hope you will have fun! What city are you visiting?

Andel_B,
luchshe vsego budet posmotrret' spisok luchshih universitetov na US News And World Report. Hotya etot spisok i imeet ochevidnye nedostatki, rating universitetov vse-taki bol'she sootvetstvuet deistveitel'nosti.

Nashet himii, mnogie top universitety imeet horoshuju programu. Tak kak eto ne moya special'nost', ya k sozhaleniu, ne mogu skazat' chto-to bolee konkretnoe.

Hi, ISJ,
I don't live in downtown Chicago, I live in the northern suburb called Evanston. The crime rates here are very low, and I think it is the same for Chicago, at least they are lower than the national average crime rates for the US. However, there are some very sketchy and shady places in Chicago, and people usually prefer not to go there. That being said, if you are safe, you will be safe :)

Thanks.
During winter I stayed with friends here, in the US, and visited couple of cities. During summer I usually go home.

I would lie if I said it was easy. I had to take SATs as well as TOEFL, and get recommendation letters from my professors. However, this was the easiest part.

The essay required the hardest work and consumed almost 3 weeks. Since admission office staff can't really talk to you or even see you, your admission essay is the way for you to connect with them, and it's very important. I honestly believe, that my essay alone got me in to Northwestern, because all other schools like University of Madison or University of Wisconsin, which are ranked lower, rejected me.