the rent fee for one bedroom.  One apartment usually consists of two or three bedroom. If you prefer living alone, you may consider renting a studio, which is a single large room with kitchen and bedroom altogether. If you have a car, you may live outside campus area like China town, the rent fee in out side area may significantly lower.

To rent an apartment, you have to first find enough roommates (if the apartment is empty for rent).  Usually the landlord will ask for the amount equal to one-month rent fee as deposit, which means if the monthly rent fee is $700 for a two bedroom apartment, the landlord will ask for $1400 from you in the first month. Usually monthly rent fee do not include utilities fee like electricity, gas, etc. However, this is not definite, you should make it clear with the landlord about this before you sign the contract. Pay attention to the terms and condition of use in the contract in case of being cheated and DO ask for one copy of the contract for you to keep in case of future argument.

Finally, if you feel being treated illegally, you may seek help from university lawyer in SSB. You should have the address of the office in the material distributed to you during the orientation for new coming students by OIS. You may also contact CSSA committee member, we will try our best to help you.

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3. My friend is going to study in UIC and want to find a room sharing with others. Does your web have rent information and how can I get it?

    There is no web page that provides rent information currently for UIC Chinese students.

     Usually you should first subscribe to Chinese Mailing list. Then you may send a message to the Mailing list to ask for sharing a bedroom. In most cases, you will receive response from those who willing to share with you. This is the most efficient way. Or you may post a message to http://www.network54.com/Forum/364675 if you are not in a hurry.

     Before the fall semester each year, CSSA will help new comers arrange temp living place because at that time, it is very hard to find an apartment for sharing. However, if you come at other times, it is fairly easy to find an apartment to share with others before you come.

     Finally, if you had tried your best and still could not find an apartment to share, you may ask help from CSSA committee members, we will help you find one.

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Following have contributed questions and/or answers to this page:

Yu, Jingjie