Welcome!
Welcome to Shepard Residential College. In this area you can find information specifically for New and Prospective Students. You can apply to live in Shepard when you fill out your housing application. If you have any questions, we encourage you to contact any member of dorm government.
New and Prospective Student Questions
How are rooms and roommates assigned or chosen?
What are the best ways to get around Evanston and Chicago?
How do I get to and from the airport?
How are rooms and roommates assigned or chosen?
For new residents, rooms are assigned randomly but roommate assignments based partly on the housing questionnaire you filled out or will fill out for student housing. Rooms are assigned randomly. For returning residents, everyone chooses roommates and each roommate pair chooses their room according to housing points from highest to lowest. For more information on housing points for returning students, see Housing Points.
How are the bathrooms?
According to Amy Yang, previous Tech Chair:
"I honestly thought the bathrooms were fine, and (other than the occassional person who forgot to flush, or left their stuff on the towel hooks) don't remember hearing complaints from others. There are shower hooks for hanging stuff while you're in the showers. The shower stalls are a bit small but *shrug* you deal. Other than (if I remember correctly) once when there was a heater problem, there was always enough hot water.
"Two camps seemed to develop during the year on leaving bathroom stuff (toothpaste, brushes, soap, etc) in the bathroom. Some people thought stuff should always be taken back to your room - when you're done showering, your stuff should go back with you. Others left their stuff on the ledges in the bathroom all the time. It's really up to you, who you share the bathroom with, and how comfortable you feel leaving your stuff out."
What's the deal with mail ?
Your mailing address is:
YOUR NAME
Shepard Residential College, Room ###
626 University Pl
Evanston, IL 60201
...replacing the first line with your full name, and the "###" with your room number.
All incoming mail for Shepard is processed in to the Allison mail room. The Shepard mailboxes are the silver ones in the Allison Hall lobby, with box numbers corresponding to room numbers. Packages too large to fit in the box will be held in the mail room, to be picked up with the package slip placed in your mailbox.
The Allison mail room has an AOL instant messenger screen name, AllisonMailroom, that you can check for hours and availability.
What are the best ways to get around Evanston and Chicago?
The cheapest way to get into Chicago is by far public transportation, via the "El" or the Metra. The CTA's "El", which stands for "elevated train", takes a little over an hour to get into downtown Chicago (or more, depending on where you're going), and costs only $2.25. A general map of the el can be viewed here. To get from Shepard to Downtown, take the Purple line from the Davis Station to Howard, and transfer there to the red line. Once you're downtown, you can follow the map to transfer to other lines. During rush hours Mon-Fri, the Purple Line Express also runs, which goes straight into downtown (from Davis) without any need to transfer to the red line. For more detailed maps, see the CTA website.
The Metra is another train system, and may be more convenient depending on your destination. The Pace bus system is also useful for getting around Evanston and surrounding areas, beyond the range of walking distance.
The RTA (Regional Transportation Authority), comprised of the CTA, Metra, and Pace, provides an online Trip Planner that may help.
Northwestern also offers a free Intercampus Shuttle service that runs between Northwestern's Evanston and Chicago campuses.
Taxis are an alternative option that cost significantly more but may be worth it if you're under time constraints or have large amounts of luggage.
More information about getting around Evanston/Chicago has been compiled by Northwestern University Services.
How do I get to and from the airport?
The cheapest way to O'Hare is by far Pace Route 250. It costs $1.50, goes from Davis CTA Station (about 2 blocks from Shepard) to O'Hare, and takes about 70 minutes.
Northwestern University Services offers discounted rides to O'hare airport via the Airport Express (make reservations here), priced by-person.
Also, several surburban cab companies will offer flat rates, usually around $41 to midway and $25 to O'hare; call the companies beforehand to make reservations. You can send an email to the Shepard Listserv about cab sharing.