<p>So I'm so not a get-drunk-every-weekend-super-duper-extroverted partygirl, BUT I would like to live in a dorm that has some pretty social people who like to have fun. I mean I am definitely academically oriented, but that's not all that college is about, right? Any dorm suggestions?</p>
<p>(Oh, and this may be kind of silly to say, but a dorm that is social AND has that lovely Gothic architecture would be nice. :))</p>
<p>I mean, Max P and South are pretty safe dorms for people wanting a more ‘normal’ college experience. There is also Pierce but the rooms are small and it isn’t kept up very well.</p>
<p>A more UChicago-esque dorm is BJ. Then there are smaller dorms which are mostly dependent on who lives there (and since they are small, it can fluctuate pretty rapidly): Blackstone, Breckinridge, Stony, Broadview.</p>
<p>And then there is Snell-Hitchcock which has the reputation of being the most ‘UChicago’.</p>
<p>You are pretty vague in your description. Feel free to PM me if you don’t want to share more details via the forum (3rd year here).</p>
<p>I’m a guy and I’m looking for a more social dorm preferably without single rooms, but also with cool fireside chats and intellectual discussion. I’m confused about the housing process, though- do they put you randomly in dorms? And how do the residential communities work?</p>
<p>No. It is not a random process. There are people in housing who personally place you into a dorm based on your listed preferences. It is a good idea to be honest while filling out the form, as they know the dorms very well and have an awesome track record of placing people in dorms they love.</p>
<p>They say in the admissions material that the sooner you send in your deposit, the sooner you get placed in the housing queue and are more likely to get the dorm / house you want.
I lived in Blackstone for a bit. Don’t choose Blackstone, ok–unless you’re a monk–even by UChicago standards. Shoreland is gone. South Campus and maybe Max Palevsky look like good options to me for a more social environment–of course, I have only walked by them! LOL! (I was visiting between quarters.)</p>
<p>How do Breckinridge, Maclean, Blackstone, and Broadview compare in terms of student composition (% first yaer) and social atmosphere? I want to live in a dorm that has a reasonable proportion of first-years so I won’t feel isolated. At the same time, I’d like one where partying and drinking are not excessive. Thanks.</p>
<p>We used to call Blackstone the Black Hole. It’s quiet. There were a lot of first-years on my floor. I don’t drink; still, personally I’d go for one of the nice new dorms. Or maybe Breck or Broadview or Maclean, which I think are a bit larger. Blackstone is maybe 80.
Well, you’ll hear what other people say but if you have a chance to visit before you decide, I would recommend that. Once you see what the dorms are and where they are located and how big they are, you’ll know what seems right to you. At the very least do Google Earth or something and fly over campus. :)</p>
<p>SRHS12 i’m in the same position as you! i definitely want a social dorm. i have been told mas p and south are both good options… </p>
<p>can someone tell me more about how is Snell-Hitchcock?</p>
<p>Snitchcock’s filled with Aspies.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>I’m just kidding, haha. It’s pretty social from what I’ve seen of it, and the Snitchcock people I’m acquainted with are all fun folks. I’ve been told by one of them that there’s definitely a higher percentage of “weird” folks in Snitchcock than in the other dorms though, and she said that there’s a bit of truth in the statement that it’s filled with more socially-inept students. Take from that what you will; personally, I haven’t met anyone too socially awkward from that dorm yet, but I don’t live there. They’re generally way more into UChicago-esque sort of interests – Doctor Who’s apparently huge there, and Scav obviously (and randomly, I’ve been told that a lot of them are in RACK, UChicago’s BDSM club) – and have what seems to me (as an outsider) a fairly tight-knit community.</p>
<p>I live in BJ, which I feel has a good mixture of social folks and more quiet sort of people. If you want to be social, you can be, and if you want to be all gung-ho about your house or Scav, you definitely can be, but if you want to be a hermit and hide in your room, that’s also a possibility.</p>
<p>P.S. As I recall, the reason I ended up in Blackstone was that I sent in my housing form very late; don’t make the same mistake. LOL! (I did know a lot of people in Blackstone and there was quite a bit of interaction on our floor; but it’s a small dorm and at the time it felt kind of far from campus. Not that a 10 minute walk will kill you! :))</p>
<p>I eventually moved to Shoreland, which was quite a bit more social, but the new dorms are much nicer and closer to campus.</p>
<p>truth123: Shoreland was a blast. And that view! So many all-nighters in that lounge with the sun rising over Lake Michigan.</p>
<p>But it didn’t seem that cool at the time, actually. If I could do it all again, I’d pick Snell-Hitchcock or BJ just for the architecture. The people, not so much…</p>
<p>Edit: Okay, I think that came out wrong. I don’t mean to offend any people in Snell-Hitchcock or BJ. It’s simply that, as other posters have pointed out, the dorm culture there is a bit different than the larger dorms and not necessarily a good fit for my personality. That said, they are absolutely gorgeous places to live.</p>
<p>^What do you mean, are they extremely anti-social or something?</p>
<p>No, they are social in their own way. They tend to be somewhat “incestuous”, though, and are more typically UChicago “quirky” than the population at large. But, man, those dorms sure are pretty…</p>
<p>Ah, alright. I guess I’ll have to do some more searching on which dorm I want to live in, because although I do value the quirky/intellectual side of most UChicago students, I’d also like to balance it with a pretty socially active and outgoing bunch who I can take part in IM sports with or just hang out with.</p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong, I think that you can definitely get that at Snell-Hitchcock/BJ. In fact, those two dorms have historically been some of the most tightly knit and social dorms on campus. </p>
<p>I lived in Shoreland when I was at UChicago and while it was very, very social, most of my close friends were from other dorms and I’m barely in touch with people from my house now.</p>
<p>The Snell-Hitchcock/BJ people, on the other hand, usually stay in touch with each other for the rest of their lives, it seems.</p>
<p>I step in to defend Pierce. It is, to my knowledge, far, far, more social than Max or South, and all signs point to the University stepping in as soon as possible to fix all of its rather grave infrastructural problems.</p>
<p>Uh. Pierce is not more social than Max. Maybe more than South.</p>
<p>^I say this because in Pierce it’s common to know and be friendly with everybody in your house. I may very well be wrong here, but I hear from others that in these dorms, you might not even know the names of everybody in your house. (Feel free to correct me if I’m off-base; I’m just going on what I’ve heard from others.) In this respect, Pierce is a top contender for “social dorm”, and, again, the University doesn’t seem to be neglecting it any longer.</p>
<p>I lived in Max P my first year - it was fun, lively and always buzzing with people. I don’t think there was a single night when I walked down the hallway to my room and didn’t pass people sitting out in the halls and chatting. My best friends and current off-campus roommates are all Maxites.<br>
That being said - the houses there are generally pretty large (70 students+), which in some ways is wonderful (lots of friends) and in some ways lacks the intense close-knitted-ness of a smaller house. There are different ways to define social, I think.
Max fit mine. As did South and Pierce.
Snitchcock and B-J are in no way less ‘social’, they just have a different kind of closer-knit community, and in many ways that can be better.</p>
<p>As a student here, I can put some real input here. I wouldn’t judge for a dorm based on the “social” aspect alone, but rather based on their location. The dorms near the Gyms/athletic centers have the most athletes (Pierce and Max). Max in PARTICULAR has the most athletes on campus, since the volleyball players (girls) and football players (guys) all stay in max during the summer for an early-training start to their respective seasons. Max, thus, is definitely a sociable setting because of the presence of athletes. Pierce (this is where I live) is the closest dorm to Ratner (the main athletic center) and is on TOP of the dining hall (dining hall is on the first floor). The rooms are also based around a center two story lounge which is, in my opinion, a huge social zone for everyone. Most dorms have lounges, but Pierce is designed in a way where the lounge is dead center on each floor, so it’s very convenient, rather than “out of the way”. Pierce was just refurnished this past week and it’s quality is AMAZING in comparison to before. The last final dorm I would recommend is South… it is equal distance to all the classrooms as is Pierce, but the only disadvantage is its far distance to the gyms. South has it’s own dining hall, it is the largest dormitory on campus, and it is brand new (the rooms are NICE as hell). If you want to be where all the room parties are and are looking for guys to hook up with during O week, I’m sure Max will serve it’s purpose… or if you just want to be in the middle of everything, it is also great for that too. I think South and Pierce are a little bit more academically focused (less athletes in each dorm), but they are in no way boring. All three are very balanced. If you have further questions let me know.</p>
<p>Btw… I’m an athlete so don’t think I’m bashing or trying to be biased lol.</p>