<p>My recent visit to UChicago has raised some questions about building upkeep. While I'm certain that I'll apply and think the intellectual atmosphere is perfect for me, I felt like the facilities weren't as nice as I expected.</p>
<p>I love the Gothic architecture but some parts looked to be slightly shabby. I also got a distinct impression of utilitarianism from the newer buildings. Overall, the campus just didn't wow me.</p>
<p>Now, I don't want to seem too judgmental. It might just be when I visited was a poor time, or the <em>lovely</em> Chicago weather put the campus in a poor light. Still, I visited Northwestern the next day and was far more impressed by the facilities (if not the academics).</p>
<p>So, has anyone else noticed this on visits? Is there some budget shortfall?</p>
<p>If anything, I think the University puts too much money into buildings and grounds. Those of us who watch the grass re-sodded every year know what we’re complaining about :-).</p>
<p>On a general note, though, I should mention that campus beauty should be low on your priority list unless you have a strong negative reaction to a campus. No matter where you go, you will become adjusted to the campus environment and it won’t be quite as pretty as when you first visited, nor will a pretty campus make or break a college experience. However, I would pay attention to campus setup.</p>
<p>For example, I once visited a good friend of mine who attends an outstanding and beautiful LAC. However, this LAC is set off from the rest of civilization by cast iron gates, there are all these winding paths that lead to nowhere, and the campus reminded me of Oz or some other deranged fantasy land. Even though the campus is physically beautiful, the campus setup and other setups like it make me want to scream! </p>
<p>Some people will probably feel the opposite way upon seeing cars parked on Ellis and University.</p>
<p>Mostly the main quad and one of the dorms (I forget its name).</p>
<p>Truth be told, I live in Vermont and am perhaps not accustomed enough to the urban setting of UChicago. Still, your description of the LAC appeals to me. (What LAC, btw?)</p>
<p>I do think the campus beauty should be a low factor, especially considering the stellar academic and intellectual environment of UChicago. Still, in choosing where I’ll be spending 4 years of my life, I’d rather surround myself with an environment which inspires me.</p>
<p>I plan to visit again next year (I’m a Junior) and hope I get a different impression then.</p>
<p>I have to agree, the campus is looking a bit shabby. I went there in the late 70’s, and what I notice is how poorly maintained the woodwork is. Every exterior door needed a coat of varnish when I visited this summer, the interior of Ida Noyes was just depressing, and little things like scratched-up bulletin boards and gaping holes where payphones were removed really surprised me.</p>
<p>The grounds look better than they did in my time, but the buildings need some attention. I was surprised since these items are petty cash compared to the major projects they have going.</p>
<p>We visited recently, had beautiful fall weather for almost two days and didn’t notice any major state of disrepair. Some of the old buildings and their accoutrements reminded me of my parents blender: 30 years old, working perfectly well, God forbid we throw it away, but definitely looking kind of dated (Scorpio–funny, thought the same about Ida Noyes). Then again, this is a 100+ year old university and not a trendy restaurant. There’s a lot of new construction and remodeling (did you visit Harper?). Suggested to S when he applied 2 years ago to try to get into a new dorm, though. He did and is very happy. What made me not be wowed the first time we visited was, besides the winter weather, that there was regular car and bus traffic crisscrossing the campus. Once we made peace with the fact that this is an urban type university, it stopped being an issue.</p>
<p>Scorpio1: That’s exactly the kind of thing I noticed. Its nothing too bad, just a general sense of shabbiness.</p>
<p>And yes, I recognize that the college is over 100 years old. But so are many other universities and colleges which seem to be much better maintained.</p>
<p>I just hope this was a mistaken impression or a temporary situation, since I absolutely love the climate of UChicago.</p>
<p>Take for example the stairs in BJ. They’ve been used so much that they’re no longer flat but instead show signs of concavity. And the bathrooms in there kinda remind me of a horror movie.</p>
<p>We actually complain about this all the time. My friends and I make all sorts of jokes about how they re-sod the grass multiple times per year, yet they can’t seem to get the energy to clean the mold out of the bathrooms. However, I really wouldn’t let this deter you from coming here. The Gothic buildings in general make up for this with their shear awesomeness, and this is coming from someone who is a completely insane neat freak.</p>
<p>The doors really bother me. I’m thrilled they’re turning Harper into a “dynamic study space,” but while they’re doing that it would be nice if they sent a maintenance man out with a paint brush and a can of varnish to do the doors. God lives in the details.</p>
<p>It’s like seeing a man wearing a new tailor-made suit, and then looking down and seeing he didn’t bother to shine his shoes.</p>
<p>^^ This conversation is hysterical to me. I’ve never noticed ANY of the things mentioned. I think Ida’s a beautiful building, and nothing about its upkeep has ever bothered me.</p>
<p>… cleanliness is in the eye of the beholder?</p>
<p>I guess I’m generally fine with beat-up woodwork. Ida Noyes is my favorite building on campus. And every time I see the BJ stairs, I sort of reminisce about how many people have walked on them. But moldy bathrooms are not my thing.</p>
<p>Perhaps a note to Dean Boyer and the new Admissions VP on the effects of mold and unvarnished doors on student life and perceptions might have a positive effect. Nothing like hearing from the customers.</p>
<p>At least we can’t complain about the quality of the materials used: 100 years old and still nothing that a little pressure cleaning or varnish won’t fix. Some money is being spent on upkeep because we had a meeting in a second floor room at Ida Noyes and it had a beautifully restored ceiling with lots of wood carvings, and lets not forget about the carillon at Rockefeller Chapel (we had a wonderful tour with the “Head Carillon Master” and were able to get the whole history and climb all 300+ steps to the top. The view is stunning.</p>
<p>We visited only after my S was accepted. Of course we expected a gritty, urban university; however, we were really turned off by the lack of maintenance of the buildings. I remember remarking how gorgeous many of them could be, if they had only been cleaned once or twice since 1917. I love old buildings, but the lack of care of them made me wonder what else about the university could possibly be smoke and mirrors. (We visited on a couple of gorgeous spring days.)</p>
<p>??? Maybe my standards are horribly low, but I have never had a sense that building maintenance was a significant issue. (With the exception of the Shoreland, which the University had already sold, which was slated for a complete gutting, and which was effectively on a year-to-year lease for its last five years. No one did more maintenance on that building than was necessary to prevent immediate serious bodily harm to students, and it was pretty darn squalid.) </p>
<p>When I was intimately familiar with building maintenance at Harvard, Yale, and Stanford in the mid-late-70s, it wasn’t noticeably better than Chicago today.</p>