<p>Like the title says, I'm a first year willing to answer questions to the best of my ability. I've only been here for half a quarter, but I figure this may be helpful to some.</p>
<p>Is it as awesome as i hope it is?</p>
<p>^That was literally my question as well <3</p>
<p>So far are the horror stories of work load true?</p>
<p>NoNameNeil and CSIHSIS:
In short, yes. This was my top school and I’ve had no second thoughts since coming here. The social atmosphere is really varied, which surprised me. So whatever your scene is, you will find it. But overall the school has a fun, quirky, academic vibe that I enjoy immensely. For example, some people from my HUM class tried to find out if “might makes right” this weekend at a frat party by shoving through the line to the bathroom. They then reported their findings to my professor. I find this just incredibly amusing. Also the readings in the HUM and SOSC classes are really excellent. Even if the class isn’t great, you will learn a lot from the books you are assigned. Plus the campus is just incredible. Even if you are having a bad day, the ivy covered neo-gothic architecture will cheer you up. And there are coffee shops scattered everywhere. It’s a beautiful experience to read Adam Smith in a cafe hidden on the second floor of a hundred year old building. If you can’t tell, I’m really enamored. Maybe it’s because it’s all new to me, but I don’t think that should invalidate how I feel.</p>
<p>mackscoutz:
No, not really. There’s a fair amount of work, but it’s very doable. It really depends on the classes you take, but from what I’ve experienced and seen others experience, if you stay on top of things, it won’t be terrible. The big thing is that, even though you have a ton of work, you have a lot more time then in high school. So if you budget your time in a reasonable way, you will be ok. That’s not to say you won’t get stressed, but you won’t fail all your classes. And just to clarify, this is coming from basically a high school slacker. I have TERRIBLE time management, but with a little effort, I get by with relatively little frustration. And I’m taking four classes. For people taking more math classes, it seems to be a little horrible. But again, they have time to finish their work and socialize. It will be fine.</p>
<p>I agree with TeaRoseR about the workload. You’ll have much more fun here compared to high school even though you have more work.</p>
<p>Do you know if there are any tunisians currently going to uchicago ??</p>
<p>This might be a completely ridiculous question, but how is dorm life? (I’ve heard some are a lot better than others). Is it a social environment? And how is the closet space? :)</p>
<p>How have the parties and dining halls been?</p>
<p>Molectron: I have no idea about the Tunisian populations here, sorry.</p>
<p>Mackscoutz: Dorm life really depends on where you live. I can only really tell you about my residence hall. I live in Blackstone, which I like very much, but it gets a bit… quiet, I guess? It’s kind of far so sometimes people don’t leave to go places, which is sad. Not a ton of people hang out in the lounge. Mostly people hang out in each others rooms, because they are so huge (and the closet space in them is absurd, to answer that question). I’m proud to say my room is a very social place, and overall my floor has a really nice camaraderie going on right now. Other dorms, like South or Max P may be vastly different. I could talk a little bit about them, but you would be better served asking people who live there. If anyone has any questions about Blackstone, let me know! </p>
<p>The social environment is, as I said, very varied. Even in a dorm like Blackstone (a pretty self-selecting group) there are sorority girl types and hipsters and really odd people (mostly in a cool way) and normal people. Things seem to slow down around the middle of the quarter, but thats because of the work load. I’ve been very busy this week! But yeah, this weekend I’ll decompress by partying in one way or another. There are parties every weekend at the frats. If you like frat parties, you will probably like them. I hear Stony has some nice apartment parties, which I’d very much like to get in on. If you have any questions about alcohol or drug use, I can answer that too, I think. It’s a reasonable concern.</p>
<p>Facedownclap: For the part about parties, see the second paragraph of my answer to mackscoutz. The dining halls aren’t bad, but they aren’t great. Very repetitive. Bartlett is cool looking, and a nice place to socialize with housemates between classes. I spend a fair amount of time in the dining hall just studying in my two hour break and talking to whoever comes in. Hope that helps.</p>
<p>I’m a current first-year as well.</p>
<p>I agree about the workload. If you pick classes that are right for you, it can be very manageable as long as you stay on top of everything. If you don’t have good time management, however, you’ll definitely be pulling a couple all-nighters.</p>
<p>Dorm life is good. Don’t be bummed if you don’t get your first choice. It’s true that no matter where you end up, you won’t be able to imagine yourself anywhere else. (And I live in Pierce.) Dorm life will be varied wherever you are and each house is supposed to be a cross-section of the University as a whole anyway. Don’t worry about which dorm you get because each is filled with great UChicago people.</p>
<p>And yes, it is as awesome as you think it is.</p>
<p>Listen to OxalisWombo. In every manner. He is easily the most famous first year at Chicago.
But seriously, this is a great place. Why else would we be taking a break from our copious amounts of work/Friday sing-a-longs to help recruit people to this school!</p>
<p>@blueshirt21, this may sound creepy, but I know exactly who you are. You went to my HS!!! How does it go? Awesome what? Oh yeah, Rossum.</p>
<p>and you are also from Chicago as well…#twocanplayatthisgame</p>
<p>Maybe…</p>
<p>10char.</p>
<p>Campus is beautiful (You won’t find another university in the world more similar to Harry Potter), University student benefits are great (Flex dollars, unlimited meal plan, CTA Public transportation cards, Safe ride, Free on campus at night busing systems, etc etc…), Drinking policy is very lax, you will not get in trouble with the cops for alcohol, they are only there to help you and make sure you are safe, the academic experience is unmatched, the social life is great, we have hipsters, preps, athletes (me), average joes, gamers, potheads, frat boys, sorority girls… audiophiles… you name it. We also have the best jokes and puns you will ever find on a campus.</p>
<p>There is also much less of…categorization here, because everyone is more or less pretty smart. You don’t have dumb jocks-you have smart athletes. People get along pretty well, so far as I’ve seen. UChicago is what you make of it-if you go in wanting to challenge yourself with a grueling course load, thats obviously possible. But if you want to meet new people, get involved with organizations ranging from community service to paleontology, you can do the same. Its really the best place ever.</p>
<p>Just curious, if y’all feel like sharing, what your experience is with financial aid?</p>
<p>Well, now I know who blueshirt21 is as well. :D</p>
<p>
qfe.</p>
<p>@mackscoutz:</p>
<p>Financial aid for me worked out pretty well. Out of the schools I applied to, Chicago’s aid was best, if that means anything to you, even though I only got a bit of merit money.</p>