more here:
https://www.northwestern.edu/transportation-parking/commuter-options/public-transit/

I'll throw out another suggestion: You could also take metra from downtown Chicago to Evanston. Check first to make sure the departure times match with your schedule as departures are far less frequent than CTA

Anonymous wrote:You can take the L

This is the easiest option. Cheap, fast and safe.

Anonymous wrote:OP here: Thanks everyone, sounds like there are lots of options, this is allver6 helpful. We do also want to visit UChicago and we are thinking about an upcoming long weekend.

We did both in same day, started at Northwestern tour in morning and then took train to U of C for afternoon tour. Spouse fell asleep during the hour long U of C talk, could have throttled him haha. Think we had done Notre Dame the day before, it was a lot, but productive.

I would definitely NOT rent a car.
You can uber ($30-$50 from downtown, depending on the time) or taking the train is super easy too and a lot cheaper too.
Just plug in your destination to google maps and it should show what trains to get on. It would be the Purple Line to Northwestern and either the Red or Green to UChicago.
I recommend taking the train. If your kid is serious about any of these two schools as prospects, it would behoove you to dip your toes in the public transportation system.

OP here: Thanks everyone, sounds like there are lots of options, this is allver6 helpful. We do also want to visit UChicago and we are thinking about an upcoming long weekend.

Coming from downtown, take the L.

Coming from O'Hare, students take the express Pulse bus https://www.pacebus.com/route/pulse-dempster-line from the building where the rental cars are (there is another, similar-looking bus that stops at every stop, so look carefully before you get on). It goes straight down Dempster and makes lights turn green. Takes about an hour to Evanston. Like two bucks.

Driving O'Hare to Evanston the other day took me 40 min. I always get a rental car and stay in Evanston or Skokie; essentially, I'm both lazy and not wanting to spend my short time there on public transportation. Taking public transportation does make sense if you have the time and energy.

Parking is a little annoying in Chicago, particularly paying so much for street parking (>$14 for 3 hrs), tho I found spots in River North fairly easily three times last weekend. Might as well park in a garage, basically. If you decide to stay downtown somewhere, budget for parking. If you have a rental car and drive to Evanston for the admission tour, they will have you park in the Segal visitor parking garage.

I haven't ubered there lately, but there's no reason why you couldn't. Certainly a viable option.

I think you need to decide where you want to stay and what else you want to do in Chicago while you're there. Are you also visiting UChicago?

FYI if you’re visiting next weekend is family weekend so it will be a bit crowded/crazy and might be hard to get a tour.

Uber from O'Hare, el from Midway. If you're already in Chicago, el. There are basically three stops right off campus. Davis is closest to Admissions, assuming that's where you're going.

We did a recommended airport car service (from parents listserv) from Ohare to Evanston. I think it was $45.

You can take the L

We landed at O’Hare and ubered to campus, which was 45 min. Def didn’t need a car.

I think having a car is a pain. Used to live there. Went back to tour Northwestern and UofC, we took el trains. I would do that and Uber over expense of rental, parking cost, hassle of parking.

We rented a car but in part because we wanted to be able to tour the immediate area - we also drove to UChicago too.
But, there is public transportation that goes right from Chicago to basically on campus at Northwestern.
I'm sure you can Uber -- but I'd check the pricing -- the train may be way cheaper although timing may be less convenient?

If you are visiting Chicago and don’t have a car, is Uber a reasonable way to visit Northwestern? Are there other options? Is it easier just to rent a car?