Over one third of the University of Iowa’s student base come from Illinois, making it the second-largest demographic, with 56.8 percent of students hailing from Iowa, according to College Factual.

For me, a main reason I chose the UI was the proximity to my hometown, Chicago. On average, it takes about a three-and-a-half to four-hour drive to get home. I see this as the perfect distance — where I can still be independent, but not too far from my family if something goes wrong.

While this is the perfect distance for me from my family, it also happens to be the perfect distance for people who have never visited Chicago that are curious about exploring the major city.

Almost everyone I meet on campus is either from Illinois or Iowa. I’d say there’s a 50/50 chance that if you asked a random student where they’re from, they would say Chicago.

An interesting thing I’ve noticed in my time at Iowa is the use of the phrase, “Are you really from Chicago, or are you from the suburbs?” This is a normal question I get asked a lot in my hometown. The interesting part is that I get asked this from people from Iowa as well.

I guess the phrase has just been thrown around so much in the UI culture that even Iowans have picked up on it, which I find hilarious.

The fact that Chicago is only a four-hour car ride away from the center of campus also makes it a sort of vacation destination for students.

For students who aren’t from Illinois, traveling to Chicago lets them experience it for the first time. It also helps that they are likely to meet someone from Chicago while at the UI, making it easier for them to visit the beautiful city.

I spoke to Jasmin Ramos, a second-year undergraduate student at the UI, about how Chicago’s proximity has affected her college experience.

“While being a part of [Multicultural Business Student Association], I was able to travel to Chicago for the first time to tour different accounting firms,” Ramos said. “One of those firms was Deloitte, and I had the opportunity to intern in that same office over the summer. Having the opportunity to tour the firm beforehand made me feel much more comfortable taking the internship and staying in Chicago for the summer.”

Another key benefit of Chicago is the number of jobs and opportunities the city offers to UI students. Chicago is the third-largest city in the United States, with a population of 2,746,388, according to the 2020 Census.

Naturally, a big city like that offers plenty of opportunities for students to gain internships or jobs.

UI students have the luxury of being a short drive away from Chicago and they should be taking more advantage of it.

If you’ve never been to Chicago before, take the trip. I promise you it will be worth it.