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Students moving into a Chicago dorm and introducing themselves in a hallway
ChicagoStudentsNew in townMaking friends
4 min read

Your First Week in Chicago as a Student: A Day-by-Day Plan

Seven days, seven jobs. A concrete plan for the week you arrive in Chicago — the week that decides how the rest of your year feels.

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Young people laughing on a Chicago bar patio at golden hour
ChicagoStudentsYoung professionalsMaking friends
4 min read

Making Friends in Chicago After Graduating

Your friends moved, the group chat went quiet, and nobody hands you a cohort at work. The post-graduation friendship rebuild, Chicago edition.

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International students with luggage talking on a Chicago street near an L train bridge
ChicagoStudentsInternational studentsMaking friendsNew in town
4 min read

Making Friends in Chicago as an International Student

A practical guide to building a Chicago friend group when you arrived three weeks ago, your accent is new here, and the winter is coming.

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Graduate students talking over coffee and laptops in a university library reading room in Chicago
ChicagoStudentsGrad schoolMaking friends
4 min read

Making Friends in Chicago as a Grad Student

Grad school hands you a cohort and takes away your free time. Here is how to turn a Chicago PhD, MA, MBA or med programme into an actual social life.

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Community college students talking outside a city college building in Chicago
ChicagoCity CollegesStudentsUniversityMaking friends
5 min read

Making Friends at City Colleges of Chicago: A Commuter's Playbook

Harold Washington, Wright, Kennedy-King, Malcolm X, Truman, Olive-Harvey, Daley — seven campuses, one problem: everybody leaves right after class. Here is how to build a social life anyway.

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Students walking a leafy residential street beside a small Chicago college campus in autumn
ChicagoNorth Park UniversityStudentsUniversityMaking friends
3 min read

Making Friends at North Park University: A Small Campus in a Big City

North Park is small, residential and tucked into a quiet north-side neighbourhood by the river. Small is an advantage — but only if you leave the campus sometimes.

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Green lawns and brick buildings on a small university campus on Chicago's south-west side
ChicagoSaint XavierStudentsUniversityMaking friends
3 min read

Making Friends at Saint Xavier University: Small, Close and South-West Side

Saint Xavier feels almost suburban: lawns, small classes and a tight community on Chicago's south-west side. The friendships come fast; the city takes a little more effort.

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Collegiate gothic campus buildings and a green lawn in River Forest, west of Chicago
ChicagoConcordia ChicagoRiver ForestStudentsUniversityMaking friends
3 min read

Making Friends at Concordia University Chicago: River Forest, Small Classes, Big City Nearby

Concordia sits in leafy River Forest, ten miles west of the Loop. Small and residential means friendships come easily — as long as you also learn the Green Line.

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Art students carrying portfolios past a columned museum entrance in the Chicago Loop
ChicagoSAICArt schoolStudentsMaking friends
4 min read

Making Friends at SAIC: Studio Culture in the Middle of the Loop

The School of the Art Institute has no campus and no team — it has studios, critiques and a museum attached. That is more than enough social infrastructure if you use it.

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Students studying in a high-rise campus lounge overlooking the Chicago Loop
ChicagoRoosevelt UniversityStudentsUniversityMaking friends
4 min read

Making Friends at Roosevelt University: A Vertical Campus in the Loop

Roosevelt's campus is a tower on Michigan Avenue with the whole city at its feet. Small classes and a social-justice tradition make the friendships easier than the architecture suggests.

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Students talking on a green campus lawn with low brick buildings on Chicago's South Side
ChicagoChicago StateStudentsUniversityMaking friends
4 min read

Making Friends at Chicago State: Community, Commuting and the Far South Side

Chicago State is small, historically Black and almost entirely commuter. The friendships here are built on programmes, organisations and shared purpose rather than dorm floors.

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