Except for residential students. Living rent-free with parents [0] in Chicagoland and taking the commuter rail into UIC/U Chicago/Northwestern is going to be a lot cheaper than renting an apartment in Champaign-Urbana.
Moving to a major metro area for university doesn't make much sense, but having universities in major metro areas makes a lot of sense.
[0] Admittedly not universally an option, but probably pretty common.
Moving to a major metro area for university doesn't make much sense, but having universities in major metro areas makes a lot of sense.
[0] Admittedly not universally an option, but probably pretty common.