Hi. I’ve been wanting to go to Uchicago for about a year now and now that I’ve been accepted, I’m beginning to doubt my choice. I’m a smart girl, but i want to have fun in college. I know UChicago is a hard school with tough curriculum but i want to be able to learn and have fun. I dont just want to be all about school and looking at this and other threads has me thinking on whether Uchicago is a good fit for me. Any comments?
According to the most recent OK Cupid study we rank 4th in both sex drive and partying 
https://www.okcupid.com/best-colleges
Most of the uchicago stereotypes are little more than self-deprecating humor (though pretty true come finals weeks). I’ve yet to meet someone who wanted to have fun but didn’t find the people.
Edit: college-related/internet forums are microcosms of people who don’t represent average cross-sections of the student body population. You think grades/college matter the most when you’re in your last couple years of high school, but when you get there many gradually focus on career and enjoying life.
Students who are not very intellectual often view there as being two categories in life-fun and academics and they are dichotomous. Those students may have straight A+'s in honor classes in high school but they got those A’s (usually) by gaming and strategies, often with little or no interest in the actual course content. If you engaged them in an honest conversation they’d tell you that they are competitive but have little or no interest in the world beyond their little bubble. They choose schools so they can “work hard; party hard”. And their party hard side is devoid of anything meaningful-including conversation. For these students, Chicago would be an odd choice.
I admit that I’m talking extremes here but Chicago students are more apt to be those who are more intellectual. They have fun too. They party too. But life isn’t about escaping into a party so as to avoid thinking. Most Chicago students are more interested in the world. It isn’t that they study more. In fact, they may study less. But they probably think more. And they have fun while they are thinking, working together, conjuring up something. School isn’t about attending classes as it would be for the students I described above. And, I find that those in the category described above rarely understand what I mean when I describe intellectually oriented students whose interest in school isn’t about nabbing A’s. (and no, they aren’t all nerds in the olds sense of that word). Their response is usually “Well don’t they want A’s”. Yes, they may get A’s but they are the ones who fully engage in a discussion or argument that might start out in a class but will spill out into the day. it might even come up at a party. So much for the “work hard party hard” dichotomy. For those that don’t understand the distinction I am making, no worries. But Chicago may not be your choice.
There is a pretty substantial party scene if you are into that stuff. So much so that I felt disappointed that no school has escaped the American college party culture. Pick Max P or South for your dorm and you will feel like you are at a normal ivy league school- there are people from my house coming back from parties (hammered) every weekend, even during midterm/finals week.
There are also a lot of fun things to do outside of parties, and it really depends on how much free time that you have. If you opt not to take honors sequences and are not doing one of the hard STEM majors, you will probably get 3-4 hours of free time a day during your first year.
P.S. The facebook group is not at all representative of what students on campus are actually like. You should visit on one of the admit weekends- it will give you a good idea.
The difference between UChicago and the Ivy League is that in the Ivy League the ones who party a lot party more than just the weekends. At UChicago, the ones who party a lot party every weekend.
I think @lostaccount hit it on the head.
everyone posting wants ‘help’ so more descriptive titles help us
What are your alternatives to Chi then where you think you might enjoy life more or college won’t be so hard? What are you considering?