<p>I keep hearing about how great Snell-Hitchcock is. Can anyone elaborate on this house?
Also, what is the most social house at Uchicago. BTW, I like to party.</p>
<p>If you want parties, go to South or Max P.</p>
<p>I’ve heard Snell-Hitchcock called “Asperger Heaven,” and from the people I know there, that’s a pretty accurate description.</p>
<p>Why does everyone want to go to Snell-Hitchcock then? I heard that house fills up before RD admittances. I know there are a lot of houses, but what are the (accurate) stereotypes for most of them?
Are the people at South and Max P very sociable?</p>
<p>From what I’ve heard Snell Hitchcock is the oldest dorm. It has a ton of history and kid absolutely love everything about chicago and are obsessed with scav. I’ve also heard that Pierce is the most social dorm, its less than half the size of South and Max at 300ish people, and the dorm rooms are so small no one can bear to stay inside.</p>
<p>And yet, the people I know from Snitchcock are as normal as it gets. Dorm stereotypes are exaggerated. </p>
<p>But yes, Snitchcock is known as the quirky dorm with all the traditions; it’s full of “typical” Chicago students. To some extent the same is true of Breck and BJ, but Snitchcock gets it a lot more–it gets more of the “weird” stigma as well. And yes, the parties will probably be better/more frequent in South and Max.</p>
<p>So, Max and South are the best for social scene/parties?
Are these houses nice? How are their locations?</p>
<p>IMHO Max has the best location - next to library (Regenstein) and dining hall (Bartlett). Gym (Ratner) is not that far.</p>
<p>^ Their locations are pretty good. Max is right on the quads. It’s the closest dorm to pretty much anything important. You’d be right next to Bartlett (dining hall), the Reg (library), and most of your classes. South is a really nice dorm I hear, and it’s just south of the Midway, so a bit more of a walk to campus than Max, but nothing major. It has it’s own dining hall (which some people love, others hate).</p>
<p>I live in Max P (shameless plug), and I think it’s really, really nice - a lot of people dismiss it because it’s “ugly”, but everything’s new and the rooms are a lot bigger than I was expecting, to be honest. I’m not a huge partier, but there are plenty of partiers here and we’re also right next to frat row, so you’ll find yourself at home if frat parties are your scene. But even if you’re not, you won’t feel out of place. I also love the location: we’re literally between the two gyms, a five minute walk from the quad (e.g. you can wake up for class half an hour before it starts), and right by the Reg (which you will be thankful for come finals week). Even though we don’t have a built-in dining hall, Bartlett is basically next door.</p>
<p>As for the houses, Max P has the biggest ones (75-100+ students) - which again, may or may not be to your taste. Central and East each have three houses, and West has two. I personally like the large houses; even though some say that we don’t have as much of a community as dorms like Pierce, I like that there’s a lot of flow between houses and you have a chance to meet people ourside your house.</p>
<p>So @OP, if you like partying, you’ll definitely find yourself welcome at Max P (and South, from what I’ve heard). But Snitchcock is obviously known as the most UChicago-spirited dorm, and as many others have mentioned, stereotypes are stereotypes. There will always be partiers in Snitchcock and people who never leave their rooms in Max.</p>
<p>EDIT: I just realized you asked what the most social house is. I have a friend who lives in Alper House, and he says that it has a lot of partiers and people coming back from frat parties drunk at 3 am. 
But you don’t get to choose a house on your housing application, so I’m not sure if that’s at all helpful.</p>
<p>Congrats on getting in btw, hope to see you next fall! :)</p>
<p>If you’re looking for sociability, your three main choices are, as people have said above, Max, South, and Pierce. I live in Pierce, so pardon the shameless promotion. Max P and South, from what I’ve seen (and I have a lot of friends in both dorms), tend to clique off really quickly. If you’re looking for the best “house culture,” I think most undergrads would agree that Pierce has the best. Everyone in the Pierce houses are really close and always together. The rooms are…small, but livable. 99 square feet doesn’t sound like a lot, but it’s adequate enough to live. The rooms are also considerably larger than they look in pictures, so don’t worry. Another upside to Pierce is that we’re the only dorm with a dining hall. So when all of the other dorms have to go outside to get food in January when it’s -27, you can casually walk down to the dining hall in your athletic shorts and slippers (or no slippers, some people just wear socks). </p>
<p>Max probably does have the best location, but Max West can be a little inconvenient since its entrance is on Ellis Av. and Bartlett is on University Av. –> you have to walk all the way around the Reg to get to Bartlett, or take the underground tunnel every time. Pierce is only one block north of Max, so it’s not too much farther from the quads or reg.</p>
<p>And, yes, there is lots of partying in Pierce (you’d be surprised how many people you can fit into a Pierce double for a party).</p>
<p>^ Nah, most undergrads will tell you their dorm is the best.</p>
<p>Like most people have said, Snitchcock and Max are pretty much right in the middle of everything. Pierce, South, and BJ are a little farther out. (The walk across the Midway is really not that bad, by the way.) None of them are really that removed from the places you’ll generally have classes–if you live in one of the tiny dorms, though, you might have something of a walk.</p>
<p>I think I’m deciding between Max P and South. Can anyone compare and contrast the two. I like the architecture and style of South more than Max P.</p>
<p>Here is what I understood during my visit earlier this year:</p>
<ul>
<li>In MaxP two rooms share a bathroom. In South, they have community bathrooms.</li>
<li>South doesn’t close during Christmas and Spring breaks.</li>
<li>Majority of international students stay in South.</li>
</ul>
<p>Am I wrong?</p>
<p>The two are similar in culture, as was said above. (Although you will meet plenty of “quirky” UChicago kids at either.) Both have relatively large houses–you may not end up knowing everyone in your house if you live in Max P or South. </p>
<p>Max P has suites with semi-private bathrooms (four to a bathroom, but you have to clean them yourself), while South is a more traditional setup with communal bathrooms. South eats at South and Max P eats at Bartlett–not that there’s such a huge difference between the two. Both are pretty close to their respective dining halls. And of course there’s location–IMO you won’t really feel the difference unless you plan to be at, say, the bio building or Ratner a lot. (Both are clear across campus from South.) And even then it’s not that bad.</p>
<p>How are Blackstone and Broadview in general? It sounds like they’re a little further away, but they have private bathrooms and I have a bit of a fear of communal ones… >.<</p>
<p>I agree with happilyhelen. Broadview seems really cool but the location is iffy?</p>
<p>I don’t know much about Blackstone and Broadview; hopefully someone from there will come along and see this?</p>
<p>[UChicago</a> Maps | Campus](<a href=“http://maps.uchicago.edu/campus.shtml]UChicago”>http://maps.uchicago.edu/campus.shtml)</p>
<p>Blackstone is the building by the words that say East Campus; Broadview is even farther east than that and I’m not sure it’s actually labeled in this map, but they do have bus service. They are both a considerable distance from main campus–and a considerable distance from the dining halls, which would bother me more.</p>
<p>For dorm map, I use this:
[U</a> of Chicago - Housing - Google Maps](<a href=“http://■■■■■■/maps/3H41]U”>http://■■■■■■/maps/3H41)</p>
<p>After looking at that map, Blackstone’s looking a lot better than Broadview…</p>
<p>Broadview’s location isn’t iffy at all. It’s in the nicest, ritziest part of Hyde Park. It is farther away than most halls from classrooms and such, but much nearer all sorts of things you sometimes want to be near, like stores and restaurants and the bus north to the Loop area.</p>
<p>It used to be that there was an even bigger dorm a few blocks farther away than the Broadview – the Shoreland, another former hotel like the Broadview. Some people actually liked not spending all of their time within steps of the Reg, and with better access to fun things to do. The distances really aren’t that great – it’s maybe a 15 minute walk from anything. Or you can bike or take a shuttle bus.</p>