<p>I'm STILL seeing this happen far too often.</p>
<p>Honestly, Chicago isn’t that cold. Especially not this winter (knock on wood). I’m from England, and I spent my first year without a proper coat or snow-boots, and I would come back to my dorm from a snowstorm feeling miserable.
But this winter I actually prepared myself for the weather, and it was fine. The buildings are heated, public transport is heated, and if you know there’s going to be a big snow-fall - you have a little time to get yourself ready for it. Just bring a big coat.
I also kind of love snowball fights. </p>
<p>The University does a lot of things to help us recognize the awesomeness of actually having a winter season. We have our own ice-skating rink, a huge winter festival called Kuvia (with hot chocolate and yoga at the Point and a clothes-less Polar Bear Run), and roaring fires in the Reynold’s Club.</p>
<p>I’m from California and the weather is definitely one HUGE factor that is holding me back from committing.</p>
<p>What my D found was not that it was too cold but that the heating systems made a lot of buildings too warm! She wasn’t used to having to take off her hat, gloves, and coat as soon as she entered a well-heated (overly heated?) building.</p>
<p>It was 59 degrees yesterday and not even a record for Feb 29th.</p>
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<p>And who is Chicago losing to because of the weather …</p>
<p>Duke and Stanford … Ok, the argument works …</p>
<p>Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, MIT, Penn, Cornell, Amherst, Williams, etc … not so much</p>
<p>It seems to me the lion’s share of competitors have similar weather.</p>
<p>When you’re from California, it’s always a refreshing change to visit places that have seasons. I always enjoy visiting family during the holidays and hope for snow for Christmas. None of it seems real when I am there because I know it is just temporary. (Just like when I am overseas on vacation and it rains some.) The summers in Chicago are hot, if you are in town then, and you can always move away after you graduate if you decide you don’t like the weather.
As someone who lives in Los Angeles, I can’t say I find the whether in Palo Alto or Durham the slightest bit appealing. The Bay Area is fog central.
But I don’t think I would make this my main criteria for choosing a college. Just get a heavy coat and spend some time in the sauna and you’ll be fine or go to Spring Break somewhere warm.</p>
<p>It kept S2 from applying.</p>
<p>If you don’t like cold weather, don’t apply to schools in NYC, Boston–or anywhere in New England–or Chicago. LOL! Or should I say the Northern U.S. </p>
<p>Try Miami or Hawaii–the weather’s splendid.</p>
<p>I know that schools in the northeast are obviously as cold or colder than chicago, but it’s weird… I don’t think people really realize it. When I told teachers I applied to schools in Mass. they were like oh wow what a wonderful, beautiful place. Then when I said I applied to uchicago as well their only response was eckkk the weather there is so brutal. </p>
<p>Also I live in a sunbelt state.</p>
<p>something makes me think they were thinking about chicago’s safety reputation when they were talking about the weather.</p>
<p>I don’t think so. The city I live in isn’t one of the safest places so going to hyde park would actually be a step up</p>
<p>There’s something to be said for being scared of the weather here, if you’re unaware of how bearable it is. Chicago seasons are actually pretty wonderful! Today, for example, is beautiful and sunny and warm.
Also, Chicago is so used to snow that it knows exactly how to deal with it - and UChicago does too. When we had our two consecutive Snow Days last year (Snopocalypse!), there was a giant snowball fight on the main quad and everyone was outside acting like little kids. It’s a different climate from what you may be used to, sure, but that doesn’t make it worth not applying.</p>
<p>Really? I’m from South East Asia lol and I’m actually kind of excited to go to a (much) colder environment - if I have the chance :D</p>
<p>I grew up in the Northeast, still live in the Northeast, went to school at Northwestern. It’s not the cold; it’s the wind. The damn wind. I’ve never been so cold in my life as I was in college. In addition, Spring didn’t come until the end of May; Fall ended in the middle of October. Froze my patootities off for four years.</p>
<p>It is 67 degrees today and overcast. March can be erratic, but it is warm here this week.</p>
<p>Yeah, we’re having the most amazing Finals Week weather right now (the kind of weather that makes you wish it wasn’t Finals Week…)</p>
<p>It’s actually warmer in Chicago right now than here in L.A. (Has been all week, which is annoying!) :)</p>
<p>Harvard is cold
Yale is cold
Dartmouth is cold
Brown is cold</p>
<p>etc etc. etc.</p>
<p>@floridadad55 = correct!</p>