E2 is one of the nicer upscale apartments. Management is not entirely flexible and is likely to raise prices but the fact that a ton of MBA students live here makes the apartments a great place to live at.

New building with nice staff and amenities. Basketball court is fun and pool is amazing during the summer. However...

Frequent internet issues/outages.
Hot tub closed early (same time as pool).
Annoying policies.
Questionable value (especially if you're not going to be there during the summer).

This apartment building is all new, has great amenities and a ton of Kellogg students. You can get a bigger apartment plus a car space for the price you pay here but overall quality will prob be lower. That said, there have been a lot of conflicts with the management. There were many WIFI issues, office room printing problems and shady payments that were unexpectedly transferred on to the renters.
Overall we enjoyed our time here - but if prices go up next year we will definitely consider moving.

Coming from NYC, E2 is a massive upgrade in terms of space and amenities (big windows, dishwasher, washer/dryer in unit). It's also a lot of fun having so many Kellogg classmates in close proximity. The pool, jacuzzi and grills in the summer were amazing. That said, the building is still ironing out some important issues (frequent internet and elevator outages) and I wish the gym was a bit bigger (to fit more than 3 people at one time). Overall, it's been great but recommend tempering expectations for the future.

The apartment is nice, amenities are good, and a lot of Kellogg lives there so it is convenient.
But:
- you have to do DirectTV, mine hasn't worked for three months, I'm still paying for it out of my rent and the management company they use for it is horrendous
- the elevators are out a few times per month.
- they don't explain how much worse the west tower is to live in - there is no front desk and packages are often left on the floor because delivery people don't know where to go. Crossing over to get your packages is time consuming and it's further from school
- they don't allow two year leases

In retrospect, i would have rented something closer to campus that doesn't have all of these problems.

Great building and excellent amenities. only complaints are that the only internet option is unreliable and slow, elevators are frequently out of service, and it takes too long to pick up packages at front desk due to insufficient staffing levels. It is also a bit loud in the summer given all the students so be ready for that. the rooms themselves are really nice and spacious, and s till giving this place an 8/10.

E2 provides a phenomenal social experience - there are a ton of different amenities (ranging from an indoor basketball court to a theater) that make it really easy to get together for everything from work to play. Rent is a bit on the pricy side, but location is great (close to campus and some of the better restaurants/bars). Management can be a bit of a stickler on some seemingly small details (e.g. specifics on what patio furniture is allowed), but they are working to adjust to Kellogg student needs.

E2 is a new building and has had growing pains. It has great amenities on the surface but lots of little inconveniences that add up when you live there. I'll try to share a balanced view.

Good
1. Gym on-site. Although it looks quite small for the size of the building, people don't seem to use it too much so I've never had to wait for a single machine (even in the morning). I don't use the basketball court but it's there and they sometimes have free workout classes
2. There are built in speakers in the apartments which is a nice touch.
3. Most of the front desk and mgmt in the office a pretty nice. Package storage and stuff is pretty easy.
4. Although parking is expensive, it's nice it's integrated into the building especially as it's gotten colder.
5. The pool and deck are very nice in the summer although it can get crowded. This year, a lot of folks live in E2 so being social is easy but I didn't feel like I lived in a dorm (you can be as involved or not as you want).

BAD
1. E2 clearly didn't have people test out the apartments. The bathrooms are huge but there is no laundry closet. Might seem like something minor but wait till you are looking for where to put your towels, laundry detergent and a whole bunch of odds and ends. really bad design.
2. The cable/internet company AM3 SUCKS! Internet outage, cable outage all the time. You can imagine how frustrating that is when you want to do finance hw due in 2 hours. It's quite ridiculous how bad they are (and u don't have a choice in provider).
3. They've had lots of issues with elevators getting stuck but as a new bulding, i figure that's part of testing the system so it should probably get better.
4. If you have a 2 or 3 bedroom, you will not have enough cabinet space. They simply didn't plan properly space wise because there's a lot of wasted space.

In summary, E2 isn't terrible. I just think it's too expensive for the types of problems it has. The reserve just down the street is waay bigger and slightly cheaper (and closer to the Jake). even optima horizons is bigger although condos have their own problem.

PS. If you have tmobile - your phone will not work

The amenities, social atmosphere, and location / proximity to the Jake are definitely the major draws to E2. The apartments are smaller than some other buildings, but the finishes are generally a lot nicer. E2 is arguably the only luxury apartment building in Evanston. The biggest drawback is management. There have been quite a few issues that management did not handle well or in a timely manner. This is especially frustrating given how expensive E2 is.

Good: Great new places, close to campus, pet friendly, utilities (minus electric) rolled into rent. Parking garage, 12th floor great view overlooking Lake Michigan, nice hardwood floors and high ceilings, built in bluetooth speakers, great pool and outdoor space, front desk (Sandy) is an amazing, understanding person who really takes the tenants needs to heart. A real stand-up employee. Gym (altough) small is really nice, and the basketball court is a plus.

Bad: elevators constantly are breaking down, internet has been slower than expected (although recently better), directTV is not my favorite, there are some families and older couples that clearly dont like the surplus of college kids (especially at the pool when it was warm)

Ugly: they have been raising prices as more people move in. I am not looking forward to seeing what our new rent will be when we go to re-up for another year in the spring.