Great apartments except for one thing THE ROACHES. This is my second year in the building with no complaints until now. Management has been notified a total of 7 times and they do not seem to care. This surprises me considering the price tag attached to the apartment. We eventually decided to simply spray ourselves. They really let me down this year. read more

Decent location, terrible policies. Pros: Gym, close to Grant Park Cons: Dining hours subject to change at random. Today I showed up to dinner only to find out that the only options were a refrigerated salad or small sandwich, no idea how long this will last either. I've tried asking around and nobody has any answers, UC staff included. It's also quite difficult to get in contact with the people running the place. I was emailing the person whose email address I was given for a week before I could get any response about my fiancée staying in the dorm. I finally got a response saying they'd get back to me the next day, but had to go up to the office on the day she arrived to see if she'd have a bed that night. At another point the contract left for a week and took another few days after he came back to get to the email backlog, apparently when his email away message said to email another person with concerns it meant so that someone else could ignore it for him. I could get into the other policies (left your card in your room one too many times? $50!, rules against being in a room containing alcohol even in the refrigerator or cabinets while under 21, could go on), but the plethora of negative reviews should speak for itself. This is the last I'll be staying here. read more

Place sucks. Pro Good location Cons Expensive Bad management Unorganized Bad employees I hardly spend any time here and it's pretty miserable. I got my keys during check-in and there was no closet key because they told me my door key should work (which it didnt'). They said they would cut me a closet key (which has yet to happen...). I received a delivery confirmation online from UPS and the staff did not put a slip in my (communal) mailbox (which is impossible to open). I went to the mail window (which has awful hours) and the nasty employee skimmed the packages and could not find mine and did not care. So they stole my package and do not care. This place is not worth the money and are an inconvenience even if you hardly spend time there. read more

I could have not asked for a better place to live while in college. The location is great I am just block away from the heart of downtown Chicago. Everything is within walking distance, and the facility is fantastic. I am a sophomore at Roosevelt University all of my classes are within walking distance. I love my roommate and suitemates that I have; It was been the best experience. I have a great size room, the bathroom is great. I love all of the amenities that the University Center has to offer. The second floor has a large laundry room, a workout room, studios to practice and play piano in, they have a media room, a mailroom, and many games for residents to play. If anything needs to be fixed the engineering department is up right away to take care of everything. My favorite part about the UC, especially since I am away from home in a big city is the security that the building has. If you are not supposed to be in the building there is no way that you have access. If you are a college student I believe that UC is a great facility for students to live, it is clean, has a great location, and the facility has a lot of offer =) read more

I've been living here for this summer and I have nothing but good things to say about UC ! Firstly, the location can't be beat. It is right smack dab downtown Chicago, with easy access to the Red Line and the 29 Bus (which takes you straight to Navy Pier). Being surrounded by various restaurants and bars is an added bonus, especially since the 7/11 is accessible literally from the lobby (which is perfect for the late night munchies, which I so often get). Secondly, I've always had very solid interactions with every one of the workers here. The security team is great and make me feel safe, especially since I get home past midnight every night. The Guest Services desk and its interns are so lovely and have such a genuine, welcoming manner that it warms my heart every time I enter into the building. Thank you for making me smile !! Thirdly, I am pretty pleased as punch that my rent includes free breakfast at the cafeteria (which has everything from bagels, waffles, an omelette station, fruit, yoghurt, and the eggs/bacon/sausage type foods on the hot food area). In addition to a free meal, I also get access to the gym-- which includes your basic cardio equipment (bikes, treadmills, ellipticals) as well as free weights and lifting equipment. For the duration of a summer internship, I couldn't have asked for a cleaner and well-managed flat complex, and I consider myself so fortunate to have stumbled across University Center ! read more

"Oh god I'm gonna choke someone" is what security said when I expressed the fact that my ID card was in my room and I couldn't swipe through the Pentagon-esque security pillars. And that just about embodies all of why I would never pay to live in this awful housing complex ever again. You will pay a lot, and you will be treated like a number. The food is terrible and the dining hours are subject to change at any time. The milk in the dining center is sometimes tangibly expired. I will never step foot in this housing complex ever again. If you do, prepare yourself for a regimen of rudeness and anti-fun culture. This place is the worst. read more

This is the nicest dorm I've ever lived in! The security is tight, but its for a reason. Its in a great location, close to everything the city has to offer. The cleaning service is great too, although sometimes not very thorough. Cafeteria is nice, there is a wide variety of food, but the staff could do with a renovation. I once asked for a "Javalanche" from the lady working behind the coffee counter, and she said no one had made any mix for this cold coffee drink, and that she could make some...but didn't feel like it. What great customer service! Overall, a very nice facility! read more

I really enjoy living at University Center, despite what others say. I live in a four bedroom apartment and it has worked out great between me and my roommates. We are even going to be living together next semester. I know that my friend did not have the same luck I did but the UC staff was real good at helping her fix her roommate situations and everything seems okay between them now. It is also fairly easy to make friends from different schools since there are 4 that live in the building. It is really convenient to all the CTA trains. The lake is literally like 3 blocks away and you have all the convenience of living downtown without any extra headaches. I work full time as well as go to school and it is nice to know that I am not spending any additional money on rent or utilites. The only thing I have to pay for is laundry (which really isn't that bad $1.25 to wash $1.00 to dry). The fitness center is 24 hours and they offer a variety of classes from yoga to kickboxing. There is 24 hour security staff and swipe access to enter the building, which is good to know that no random person from off the street can just enter the building. The only downfall is the numerous amount of diva students that think they can sing and that everyone wants to hear their mediocre voices. I can't wait to live here again in August! read more

This review is for the "Guest Suites" portion of the University center, not the dorms. We stayed here for a short trip and it was fabulous. Our room was just $145 a night and it was huge. It had a couch, fridge, oven, and even a dishwasher! We loved having our own little studio apartment in downtown Chicago and plan to stay here again. We were on the third floor. Most of the time, it was very quiet. There were a few little things, like an angry girl shouting in the hallway at 1 AM on Sunday morning. And someone dropped something out the window from one of the upper floors. But no big deal on either of them. If you want a great deal on a nice place, stay here. It's a little weird to be in with the college kids, but after a while it's fun. read more

This place sucks straight up. Its over-priced. The RAs suck. The food tastes like sh*t. The security can f*ck themselves. And after uve put up with their sh*t for the whole year they give you a fat bill for random sh*t in your room. -They said i had a fire extinguisher missing from my room?? we never even GOT a fire extinguisher... which is probly against some fire code in the first place -The carpet in my 'living room' was torn and began to unravel when i moved in. I moved out a year ago and theyre still sending me $160 statements to pay for that. HOW IS THE CARPET COMING UNDONE MY RESPONSIBILITY?! F*CK that place its a rip off. read more

This place sucks. I lived here for two school years and the second year just threw me over the edge and I refused to move back another year. The food is TERRIBLE and anyone with an allergy has to guess what to eat and gets maybe 4 options that are certain to be safe for food allergies. It's expensive and getting even more expensive every year they go on. The price doesn't match the quality whatsoever. The gym sucks for anyone who wants to get a decent workout in. Overall, thoroughly did not enjoy my stay here and wouldn't recommend it. read more

The new 'renovations' essentially mean that all of the large, comfortable furniture is being replaced with really uncomfortable and small furniture that does not fill out the apartments well. While management focuses on superficial furniture exchanges, the really necessary renovations are being neglected (i.e. washing machines/ dryers don't work, bedroom carpets have copious stains, bathroom and kitchen cabinets are dilapidated). I have lived here for two summers, and each time I move in I encounter fresh horrors. Balled up underpants in the closets, beetles in the fluorescent lights, showers that won't drain because a year's worth of someone else's hair is stuck in them, sticky white stains in the carpet, etc. I'll admit that the location is very convenient for work/ school, but basic maintenance is really lacking. If I had to choose again, I'd live somewhere else. read more

The move-in process was so quick and easy. RA Jess V was such a huge help!!! So happy that my daughter is going to college with an awesome RA! read more

Only if you really have to, then live here. The building is nice, clean and brand new and the security staff has gotten better. However, those are the only positive remarks. The building staff here treat you like convicts and will not give you the time of day. The building management staff is so bad, that is why I must give this place only 1 star. At the end of the year they force you to move from one room to the other. They will only give you about a 1 week notice of the room change and will only give you a few hours during the day to make the move. They will not give you access to both rooms and will expect you to move everything in one shot, or just leave it in the hallway. The RA's are something to be desired as they are usually never seen or heard. The security staff is the only ones that seem to keep you safe, but their job ends at the front door. Basically this place is ran like a jail and you will be treated like a convict, no matter how nice or trusting of a person you are. Oh, and if you go to Columbia or DePaul, don't even think about moving in here. They will treat you worse than any other person. The staff looks at you with green eyes and spite since you obviously went to a better college than they did. read more

Housing wise, it could be worse but could also be a lot better. The rooms are nice enough, don't be suckered into getting the dorm style when the apartment styles are much cheaper. Management is near impossible to get in contact with, if you even know who to talk to or who management even is. Be very picky choosing rooms, because certain ones are way overpriced. While this should be expected of downtown Chicago, be aware there is other student housing that does not do this sort of trickery. The one thing I will say that IS very nice is that security is very strict. No one who isn't supposed to be there gets in. The 24 hour gym is also a bonus, if you're into that. But the caf, is something else all on it's own. If there is anyway you can go without the meal plan, DO IT. While I understand that at the time of this review there is a lot of construction and change going on, that does not excuse the poor food quality every single day for every single meal. They're trying out new things that don't seem to be working, like their new "swipe to enter" program, which makes it to where you can't leave to go to the bathroom without them charging you extra (!!!) money to get back in. Earlier I carried my food up to my room, attempted to go back down and get a drink (I had run out of hands to hold everything with) and was told that to be allowed back into the cafeteria that would be another 10 dollars. For the nearly 2000 dollars that I'm paying to them? Yeah right. In short: Living here is okay, convenient if not a little expensive with very poor management. But under no circumstance should you get the meal plan. read more

I was visiting Chicago over the summer for three days and it was pretty good. The pricing and location was great. I especially loved the amount of security there was. Not anyone could just come in so I felt extremely safe. The girls in the front desk were extremely nice and friendly especially upon first greeting. Fortunately I didn't have to share a room so that was another added bonus. It was also very clean which is essential. It's definitely no super fancy five star hotel but for the price I really enjoyed staying here. read more

I lived in UC in June 2018. The location is very good and the common spaces in the building are really nice too. However, the apartments are one of the worst I have seen: the furniture is extremely old (not at all like the ones on the website), the windows are not sound-proof and you can hear really loud the cars&trains all night (you will need earbuds if you want to catch some sleep), the internet is very slow (you can hardly watch a movie) and the mattresses are very bad quality. Also the rooms are tiny, but I think the point is to go use the common spaces, so I would not consider it as a minus. The food is medium-bad and there are only a few dishes to choose from. read more

DO NOT LIVE HERE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES YOU WILL BE EXTREMELY SORRY! I am about to enjoy being kicked out of my own apartment during FINALS WEEK so that they can do their "renovations". While I should be studying for my last exam I have to move all of my stuff into another temporary room and then into storage before break, then back into my original room on the first day of the new quarter. Meanwhile before then while I am trying to study there are construction people 1 floor directly above me making tons of noise. Not sure what they're trying to accomplish, I have heard the renovations are kind of spotty. Advice is you could retain more tenants if you didn't treat all of them so disrespectfully and inconsiderately. Also, after the renovations, they did not clean up their mess AT ALL. There was debris and dust and garbage all over my living room and bathroom floors, as well as the kitchen and bathroom sinks. RIDICULOUS! They have no respect or regard for any of their tenants, this is the worst customer experience I have ever seen in my life by FAR. Got stuck in the elevator 2 or 3 times. Heat goes off all the time and if you do not report it right away it will get very cold very fast. Salad bar often has stale spinach, rotting cucumbers, or old tomatoes. On 2 occasions, the chicken I got was not fully cooked. On 3 occasions, the pasta I got was not fully cooked. Eggs have been undercooked. Dish washer leaked and flooded the kitchen. Some of the washing machines are broken in the laundry room. Some of the broken machines aren't even labeled broken, they do not spin cycle, and you have to pay extra to wash them a second time since they are soaking wet. The refund procedure is insane and most often you do not get refunded or if you do its for a partial amount of what you're actually owed. Often times, the card station is not working so you are not in any way able to add money to your card and do any laundry. Walls are paper thin, you can hear everything that is going on next to you even if it is quiet. Sometimes there is actual dirt and crap in the washer and your clothes will come out stained and dirtier than before since they never clean or fix the washing machines. Do not try to open a print account for the lab on the second floor, most of the time the printer does not work and you cannot receive any refund. Management office gone on weekends so essentially there is no one in charge at those times. Internet is very bad unless you buy a very expensive router. Pretty much a complete rip off. read more

Dear Parents/Students, Do NOT live here. I am about to enjoy being kicked out of my own apartment during FINALS WEEK so that they can do their "renovations". While I should be studying for my last exam I have to move all of my stuff into another temporary room and then into storage before break, then back into my original room on the first day of the new quarter. Meanwhile before then while I am trying to study there are construction people 1 floor directly above me making tons of noise. Not sure what they're trying to accomplish, I have heard the renovations are kind of spotty. Advice is you could retain more tenants if you didn't treat all of them so disrespectfully and inconsiderately. Also, after the renovations, they did not clean up their mess AT ALL. There was debris and dust and garbage all over my living room and bathroom floors, as well as the kitchen and bathroom sinks. RIDICULOUS! They have no respect or regard for any of their tenants, this is the worst customer experience I have ever seen in my life by FAR. Got stuck in the elevator 2 or 3 times. Heat goes off all the time and if you do not report it right away it will get very cold very fast. Salad bar often has stale spinach, rotting cucumbers, or old tomatoes. On 2 occasions, the chicken I got was not fully cooked. On 3 occasions, the pasta I got was not fully cooked. Eggs have been undercooked. Dish washer leaked and flooded the kitchen. Some of the washing machines are broken in the laundry room. Some of the broken machines aren't even labeled broken, they do not spin cycle, and you have to pay extra to wash them a second time since they are soaking wet. The refund procedure is insane and most often you do not get refunded or if you do its for a partial amount of what you're actually owed. Often times, the card station is not working so you are not in any way able to add money to your card and do any laundry. Walls are paper thin, you can hear everything that is going on next to you even if it is quiet. Do not try to open a print account for the lab on the second floor, most of the time the printer does not work and you cannot receive any refund. Management office gone on weekends so essentially there is no one in charge at those times. Internet is very bad unless you buy a very expensive router. Pretty much a complete rip off. read more

My daughter has been ther one week and it has been a complete nightmare. The security people actually put her life at risk. She came home after 12 last night and realized her key was in her room. She had adequate ID to show who she was. The extremely rude and dangerous security personel refused to let her into her room . Here was a young woman in a neighborhood not safe alone at night told she could not be let into the building. I found myself on the phone with area 1 police who advised to call 911 to get the clearly in the wrong security people to allow her into her room. By that time she was completely upset, my husband and I are trying to help our daughter from where we lived in the Northern suburbs. It was a nightmare. Her friend who is also interning and staying in a much nicer place came to get her and she stayed with her the night. If you care about your safety do not stay here. We thought because the prices where so high and the building looked fine everything would be good but we were very wrong. I cant believe any of the surrounding schools recommend this place. read more

HORRIBLE!!!! The college interns and the security were the only people working at this place that have my respect. Jeff and Erica are terrible representatives for this company. Jeff especially. He is extremely hard to reach, rude, has a bad attitude and all around very unprofessional. I was friends with a few of the interns that worked directly below him and they had nothing but bad things to say about him. I recommend staying at The Buckingham which is a block away from this shit hole. read more

I hate the tight security. But the plus is that the 7-11 is available, and it only serves beer, but thats good enough. The location is good to be in the city. the rooms are kinda big especially the corner room (the one i lived in). i also liked that we had a cleaning service once a week. good place to live. also the best part 24 hr gym/workout room read more

i stayed here when i went to an art academy summer program and it was so amazing, i was very impressed with the cafeteria options, they had great variety with a salad and parfait bar, pizza, breadsticks, pastas, desserts, burgers and fries, pie, etc. and the little convenience shop right next to it is small and quite nice with a small bakery and necessities, they also have amazing local made sandwiches in there!!! the only negative i really have is how cold the rooms get at night, i found it extremely difficult to even get out of bed in the morning it was so cold. plus sharing a bathroom with your next door neighbor isnt always convenient but is doable. nice place and id love to stay again read more