<p>I'm an accepted student who just got off of the waitlist. I'm visiting Chicago right now, and I just did an overnight last night. During the overnight, I kind of seemed to end up in the party crowd, with a hoster who was asking her friends about frat parties and other parties. We didn't go to any or anything, but I did see some students brinking in a case of beer, and when I asked my host, she said that yes, it's a big drinking school. </p>
<p>I realize that happens everywhere, but I don't want to be involved in it. Is drinking/partying at Chicago as big as it seems, or did I just end up in middle of a small minority? I stayed in Pierce, which I guess is one of the more "social" dorms? Would there be less of it in other dorms like BJ or Breck? Please help, I have to make my acceptance decision tonight, and the overnight just confused me more. :/</p>
<p>Yes you will be fine if you don’t want to partake in the drinking. I wouldn’t say it’s a small minority that drink routinely, but certainly not an absolute majority. Anyhow, if you’re not interested in the drinking scene, no one will pressure you into anything and you will find company with many other UChicago peers. I didn’t drink any of first year and I lived (still do) in Pierce and had a blast. Don’t stress out too much over this! :)</p>
<p>UChicago has one of the lowest binge drinking rates in the country. Statistically, you’re better off as a nondrinker there than almost anywhere else.</p>
<p>For UChicago (and really any college) drinking is going to be on a bell curve. However, I’d be willing to bet that Chicago’s median is way, way, way lower than most schools. Even students who do drink regularly tend not to binge drink.</p>
<p>I drink often, but I drink very moderately. I also did not drink very much, if at all, my first year.</p>
<p>I’d be surprised, too, if it was not way lower than most schools. I was just wondering if greennblue was aware of a study that quantified this.</p>
<p>I’ve read that predictors of high campus alcohol consumption include a southern location, a rural location, and a low percentage of Asian students. So I think Chicago must score o.k.</p>
<p>No one will force you to drink. The last time I checked, forced intoxication was illegal in all 50 states.</p>
<p>On whether you might feel coerced. I’d say probably not, because it’s not like we’re talking about Dartmouth here.</p>
<p>From my perspective, it IS a big drinking school. Not in the sense that you got empty bottle bowling, chug tubes and beer pong tourneys when you walk into an apartment party. When I say that drinking is big here is that I mean it isn’t frowned upon, probably because the kids at this school are more responsible than typical college students. I’ve heard of grad students (RHs) buying booze for students, and my overnight host has bottles of vodka in bottles customized to have his name instead of the brand logo. But it’s all very casual, and if there’s one thing about U of C that wins out over my local competition (UCLA and USC) it’s that the school is very lax about the rules. The only way to find yourself talking with a dean about discipline issues is if you go out of your way to do so.</p>
<p>The 30% binge drinking rate figure was on a flyer the school distributed at orientation in 2006, and I’ve seen it confirmed elsewhere. National average is about 45%.</p>
<p>I think the ususal definition is >4 “drinks” (i.e., 1 beer, 1 glass of wine, 1.5 oz hard liquor) in a two-hour period in a two-week period. Note that (a) the 45% figure comes from a 1999 study based on self-reporting, so it is probably low given the definition, and (b) in most college communities having five drinks at a party once every other week won’t get you noticed as a big drinker. The statistics also do not take account of other intoxicants which (my impression is) are somewhat less prevalent at Chicago than at many other colleges, but are certainly far from absent.</p>
<p>If you expect the University of Chicago to be a temple of sobriety, you are going to be very disappointed. However, as one of my children commented before accepting the admission offer there: “I know kids who like to party who have fallen into a deep, deep pit at some other colleges. I’ve seen the bottom of the pit at Chicago. . . . It’s a pretty shallow pit.”</p>
<p>I agree with what most people said. My guess is that the host was either 1) at the higher end of the bell curve or 2)trying to respond to the many accusations that Chicago is “where fun goes to die.”</p>
<p>I don’t drink and nor do many of my friends. Some do though, most not regularly or heavily. You will be fine regardless of what you decide, and you may very well change your mind over your 4 years. </p>
<p>Listen – college isn’t like high school. Whatever you want to do socially, you’ll be able to find people who will share your preferences and people won’t reject you or shun you based on what you choose.</p>
<p>I’ve always been kind of annoyed by the amount of drinking and partying that happens during admitted student overnights- it’s usually as if hosts often think that they HAVE to take their prospective student to a party or drink in order to make them have the “real prospie experience”, which really isn’t a great portrayal of the life you might have while you’re in school here. While you can and most likely will go to a party that involves alcohol here, and sometimes (as with any school) people can get irresponsible, it’s quite easy to avoid alcohol here or to not feel pressure to drink or go to parties if you don’t want to.
I think one of the ways in which UChicago could be perceived as having a drinking subculture is that nobody besides the Chicago city police (largely unpresent on campus, and the UChicago police care more about noise and safety of parties than whether or not alcohol is involved) will get you for having alcohol or being intoxicated. Many other schools have room checks or can give “write ups” or disciplinary action for having and using alcohol responsibly. As long as you’re following the rules in housing (no open containers in the hallways, parties in dorms finished by the agreed upon time) or not bothering the neighbors in an apartment party, you’ll be fine- this freedom can seem like it creates a drinking subculture, but really just allows people to involve alcohol in events without having to seem secretive.</p>