<p>As decisions are going out today, I figured it might be nice to start a little admitted students Q&A thread, in case any of you have questions you'd like to ask of an experienced UChicagoan. Of course I can't comment on specific admissions decisions, and have no idea how to get you off the waitlist, but I'd be happy to answer as much as you want to know about housing, Scav Hunt, majors, extracurricular activities, social life, Scav Hunt, Scav Hunt, food, or Scav Hunt.</p>
<p>And, of course, I encourage you to also make use of the Admitted Students website through UChicago, which is incredibly valuable (and has live chat!)</p>
<p>But, if you prefer to post here, feel free to ask away. </p>
<p>What was your academic greatest challenge at Chicago? Obviously, the answer will differ by student, but I am interested in how kids adapt to the environment.</p>
<p>@lullinatalk: yes, definitely! Chicago has a great music scene, and you’ll be able to find pretty much everything you’re looking for. While Hyde Park isn’t really good for much besides classical (although if you’re interested, the University sponsors “Chicago Presents”, which is a really excellent chamber music series), although the Major Activities Board sponsors big names to come give concerts on campus (most recently the likes of Girl Talk, Big Boi, the Decemberists, etc). People often get groups together to go see bigger concerts downtown (I’ve been to a few good ones at the House of Blues) or smaller ones on the North Side, some at theaters and some (21+) at bars. Getting to most of the areas with good concerts takes some time on public transit, but isn’t impossible, especially because Hyde Park is nicely linked to downtown via the Red Line or the #6 bus, which runs straight from east Hyde Park to Michigan Avenue.</p>
<p>@Undclrd: Yes, South Campus and Pierce should be relatively easy to get in to at that time. South Campus is very large, and Pierce is wonderful but not necessarily the first choice of lots of students, so you’re likely to get in to either.</p>
<p>@anothermom, good question! For me it was General Chemistry, mainly because I had been a very good science student (but with little chem background) in high school but found the rigor and expectations of the class much higher than I had expected. I wound up doing just fine, but really had to spend a lot of time working with my TA and other students for help on homework and test prep, and had to just get in the swing of studying lots and spending a lot of time on review. Since I took it they’ve separated non-honors gen chem in to two separate sections, one for students who have chem experience and one without, which seems to have made things a little easier on incoming students with no chem background (but still kept the characteristic rigor).</p>
<p>@Fatum: NO!!! I’ve found people to be very collaborative, especially on projects or assignments. You will often find people working together in the library on problem sets, or asking for friend or classmate input on papers. Just this week (finals week for us) I was working on an intense (about 20 pages) paper for a medical ethics class, and wound up pairing up with one of my classmates to trade papers and look over for edits or comments before turning it in. Living in the house system has advantages in this way as well, as you’ll often be able to ask upperclassmen for help or bounce ideas off of them.
School is hard, and a lot of people have internal pressures to do well and succeed, but this is not the kind of environment where people try and get ahead at the expense of others.</p>
Is Snell-Hitchcock as awesome as it seems? I’m an EA-er and put it as my first choice, but I’ve been told it’s the “geek” dorm. (Though, at UChicago, I’d imagine that’s like Attila calling Genghis a ■■■■■■■, lol.)
What do you know about Off-Off Campus? How competitive is the audition process, for instance?</p>