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<blockquote data-quote="redwingillini11" data-source="post: 1803314" data-attributes="member: 9229"><p>Haha I appreciate you starting a thread on this topic so we can expand on our thoughts. I'll share my original post and </p><p></p><p><strong><u>Campuses</u></strong></p><p>Iowa City: I came away very impressed with the downtown. Like you said, the downtown area integrates seamlessly with the campus. I've really only ever been there when the weather has been horrendous, but I was still pleasantly surprised. I think I wouldn't love trekking around there as a student in the winter, up and down the hills and across the river. But as a visitor it was great. </p><p></p><p>Madison: Did not meet the hype for me. While having the lake is nice, I feel like they don't fully utilize it at all. State Street was solid but nothing I've never experienced before. Overall, its probably still better than Iowa City. But expectations-wise they could not have been more opposite. If you take away "Jump Around" there's nothing overly special about going to a game at Camp Randall. It was fine. </p><p></p><p>Evanston: I spent a week one summer in high school doing a pre-law camp at NW. Living on-campus in Evanston, commuting downtown to the law center. I really enjoyed it, and could have seen myself going there. Choosing between Northwestern and Illinois was really tough, and money was the ultimate decision maker. But going back there in recent years I found the campus too chaotic. Maybe being near the lake has its perks (it surely does). But walking around the campus I did not find it as enjoyable like walking around our quad. I don't regret picking Champaign at all looking back. Ryan Field is quaint and enjoyable, Welsh-Ryan Arena just wasn't pleasant. Maybe its better now, but it just felt cramped in my experience. </p><p></p><p>Ann Arbor: Disclosure: I grew up a diehard Michigan fan. I still support them (football only) as a secondary team solidly behind Illinois. When I walk around Ann Arbor itself and the campus I "get" why its considered top tier. But it didn't feel "right" or "like home" for me. Now, I'll never get over how impressive the scene on a major gameday is. I'd give anything to experience that as a regular scene. But when I took my proper college visit to Michigan senior year I came away saying, "well, its nice, but I cannot justify picking this over Champaign." I knew then that if I had a choice to make between Michigan and Illinois I'd end up picking Illinois. Still, fun college town to visit. And Michigan Stadium is fantastic, of course. </p><p></p><p>South Bend (bonus): Of course, the campus town is nothing to write home about. But the campus... I got into ND but didn't visit until after graduated UIUC. If I had visited it would have been really hard to say no to... I probably would have based on the money, but shoot that would have been tough. Walking around the campus is everything you'd want. Just a perfect atmosphere. </p><p></p><p><strong><u>Basketball venue bucket list rankings:</u></strong></p><p>1. (pretend) Assembly Hall </p><p>2. Mackey Arena</p><p>3. Williams Arena</p><p>4. Breslin Center</p><p>5. Carver-Hawkeye Arena</p><p><em>-Underwhelming but probably necessary-</em></p><p>6. Crisler Center</p><p>7. Kohl Center</p><p><em>-I get that they are worth seeing, but eh?-</em></p><p>8. xFinity Center</p><p>9. Rutgers Athletic Center</p><p><em>-Yawn-</em></p><p>10. Pinnicle Bank Arena</p><p>11. Value City Arena</p><p><em>-Are we really sure this actually exists?-</em></p><p>12. Bryce Jordan Center</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="redwingillini11, post: 1803314, member: 9229"] Haha I appreciate you starting a thread on this topic so we can expand on our thoughts. I'll share my original post and [B][U]Campuses[/U][/B] Iowa City: I came away very impressed with the downtown. Like you said, the downtown area integrates seamlessly with the campus. I've really only ever been there when the weather has been horrendous, but I was still pleasantly surprised. I think I wouldn't love trekking around there as a student in the winter, up and down the hills and across the river. But as a visitor it was great. Madison: Did not meet the hype for me. While having the lake is nice, I feel like they don't fully utilize it at all. State Street was solid but nothing I've never experienced before. Overall, its probably still better than Iowa City. But expectations-wise they could not have been more opposite. If you take away "Jump Around" there's nothing overly special about going to a game at Camp Randall. It was fine. Evanston: I spent a week one summer in high school doing a pre-law camp at NW. Living on-campus in Evanston, commuting downtown to the law center. I really enjoyed it, and could have seen myself going there. Choosing between Northwestern and Illinois was really tough, and money was the ultimate decision maker. But going back there in recent years I found the campus too chaotic. Maybe being near the lake has its perks (it surely does). But walking around the campus I did not find it as enjoyable like walking around our quad. I don't regret picking Champaign at all looking back. Ryan Field is quaint and enjoyable, Welsh-Ryan Arena just wasn't pleasant. Maybe its better now, but it just felt cramped in my experience. Ann Arbor: Disclosure: I grew up a diehard Michigan fan. I still support them (football only) as a secondary team solidly behind Illinois. When I walk around Ann Arbor itself and the campus I "get" why its considered top tier. But it didn't feel "right" or "like home" for me. Now, I'll never get over how impressive the scene on a major gameday is. I'd give anything to experience that as a regular scene. But when I took my proper college visit to Michigan senior year I came away saying, "well, its nice, but I cannot justify picking this over Champaign." I knew then that if I had a choice to make between Michigan and Illinois I'd end up picking Illinois. Still, fun college town to visit. And Michigan Stadium is fantastic, of course. South Bend (bonus): Of course, the campus town is nothing to write home about. But the campus... I got into ND but didn't visit until after graduated UIUC. If I had visited it would have been really hard to say no to... I probably would have based on the money, but shoot that would have been tough. Walking around the campus is everything you'd want. Just a perfect atmosphere. [B][U]Basketball venue bucket list rankings:[/U][/B] 1. (pretend) Assembly Hall 2. Mackey Arena 3. Williams Arena 4. Breslin Center 5. Carver-Hawkeye Arena [I]-Underwhelming but probably necessary-[/I] 6. Crisler Center 7. Kohl Center [I]-I get that they are worth seeing, but eh?-[/I] 8. xFinity Center 9. Rutgers Athletic Center [I]-Yawn-[/I] 10. Pinnicle Bank Arena 11. Value City Arena [I]-Are we really sure this actually exists?-[/I] 12. Bryce Jordan Center [/QUOTE]
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