<p>Hi, I am wondering if someone can contrast these two dorms for me. They seem very similar in some aspects, but I'm having trouble differentiating between them in terms of accessibility (I know both are for from campus), spaciousness and the state of the facilities, and their respective communities. Thanks in advance for input!</p>
<p>?? No one from either dorm on CC ??</p>
<pre><code>Everyone out playing in the snow?
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<p>I’m in neither (I live in Breckinridge), but Blackstone is a LOT closer to campus than Broadview. They are also vastly different in terms of amenities—Broadview has singles with private bathrooms, while Blackstone has two-person apartments with individual kitchenettes. I would recommend Blackstone (or Breck!), unless having a single bathroom is a deal-breaking factor.</p>
<p>I would highly recommend Broadview because it’s pretty much the best dorm out there (or maybe I’m a little biased). Yeah, it’s the farthest dorm from campus, but you know what it’s not far from? The Point, the MSI, all of the major bus stops (including the 171, which will take you straight to campus), and all of the best restaurants in Hyde Park. It’s pretty much in the best location in Hyde Park despite the fact that it might take you a 5-10min bus ride or a 15-20min walk to get to campus. The singles with private bathrooms are pretty nice, and the house culture is very tight-knit (everyone hangs out together a LOT). So, you get plenty of privacy when you need it, but you also have a great lounge culture when you really want to be with people (there are ALWAYS people in the lounge playing video games, watching movies, or serving up delicious baked goods). Because we have the most access to downtown (Metra, buses, etc.), we also have tons of house trips downtown. And because we’re by the Point, we have tons of random bonfires.</p>
<p>Thanks for your responses! I have often heard Broadview students claim that the distance from the campus to the dorm is not an inconvenience, but honestly, I’m a little skeptical. I know that the busses run often, but is there still a feeling of an added inconvenience of needing to go home at the end of a long day?
Also, I know that Blackstone (and Breckingridge) are both single house dorms, while there are three houses in Broadview. How does this create a different social life and atmosphere?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>It’s not an inconvenience to “need to go home at the end of the day.” I actually really like the feeling. It’s like you go to school during the day, and you go home at night. So I feel less like I’m living at school and more like I have a real home. To add to that, the lounges here (at least in my house) feel a LOT like a living room at home. I’ve heard the opposite of other dorms such as Max P and South, where the lounges seem to be more nice and “sterile.” I think this is mostly because those dorms have larger houses and thus less tight-knit communities. Still, though, I feel like it’s also a part of the distance thing. It’s so simple for people living on the quads to go out at night to parties and such, but in the further dorms, more people seem to hang out in the lounges. As for Broadview being a three-house dorm, I’m not entirely sure it matters. I think house size is a lot more important than dorm size, and having three houses in Broadview means that each house has fewer people in it. Smaller houses tend to be a lot closer. I know that’s definitely the case with mine. But there are still Broadview-wide events, so you get to know people from the other two houses as well. So I guess it combines that sense of community with the opportunity to meet lots of different people (because there are more people in Broadview than the one-house dorms).</p>
<p>Hi insomniac, i’m mostly decided on choosing Broadview, but I just wanted to ask a few last questions…</p>
<p>1) Is there a Broadview Bubble? I mean are Broadview residents completely disconnected with the rest of the College due to its location?
2) What’s the incidence of having people you can study with like? I mean in terms of study groups, people who can help you with problem sets etc.
3) Is there any particular dominant Major? I would definately want atleast some people going in for a Physics major, from whom I can get advice etc.
4) What’s the percentage of freshman staying there? I heard it’s relatively big (like 50%) which I really liked. I don’t want to go to a dorm where there are barely any freshman (eg Blackstone?)
5) I have already submitted my deposit fees, on which the place in the housing queue is being decided this year. I should be able to get a single with a private bathroom right? Because that’s probably the biggest factor for me…
6) How would you relatively describe the house culture? I mean like is it the ‘typical’ UChicago students, or more independent people, or an athlete/partying/drinking one ? (i’m pretty sure its not the last, but I just want to make sure i’m making the right choice).</p>
<p>Thanks soooo much for all your help 
and thanks to the OP for starting this thread… Choosing a dorm is sooooo difficult.</p>
<p>Sorry, I was going through what I typed and I just realized 2) is redundant. I remember you telling me about the Chem and Physics study group you have. Which is when I started looking into Broadview :).</p>
<p>1) I wouldn’t say there’s necessarily a Broadview Bubble. By that I mean that, while Broadview kids tend to hang out together a lot, there are still plenty of opportunities to get out and meet people from other houses/dorms. Most of my non-Broadview friends are from class, but people also make friends in RSOs and at parties, etc. Still, it’s Broadview, and because it’s the farthest dorm from campus, people tend to hang out together (in the lounge/lobby/library/ballroom/etc.) more than they go out simply because it’s convenient. It’s what you make of it, though.
2) There’s definitely a lot of studying together. I know lots of people within my house who sign up for the same classes just so they can study together. There’s also a lot of studying together for more common classes (Gen Chem, Calculus, etc.). If you need help with a problem set, chances are that someone will be there to help you. Also, people tend to study together within the house because it’s much easier than going to the library with friends from other dorms. I mean, when you’re far from campus, you’d rather just do your homework in the lounge.
3) I can’t really think of a dominant major. We have plenty of people from the sciences, econ, humanities, everywhere really. I think you’ll find that in most dorms, though. There’s a lot of diversity in academic interests throughout the entire UChicago community. As for Gen Physics, I’ll tell you that there are fewer people in physics than in Gen Chem (which is essentially the intro class for most of the science majors), but there are still ENOUGH people in physics to be helpful.
4) According to the housing website, there are 203 residents in Broadview, and approximately 100 of them are first years. So yes, you are correct in thinking that roughly half of Broadview residents are first years. That number seems pretty accurate to me, too, just based on my house.
5) You will almost certainly be given a single with a private bathroom. That’s all we have with the exception of a few doubles in each house. In my house, though, all but one of those doubles were given to upperclassmen who requested to room with a friend. So yeah, you’ll be getting a single with a private bathroom unless you specifically say you want a double or something.
6) When I told my adviser which house/dorm I was in, she replied by saying, “Oh, the grown-up dorm!” According to her, people in Broadview tend to be a lot more mature and independent than your typical first years. I would generally agree with that statement. I mean, private rooms in a dorm far from campus (but in a good commercial area) tend to attract the more independent person. Still, we have people who like to parknit. You’ll do a LOT of stuff with your hty, and we have a few of the quirky UChicago kids. As a house, though, I would NOT say we’re hard core partiers. People in my house tend to party a lot… when they have the time to. And as I’ve previously said, Broadview houses are very tight-ouse… everything from eating, to watching movies in the lounge, to homework, to going downtown, etc.</p>
<p>Hope to see you next year! :)</p>
<p>Wow, my message got mixed up… This:</p>
<p>“who like to parknit. You’ll do a LOT of stuff with your hty, and we have a few of the quirky UChicago kids. As a house, though, I would NOT say we’re hard core partiers. People in my house tend to party a lot… when they have the time to. And as I’ve previously said, Broadview houses are very tight-ouse… everything from eating, to watching movies in the lounge, to homework, to going downtown, etc”</p>
<p>Should be this:</p>
<p>“who like to party, and we have a few of the quirky UChicago kids. As a house, though, I would NOT say we’re hard core partiers. People in my house tend to party a lot… when they have the time to. And as I’ve previously said, Broadview houses are very tight-knit. You’ll do a LOT of stuff with your house… everything from eating, to watching movies in the lounge, to homework, to going downtown, etc”</p>
<p>I’m not really sure how that little phrase got moved… Sorry about that!</p>
<p>Darn, I wanted to hear about parkniting.</p>
<p>Wait, is Blackstone mostly upperclassmen? I was leaning towards it as my first choice, but I’m wondering now if it’d be weird if <em>everyone</em> was older?</p>
<p>Each year a slew of them graduate and each year you’ll be older.</p>