<p>Student reviews on US News say that UChicago students don't have a lot of school pride. Is this true, is watching people throw or kick a ball around a field the only reason to love your school? UChicago is my #1 choice and it looks like a great college to go to; how do students usually feel about it?</p>
<p>There’s enormous school pride at Chicago. It just isn’t the sort of school pride that’s expressed in really visible ways, like painting your face reddish-purple and dancing around with a giant foam hand signalling #1, or setting cars on fire homecoming weekend. If you could easily measure a smug sense of superiority to everyone going anywhere else, Chicago’s school pride would register off the charts.</p>
<p>As it is, you have to look at the dozens of clever t-shirt slogans. “If It Was Easy, It Would Be Your Mom.” “Beat Me, Whip Me, Make Me Read The Iliad.” You think that’s not school pride?</p>
<p>I am a current student and I agree there is a clear sense of assumed smug intellectuality and intelligence among us, like we “know” were smart. I even recall my humanities professor saying they she was told we were the best undergrads in the country and thus expect highly of us.</p>
<p>Well, JHS, that sounds all right then. Not that a smug sense of intellectual superiority is good or anything, but I think it’s a good idea for students at any school to give off an aura of “MY SCHOOL IS F’N AMAZING”; a lack of pride would make any college depressing.</p>
<p>I’m a current student and I have to point out that at the Homecoming block party, there quite a few people with face paint (and body paint!) and I actually got a foam finger myself haha. The amount of school pride I witnessed today was unbelievable. There was UChicago swag flying everywhere and there was a palpable energy in the air as students celebrated their school. I do agree that maybe it’s not as explicit due to the smaller sports culture. However, I still am immensely proud of my school whether I walk away from a riveting discussion with professors and friends or get back from a fantastic school event that brings the student body together.</p>
<p>We definitely love our school and I can probably say that almost all of us are really glad to be here.</p>
<p>There you go! Face paint, foam fingers, the whole nine yards! </p>
<p>(There’s a formation of pigs flying overhead, and they’re making plans for the ice sculpture competition in Hell . . . .)</p>
<p>@sa0209
IMO the less of a sports culture a school has, the better.</p>
<p>Lol, I’d say that at least 95% of the people there were more excited about the free food (which there was A LOT of) and t-shirts than the actual game. Some quotes I heard while sitting on the bleachers “Cheer, I think we did something good!”, “Oh did we score a goal? It’s called something else right?” and of course “I have like two problems sets and an essay due Monday.” Honestly, I see school spirit in more off the wall activities like Humans vs Zombies and watching presidential debates in one of the theaters of the brand new Logan Arts Center.</p>
<p>@PMCM18</p>
<p>You had me at “free food”, but if what you say is true, then UChicago sounds perfect for me.</p>
<p>I may be wrong, but the purpose to enroll in a University is to get a great , useful education right? School spirit major, must be a new one now…As a proud Mom of a Class of 2016 student, I have a wonderful time this last family weekend, with a temporary tatoo in my face, game scarf and yes…a huge foam finger !! Love every single second of the afternoon and the football game as many students there…</p>
<p>Well, apparently around 3500 people came out for the homecoming football game this year (up at least 50% from years past), and articles like these are popping up more and more in the Maroon:</p>
<p>[First-year</a> first impressions – The Chicago Maroon](<a href=“Saul Bellow, dead at 89 – Chicago Maroon”>Saul Bellow, dead at 89 – Chicago Maroon)</p>
<p>The first few weeks at UChicago seem to be marked by more traditional partying now than in the past, and there also seems to be more tradiitional - read: less cheeky and self-deprecating - enthusiasm about the school now than in the past.</p>
<p>Now, no one will ever confuse this school spirit with a Big Ten School, but UChicago’s school spirit seems to be going away from purely quirky to more traditional Division III strong. The clever t-shirts will remain, but some of the tongue in cheek humor seems to be subsiding.</p>
<p>Cue7, you’re beginning to scare me. I hope that Chicago will retain its old reputation over the coming years if I end up there.</p>
<p>I don’t think the tongue in cheek humor is subsiding nor do I see why a different aspect of school spirit would “scare” someone. If there’s more partying or interest in sports, so be it. It’s just more avenues of interest; it doesn’t mean anything is going away…</p>
<p>No one should choose UChicago because it’s “a haven from partying, sports, etc.” All that stuff is there and one can choose whether he or she wants to pursue those or not.</p>
<p>sa209 - maybe I shouldn’t say the tongue in cheek humor is subsiding, and maybe I should re-phrase: the tongue-in-cheek humor is beginning to share the stage with other forms of school love that really didn’t exist ~10 years ago.</p>
<p>In the past, from what I remember, virtually the ONLY form of school spirit was the tongue in cheek, self-deprecating type stuff. Students who professed an unadulterated love for UChicago, or went to sporting events with foam fingers and face paint would be very, very, very far and few between. </p>
<p>Now, it seems like the ways to express appreciation for the school are certainly multiplying, unless I’m mistaken. Overall, this implies that while UChicago has many signature characteristics, it is less deeply a niche school. I think it’s perfectly fine for a mid-sized national/international university to have signature characteristics but be less of a niche (read: almost uniformly “quirky” - whatever that means) school. </p>
<p>The school is probably becoming more diverse in many senses of the word - and that’s probably a good trend.</p>
<p>I spent parents weekend this past weekend with my son who is proudly quirky, nerdy, and whose humor is very tongue-in-cheek. We spent Saturday nowhere near Ratner field, instead we went to lunch and the local comic book store and the Seminary Co-op Bookstore. He is very happy he chose UChicago (class of '16), and he has made many friends similar to him. PMCM is right-there is much to do other than follow the typical College sports scene-zombies v. humans is huge, doc films, political debates, etc.</p>
<p>Although with 1500 freshman, there are definitely many of the traditional DIII students as well. I believe with so many students now being admitted, there is room for a wider variety of personality types, but I think (and hope) UChicago will never lose the quirky reputation.</p>
<p>There are 3000 (or over 2000) 4-year colleges in US. How many are behind HYP? and how many are better than Chicago?</p>
<p>Aw…objectiveperson, really? Personally speaking, my child, who is a first year at UChicago, is anything but deeply insecure. In fact, she is one of the most secure and intelligent person I have ever met. </p>
<p>So far, she is in no way overbalanced. She is taking 4 classes, and belongs and contributes to at least 3 RSO’s. She found a boyfriend, and reports that she has never had so many friends nor has she ever had so much fun. She is busy for sure, but she likes her life that way.</p>
<p>She actually has no pride in the phrase “where fun comes to die”. I have never heard this phrase uttered by anyone in all of my visits to campus, save one. It was on our very first visit, and the student tour guide said this in response to an inquiry about said phrase, “haha, yeah where fun dies blah blah. No one says that here and no one who actually studies here believes it. It started as a joke but is just not relevant anymore”. </p>
<p>My kid was either accepted or waitlisted at every college she appled to, including a couple of ivies. All fabulous schools. I believe she chose UChicago because of their reputation for academic rigor, and because it looks like Hogwarts. </p>
<p>I do not believe that you actually know anyone that studies there? If you did, you would know that UChicago is as much like a “normal” school as any other…with smarter kids :-)</p>
<p>Dude, you’re just wrong. In all of my visits and after meeting tons of students, no one has ever even mentioned HYP. No one cares!! They choose UChicago because of their own reasons, each has that ability you know, to think for themselves. </p>
<p>No one I have seen has given up anything that they love in order to study at Chicago. You’re being just plain silly.</p>
<p>Well then maybe the new class is different. They are the most engaging, fun kids to be around. And I have also seen a lot of upperclassmen with smiles on their faces. The Off Off show is so stupid its hilarious, and those kids had a blast doing it.</p>
<p>My kid danced pre- professionally in high school, and she is able to pursue this in Chicago as well. In addition to seeing movies and comedy shows and just hanging with friends.</p>
<p>I’m sorry your experience sucked and you seem very bitter. But you get out of something what you put in to it and, well…makes me wonder about you a little :-(</p>
<p>Objectiveperson, you sound like “that kid” who had a bad experience at UC and now tries to compensate for those years by railing on the school every chance you get. Since you seem driven by contempt, I doubt the validity of your statements.</p>