Current Chicago First Year answering questions

<p>oh, just remebered, 6. Is it possible to chose your schedule the first year? that is, is there much options, or is it basically told to you?</p>

<p>I'll give phoenix2008 a break and answer these, though phoenix, feel free to add/amend...</p>

<p>
[quote]
1 So, i take it the first year students CAN get singles?
Do you know how many do, and if i should send my deposit and request form asap, or if it can wait some time?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Yes, freshman can get singles. It is too late to get the best singles, those in Snell, so no need to rush in your deposit. Singles in BJ and Broadview are easy to get regardless. That being said, and this is for everyone, getting a single your first year in college is simply a ridiculous idea. Have a roomate, get to know people, have fun. Don't get a single. Especially don't get a single because the two dorms where singles are readily available to freshman - BJ and Broadview - are in terrible locations, are horribly anti-social, and just depressing places to live, especially Broadview.</p>

<p>
[quote]
2. You mentioned you have some bio/chem/math majoring students, do you know how hard their work loar is? Is it possible for them to get as involved as you in extracurricular things?

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</p>

<p>The work for Bio/Chem is very intense. In fact, be prepared for 8.30AM classes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for the first two years of college. The only classes that start that early here are Bio/Chem/Physics classes. There are also labs added on top of that...some lab sections meet for as much as four hours at a time, and some meet on Friday nights(!). The workload is intense, but if Chem/Bio is your thing, you'll enjoy it, and that is what matters. With time management, you can juggle it with whatever extracirriculars you want.</p>

<p>
[quote]
3. At my interview, i was told that some people are involved in intramural sports and that it is not as committing as being on a team. Anything that you know/ can say about it?

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</p>

<p>Intramural sports are basicly amateur sport leagues. You can join a team, there may be a few practices to go to, but in the end, it is played for fun, not compieition. There is very little commitment.</p>

<p>
[quote]
4. i am planning to stay over the weekend on my own (with a friend) when i visit, so i am wondering if you know where it would eb better to find a hotel? Something not very expensive, within the city borders. I don't have any friends who live in Chicago that i could've asked

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</p>

<p>There is one hotel in Hyde Park if you want to stay in the nieghborhood, it is the Carolan Apt Hotel. Staying in the city, budget options are limited. There is a Sheraton and a Hilton Inn, but the rest are upscale, like Four Seasons,
Pennisula, The Drake, etc.</p>

<p>
[quote]
6. Is it possible to chose your schedule the first year? that is, is there much options, or is it basically told to you?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>This is college, you do whatever you want. You have some core requirements that you will want to get out of the way as a freshman, but you still do whatever you want.</p>

<p>xploncuk, where in jersey are you from? I hail from edison
1. Yes, but you would need to live in a dorm with only singles. I would not suggest you go do so. If you do want to do it i would do it immediately
2. Yes, i know alot of them do get as involved as i am. Again it is just a matter of scheduling and organization
3.I know they have them, and if you want to see them i would go to athletics.uchicago.edu that is all i know about them it is just really a for fun thing
4.I am confused as to why you are not doing the prospie program. If you are coming then or any other time you should stay at a dorm</p>

<ol>
<li>the only thing you really need to do is to take 2 or 3 hum classes, and technically you do not need to do that. as long as you take the courses you need in the sequences such that they fufufill the g.e.'s and the major requirements, you are all set.</li>
</ol>

<p>now i see that keelee and i agree almost totally. have a good night guys, i will get questions done a little faster tomorrow</p>

<p>Thanks, guys, that was quite helpful!!</p>

<p>I'm from Highland Park, right next to edison!! Which school did you go to?</p>

<p>Hey xploncuk, send me a message on aim or private message me. I then we can catch up on jersey. Also if anyone is coming to prospie, just let me know you want to sit down and just chat or i can let you onto what is going down on campus, let me know.
dan</p>

<p>i picked broadview as my first choice because many people seemed to like it a lot. they said it is every social up there. plus, i need to know that my bathroom is clean. hm...i am only planning to sleep, clean up, and dress in my room so why does it matter if i have a roommate? is it that important? i don't want to be in a depressing place.</p>

<p>j10cpc5000,
If you enjoy Broadview then that is what counts. To me the priority is being close to campus, that is why i chose max. Although you say that you will not spend that much time in your room, you may end up doing so. The real trick is that you can switch dorms after the first or second quarters, so do not fret about where you are going to live to much</p>

<p>
[quote]
i picked broadview as my first choice because many people seemed to like it a lot. they said it is every social up there. plus, i need to know that my bathroom is clean. hm...i am only planning to sleep, clean up, and dress in my room so why does it matter if i have a roommate? is it that important? i don't want to be in a depressing place.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>As long as you like, that is what matters.</p>

<p>However, Broadview is by far the least social dorm on campus. I know two first-years who moved out after one quarter there.</p>

<p>Hi~
I need help on deciding which dorm to select, too!!
Could you please help me? I would like to be in a close-knit
community setting that's not located far from the classes,
the dining hall, and the library...<br>
Having a single room would be ideal..</p>

<p>Which house(or dorm) has the nicer rooms and the
homey feeling to it???</p>

<p>Thank you very much~~</p>

<p>P.S. - I'm from Northern NJ, Pheonix....!! Nice to meet you.</p>

<p>Husky,
Your options are pierce, bj, palevsky, and snell-hitchock.I am not sure about the homey feel. About rooms, they all have a different form of nicness. Come out to visit and then make a decesion, or as i said before you can always switch rooms after winted break.</p>

<p>Thank you for your advice...!! </p>

<p>Since I can't visit the campus before the orientation, I'm afraid that I have to pick a dorm based on descriptions and practicality.</p>

<p>Personally, I would love to have a single room and a private bath, but I'm not sure if I should sacrifice my convenience of being closer to the quad and social opportunity by picking Broadview.....So may I ask you some questions regarding the matter?</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Do you think having a single room can be an obstacle in making friends and having a social life(my idea of fun is hanging out with friends and having intellectual/silly discussions..you get the idea)?</p></li>
<li><p>What are the pros and cons of the Broadview?</p></li>
<li><p>Since I guess I'm already too late to request a single room in Snell, what is BJ like and how far is it from the quad?</p></li>
<li><p>What are could be the problems of having a dorm far from the main quad
when the campus bus system exists(meaning.. it seems like the distance/weather should not matter or does it..?).</p></li>
<li><p>Why do you like Max P? I would love to live there(it's new,convenient, and socialable+has private baths), but my only concern is having a roomate(I would hate to limit and adjust my actions and living patterns.. Also, there are a lot more complications in this issue for girls. )..</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Thank you very much...</p>

<p>Husky,
i guess i will just go through your questions one-by-one
1. I would say yes, but then again that is your choice. THere are people in max who sit in front of there computers all day, and those in breck or broadview that are very social
2. I have never been in broadview, and i do not recall off hand anyone who i know who lives there
3. Bj is pretty cool, but if you could ask a specifc questions i could give you a specific answer. It is about a 5 minute walk from the quad in good weather
4. To me it is just a efficiency perspective. I would hate to get up earlier then i do when i have a morning class to take a bus to campus.
5. Most people just cohabitat with their roomates, and are not friends. but then again i am not female, so it is hard for me to have a good perspecitve on this</p>

<p>I'll supplement phoenix2008's answers....</p>

<p>
[quote]
1. Do you think having a single room can be an obstacle in making friends and having a social life(my idea of fun is hanging out with friends and having intellectual/silly discussions..you get the idea)?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>For the most part, yes. It depends on your personallity. If you are a very social person, probably not. If you typically are shy, then yes. However, the real problem lies in something else: regardless of wether you are a social butterfly or not, if you live in a single as a freshmen you will be living, most likely, in BJ, Snell, or Broadview. The people in those dorms are, in general, not social. So you may be fine going around finding someone to chill with, but you might not find anyone, especially in Broadview.</p>

<p>
[quote]
2. What are the pros and cons of the Broadview?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>There are no pros. It is the single most depressing dorm on the entire campus. I've visited, it is seriously like a desolate mental institution walking through the hallways. People don't talk to each other, people don't leave their rooms, people don't hang out in the hallways. It is far from campus and requires a bus ride to get to class...not a fun thing to do in 6 inches of snow. Overall, Broadview is the single worst place to live on campus. Don't live there.</p>

<p>
[quote]
3. Since I guess I'm already too late to request a single room in Snell, what is BJ like and how far is it from the quad?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>You either love it or hate it. The people I know that live there hate it, but, then again, they have "Max/Pierce" personalities. BJ is a lot more social than other single dorm places, but still nothing like Max, Shoreland, or Pierce. It is a "different" type of social. It is about a 10 minute walk to the quad (no bus service), which can be treacherous in the winter.</p>

<p>
[quote]
4. What are could be the problems of having a dorm far from the main quad
when the campus bus system exists(meaning.. it seems like the distance/weather should not matter or does it..?).

[/quote]
</p>

<p>1) Buses can be late, and often are.
2) Busses can break, and often do, especially in the winter.
3) Busses can get very crowded, and often do in the morning.
4) Busses can be very unreliable.
5) When you oversleep and wake up 15 minute before your class, busses won't get you there in fifteen minutes (as opposed to living on campus, where you can walk there in ten minutes)
6) Is waiting in the snow in 0 degree weather for the bus fun?
7) There is no bus service to BJ.</p>

<p>
[quote]
5. Why do you like Max P? I would love to live there(it's new,convenient, and socialable+has private baths), but my only concern is having a roomate(I would hate to limit and adjust my actions and living patterns.. Also, there are a lot more complications in this issue for girls. )..

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Having a roomate is not a big deal. You don't have to adjust anything. Just relax about it, and enjoy it. Have a roomate, it is a good thing. If I were to change one thing about the housing system here, I would make that the University doesn't allow freshmen to live in singles. You are only hurting yourself.</p>

<p>keelee2,</p>

<p>That response was excellent, bud. However, it leaves me even more equivocal than I was before about where I will live.</p>

<p>I was entertaining the thought of a single at Snell-Hitchcock. After reading your post, it seems that would be the most antisocial choice I could make.</p>

<p>I was also entertaining the thought of living at Shoreland or B-J, but both places seem terrible transportation-wise. Not to mention that B-J sounded a little creepy.</p>

<p>My choice now is basically, do I want to live at Shoreland, have a roomate and sociable house members, and use the unreliable busing system to commute, or do I want to live at Snell-Hitchcock, aim for a single and place myself in an antisocial environment, but be minutes away from my classes? To compress the question even more, would you prefer ease of commuting over a social house?</p>

<p>I know that choosing Max Palevsky would settle this affair easily, but I'm just not impressed with the place for some arbitrary reason.</p>

<p>Personally, I would trade 15 minutes of commuting time for a more social dorm.</p>

<p>Your choice is quite easy, actually.</p>

<p>Snell-Hitchcock fills with EA applications. Unless you sent in your housing application by February, you won't be living in Snell. Go to Max. Shoreland is social, a cool place to live, but it is falling apart. The University has sold the building, which won't be a dorm after 2008, and maintaining it is not priority.</p>

<p><a href="http://psac.uchicago.edu/VirtualDormTour/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://psac.uchicago.edu/VirtualDormTour/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Go there, my admission officer send that link to me. I read all about Broadview since I already picked Broadview as my first choice without knowing anything about it. The review is more comprehensive than anything keelee2 could give (no offense to you but you did say decisions are give mailed a week before the real date and you were absolutely sure of yourself). So I recommend you all to check that site out because they are made by real students who actually lived there. My impression is that Broadview is a very close knitted community and is very social. For me, having a nice big room and bathroom all to myself outweighs the distance from campus (maybe). Plus, I am absolutely sure I will make tons of friends there...unless people there are literally antisocial zombies, which will be highly unlikely since most social people that chose Broadview will not read keelee's biased review and believe in her. Also, use common sense in your decision and try not to generalize too much.</p>

<p>
[quote]
So I recommend you all to check that site out because they are made by real students who actually lived there.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Yes, because the University would actually put negative comments about housing on a University website....</p>

<p>You want real opinions on housing, invest $15 on this:
<a href="http://www.**************.com/guide.asp/1-59658-149-2/index.html#%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.**************.com/guide.asp/1-59658-149-2/index.html#&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>