1 thing I found last year that will make any dorm awesome. Bamboo Sheets. You could sleep on a pad in a tent, but with bamboo sheets, it’s palatial.
^ The options are amazing now. Gel foam, bamboo . . . Kids have it so great these days!
When my kids went to UChicago, each of them was placed in a dorm that was actually off campus. My daughter was in Maclean. It literally did not appear on campus maps; people wouldn’t visit there because they didn’t know where it was. (The house motto at the time was “We’re Off the Grid”.) My son was in the Shoreland (my daughter-in-law, too, as it turned out). It was 15 blocks from the center of campus – three times as far as International House. It was a pit – the University had already sold it, it was going to be gutted, and no one was spending a cent on maintenance.
As it turned out, all of them more or less hated their houses, and got nothing out of “house culture” but a friend or two. All of this dewey-eyed stuff about house culture at Chicago – I only know about it from CC. None of the real-life Chicago students I know gave a rat’s butt about their houses. Each of my kids moved off campus after only one year. (My daughter-in-law stayed for three, but that was because her parents mandated it.)
So, having drawn the shortest of straws housing-wise – housing so bad it no longer exists – and having supremely un-tight houses, that obviously degraded their Chicago experience, right? Wrong. They loved the University of Chicago. They had a great time there, first year and thereafter. In the classrooms and out of them. They had more friends than they could handle. The one who lived in the Shoreland learned that he actually appreciated having some distance between where he lived and where he worked – that was the one thing it turned out he liked about it. He could take a shuttle bus if he wanted, but he actually enjoyed walking the mile to and from campus, and did that 90% of the time. They loved where they lived off campus, too, and it was only a couple blocks closer than the Shoreland.
In other words . . . housing really doesn’t matter that much.
@JHS Seconding your statement about housing.
I was never in the College but I did have friends who went to the College in the 1970’s. House culture was definitely hit or miss those days. Some students sworn by it. Some other students sworn at it.
Honestly, I do think the appeal of house system was drummed up by the marketing whiz at Admission Office 15 to 20 years ago to rescue the College from the neglected status all through the years under the Levi and Gray administrations.
@JHS those houses are likely dissolved now, especially if they were moved over to newer dorms at some point. Also, did your kids find their houses to be dysfunctional or did they just not care for the housing system? Even the active houses will have some ghosts (maybe with the exception of Snitch because ghosting might be forbidden there).
Given the significant number of RSO’s and the most comprehensive residential system they’ve had to date, there are plenty of ways to be successful at UChicago w/o being part of an active “house culture.” But it’s also true that they have some great houses. Trying to build on that is a good thing because families tend to like residential systems where their kids make good friends and don’t feel isolated. One needn’t participate if one doesn’t want to. As long as you aren’t in Snell or Hitchcock, you should be good!
^ Edit to add: sorry to sound snarky but it’s a bit facile to claim this must be a marketing gimmick. First of all, it existed well more than 20 years ago - and successfully so in some cases. Second, all top uni’s seem to have the same sort of “gimmick,” whether it be a residential college, freshman dorm, LLC, house, or other system. Some are older and more established, obviously, and UChicago has mucked up its own college housing for decades now and may still continue to muck it up going forward. That doesn’t make residential houses a bad idea. It just means the College can’t seem to get it right. They should keep trying until they do.
College housing has never looked more promising, and the increasing numbers of upper divs who opt to remain are evidence of that reality.
@JBStillFlying , back then there was plenty of marketing being done around house culture. But at the time, except in Snitchcock, 50% or more of every house was first-years, and only 5-10% was third years, so no house had stable culture for more than a couple years at a time, at most.
Kid #1 made several good friends in her house, only one of which stuck through college, but she was never someone who needed hand-holding socially. She found her people through classes, RSOs, and parties, and it turned out that her people lived in other dorms. Kid #2 was really looking for house culture, and participated a fair amount initially, but his house never particularly gelled, and by the end of the first month the only people he cared about were a couple of women who roomed together and with whom he shared some activities. His social life quickly revolved around the fencing club (he had never fenced before, but one of the aforementioned women got him to come with her and he loved it), UT, and Scav (completely anemic in his dorm at the time, so he scavved with Max P his first two years).
As parents, we loved the idea house culture. We owe our relationship to our alma mater’s residential college system; we never would have become friends without it. We have our res college’s sticker on our car, and a lithograph of it on a wall. 90% of my college friends are from my res college. That’s not true of my wife, who moved off campus as a sophomore and did not particularly like the res college’s culture. But even now she acknowledges she feels completely comfortable hanging out with our res college alumni at reunions – everybody feels they know and appreciate one another. We were a little sad that neither child felt their house was important in their lives. But not too sad, because they didn’t feel like they were missing anything.
I am new to this parents’ forum so do not know if this is the best place to post this question/concern, so please let me know if there is someplace else I should be addressing this.
My son is a new freshman at Chicago, and was assigned to I-House. Definitely not his first choice, but we tried to look at the positives (single room, won’t have to worry about getting enough exercise!) However when we moved him into his room this past weekend we realized he is on a coed floor of approximately 17 -19 students and the only bathroom for that entire floor is communal with 2 showers and an unusable tub situation, and 3 or 4 (I can’t remember exactly) toilet stalls in the bathroom - no urinals. On top of that, there is no place to set anything down other than the sink counter, which I imagine will be a sopping mess with 17-19 people using that bathroom. and there are no paper towels to wipe anything up, just an air hand dryer.
It is already hard enough for these I-House kids to have to build a 15 minute walk into their schedule every time they need to eat, and we understand that the most practical way to approach living there is to plan not to return to the dorm until the end of the day, but with that many kids it will be very stressful trying to get a shower in when they all need to do it in the morning before class or in the evening after dinner.
My son is clearly stressed by the situation, but doesn’t see that he has any choice other than to deal with it somehow. As a parent it is making me sick to my stomach to know he has so much stress added to his life all due to the bathroom situation. I don’t understand how the University can think this is acceptable From what I gather from combing through other posts on this forum, this is NOT the situation in any of the other dormitories. Is there anything at all that can be done to ameliorate this situation?
@newmaroonmom There should be gendered bathrooms in every house, if I remember correctly what my daughter told me. Perhaps your son would be more comfortable using it. Most dorms have non-gendered communal bathrooms. My 4th year daughter lives in Burton-Judson, and her current bathroom sounds very much like your son’s, except there is only 1 shower, 2 toilet stalls, and 3 sinks for 8 students. I know there are shelves on the wall in the bathroom where kids can keep their toiletries, but she prefers to take her things back to her room. In the previous three years, she has not had anyone enter the bathroom while she was in the shower. In her house, the kids try to respect each other’s space as much as they can.
@newmaroonmom First of all, welcome and congratualtions! I hope you enjoyed the drop-off activities in spite of the rain. Is your DS have fun with O-Week activities?
Most kids carry their shower/bathroom stuff back and forth to the hall bathroom in a sturdy shower caddy, which can be set on the counter or floor while they are at the sink. There is likely a little bench in the shower stall to set it on while in the shower. He could carry a small hand towel in his caddy to wipe off the counter if it’s too wet.
Does the housing questionnaire ask for a preference on gender specific floors/bathrooms? I cant remember. But there are definitely single sex floors/wings in I-House. (My D’s wing in I-House is all women.) Maybe he could use the bathroom in a men-only wing on a floor above or below, or on the other wing of his floor if he is more comfortable with that. Or he’ll discover the least crowded time of day to take a shower. College students are great at finding “hacks” for just about anything.
He’ll probably have it all figured out by the end of O-week. I would be more worried about stress from the academic work load than from his bathroom situation. Those first SOC and HUM papers can be daunting (For most UChi first years, getting the first B of their lives is kind of a bummer?)
Strongly recommend the shower caddy!! There are decent ones online. Here’s the one that my son ordered on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Mainstay-Small-Utility-Shower-Caddy/dp/B01LXD29AC/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=utility+shower+caddy&qid=1569362650&s=home-garden&sr=1-2
He also brought along a terry robe which will help keep the towels needed in the shower area to a minimum.
I saw the questionnaire for housing when my son was completing it and don’t recall a gender preference question for the bathrooms. But unless something drastic has changed in housing policy, there should be single-sex (ie “gendered”) bathrooms up or down a floor. He can ask his RA about it.
Human beings are really, really resilient, especially young ones, And, unlike in the movies, at least at the University of Chicago they tend to be kind and respectful to one another, too. 100% of first year students survive whatever horrible bathroom situation in which they find themselves, without too much trauma. It definitely helps them mature.
Back when I-House was for graduate students and visitors, it had two bathrooms per floor, one big and one little, about a mile apart. One was for men, and one for women, and they alternated which one by floor. It was a loooong walk if you happened to have a room near the wrong bathroom – sometimes it was faster to walk up or down the stairs to the next floor if that got you to the big bathroom for your sex. Not so great.
Thank you all for your thoughtful counsel (and @JHS for letting me know that it could be even worse). My son does have a nice terry robe (didn’t understand what he would need it for when I gave it to him a few months ago- now he is very grateful for it) but the shower caddy I got him is one of those hanging mesh ones - @JBStillFlying the one you linked to would be much better, so I will get that on the way to him. Thanks!!
Yes, I know kids are resilient and he will survive. It is just a bummer that the I-House kids have so many extra challenges to deal with on top of the academic work load.
Glad that you’re feeling a little less worried about the bathroom situation. My son in BJ wasn’t thrilled with the similar bathroom situation when he arrived last year either. But, as others mentioned, he got a plastic caddy with drainage holes and I sent him some small hand towels (I actually sent dish towels since they were the right size and dry quickly) and things got better. Within a few weeks, the bathroom thing became a nonissue.
It’s so hard to leave them and it’s very normal to worry. If you can give it a few weeks, though, it’s likely the bathroom will have ceased to be a problem as he’ll have figured out what works for him and he’ll have moved on to all new things to complain about. 
On the flip side, if he’s like my son he’ll grow to be very attached to his house, his friends and the luxury of a single room.
@newmaroonmom if it helps any to make you feel better about I House, I had the privilege to eat dinner with the sophomore class XCountry runners a month ago when I dropped my son off. I sat next to two of his teammates and they both loved I House and had absolutely nothing but great things to say about their time there last year. They both said the long walks to class or dinner really didn’t seem that long and that they didn’t feel that they walked longer to class than any of their teammates.
Like all of his teammates they moved out after their first year, more to spend their time with the team. The whole class now walks farther to class than they did when they lived in the Residence Halls. They all seemed to buy limited dining plans so that they have one meal on campus a day, so for that they will be “commuting” to the dining halls.
I think like @JHS says, kids are pretty hardy and will adapt to the situation that they are put.
I will say that the food served in Cathey, is excellent! We ate lunch both Saturday and Sunday; not only was the menu varied, but everything I ate was fresh and well prepared. Nothing I ate was dry or overcooked, it all looked appetizing and tasted fresh.
If the food in Cathey is an indication of what the kids are eating on a daily basis, nutrition is one thing I can cross off my ‘worry-list’! The distance to said nutrition? Well, that’s a worry, LOL!
Quoting myself from another thread. Lots of I-House kids love I-House:
@browniesundae Quote 'I-House in The Bomb!" - the words of an incoming freshman
Said freshman is thrilled to bits to be in I-House!
My only real gripe(s) is the bathroom situation (at least install doors on the showers for more privacy, instead of curtains) and proximity to dining hall during the long, cold winter months.
Now that I’m calmed down a bit about the bathroom situation in I-House, my concern is turning to the oft-referred to brutal trek from I-House to Cathey in the winter. I know the University talks about shuttles which theoretically would allow I-House students to get to and from the dining hall without having to brave the elements, so why would students be choosing to go back and forth on foot? Unfortunately the shuttles were not running last weekend during move-in, so I have no sense of where and how often they run. Could those of you who are familiar please comment on the efficacy of the shuttle service?
Shuttles were, indeed, running during Move-In weekend. Can’t speak for all routes but I noticed several, including one on 59th and another near my D’s apartment around 53rd St.
Here are the links to the daytime and nightime routes:
https://safety-security.uchicago.edu/services/ugo_daytime_shuttles/
https://safety-security.uchicago.edu/services/ugo_nightride_shuttles/
@newmaroonmom, the parental concern about trekking for miles through the snowy drifts (uphill both ways, barefoot, and so on) crop up every year on CC. The facts are far less exciting. Cathey is .7 miles from I-House and it’s clear sidewalk the entire way unless one chooses to walk up the center of the Midway (which isn’t even possible in some sections even during nice weather). They will be joined by many others walking to and fro along 59th or 60th. Your DC will have way more information to share by the end of the quarter, but I’ve heard that the houses walk or shuttle over there as a group so it becomes an important social activity. Crossing the Midway can be a windy experience, but anyone who lives at or needs to get to south campus and its many schools and academic or residential buildings will need to cross the Midway so your DC will be in good company. Next year, with the opening of WRC, there will be approximately 1,100 additional students making that crossing on a daily basis. All will, hopefully, live to talk about it.