Saturday, May 14, 2011

100 Routing questions & POI

Alright folks, here is the link for the 100 routing & POI's answer key. I am sure that most of you have come across or seen this doc. Anyway, I've heard that most of the geography questions in the HWC exam concentrate on downtown and poi's north of it, while the city exam puts more emphasis on the south side of the city. It doesn't mean that being perfect in this 100 routing will do the job, whereas, knowing the locations of the hotels, hospitals, theaters, museums, buildings, transit stations and so on....... IS CRUCIAL TOO.

I am posting three docs today.

1. CLICK HERE for Downtown street grid numbers (coordinates):

Covers most streets locations in downtown, memorizing them can be overwhelming, so don't panic. But here is an idea, for instance, the streets south of Madison which runs east and west are: Monroe, Adams, Jackson, Van Buren, Congress.


You can memorize the first alphabet of every street, where in this case it would be: M,M,A,J,V,C. So, no big deal! Likewise, apply the same concept for the major streets, starting from North side Howard St all the way to Madison, then Halsted st all the way to Cumberland.

Later on, if anyone ask you what is the major intersection near  6550 N and 1200 W then you should be able to answer that.

2. CLICK HERE for Downtown street map: shows the direction of the streets, one-way, two-way, etc.




If you guys have any questions/comments then please feel free to ask

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Routing ideas

Knowing the routing and POI is the crucial step in passing the HWC and Consumer Services exam.
To be efficient in routing, the very first step is to thoroughly know the 100 routes which are given as a two page handout in the geography section of the class.

Previously, the exact "routing" and "POI" to these routes were given to students but now days they don't do it anymore. 

A majority of the students often disregard the 100 routes, but to tell you the truth, the 100 routes cover almost all of the POI's, neighborhoods and major streets. Nevertheless, many people still have the answer copies of the 100 routes with POI's. However, there is a catch!  I’ve seen two variations of the answer key. Here’s why

The first route in the 100 routes is from Loyola University Lake shore campus to DePaul University Lincoln Park campus. 

The common sense answer would be taking Lake Shore Dr south to Fullerton West. However, the right answer is Broadway south to Halsted south to location. So, this is the right answer key!

The best remedy is to memorize the map of the loop with knowing which street is going in which direction and google maps does it very best with its street view and stuff. Like I said, take couple of weeks off to study before you begin the 2 week course at HWC. 

I mean, if you are a fast learner then you can wrap it up in 5 days without feeling the pressure by studying 8 hours every day. Also, you can sleep in class or brush up your geography skills while the so-called instructor is babbling. 

Additionally, you should be thorough with the coordinate system. 

Google maps are your best friend, just stare at it and look at the 100 routes. You’ll eventually get behind the wheel of a cab in no time.

Any other questions/comments welcomed.

To discuss, or to comment, please click on the heading "Routing ideas" then use the box at the bottom.