<p>Hey, if anyone wants to ask questions about chicago, just post. I am about to finish my first year at the UofC, and would be willing to help anyone in need of insight.
dan</p>
<p>do you like it? seriously - i've never visited and therefore cannot formulate my own opinion. i've just been latching on to everything everyone else is saying...which ranges from very miserable to wonderful. help us out.</p>
<p>I really love it. The only thing i can say is that you should come and visit if at all possibe. The best thing is to walk on the quads on a sunny day and see being reading plao and aristotle while eating sushi. Also on a personal note, I have a friend here who is also from Katy</p>
<p>any info you think we should know before our admitted students overnights?</p>
<p>yay - positive feedback is always reassuring. I'll be going to the overnight event 14th-15th, very excited about that. do you know where your friend went to highschool? heh, small world. anyways, wats ur major, and how difficult are the classes/do ur peers actively participate during inclass discussions? thank you for taking ur time to do this. it's of tremendous help. : )</p>
<p>despite all the work i've been hearing about, are students still able to maintain active social lives?</p>
<p>phoniex, how many credits did you take each quarter, and has it seemed like a reasonable load so far. Also how many hours, on an average do you think you put into out-of-classroom effort.
Did you come into Chicago with any AP credits?</p>
<p>My D is from Spring - Hi, Katy! Also accepted and attending 14-15 overnight. Exactly how heavy is the workload?</p>
<p>to glOry, i do not know where she went to high school, but as it gets closer i can give you more info. </p>
<p>I am majoring in political science and maybe history or classics as a second major. As far as class difficulty, i find them to be challenging, but alot of it is what you put into it. I care alot about my grades so i work hard and do well. My peers do tend to like to talk, but then again alot of it is based on your professors. The university has a teacher evaluation system, and older peers are always good to ask, so as long as you research, you will be fine.</p>
<p>Edison, I travel on two competitive debates teams, help run two MUN conferences, work on student government, and spend alot of time with my friends. honestly, I am a huge nerd but here if you want you will find friends. The best thing is to get out of your room, because their are people who spend 24/7 in their rooms or in the reg (the library)</p>
<p>chocoholic,
the average person takes 3 or 4 classes a quarter. Because of ap credit, i will never need to take 4 classes and because of my travel schedule (for debate) i will most likely only ever take 3 at a time. taking 3 classes means i have about 10 or 12 hours of class a week. for every hour in class i put in about 1-2 hours out of class. This is really doable. For almost everything you get out what you put in. Also, as far as ap's, I took 12 aps in high school, and I got placed out of core bio, and a few elective credits. This is not great, but it could have been far worse. If I had taken more math and science aps in high school, then I could have placed out of more, but being a history/poli sci/ classics person, i did not.</p>
<p>Evitajr1, my comments above answer your question, but I want to note that alot of it depends on your major and other such things. I have a friend who is a drama major who takes 7 hours of class a week, and physics/math/chem/bio majors who have 15 hours of class a week. Almost no one takes more then 15 hours of class a week, and if you are smart and are cognizent of what and when you taking you can not only survive, but also, also excel inside and outside of class.</p>
<p>Thank you Phoenix.
Chicago is not generous at all with AP credits. My D could technically go in as a sophomors at many schools.
How have your grades been so far? It does not sound like you have to work too hard . Also what kind of debate do you do (is it LD), and what kind of time committment is that........is the travel local, or to distant schools....and since it is a University club, I assume, Chicago does take care of the travel?</p>
<p>U.Chicago is probably the only school that one hears so much negative rumor about. And I do say rumor, because most of it seems to be from people that do not attend there.
What schools did you turn down to go there? You sound happy enough to me.</p>
<p>Enumerated list time.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Is alcohol common in the dorms? Is there ever drinking within the houses (in dorm rooms)?</p></li>
<li><p>Where do you live? If far from the Quads, is the building you're at worth the walk or ride?</p></li>
<li><p>Do different living quarters have widely different personalities and types of students? For example, is Burton-Judson known for bookworms? Is Max P. the most social? How's Snell-Hitchcock?</p></li>
<li><p>I've heard that many Chicago undergrads leave Chicago for grad or law school. Do you think you would stay in Chicago after graduating, or would you flee before the the University's Gothic grip closed too tightly on your life? :P</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks, and pardon the randomness.</p>
<p>Chocoholic,
I am not so sure if i should take the comment that i do not work to hard as a position or negative comments, but presuming it is good, i thank you. As far as my grades i will have a 3.6ish gpa after this year. To me, this is acceptable but no optimal consider I want to go to a jd/ph.d program, so i want between a 3.8-3.9 when i graduate. Also, as i said alot of it is what you put into it. I took a hum core course with a world renown classics professors, an amazing ta who is a double ph.d candidate, and twently one other kids (yes that is the quality of the teaching staff, and the class sizes you get), and I got a B+ in it, and although that dropped my gpa, in hindsight i would make the same decesion. As far as debate, I am involved with our parlimentariary debate team which travels to 12 or 13 tournaments a year, and that is covered by the team. Those tournmanets are east coast, west coast, and in europe. I also am on our Model United Nations team (which is the #1 team in the nation) and we travel all over the states and in Canada. We were invited to go to international tournaments, but because the tournament we host conflicted, we could not. For those their is a nominal fee, but if you cannot pay, the team covers that fee, so that no one is not included because they cannot pay. As far as where i turned down, the main decesion was between chicago (which i got into ea), georgetown sfs, and bu (their university professor's program, with a full ride)</p>
<p>Brinestorm (thank you for the list, that makes it much easier)
1. Liquor is consumed at every college in the country, and chicago is no different. We do drink in our dorm rooms, but it is not a major social vechile. I do not drink, so if that is a concern of yours, do not be alarmed. If it is a concern that they do not drink, their are oppurtunities for that to.
2. I live in max, which has an awesome location, and that is about it. I am going to most likely get an apartment next year, but it is so close to campus it might as well be on it.
3. Yes, and no. I live in max, and all kinds live here, as they do to some degree in all dorms. However, I think living close to campus is better for those who want to be involved, just for ease. BJ is not just for book worms, and Max P is not just for socialiates. Snell-Hitchock is nice, but they are the most insular group, at least in my observation. But, then again I know alot of them, so it is really up to the individual
4. As i said i plan on going into a jd/ph.d, and because I probably want an academic career, going to the same college for undergrad and grad is a major taboo. Also, being from nj, I miss the atlantic seaboard. However, that is not to say that everyone leaves. I know a girl, who is graduating after 3 years (a year early) with a double major in pol sci, and slavic studies, and was accepted to uofc law school, and is staying. Like i said it is really about the individual.</p>
<p>I am going to bed because I have every class on tuesdays and thursday, so i will reply to all posts late tomorrow. sorry for the inconvience</p>
<p>Phoniex
My comment was a compliment to your obvious capabilities, and 3.6 sounds like a lot higher than e have been warned to expect on the Chicago boards.
Thank you for all the debate info. I am impressed that you have the time for such a time-consuming activity, and 2 teams at that!!
I will try and do my questions number or bullet-style, instead of wandering,okay?
G'nite.</p>
<p>No offense taken. Chicago is a great school, and instead of going to sleep i was having a take with some of my friends about the cultural-socio anthropology of the black panther movement. anyone who wants more questiosn answered no problem, and i will respond tomorrow</p>
<p>I swear i am going to bed, but I just wanted to respond to the earlier post about the prospie (prospective student) weekend. As far as courses, look at the chicago time schedule, and then ask prof's if you can sit in, I would gather they would almost uniformly say yes. You have no control over which dorm you are put in, but just talk to people on and around campus, and get the pulse of the campus. Also, I think if you can get off campus and explore the hyde park community (I would do this with a students or someone familar with the area) it is a good thing. Also, and this is beyond your control, the place is alot nicer in good weather, so just hope for good weather</p>
<p>1) Does the weather bother you? You mentioned you missed the Atlantic seaboard, so I imagine cold/wet/snowy isn't new to you, but I still wonder if the snow is that bad. (For the record, I'm from California, but I'm used to snowfall averaging about 1-2 feet, though have also seen upwards of 6.)</p>
<p>2) Was Max P. your first choice for rooming? Have you gotten along pretty well with your room- and floormates? How about the RHs and RAs?</p>
<p>2a) How's the food? :></p>
<p>3) Did you have trouble getting into the classes you wanted? A lot of freshman find they're edged out of the 'interesting' classes by upperclassmen, and though I know the first year is very core-heavy, is it all you have room to take?</p>
<p>4) How is Ratner? The Reg? The other facilities on campus (art, sport, study, etc.)?</p>
<p>5) How have the dorm activities been? I heard that there are weekly (!) dorm/floor activities.</p>
<p>Undecieded
1. The weather bothers everyone, but you deal with it. It cerianly makes me like the sunny and 70 degrees it was today alot more. I guess i miss the ocean, but that is something that alot of people never experience and therefore cannot miss. The snow is not that bad, just get some boots and a warm coat.
2. I like max alot, the location is awesome, but I do not spend alot of time in my room. I guess it is just me, but i like to live in one space and work in another, so to live it is great, and to work it is awesome because of the proximitiy to a few coffee houses and the reg. As far as my first choice last year, i do not recall at the moment. I do not get along great with 2/4 suitemates, but the other one (the one from irvine) is my best friend here, and we are living together here. People tend to form social circles in there activiites, so other then the first few weeks you learn to find people in your niche. I would say that where you live should depend the most on how close you want to be to campus. As far as Ra's and Rh's, they are awesome this year, and we all hang out and do stuff. The RA's are more like older brothers/sisters, so it is not a paternalistic model, and they will not punish you, but are more there to show you the ropes. My RH's are awesome, and are there 24/7 for any problems. Also, RH's are really good resources for learning about the community and city because they are usually grad student couples, or professors, so they have a longer memory then even most students.
2a. The wall street journal says our food is in the top5, but it gets boring after a while, so i go downtown alot to eat, especially on weekends. I wish i could give you a better answer, but then again a more specific question would help
3. THis year i took alot of core classes, but from people being around, most professors will pink slip you into any class. Two examples of this come to mind. I was enrolled in a law school class this quarter and went to it, no problem, but as things turned out i could not continue taking it. Another friend of mine, a first-year, is in a seminar with our #1 pol sci professor, just by asking him, so i have not seen it a problem
4. The reg is awesome, i use it alot, but then again I am a nerd, and like to work there. Ratner is good, i use it 3 or 4 times a week. It can be a little busy at times, but other then that it is good. I do not really know about the art/music/drama facilities, so on that I am not going to be able to give you an answer.
5. Dorm activities are nice, and good, and quite often. We do alot of stuff, but then again, something is aways happening so, it is not a big deal if you want to do something else. Again a more specific question yields a more specific answer.</p>
<p>Hey everyone,
I'm a high school senior from Portland, Oregon and I'm 90% sure I'm going to go to Chicago in the fall. I've got a couple of questions that the University isn't answering and I'm hoping some first or second-year students would be able to take a crack at 'em. Also, I think it'd be great to chat with other prospective students about fears/worries/aspirations/goals etc. Anyone interested? I'm starting to feel a little overwhelmed (but excited) about this whole college thing, someone to digest the experience with would be heaps appreciated.
Thanks,
pdxSenior</p>
<p>Thanks, phoenix2008. :)</p>
<p>The answers you gave were very helpful. I'm sorry about the broadness of the questions; I actually can't think of anything more specific -- I was interested in a general impression regarding the food, and had just heard that there were dorm activities regularly and wondered if that was true. </p>
<p>I'm a transfer hopeful -- I still have 'til mid-May until they reject me and dash my hopes of attending. ;)</p>