April 10-11 Visit: False Impression?

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
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<p>I know that all of you who are attending the April 10-11 visit for accepted students are probably not at your computers yet, but I had to add my two cents.</p>

<p>Did you feel like the University of Chicago is actually NOT the place "where fun comes to die"?</p>

<p>As a resident of Hyde Park for many years, I am very familiar with the University and its students. What I saw on the night of the 11th in no way is what the U. of C. is actually like. Let me explain.</p>

<p>As you all probably know, there was a U. of C. club fair in Reynolds Club earlier this night. Normally, the club has absolutely nothing going on in it, and the room to the left as you enter from the main doors on 57th Street is actually a study room, not a room where activites take place. I am not sure where these students tonight came from; most looked quite wild, and, if I didn't know better, I would have thought that the U. of C. was a party school.</p>

<p>Another example. I was walking my dogs with my little sister on University Ave. at about 11:30 tonight, and prospies with their hosts were everywhere, heading toward the fraternaties. The frat boys were hanging out, partying, and (heaven forbid) rooming prospies, all the while yelling to some girl in Max Palevsky about dancing and free beer. This is quite an aberration; normally things don't get this wild ever - not even on Saturday nights. </p>

<p>I know all of you are out-of-towners, and a first impression is a lasting one. One needs to see the University of Chicago during an average day, a day where the University is not trying to reel in prospies by telling them that fun actually does live here. One needs to visit a class to hear an intellectual discussion. One needs to go to the Reg in the morning and see the same students studying there when one returns at night. A girl in the class I am auditing told me that she pulled an all-nighter last night. She is more of the typical U. of C. student. </p>

<p>The U. of C. actually is the place "where fun comes to die." Studying is the norm here, and I hope all of the prospective students out there did not receive a bad impression of the school. There are clubs, sure, and there is some fun, but not nearly to the extent that I saw, which was grossly misrepresented. I am quite upset that the University is doing this: making the U. of C. seem something that it is not. But, of course, one will know what the U. of C. is truly like on the first day of classes in the fall, when one is already inundated with homework. . .</p>

<p>Enough of my blabbing. I suppose I just had to vent. I just think that it is necessary for the U. of C. not to be embarrassed of its intellectual climate. The U. of C. is very distinct in that respect, and the intellectualism here is something that should be preserved - and shown to prospies. </p>

<p>Any thoughts on this topic? What was your impression of the U. of C.?</p>

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<p><em>EDIT</em> I appologize for the poor typing/spelling/grammar/logic organization in the following post...I was out having FUN and I'm slightly not myself...and I am too lazy to proofread <em>/EDIT</em></p>

<p>I dunno, as a student here, while I will admit that there was definately more going on than there would be if it wasnt a prospie night (such as the club fair). A lot of what went on tonight can be found on the weekends. Even during the week, wednesdays you can go to alpha delt and bar night is always more wild than what they had going on tonight (with more people and more people walking the streets on their way too and from there). The party at phi delt was also quite empty compared to their usual parties.</p>

<p>If you look on the weekends, you can always find dancing...the beer (or the rest of the bar depending on the location) might only be free for the ladies but there are plenty of parties all over (they arent all obvious from the outside since the experianced party throwers go to great lengths to soundproof their dancefloors and cover the windows).</p>

<p>This really ISNT the place where fun comes to die. I live in a dorm and while there are people who study a lot, there are plenty of normal people who point and laugh at the VERY few people studying in the reg as we go out on a friday or saturday night.</p>

<p>If you come here and want to have fun, you WILL have fun and you will bring more people who like the same thing. The university is not making the U of C seem different, it actually has the capability to be like this. The club fair is standard fare at any school hosting students as are the parties (they are definately not university sponsored or anything, they just want have something for the prospies).</p>

<p>I dont think this place was misrepresented at all. Of course they will try to showcase some things but every school will do that. We are no UW-Madison but we do know how to throw a party.</p>

<p>I repeat: This was not what an average MONDAY was like. Of course not, it was a special monday. But as far as the parties go, they were actually quite poor by UChicago standards. Even if you dont like parties, there is plenty of fun here--there is no need to force yourself to study all the time...there is simply no need.</p>

<p>One of the great things about this place is the fact that you can go to a class and hear a real intellectual discussion and you can walk outside and see a beatiful campus and people enjoying themselves playing frisbee or something. You can find me at social dance having a great time every thursday, or you can find me pretty much every night having a great time just hanging around in my dorm. This place IS fun.</p>

<p>We just really like to keep the myth alive.</p>

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<p>What you saw is a little below your average Friday or Saturday night. There definitley aren't parties like that on weekdays, but it was much tamer than your average Friday or Saturday, much, much tamer.</p>

4

<p>I wasn't there but I can tell you that my son, who stayed in Alpha Delta for three years had a lot of fun. Yes, he is intellectual and he studies but he partied too. Fun does not die at U.of C. and it can co-mingle with intellectual life. I grew up in the neighborhood also and I can tell you that Alpha Delta had blow-out parties with kegs, etc. when I was in HS. That has not changed!</p>

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<p>Well considering how many people on this board like to party, we might as well begin to dig a grave for the myth. I'm going to act a fool and study-</p>

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<p>I spoke to a friend of mine today, who is a third year in the College. She actually brought it up to me that the University is misrepresenting itself. Students never get as much attention when they are actually in school here, she said. Monday night parties are also a rarity; I know, as I live on Frat Row.</p>

<p>Let's keep the U. of C. an intellectual haven. :)</p>

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<p>Goodness, Katharos, they had the party on Monday because that was when the prospies were there.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
Let's keep the U. of C. an intellectual haven.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Try to be realistic; I think you are misrepresenting the school.</p>

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<p>I understand that the students here party. But, like ohio_mom said, they had the party when the prospies were there. </p>

<p>I know what the U. of C. is like. There are all types here, I understand that, but this is by no means the party school it was trying to make it seem (although my friend who is in college here griped today about the fact that the U. of C. is trying to attract sports players. . .) Students do have some fun here, but not to the extent that I saw last night.</p>

<p>On a better note, things have calmed down today. The Reg has its usuals studying (I am there now actually), and it seems back to normal.</p>

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<p>My son was a host - maybe I will get a first-hand account (LOL - not likely!).</p>

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<p>lol Sounds good.</p>

<p>Things just seemed extra wild last night. . . Is your son a frat boy, ohio_mom? :)</p>

<p>I saw some hosts with students, and they seemed fine. Others were partying, though. </p>

<p>I guess it depends on who you get. My impressions of other schools were mainly partly based on the hosts, as they were the first people I met at the schools.</p>

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<p>My son was one of the attendees at the event at the Reynolds Club. (Perhaps he was the "wild looking" one? :) ) He called me the next morning with an account of various activities he'd learned about and which ones interested him. He was surprised to find one theater group that put on ancient Greek plays (in translation). I know he and his host did some prowling about the campus and stayed up very late talking, but I don't think he made it to the frat party (or at least I didn't hear that part). </p>

<p>I think you need to put the evening events in wider perspective. I do know that son sat in on four different classes on Monday and Tuesday ranging from a physical science course for non-majors to a study of gender differences in 19th century America and a core class in Greek literature and thought. The classes made it abundantly clear to him that U of C would be challenging (not that he didn't already know that from having taken bio research classes at UC last summer and having poured over numerous guides). </p>

<p>Unless things were utterly out of control (it doesn't sound like it), I have no problem with Chicago laying out the red carpet and focusing a bit more on the "fun stuff" than would be true on a normal evening during the week, or even with some fraternities kicking up their heels. Most of the applicants on this board seem very aware of the fact that Chicago offers an intellectual challenge second to none. In frequenting this forum over the last year, I've seen many arguments and disagreements relating to the ranking of the school as well as the type and quality of students who choose Chicago and who elects not to attend. But I have never heard anyone, not even the most egregious troll, question the fact that Chicago offers its undergrads an unparalleled intellectual feast. </p>

<p>I don't think you have to worry about the prospies getting the wrong impression. I do think, from seeing the interchange over the past year, that some prospies, even those students with real academic interests, are sometimes nervous about the workload, the so-called "death" of fun, and the degree of challenge that will be offered to them at Chicago over the next four years. They've heard a lot of stories, some true and some exaggerated, and, if they are thoughtful and not totally full of themselves, they may humbly wonder whether they can possibly live up to the standards of the school. Perhaps in response, Chicago chooses to use its preview days to show all sides of campus life, the academic as well as the social. If so, I don't have a problem with that.</p>

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<p>"Did you feel like the University of Chicago is actually NOT the place 'where fun comes to die'?"</p>

<p>It's not. I have "traditional" fun all the time. I (don't) have a fake ID and (don't have) a 420 hookup and a group of friends who enjoy partaking in such activities. WINK WINK</p>

<p>"As a resident of Hyde Park for many years, I am very familiar with the University and its students. What I saw on the night of the 11th in no way is what the U. of C. is actually like. Let me explain."</p>

<p>Only for the people who let stereotypes dictate how they live their life.</p>

<p>"As you all probably know, there was a U. of C. club fair in Reynolds Club earlier this night. Normally, the club has absolutely nothing going on in it, and the room to the left as you enter from the main doors on 57th Street is actually a study room, not a room where activites take place. I am not sure where these students tonight came from; most looked quite wild, and, if I didn't know better, I would have thought that the U. of C. was a party school."</p>

<p>Oh man! School-sanctioned CLUB fairs!!!!! WILD!!! OUT OF CONTROL!!! FUN!!!!</p>

<p>"Another example. I was walking my dogs with my little sister on University Ave. at about 11:30 tonight, and prospies with their hosts were everywhere, heading toward the fraternaties. The frat boys were hanging out, partying, and (heaven forbid) rooming prospies, all the while yelling to some girl in Max Palevsky about dancing and free beer. This is quite an aberration; normally things don't get this wild ever - not even on Saturday nights."</p>

<p>The beer is usually not free unless you're friends with someone in the fraternity. But there are parties, generally with (less aesthetically pleasing) people dancing. I'd say on average there's 1.5 such frat parties per weekend. (omg u of c student computing AVERAGES!!!!) And those parties were not wild at all, jeeez..</p>

<p>"One needs to visit a class to hear an intellectual discussion."</p>

<p>There are very few intellectual discussions going on inside classrooms. Honestly. Seriously. The most enthusiastic course I've ever been to is certainly INTERESTING, but most of the discussion revolved around reaches based on psychoanalysis and any sort of intellectual vibe is simply the echoing from namedropping Hegel or some very obscure, very dead, and very difficult-to-understand philosopher.</p>

<p>"One needs to go to the Reg in the morning and see the same students studying there when one returns at night."</p>

<p>Many, not all, but many, of those students generally do not have any sort of time management skills. Anti-kudos to them. </p>

<p>"A girl in the class I am auditing told me that she pulled an all-nighter last night. She is more of the typical U. of C. student."</p>

<p>Yes, U of C students tend to be a little socially inept. Many of them also very much lack a sort of practical intelligence, which includes time-management skills.</p>

<p>"The U. of C. actually is the place 'where fun comes to die.' Studying is the norm here, and I hope all of the prospective students out there did not receive a bad impression of the school."</p>

<p>Okay, well, guess what. I got my studying done in the early afternoon, and then by the time my prospie came, while he was out calling his girlfriend and looking around campus for a bit over an hour, I got some more studying done for my independent-study number theory course for math. Then we went out to have "fun." ;). Econ major...efficiency! Rite?</p>

<p>"There are clubs, sure, and there is some fun, but not nearly to the extent that I saw, which was grossly misrepresented."</p>

<p>Not to, you know, do the whole ad hominem thing, but I understand your idea of fun is limited to salsa dancing among non-peers.</p>

<p>"I am quite upset that the University is doing this: making the U. of C. seem something that it is not. But, of course, one will know what the U. of C. is truly like on the first day of classes in the fall, when one is already inundated with homework. . ."</p>

<p>Hahahahahahaha, it's really not that bad.</p>

<p>"Enough of my blabbing. I suppose I just had to vent. I just think that it is necessary for the U. of C. not to be embarrassed of its intellectual climate. The U. of C. is very distinct in that respect, and the intellectualism here is something that should be preserved - and shown to prospies."</p>

<p>There is definitely an intellectual atmosphere, and it can be perceived immediately, regardless of the miscellaneous goings on that can make UChicago more similar to a more hedonistic place.</p>

<p>And although that I get "trashed" from time to time, and although that I go out into the city and like bars and concerts and things like that, doesn't mean I'm some supercool guy. I'm still definitely kind of a nerd, as are many of my friends, regardless of their willingness to admit it. Don't come here if you want a "Traditional college experience," because, well, you definitely won't get it, unless you severely recalibrate your expectations. The academics are good, yeah, but the classroom experience is over-rated. Still, the right people will respect a UChicago degree and you will probably for the first time in your life meet a lot of really smart people with whom you can identify. And I think that makes it all worth it. But maybe not.</p>

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<p>i doubt i got the wrong impression... we totally just hung out with half of filbey house in our room, talking and making fun of stupid people and doing AP Bio homework.</p>

<p>and it was a blast.</p>

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<p>huge post= got really really tired</p>

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<p>:) lol :) .....</p>

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<p>I'd have to totally agree that Chicago would not give the traditional college experience... and I guess for some, that could be what they want (mainly more... nerdy people). I guess thats not what I want. </p>

<p>Based on my experiences at the U of Chicago, it really dropped a lot in my college ranking. I went into it thinking "oh yeah, wow! chicago! this is going to be great". While it would be a stretch to say I had a bad time, it definately did not live up to my expectations. Heres why.</p>

<p>First of all, I got the sense that the people were incredibly layed back. The most excited I saw someone the entire time was playing a game of Madden on the ps2. Everyone just seemed to have this attitude of boredom and general apathy towards doing anything really outgoing. </p>

<p>I had arrived a day early, so I spent the entire day Sunday going around and trying to get into the various dorms and talking with students. The dorms, on a side note, seemed just... depressing in most places. Aside from Max, almost all of the dorm halls and lounges were dark, dingy, run down... just not pleasant at all. Max, on the other hand (where I stayed overnight) seemed the nicest , largest, most "normal" dorm on campus. That was allright. The people though, just gave a really wishy-washy "ehhh" kind of feeling... maybe it was just the people I was staying with. </p>

<p>I visited two classes while I was there, one a physiology class, the other a class that I had been told was on Hurricane Katrina (which actually was on Chicago, at least for the class I saw). Both were large lectures. They were allright, but nothing like what I had been prepared to experience. The teachers were okay, but seemed really monotonous. They didn't seem like they really were into what they were teaching. For people that took seminar style classes, was it better?</p>

<p>Overall, I just got a sense that the U of C was... well, boring. Without sports teams to rally around (unless you consider frisbee... give me a break) and so much time dedicated to studying, there was a really low "School spirit!" feeling. Whenever I asked people if they liked the college, they would always hesitate at first, saying its hard etc, then say they did like it. No one acted really enthusiastic the entire time. My opinions definately shifted from my visit.</p>

<p>Just my two cents.</p>

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<p>I was so going to post a topic like this...except it would have been to talk about the overnight.
I actually had a terrible time...terrible enough that I considered trying to change my plane ticket so I could leave a day earlier.
U of Chicago was my top choice before the overnight, and it kinda still is- but I'm afraid that what I love is not actually there in reality.
I know that the overnight doesn't really reflect a real experience....but at the moment I feel really disillusioned and let down and I'm sort of panicking because I don't know where I want to go if not UChi.</p>

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<p>pyramid you skipped what we all want to hear- why was the trip so bad for you? I really want to know.</p>

<p>I think that I would prefer a more laid back campus- I think- well, I'm pretty laid back, so i guess that'll be OK. Maybe we entering freshman can completely change the atmosphere once we get there. Maybe by having lots of school spirit and be all bubbly and stuff like a typical sports-oriented state school- or not.</p>

<p>It seems that most people think that you can't mix the two- intellectualism and FUN- but you can. It just takes a special group to do that.</p>

<p>just a thought</p>

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<p>i was at the april 10 and 11th trip.</p>

<p>i hated the events during the day, like the presentations, were boring and drawn-out. </p>

<p>however, when the parents left, and the uncensored studnt panel began, it got a lot better. my host and the people on her floor were weird and crazy. i also got to visit my friends in pierce the next day and loved it. at this point, i like the people at the school a lot more than the school and classes themselves.</p>

<p>btw, the club fair was a waste of my time.</p>