<p>All I hear from people when I say that I'm applying to the University of Chicago is, "it's too cold man, you'll freeze your butt off."</p>
<p>I'm from SoCal and I think it can get pretty cold here during winters (like 48 degrees F)</p>
<p>I've heard bad bad things about Chicago's weather.
lol...coming from a New Englander, 48 F is NOT cold for winter or fall for that matter.</p>
<p>It's mostly due to the city's proximity to Lake Michigan, I think. It's in the 20's and snowing there right now, anyway. I only lived in Chicago for two years so someone currently living there can probably give you a better account, but I remember having to avoid patches of ice on that hadn't been salted yet, how getting out of the car for a moment in the winter meant almost having your ears frozen off, and having the wind almost drag you away when you went outside. 48 degrees is probably considered pleasantly toasty.</p>
<p>or maybe my memory is exaggerating these things. i hope so. </p>
<p>even so, don't listen to your constantly tan friends! they are spoiled by socal weather. anything can be adapted to! after a few months you will be able put on a shirt, a sweater, a scarf, a hat, two pairs of socks, two pairs of pants, a heavy jacket, and boots in no time.</p>
<p>Weather shouldn't be your primary consideration in college selection, but if you think 48 degrees is cold, you're in for a rude awakening. It isn't called the Windy City for nothing...sub-zero wind chills in the winter will be a reality. However, it won't encompass the entire school year. Fall and spring are very pleasant. And...Chicago is one of America's greatest cities. IMO, it's well worth the extra layers of clothing.</p>
<p>Check the weather report online for a week or so to get an idea. Chicago is very cold, windy, and snowy. But I think UChicago is definitely worth it. :)</p>
<p>I'm in a north suburb of Chicago... and yeah the winters can be pretty brutal. 48 degrees constitutes no jacket for me - that's actually pretty warm depending on the time of year.</p>
<p>Anyway, Chicago has both extremes - hot summers and brutally cold winters. Right now it's not too bad, something like high 20s... and there's also maybe 6 inches of snow on the ground. However, this entire week when I went to school it was maybe 2 degrees... and they only cancel school if it's something like -10, I believe. Anyway, it's not intolerable... I mean, I don't think you'll be spending a lot of time outside when it's below 20 degrees... and you could just wrap yourself up and run.</p>
<p>as for the comment: "how getting out of the car for a moment in the winter meant almost having your ears frozen off, and having the wind almost drag you away when you went outside"</p>
<p>YES. Oh man. I drive to school this year and luckily someone in my family usually starts my car for me about an hour before I go to school and I'm still shivering all the way to school from just running outside to get inside my car. </p>
<p>And yeah, this is my first year driving in the snow and it's pretty bad... we had a lot of snow on Thursday and I lost control about four times, luckily the roads were empty because I was swerving all over the place. And then I got stuck backing up and had to literally hold the pedal down for maybe 10 seconds before flying backwards. It was bad, but I refused to get out of the car to shovel myself out. And boots are a necessity because even walking to my car can freeze my feet. </p>
<p>And to think I used to love winter..... nope. Not anymore. But again, it's tolerable. Well, I would like to think it's tolerable for University of Chicago/Chicago's other aspects..</p>
<p>You can deal with cold weather...trust me. It's not that bad, and it can be sort of fun sometimes. Plus, you'll get used to it after a month or two.</p>
<p>P.S. 48 degrees is warm! :-D
...what's bad is when it's about 5 degrees and your furnace is broken. that actually happened to me a few days ago</p>
<p>well, I'm from Alaska, so no weather can discourage me..</p>
<p>It gets around 95 degrees F in the summer,</p>
<p>It was negative sixty in a winter few years back,
yes, -60 degrees F
Now for those of you curious, how cold is -60 Degrees F? well, you can't tell you, though I can say that many deaths were involved</p>
<p>I'm from MA so I've experienced some pretty cold winters, but nothing like -60! What I've found, is that once you reach a certain point below freezing, it doesn't matter anymore. There's a big difference between 75F and 85F, but you probably won't be able to tell the difference between 5F and 15F. Once the temperature is that low, everything feels the same. Or, if you're lucky, you'll be numb. But you can get used to anything.</p>
<p>I was a grad student at Chicago when the city had its coldest day, -29 F, -90 F wind chill, now that was a cold day. The good news is, I survived it. It can be brutally cold, but the intellectual heat keeps one warm. Our lab was about a mile from campus, walked it everyday regardless of the season. Planned a route that allowed several stops in local businesses, to the great delight of Powell's (a used book store).</p>
<p>Well, I'm from Chicago and I love the cold. You can learn to love it! The lake effect snow and cold is a *****, I have to say. Still....you get to make snowmen! Isn't freezing your butt off for a few weeks worth it for snowmen and a Chicago education? (Mainly the education)</p>
<p>I heard that it hasn't been above freezing since November 30th in Chicago.</p>
<p>BTW, it's not called the 'Windy City' because of the wind.</p>
<p>I have two words for you: "frozen nosehairs"</p>
<p>beprepn</p>
<p>dennggg.. well, I said 48 degrees.. that's like, at when you wake and have yet to see traces of the sun, around 5:30 to 6:00 AM.</p>
<p>Around 1:00 it's like in the low 80's.. in December
also, in the summer we had temps around 106 (And football practice wasn't cancelled!); it was insane. </p>
<p>That's why I say i'd like the cold, but now I'm starting to get scared!</p>
<p>O yea, and there's practically never any wind at all.</p>
<p>and also, the last time we had any snow at all was like 8 years ago..</p>
<p>AND WOW I can't believe you guys are saying 48 degrees is warm.. lol</p>
<p>48 degrees: If i'm out wearing a t-shirt I'm shivering and my teeth are shaking uncontrollably.</p>
<p>I was a grad student at Chicago when the city had its coldest day, -29 F, -90 F wind chill, now that was a cold day. </p>
<p>O_O holy ****. how do people... breathe?!</p>
<p>48 degrees is still flip flop weather for me! born and raised in chicago...i can tell you that it gets damn cold. invest in a long down jacket right now. the wind is brutal. i actually have this stuff from a ski shop that's like wax for your face so that you don't get wind burn. believe me, it's neccessary. university of chicago is so worth dealing with winter though!</p>
<p>i'm actually applying to claremont and pomona (in SoCal) so while you will be suffering in the cold that i've know my whole life....i will hopefully be enjoying the warm warm california sun.</p>
<p>"holy ****. how do people... breathe?!"</p>
<p>Through a scarf wrapped numerous times over your face. Sometimes gloved hands over nose and mouth as well. Haha, it hurts.</p>
<p>Last week we had a fire drill during the school day... and it was snowing out... that was fun... I had a sweatshirt on luckily but a lot of poeple were just in tshirts</p>
<p>I grew up in Southern California, went to college in Wisconsin and still live in the midwest (MI). You can adapt. If you take a look, you'll notice that a huge number of people live in Chicago.</p>
<p>Sweet! I live in Michigan! I go to Gabriel Richard (Ann Arbor)...on Domino's Farms? I used to live in Chicago (suburbs), but moved here about 1 year ago.</p>