I'd like to leave a couple of things I learned when I came. These high-rises are super new, they are convenient to be close at the Booth Community; however, you pay the premium for it. I decided to leave at River North, which is very close to Lake Shore East, to the metra, bus lines, and much more convenient for restaurants and supermarkets (though you will learn fast to use Peapod, especially during the winter). I decided to live in a condo, and all in all, I pay around $350 less per month than people who are living at the Lake Shore East. Found my deal through Craig's list. The buildings where most people live in downtown are: Millennium Park Plaza (MPP), Park Millennium (it's a condo), Columbus Park Plaza, North Harbor Tower (NHT), Tides and Shoreham. The Aqua is brand new. The best deals I could find among these places were in MPP and NHT.
Parking cars in the "core downtown" is super expensive, it goes from $180 to $300, the main reason I decided not to have a car - actually there's no need for one, and you also do your part for the environment
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For internationals. If you're not a US citizen or permanent resident, you will be allowed to get into the USA 30 days before the classes start - orientation, not the "real" classes, which for me was Aug/10. I came to Chicago on Aug/10.
I hope that helps.