<p>Checking this place out again, seeing that my previous post has been buried and Ivy Day and all that jazz has passed us. Spring quarter begins tomorrow and without much work, I am slightly bored. So, hey, ask me anything! I'm an international student from Hong Kong, ask me about college choices, dorm choices, student organizations, events and whatnot. My views are subjective, do not represent official policy, etc.</p>
<p>Shameless plug here: I run a project called UChicago Curators, which basically allows you to see the school from the perspective of a different student each week on Facebook and Twitter. If you're scouting CollegeConfidential you might be obsessed with this sort of thing. Like us on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/UChiCurators%5B/url%5D">https://www.facebook.com/UChiCurators</a> and follow us on @UChiCurators - and ask away.</p>
<p>Hi – many people tell me that UCh is a hyper-competitve environment where students study the entire time. I am deciding between Williams, Wash U and UCh. While I am drawn to UCh´s intellectual environment, I would like to get involved in extra curricular activities such as women´s health and so on. How do people at UCh juggle academics and extra curricular activities?</p>
<p>I’ve heard that students at uchicago never look happy and also that uchicago is where “fun dies.” Is this true?</p>
<p>I see all the trolls are out as predicted…sad…</p>
<p>I seriously want to know. How competitive is uchicago?? Is it cutthroat?<br>
How hard are the classes?</p>
<p>I talked to two female asians from uchicago at the chicago marathon (we were volunteering at an aid station) both seemed very book smart but lacked simple skills like working with a group. They just stood there!!! And they seemed personality-less. I know not all students are like this but still…</p>
<p>Not trolling. Im being very serious.</p>
<p>Is it actually competitive to get into one of the Civ study abroads?</p>
<p>How hard is it to get into CCIB?</p>
<p>Max P or South?</p>
<p>CCIB is pretty hard to get in. My 3 roommates and I all got rejected last year, even though we thought our stats were pretty competitive. Good luck.</p>
<p>On the Civ and Max/South questions:
Civ abroad is supposedly competitive, but I don’t know anyone who has wanted to do it abroad and been unable. I don’t think all of them got their first choices location-wise, although many (most?) did. It also varies some from place to place (Paris, for instance, apparently has a tendency to be more competitive).
Max and South are probably the most similar dorms on campus, and the differences between them have been discussed a lot here if you search for them.</p>
<p>Let’s get the major, well-worn ones out of the way:</p>
<p>Is UChicago hyper-competitive?
I would say less hyper-competitive than academic - a difference more than semantic or euphemistic. I would classify hyper-competition as “grade-grubbing”: students ripping pages off popular textbooks stocked at libraries, playing sycophants to instructors - i.e. destructive, selfish behavior. But UChi is a community of scholars and I have seen way more helpful, open and friendly people than the opposite - even in a Gen Chem class full of pre-meds, I was generally able to get help and discuss freely without curve-related inhibitions getting in the way. Anecdotally, I would posit that more pre-professional schools may be more hyper-competitive in this regard.
Our rigorous academic focus, however, and high calibre of students does mean that the work intensity may come as a shock. The difficulty lies perhaps less in the material than the short duration (10 weeks a quarter) that you have to understand and apply in annoyingly frequent midterms (last quarter I had a “midterm” just before reading period); the material is sometimes more theoretical and advanced than in comparable courses at peer schools. But while you’ll be expected to study hard to do your best in classes, you’ll have a supportive community braving the same battle. The grade deflation is usually not as bad as it seems, and usually depends strongly on the instructor - you’ll still need good time management and discipline. All this hard work, FYI, has this cool positive side-effect on helping you sort out your true academic interests.</p>
<p>Does fun come to die?
Nah. Student life is vibrant. If you’re applying, you’ve probably heard of our espousal of a “cerebral” type of fun. In Fall Quarter I spent a lot of time discussing psychiatry over ping pong matches, and there is no short of the Trivial-Pursuit, Crossword-Puzzle, rants-on-why-Durkheim-is-an-idiot-over-Mario-Kart fun, you don’t necessarily need to get boxed in with the blowhards. Chicago has a bustling arts scene that you’ll get student tickets to on the cheap; there are so many RSOs, from business/finance societies to the circus, whose listhosts will soon overwhelm you within a few weeks; in Max P, my dorm, we have a strong house culture and have frequent study breaks and outings. (Those “female asian UChicago students” hardly count as a representative sample.)
And onto the traditional college fun! Jostle in 5000+ hormonal teenagers into a sleepy town and you’ll definitely have some of it. Yes, we have frats and sororities whose parties are well-attended; a few of our sports teams are passable (Tennis, I hear; Quizbowl? alright screw this); Ratner is new and cool to work out in. Some of the jocks here are among the most intelligent people I’ve ever met.</p>
<p>Max P and South are the newest, biggest dorms on campus. I’m in Max P, so I’m biased, but this is a great place location-wise although I find the architecture garish. I stayed in South over Spring break - the rooms are larger and slightly newer, and by a narrow margin I prefer their airy-white color scheme. Culture-wise both are mixed bags.</p>
<p>Thanks for your answers!!!</p>
<p>I think the academic drive of uchicago students is that of other highly competitive schools I’ve visited. Glad to hear its not like kids taking adderoll to concentrate when they’re tired. </p>
<p>Also, great to hear the quirky side of students. Sounds like i would fit right in. (If I’m able to pull off those super competitive grades and act scores now)</p>
<p>Hi, 'nother first year here. The only real instance of competition I’ve seen was in one class where me and my study friends would sometimes not mention topics we’d been studying so other people wouldn’t know them. (The tests were a real challenge). But beyond that there’s basically an air of collaboration. Even in classes where the curve is hugely important, you have to study with other people or the test will hand your ass to you.</p>
<p>Know any Econ seniors that already have jobs lined up? Where? Salary?
Dorm beds have boxspring? (need bedskirt?)
Do they let you raise the beds on risers?
Is it better to rent or buy frig? microwave?
Do most students keep ID in wallet? On lanyards?
Are they stopping the bus in front of BJ?
Where exactly are the laundry rooms in BJ?
How long does it take to get downtown on train vs. bus?</p>
<p>No idea.
My dorm just has firm matresses.
Not sure, my dorm (not BJ) has matresses that can be raised to like 3ft just via sliding the supports up the bedpost.
No idea. Don’t have one.
I keep my ID in a little wallet they gave out during O-week.
The shuttle from South Campus to the other shuttles stops near BJ.
Basement shared by all houses, I’ve heard you have to go outside to get to it…
Um, 45 -60 minutes. Less if you use the Metra,</p>