College Season: University of Chicago

Planet Pluto Travel
Mar 23, 2021
3 min read

Updated: Apr 9, 2021

By: Alana DeRose

It's officially College Tours season, so we've decided to introduce our new series to you, College Season. We all know it's not just the school that hinders your decision but the location too! So I'll be giving you tips and tricks on what to do in a day in the city of the school you're visiting.

And to start off the list we have the University of Chicago!

U of C or UChicago was found by J.D. Rockefeller, and is located in Hyde Park, Chicago, Illinois, a neighborhood 20 minutes away from Chicago's downtown area. The university is very difficult to get into with an acceptance rate of 6% and has to be the best Public Policy school in the country, if not the world. There was also a nuclear reaction that caused an advancement in the Manhattan project in 1942 on the corner of Ellis Avenue and 57th street, where the Mansueto Library currently stands.

Named after Joe and Rika Mansueto aka owners of Morningstar Inc and the Chicago Fire, the Mansueto Library is a must visit, and most likely will be a part of your tour when visiting the prestigious university.

What makes this library unique is not the fact that it sits on top of a former nuclear explosion, but it’s also shaped like a dome, but it also uses robotic cranes to retrieve materials from the library in about 3 minutes, which speeds up the scholarly productivity of the students.

Another place you need to visit on campus is the Rockefeller Memorial Chapel.

Obviously named after the founder of the school, J.D. Rockefeller himself, the Rockefeller Memorial Chapel will be one interesting and kind of spooky visit.

You can tour the 93 year old building and climb the 271 spiral steps till you reach the top of the tower, where you can see magnificent views of Lake Michigan, and the downtown area of your possibly new home city.

Gladly or sadly, depends on how you look at the cup. Not all the fun or mystery is on the U of C campus. Neither is the founder's history.

The DuSable Museum of African American History, named after Jean Baptiste Du Sable, aka the founder of Chicago, is located two minutes away from the UChicago campus.

Here you can see the numerous showcases about African American history, culture and art. A lot of the art pieces you’ll see in the museum are created by the most influential artist in the 19th and 20th century, in my opinion the most interesting centuries in African American history.

However, that's not the only interesting museum near the campus.

The Museum of Science and Industry is only four minutes away from the university’s campus, and with the mirror maze, 50s exhibit, and the coal mine adventure, the Museum of Science and Industry has to be the best museum in the entire city, and for a city packed with tons and tons of museums, that’s impressive.

Each ticket currently costs 22 dollars a person, and it’s every single dollar, if not more. I’ve visited this museum many, many times throughout my life, and I’ve always had an exciting trip, so whenever you visit the University of Chicago or just Chicago in general, I would highly suggest you visit this museum.

Now after all this walking around between the college tour, and exploring the city I’m pretty sure you’ll want to grab a bite to eat, and while they’re normal American restaurants around the area such as McDonald’s and Subway, but the food is a big factor in what can make or break your experience, well for me at least.

In Hyde Park you can find classic Chicago restaurants such as Giordano’s and Harold’s Chicken Shack, which are absolutely amazing!

Giordano’s serves Chicago’s world famous deep dish pizza, which you can taste anywhere in the country as they serve their frozen deep dish pizzas all across the country, and Harold’s Chicken just has really, really, really, good chicken.

*Disclaimer* Mild sauce may be different from mild sauce you have, if from another state, but it is definitely superior!

There’s also Jerk. Jamaican Barbeque, Pizza Capri, Au Bon Pain, Cedars Mediterannean Kitchen and Shinju Sushi. Many different ethnic restaurants that are worth trying around the University of Chicago Campus.