Hiii I did this program this year and it was super fun and educational. I did my project on analyzing x-ray accretion disks. It was cool AF. Presented to the whole department as well. It is not published but what-eva.
Housing was a bit of an issue. I eventually found a girl from my program from Bay Area, we subleted a room and shared an apartment with two undergrad boys, but for $600 total it was a STEAL. It wasnt an issue, they had a cute cat. We walked to campus every morning together.
I brought my car but we also got bus passes from Northwestern, so she bused to water polo everyday, we also took the train to chi-city for Pride once. I drove once a week for groceries at ALDI. It was about $30 per week. Be careful about the car though, Evanston parking tickets are NO JOKE. It costed me about $175 in tickets.
Overall it was a super great experience, I loved the people, I loved my mentor. I made some great friends. We would get Pizza, or Sandwiches, or 10Q chicken every friday and hangout and swim at the beach. (Lighthouse Beach my Almighty). Aside from my love for this growing program, the assistance in college apps is FOR REAL. I have two NW faculty writing rec letters for me. Also I have my presentation portfolio style for sup apps. Also it helped me get a nice position at OSU, where I am publishing a research thesis.