<p>I have a dilemma. I'm joining the freshman class next year at UChicago and am currently deciding between dorms.</p>
<p>I really like the idea of living in a single and currently have Burton-Judson as my top choice. HOWEVER, I also really like the dorm life of Max P. Which leads me to ask...</p>
<p>Are people in BJ generally socially awkward or grossly unattractive?</p>
<p>I know this seems like a very superficial question, but it's been on my mind lately. I like Max P in that it has a sense of normalcy while in keeping with the overall UChicago vibe. I like BJ in that students there seem to be more interested in talking or exploring the city than partying every weekend. BJ kids are also very into the UChicago student culture, which I totally dig. But I'm not sure if I want to end up in a dorm house with a bunch of Millhouses.</p>
<p>I’m in the same boat as lesojiko, except Max P and BJ are currently my 1st and 2nd dorm choices, respectively. I love Max P’s location, and I love libraries, but I also don’t think I’ll fit in with the “dorm culture” there, e.g. more partying/extroverted people.</p>
<p>That said, what does “dorm culture” actually mean and how strong is it? I’ve heard that certain dorms are more social/quirky/other-characteristic than others, but does it affect you THAT much? For current students, what was the most important deciding factor when filling out the housing app, what was your favorite thing about your house, and why?</p>
<p>May I respectfully offer a parental-type suggestion here? High school is pretty much over for all of you. Stop looking around trying to guess who’s cooler than you and where they are going to hang out. It’s hard enough – sometimes, it’s plain hard – to figure out what YOU want, what will make YOU happy. Do that, and stop trying to game what other people are going to do, because it’s next to impossible, and there’s no real payoff to it. One of the dumber moves you can make is not doing something you would enjoy because you are afraid that uncool people do that thing, too, and you do not want to be uncool by association.</p>
<p>Have a little faith that enough people like you will make the same choices you do that you won’t be alone. Have a little ego-sense that living next to a “Millhouse” – gasp! – if that happens, isn’t somehow going to infect you or diminish you. (Same thing with living next to a 24-hour party person.) Have enough humility to realize that said Millhouse (or party person) is there for as good a reason as you are, and may in fact turn out to be a valuable friend, lover, teacher, co-conspirator, whatever. Or not, but it won’t matter, because you won’t have trouble finding other people to play those roles.</p>
<p>You know I had the exact same problem as you, and I spent a good amount of time thinking about this. I eventually made a pro-con list in my head. Max had the obvious advantage of being close to the library and the gym, but I always really hated the architecture while I really liked BJ’s. And BJ’s was connected to the dining hall, so that meant I could avoid any cold weather when I could (born and raised in Miami). What I was really torn about was the roommates and bathroom aspects. Max meant that I would have a private bathroom, but that I would have to get around to cleaning it, while BJ’s community bathroom meant that I never had to clean them but that I would have to leave my room and walk down the hallway whenever I had to use it. I was torn of the roommate thing because I do like to have some privacy, but a roommate makes it alot easier to meet people. Plus, I had heard that Max is more social and so I thought it would be a better way to be able to go to get-togethers and parties and such (which to me aren’t so important, but I do like to drink every once in a while). </p>
<p>In the end, I decided on Max, because I came to the (probably erroneous) conclusion that since BJ is mostly for the people that want to live in single dorms, people there aren’t as social and I would have a more difficult time making friends and really getting into the college spirit.</p>
<p>@JHS: I appreciate your input! I realize that I came across fairly “high school” and seeming that I was trying to find the “cool kids”. I agree that it’s time to move on from that, but in the end, it is inevitable that different dorms have entirely different student cultures. At this point in time, I’m just trying to find the dorm in which I would enjoy myself and get along with my classmates the most. I’m more than happy to welcome a “Milhouse” into my life with open arms, but I’m just using that term as a possible way to stereotype a dorm culture that I don’t know would fit me all too well. In the end, though, as you pointed out, a stereotype is a stereotype.</p>
<p>Max P is great. Never underestimate the glory of private bathrooms. The bathrooms are also intensely cleaned by the janitors at the end of every quarter, so you don’t need to work too hard to keep it clean. Also, don’t be turned off by the potential for loads jocks or party-hard frat boys, they’re a minority (and are generally really great people anyways, so…). </p>
<p>I’m sure BJ is also great, but I have minimal experience with that. They have a better dining hall (although Bartlett is getting some major renovations this summer to bring it up to par).</p>
<p>Do current students agree, honestly, that “in the end, it is inevitable that different dorms have entirely different student cultures”? I think that’s about 180 degrees from the truth.</p>
<p>My impression – but I’m not a student, and I don’t even know many current students – is that with the exception of Snitchcock, which does have some sort of unique culture – all the dorms have a mix of various different student cultures tossed together. Salad bowls. One may have a little more lettuce, and another has three colors of peppers, not just two, but fundamentally they are all salads, and you get the same choice of dressings everywhere. All it’s really about is single vs. double, bathroom types, architecture, dining hall, and distance from the library/gym/shops/metra. And none of that stuff matters much.</p>
In the end the dorms do seem to have different cultures, though whether that matters much is a whole separate issue. </p>
<p>Consider how many prospective students have in mind the idea of Max and South as the “social dorms,” and how they will inevitably factor this into their decisions. The students who want a social dorm will be much more likely to go for Max and South, and those who don’t want such a dorm (or simply don’t care) will not. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. Someone who puts South and Max as their first two choices is almost guaranteed to get one or the two owing to the sheer number of spots available. On the other hand, someone attracted to Snitchcock–even if they, like you, see it as the only dorm with a unique culture–will be more likely to put a smaller dorm 2nd. Since Snitchcock is so difficult to get, many of these people will get their 2nd or 3rd choices, thus filling the other dorms with more people attracted to the “unique” Snitchcock culture. Obviously there are plenty of exceptions, but most students would agree that the populations of the dorms can have very different feels. I wouldn’t say that the claim of “entirely different cultures” is 180 degrees from the truth, although it is exaggerated. </p>
<p>My impression is that people who feel inclined to pick South or Max for the social life should do so. I don’t mean to say that “social” people should feel dissuaded from choosing other dorms–if you’re truly social you’ll make friends no matter where you live. But if you’d really prefer to surround your immediate living quarters with a somewhat more social group, then you might as well. It’s not as though there are many significant factors to deal with.</p>
<p>I actually find the stereotypes of dorms to be fairly accurate. No, I do not mean that everyone in Snitchcock is especially introverted or quirky or that Max residents are only jocks, but, in general, the populations do tend towards their stereotype. I think that the reason for this, as dunbar pointed out, is that incoming students select their dorm based on the minimal information (mostly based on stereotypes) that they have heard about them from current students and tour guides. They align themselves with the one they think that they fit in with. </p>
<p>Also, geography plays a roll. Namely, Max and Pierce are close to Ratner…</p>