<p>Are the kids at UofC too socially-reclusive and weird? Do people have time for a social life with all of the work? Are the kids nice?</p>
<p>Are Brown kids too laid-back/hippie-ish? Are people nice?</p>
<p>Thanks for your imput, I just want to get a bearing on all of the stereotypes thrown at me. By the way, my interests lie in the sciences and these two schools are my top choices!</p>
<p>As a current student at Chicago, I'll tackle the Chicago questions.</p>
<p>Socially reclusive and weird? Some are, most aren't. I would say that Chicago kids tend to fall on a sort of bell curve: some are thoroughly geeky by the textbook definition, some don't know how to say hello casually or hold open a door, but at the other extreme, some pop their collars 4 feet in the air and whatnot. So there's a true blend.</p>
<p>And most students fall in between those two extremes. There are times for work and times for play; times to talk about sci-fi and Dr. Who and times to play drinking games and explore the city. Sure, the campus is skewed towards nerd, and our overall nerdfactor is only to be rivalled by Swarthmore, Reed, MIT, Mudd, and CalTech, but I think of the nerdiness as liberating rather than suffocating. No more having to pretend that school doesn't excite you!</p>
<p>And, like any other school on the planet, some kids are extroadinarily nice and some are extroadinarily self-absorbed. I've found it very easy to make friends here, though, so I'd like to think that the majority of the students here are pretty nice. But I wouldn't suggest that the students at Chicago are inherently any nicer (or meaner) than the students at the school across the street. If you like the vibes of Chicago, you'll be like me and think that lots of kids here are nice. If you don't like the vibes, then you won't think the kids here are nice.</p>
<p>A fair and honest appraisal, unalove, particularly for someone who, it seems to me, has found the right place in his or her particular case, to spend four amazing years.
I'm appalled at how much boosterism there is on these threads. True love is always honest, IMO.</p>
<p>I think most of us would agree there's some selective truth to college stereotypes. Remember that while they may help define the core of the student body, outlier factions may actually still represent a majority of the campus.</p>
<p>I'd agree with Unalove's portrayal of Chicago as a diverse school albeit one with a significantly higher than typical "nerdfactor." Most non-nerd comers would still find a lot to like here. That said, and maybe stating the obvious, this is certainly not a place for someone who needs a serious traditional fraternity or D1 sports scene or hopes to coast through four years without cracking a book.</p>
<p>I've never really found Brown hippie-ish. Very liberal, yes. Possibly the most "laid-back" of top universities, yes. Academic quality is high but rigor is less intense. Kids pass-fail an average of one of four courses each semester. </p>
<p>Nice factor? Again, I'd agree with Unalove and extrapolate her answer from Chicago to Brown - if you fit the scene, you'll find the kids nice.</p>
<p>Thanks guys!</p>