Application
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Living in the City

The Uptown Neighborhood

CONTEXT is EVERYTHING. The Wheaton in Chicago program is unique in that it allows students to move beyond the occasional cultural or ministry experience in the city to actually become short-term residents of a Chicago neighborhood. Our context is the Uptown neighborhood. Uptown is one of Chicago's most diverse communities, both ethnically and economically, with people from different backgrounds living side by side. It has long served as a port of entry for new immigrants, with over 40 languages spoken on its streets and in its small shops. Charlie Chaplin made silent movies there and Al Capone frequented the Green Mill jazz club (still an active jazz and poetry hub in Chicago). Now, it is the quintessential city neighborhood with sights, sounds, and smells from every corner of the world. Our facility is mere blocks from the train, bus routes, shops, and the lake shore, making it an ideal location from which to explore Chicago and experience all the city has to offer. It is in this context that Wheaton in Chicago students live, work, study, shop and worship. For more information about Uptown, click here.

Community Life
Students come to undestand various meanings of community. The gritty reality of urban communities can be difficult to integrate into our lives as compassionate, faithful Christians. Students live in furnished apartments, eating together, taking classes together, and forming a community with which they can process their experiences and enjoy city life. Weekly times of worship, common meals, and other activities build strong friendships and often become some of the students' most meanigful co-curricular experiences. Students also become a part of the Uptown neighborhood through daily interactions, commutes, internships, and volunteerism. In the past, students have volunteered at various places like Uptown Baptist Church's soup kitchen or the American Indian Center on Wilson Ave. Additionally, they are encouraged to become residents of the city by attending citywide events and participating in its social and political life.

The Apartments
The apartments are rather large, with a living room, 2 bathrooms, and 3 bedrooms that together can hold about 5-6 people. The living rooms are furnished (lamps, couches/chairs, coffee tables and two desks), as well as the bedrooms (beds, dressers and lamps) and the kitchen (table, chairs, microwave, refrigerator, and all necessary kitchen supplies). Men and women live in separate apartments Beyond that, roommates are selected by the students when they arrive in Chicago together.

Expenses
Students are charged normal tuition and room but not board. Tuition and room charges cover expenses for all required curricular and co-curricular activities and provide unlimited public transportation. Students pay for their own meals while in the program. Wheaton College students eligible for financial aid will be able to use it during the semester. (Students from other institutions are encouraged to contact their finanial aid office for further information.) Because students can control how they pay for and share food in the apartments, they can often reduce the overall cost of a semester by shopping and cooking communally. The Urban Studies Program does have some scholarship money for students who are eligible for financial aid. Details of the scholarship are available from the Financial Aid office.

Entertainment
The best part of living in the city is discovering it for yourself. Once you get past the initial tourist-focused attractions you discover an entire city teeming with local shops, independent and experimental theaters, art galleries, mom and pop diners, and more. One of your assignments as a Wheaton in Chicago student is to get out there! Find your own favorite coffee shop to do homework, your own cool jazz club to lounge in on a random Wednesday night, or that great hot dog vendor down on the street corner you see every day while waiting for the bus. During their free time, students are encouraged to travel around the city, visiting other neighborhoods and experiencing the wide variety of entertainment and education that the city offers. For an easy and quick way to get an idea of what’s out there in Chicago, check out www.metromix.com.

Transportation
All students are provided wtih unlimited public transportation passes for the CTA while they participate in Wheaton in Chicago. Commuting to internship and field trip sites is most often done using public transportation (the “El” or buses), but students have also walked or biked when the weather is nice. Chicago is a very easy city to navigate and a thorough orientation is given at the start of the semester. Most students do not need to have a car in the city. However, there are two parking spaces allotted behind the apartments for use by Wheaton in Chicago students who must have a car. Generally student teachers are able to bring a single car to share for their commute.

Want to see a slice of life for Wheaton in Chicago? Check out our photo gallery.