Hey, so I was just accepted to UChicago’s Class of 2019 and have heard from a lot of people that the college is filled with a lot of people who aren’t necessarily as social as would be the case at many colleges. Obviously I understand that the whole “where fun comes to die” slogan is exaggeration and that being at a less socially active school comes with the territory of attending one of the best colleges in the country, but I would still like to be in a relatively social environment within UChicago.
So basically I’m wondering which houses are the most social? I’ve heard Max Palevsky is pretty good, but I’m afraid I won’t have the ability to pick it given that I won’t be paying my enrollment deposit for another few weeks at least. So if anyone could rank the most social houses at UChicago, that’d be great!
I’m a first year in Max and I absolutely love it! I’m very active in my house so as a result I spend a lot of time socializing (perhaps too much…). I’m not a partier so it’s great to be able to still have an active social life without going out or drinking. There is plenty of that if that is what you want to do, though!
@ronanicus Thanks! That definitely addresses what is perhaps my biggest fear about coming to uchicago (that everyone is too busy studying to do anything social). So you wouldn’t say that the workload becomes so overbearing that people become incapable of having a (somewhat) ordinary college experience? I mean I know it probably does during midterms, but other than that?
The notion that kids at Chicago are too busy studying to do anything social, or that they don’t have something like an ordinary college experience, is just plain silly. They aren’t cyborgs; they are people pretty much exactly like you, who have the same range of interests and ability to juggle them all. Some may not want to socialize, but the vast, vast majority do. And that’s true at pretty much any college you or they are considering going to.
There are some differences at Chicago, but they are differences of degree, and relatively small ones, not differences of kind. At any college that attracts high performing students, people tend to care about their classes a lot, so some of the socializing and studying get intermixed. The library also functions as something of a hook-up party at every elite university, but it’s really active at Chicago at all hours of the day. And when people socialize, it’s not uncommon for them to talk about their classes, or ideas that interest them. Alongside other things, like movies, TV shows, music, games, drugs, whatever. Also, unlike many colleges, and like some others, there’s a big, exciting city to do things in, including things that don’t necessarily cost a lot of money, so campus isn’t the only place where people do stuff together, and getting drunk or high isn’t necessarily at the center of all social activities for everyone.
Another meaningful difference vs. some other colleges (but the same as Northwestern and Stanford), is Chicago’s 11-week quarter system means that academic pressure points come up more frequently than elsewhere. After the second or third week of a quarter, it’s always midterms time somewhere, until it’s finals time or final paper time. And if you do ECs, those create crunch times mid-quarter, too. So if you were planning on not socializing at all during midterms . . . either you won’t socialize much or, like most people, you will figure out how to fit some fun-time into midterm season.
South (RGG now bleh) and Max are the best. Max is close to everything but South has a much better dining hall. Do not choose broadview or blackstone, people literally get banished to those if they get kicked out of south.
@artloversplus @omguchicago I’ve heard that at Max P, if you aren’t into sports, you’ll be left out. Is there any truth to this rumor? I’m kinda worried about this because I am not into sports or anything athletic AT ALL.
Also, how hard is it to get a single at South? Do the rooms fill up really quickly? If I paid my deposit a few days ago, is it unlikely I’ll get a single in South?
I do know Max open early to accommodate athletes to stay for sports camp. So, it fills up really quick and early, I do not think you have a chance to even get in at this time. Have no idea about the culture there.
South opens its door in 2010 and D was the fist resident, it was unknown at the time, so we had the chance to get in even in late April. There is not too many singles in South, you need to be VERY lucky to get a single there. Either way, South became the focal point of social activities because its shear size and the better cafeteria. In addition, South does stay open for the summer, thus the popularity. If you fail to get it, try BJ, its sharing the same cafeteria with South and perhaps also partake the same social scene.
My son had a single in south as a freshman but he put his deposit in with the EA acceptances. I think is it very unlikely a deposit recently submitted will get you a single. Being in south period is a great choice and the rooms are beautiful. The culture is social and inclusive and fun!
I picked max p as my first choice but I also deposited in late December because I applied EA. I did an overnight and loved south when I stayed there however when I vistied it was actually -5 degrees and that 10 minute walk was brutal. But I can honestly say that south has a better dining hall than max p and cathey has 4th meal which Bartlett doesn’t. But both are pretty big so depositing now doesn’t mean you won’t get in. My friend deposited after the April overnights and still got her first choice which was south.