July 17, 2020 – July 24, 2020

For the ninth year in a row, guidance counselors from high schools outside the United States and EducationUSA advisers are invited to experience the Chicagoland Counselor Tour in Summer 2020. The tour begins right after the International Association for College Admission Counseling.

The Chicagoland Counselor Tour provides an opportunity for you to visit eight diverse Chicagoland institutions, and to explore the culture, entertainment, history, and cuisine of the city of Chicago.

Columbia College Chicago

DePaul University

Illinois Institute of Technology

Loyola University Chicago

Northwestern University

School of the Art Institute of Chicago

University of Chicago

University of Illinois at Chicago
 

Tentative Schedule:

On Friday, July 17, tour participants will arrive in Chicago for our program. The Chicagoland Counselor Tour will officially begin on Saturday morning with a Welcome Brunch. Following the brunch, you will head downtown to visit the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. On Sunday, you will enjoy a full day of rest - or unrest - and explore the Windy City (multiple suggestions will be provided). On Monday, you will stay downtown and visit Columbia College Chicago and then head to the Near South Side to visit the University of Illinois at Chicago. On Tuesday, you will head over to the North Side to visit Loyola University Chicago, and will head out just north of Chicago to Evanston, IL, to visit Northwestern University. On Wednesday, you will head back to the Near South Side to visit the Illinois Institute of Technology, and to the South Side to visit the University of Chicago. On Thursday, you will visit DePaul University in the downtown and North Side areas, and will reunite with all university hosts for a Closing Event in the late afternoon/early evening. The tour concludes on Friday, July 24, with counselors checking out and departing for their home destinations.

Contact information for other Chicago-area and Illinois universities will be provided, but are not part of the Chicagoland Counselor Tour. If interested, you will need to contact schools directly to schedule your visit. You will also be responsible for your own lodging starting on Friday, July 24 - the last day of our program.

Quotes from Previous Participants:

"Thank you so much for an amazing tour. I learned so much about the city of Chicago, but also the
personalities of all the institutions. Chicago is a great city for international students, and I can't wait
to suggest it to more of my students. I know a lot of time and effort went into making this event happen,
and I just want everyone to know that I greatly appreciate being invited, included, and taken care of
during this event. A great week, and I would suggest it to any counselor!"

"This was an amazing tour. The staff at each university and college were nice and gave us the
precise information about their school to get the feel of each one. The other attendees on the tour
were awesome people, and I made new colleagues and friends. Thank you for having me
on your tour."

"This is definitely a worthwhile tour. The quality of the schools and their hosting of the counselors made this a tour that I would always recommend."

"The group was small enough that we could easily meet each other and have group conversations, but large enough that we had some great variety in countries represented and experiences to share."

"This group was easy to move from one location to the next. The size contributed to meaningful exchanges and discussion. We were able to learn from each other as much as from our visit."

"We could actually get a lot of attention from college reps."

"[This tour] allowed me to see things in Chicago I hadn't seen before, which I can now share with students interested in Chicago for school."

"I loved the possibility of being able to explore the city. Thank you very much for thinking about this!"

"Pre-departure communication was very prompt and thorough."

"You included everything we would possibly ask or need to prepare for the visit."

"Thank you very much to all for such a wonderful experience. I will surely tell my students about each one of your institutions and about Chicago."

COSTS INCLUDED (paid by the host institutions):

• Transportation within Chicago between participating universities and planned events
• Lodging in single rooms at a riverfront hotel in downtown Chicago
• Event meals (2-3 per day)

Costs NOT Included (paid by the participant):

• Airfare to/from Chicago - O'Hare (ORD) or Midway (MDW) airports
• Airport transfer (multiple suggestions will be provided)
• Meals outside planned events as well as other personal expenses
• Hotel room upgrades and additional guests (family or friends), if applicable
• Lodging in Chicago after July 24, if applicable

Registration

To maintain the quality of experience desired by both tour participants and host institutions, the tour can accommodate a maximum of 30 counselors. For this reason, only 1 counselor per school is permitted to attend. All attendees will be expected to participate in all planned activities through the end of the tour.

Priority to attend will be given to those counselors who register first. However, if interest in the tour exceeds capacity, the final list of attendees will be determined by a committee of admission staff from all participating institutions and will take institutional considerations as well as geographic diversity into account. Interested counselors should not make flight arrangements until they have been confirmed as attendees.

Tour participants will agree to arrive in Chicago on Friday, July 17, and stay in the arranged hotel until the conclusion of the tour on Friday morning, July 24. If you must leave on Thursday, July 23, your flight must depart Chicago no earlier than 9 PM so as not to interfere with our tour activities. After being selected, participants will be required to send us their confirmed flight itineraries, and a tour agreement signed by their supervisors or EdUSA REACs in order to guarantee their spots.

To submit your tour application, please complete the form below. The application deadline is Monday, February 4, 2020. Interested counselors will be notified by early March 2020.

We look forward to welcoming you to Chicago in July!

The 2020 Chicagoland Counselor Tour Planning Committee