<p>Attention newly-admitted students, what residential houses are you looking at? What do you think are the best ones in terms of location, comfort, appeal, private/community bath, dining, etc.?</p>
<p>Also, exactly how "dangerous" is the area the school is in because I've heard horror stories on here and having never been to Chicago before, I wouldn't mind hearing the truth. </p>
<p>Congrats to everyone.</p>
<p>Am I allowed to comment if I'm not a newly-admitted student?</p>
<p>Member of the class of '08 here... so I might be too old for you. Haha.</p>
<p>In all honesty, all of the dorms have different personalities. They are for different people. I can give you some basic stats on them and what their stereotypes on campus are... but ultimately it's a very individual decision.</p>
<p>A quick run down:</p>
<p>(We'll start on campus)</p>
<p>Snell-Hitchcock: Dorm that is literally on the main quads. Rooms arn't too big, but I've heard they arn't shabby. Never been there myself.</p>
<p>Snell-Hitchcock, also know as "Snitchcock" on campus, has a reputation of catering to the "odd" sort. I can't really offer much info besides that, as my experience with it and snitchcockers is limited.</p>
<p>Max P: Oh max p. The newest of the dorms... Most freshman want to live in Max P. Lately though, the university has instituted stricter quoats on freshman rooms, so getting in there is much harder. Max P's rooms are okay, relatively modern, but not that large. Max P's stereotypical reputation is a dorm full of athletes, and freshman. This sometimes gives it the stereotype of being an immature dorm.</p>
<p>Pierce: Pierce is the dorm with the smallest rooms on campus. It has communal bathrooms, as well. Although it's one bonus is that it has it's own dining hall in the basement. I'm not kidding when I say the rooms are small. They're tiny. Really. Pierce is another dorm that's popular with athletes, and is generally thought to be a pretty social/partyish dorm.</p>
<p>BJ: Most people have mixed opinions on BJ (or "Beej" as it is sometimes called). It has a dining hall, which is very nice. It is probably the nicest dorm archetecturally, with its gothic buildings and harry potter-esque feel. I can't speak about the rooms, except that they have communal bathrooms. BJ's stereotypical reputation is that of a dorm that houses mostly nerdy, geeky, D&D playing types. While it is true that most of the students at the U of C are geeks in their own ways... BJ has a reputation for being the dorm full of the geekiest of geeks. Whether that's good or bad is up to you.</p>
<p>Maclean: Oh maclean. Small rooms, located north of campus. Used to be a mental asylum. I've never been inside of it, and only known a few people to live there. There are rumors on campus that Maclean is the druggiest of all the dorms - I've heard tales of rampant coke usage (but I'm not sure of the truth of these stories). There also appears to be a lot of total or semi nudity going on in that dorm.</p>
<p>Breck: Breck is located on 59th street, very close to the metra tracks. It's a bit away from the main quads... but still considered on campus. The rooms are nice, or so I hear, but I dont' know much about the people who live thear. Breck's stereotype is that of the "forgotten" dorm.</p>
<p>Broadview: An off-campus dorm, located near the Shoreland. Broadview has small rooms, but (I believe) private bathrooms. Broadview kids sometimes get an anti-social reputation applied to them, but it's probably not true in all cases.</p>
<p>Shoreland: Ah... the shoreland. Perhaps one of the most misunderstood dorms there is. The Shoreland is a dorm of tradeoffs. You sacrifice some things with the shoreland but gain others. It is far off campus (although served pretty well by bus routes)... and it is quite a bit run down. However, in return for this you get beautiful lake views in half the rooms, GIGANTIC rooms (and I do mean gigantic), private bathrooms, kitchens in some of the rooms, a convenience store in the lobby, and a very social and party-friendly atmosphere. Some people at the school think that Shorelanders are crazy for living so far away from campus. They might be right. But if you ask me, (and I'm biased here), what you get for that tradeoff is worth a lot.</p>
<p>As you can probably tell, I live in the shoreland. To give an example of room size... I live in a triple. My triple consists of: a living room, a bedroom, a bathroom (with shower and real bathrub), a kitchen (with full size fridge and stove), and a small dining area (it's attached to the living room).</p>
<p>As for the neighborhood?</p>
<p>Hyde Park really isn't that bad. What is required is common sense, and city smarts. You'll learn plenty about that during orientation, but you might want to brush up ahead of time. There are muggings, and there is crime, but the smarter you are, the less likely you'll encounter it.</p>
<p>I can't say the same for the areas south of 62nd street, north of 46th street, or west a little ways, though. Those neighborhoods are considerably more dangerous. (That's not to say you can't go to them, it's just you have to be more careful.)</p>
<p>Thank you hmlee. I apreciate the detailed descriptions. Exactly the sort of info I'm looking for. Just one question: exactly how bad is sharing a communal bathroom? And, where are most of the freshman campuses located compared to the dorms? How often do you walk alone or have to use transportation alone? Is the campus itself safe from the "bad" side of Chicago, and the only time to worry about safety is when you go walking the street for restaurants, theatre, shopping, etc.? In other words, UChicago itself is safe, it's just, be aware when you leave campus? Is that the main thing? I ask because I have a paranoia parent who tells me horror stories and therefore I get nervous.</p>
<p>Also, sidenote, how difficult are the classes? What is expected in terms of type of work done?</p>
<p>Okay, that wasn't one question, that was several.</p>
<p>There are families raising kids in Hyde Park. Yes it is a city, a big city, but the campus and surrounding neighborhood are just fine. There are safe ways to get downtown and back, and there is a U of C bus service. Visit and stay overnight, it is the best way to get a feel for the area.</p>
<p>idad is right. The area around the main campus is largely safe. There are sometimes muggings and other crimes - which still makes common sense and street smarts important, but it's not like a war zone or anything. How many times do I have to walk alone? To campus? Rarely, unless I feel like (which is usually only on beautiful days). Take transportation alone? Well it depends on what you define as "alone". I don't always take it with my friends, but there's usually a group of people all waiting for the various buses...it's plenty safe.</p>
<p>As for the communal bathroom? Couldn't tell you. My experience with them has been limited. I've lived with a private bathroom for all my time in the dorms....which is really nice and convenient.</p>
<p>idad, do you mind me asking which dorm(s) your son has lived in? My first choice currently is Max P.</p>
<p>i have a question about max p</p>
<p>is it true that one bathroom will have a sink and a shower, and the bathroom across the hall has a sink and a toilet?</p>
<p>because that would be very inconveninent, if you have to use the bathroom, and your bathroom only has a shower and a sink, and your across the hall neighbor isn't home.</p>
<p>I stayed in Max P last night - basically the way it works is that when you open the door into the double there is a foyer with 4 doors. In front of you are two double rooms (two rooms 4 people) and on the left in a shower and sink and the right is a toilet and sink. Basically when you go into either room you lock the door and when you leave the door is unlocked - you can't lock it from the outside. So basically all 4 of you share the two rooms and it doesn't matter if your the only one there - you have equal access to both the toilet and shower.</p>
<p>Personally I really dislike MaxP as a dorm. From the short time I stayed there, it was just depressing - the people seemed depressed, listlessly wandering inbetween rooms and many of the rooms had half empty bottles of liquor on shelves. People were blasting music past 12:00 and were still wandering around past 2:00. On the other hand I did a dorm tour of BJ and I like it much better - did anyone stay there, and if so could you tell me how you liked it? The other dorm I'm interested in is Snell-Hitchcock, but I didn't get a chance to see it - any thoughts?</p>
<p>I stayed in BJ...and I didn't like it much. The interior is completely at odds with the gorgeous exterior. The rooms weren't tiny but they were rather depressing. The floors were grey stone and the wood paneling old- it felt like a repressive mental institution.
And I hated the bathrooms. They were this dingy grey color that made me think of grime and soot. Also they were coed and there was no where to hang your clothing in the showers, so you have to place them outside the shower on the ground (which was a little wet and a little dirty), and then snake an arm around the curtain to grab them after you're done.
It really sucked because a random guy came in while I was showering so I had to get my clothes while he was staring at a mirror which reflected me.
(<em>huge vendetta against BJ bathrooms</em>)</p>
<p>I did a dorm tour of Snell-Hitchcock and loved it...it's my top choice. However I really loved the doubles...and it's a single I want. Ah. Decisions.</p>
<p>Er, anyone know what the bathrooms are like in Snell-hitchcock? Is one forced to do the weird arm snakey maneuver in the shower?</p>
<p>yes you are</p>
<p>....oh ****.</p>
<p>where aren't you forced to do it?</p>
<p>How was the interior of Snitchcock? How did it compare with BJ?</p>
<p>I'm assuming you're a girl, Pyramid? The arm-snakey thing sounds annoying - I guess you could just walk to and fro in a towel rather than try and change in a stall...</p>
<p>Right now BJ is my top choice because I love the secluded-ness and mini courtyard, and the rooms actually seemed to be a decent size for singles. Do rooms in Snitchcock really all have fireplaces? Do they work?</p>
<p>I think off campus dorms generally have private bathrooms and my good friend Max-P. Believe me though its not worth it...</p>
<p>i know that snell has no fireplaces. and the singles are reasonable, but by no means large.</p>
<p>maxpav and off campus are private baths. i want maxpav mainly because i really like everything about it.</p>
<p>The rooms I saw did indeed have fireplaces but they dont work.
I liked the interior of Snitchcock much better than BJ. Although they both had the old wood thing going on, Snitchcock seemed a lot more cheerful. The rooms were bigger, the windows were bigger, the floor was carpeted.
The common room was also much nicer. BJ's was tucked away and it had some couches and that was it.
Snitchcock's was large and airy...armchairs, piano...old library atmostphere going on.</p>
<p>BJ was my first choice, but after reading the board I think that'll be switching to MaxP for sure-</p>
<p>What did I say that made Max-P appealing to you? Whatever - if you want that sort of thing then I'm glad there'll be another spot open in BJ or Snitchcock for me...</p>
<p>Eh, btw, tour first or get someone else's opinion. You may indeed love BJ. The rooms were really great sizes for singles.</p>