<p>So for all of you looking for an insider's POV, I hope this helps. I really love this school, and yes, it's true, people are weird. There are a few normal ones...nah that's just a myth.</p>
<p>lol, i'm stoked about my overnight this friday.</p>
<p>thanks for the Information dude!!</p>
<p>hahaha, I was walking around today thinking about how normal this place feels.</p>
<p>If you will allow, let me go U of C on you for a sec and unpack "weird." Some people think of "weird" as icky, nasty people who don't shower for days, make snide comments, and give shifting glances whenever somebody asks them a question. I'm sure you can find people who are similar to how I described, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were pockets of similarly "weird" people at schools that are largely considered "normal." I mention this because I've visited Penn and Cornell a number of times and I've seen more than a few "weird" students of this variety in particular.</p>
<p>The other kind of "weird" I imagine the OP is referring to is an "ew... you like to talk about SCHOOL?" kind of weird. That's the weird we tend to specialize in, and that's the kind of weird that I think a lot of people here are, even if they pass as normal. We have our fair share of fashionistas, and we also have a fair share of students who don't care much for their physical appearance. Either way, we specialize in all garden varieties of oddballs. There doesn't seem to be much of a divide between people who look and dress one way and people who look and dress another way.... we all like to play Scrabble anagrams or work on physics problem sets.</p>
<p>And then, sure, there's a subset of kids whom you'd imagine would be a poster child for a Davidson or a Colgate, students who are smart and do not stray from the "norm" in any significant way whatsoever.</p>
<p>Haha. I met this kid there (he was my tour guide) who was an English or theater major (although he started out on the pre-med path)...and he wanted to be a clown.</p>
<p>He was awesome.</p>
<p>the purported eccentricity of students at chicago is one of the principal reasons i'm applying there - i should fit right in. </p>
<p>but i'm worried everyone there prizes idiosyncrasies to the point where they shun normalcy, even its smallest manifestations. i'd hate it if chicago students were elitist and snobbish, aspiring towards quirkiness just for the hell of it. it'd be a tad pretentious, wouldn't it?</p>
<p>You could not have said it better.</p>
<p>haha people here are just as weird as any other smart school. with 4200 undergrads about, we got em all, weirdos, racists, models, normal people, jocks, preps, we have it all</p>
<p>UChicago's purportedly eccentric and idiosyncratic student body is the very reason I'm not going to apply. I'm all for breaking the mold, but in all honesty -- quirkiness can be VERY irritating. I know a lot of oddballs, and they are some of the most annoying people to be around.</p>
<p>(And of course I'm sure that UChi has its share of 'regular' kids, but then again, so does every other university in the nation.)</p>
<p>Yea, there are weird ass people in my classes. Yea, there are weird people all over campus. But let me ask you, do you hang out with them? I sure as hell don't. When I go downtown, I don't go with the kid who hasn't showered his entire life; I go with my friends. And to tell you the truth, weird people make things more interesting. The **** they do is incredibly funny. And if you're weird, don't worry. You can hang out with other weird people. This is just speculation, but I bet you find the stuff I do to be funny.</p>
<p>I would encourage those of you who wonder what the "weirdness" level is like here to visit the school if you can, because it's probably not the way you imagine it. The U of C stereotype is that of an elitist, annoying, antisocial oddball, but that stereotype is just a stereotype, and that stereotype is, over time, becoming less and less pervasive.</p>
<p>I imagine the new "stereotypical" U of C kid to be somebody who is very much interested in schoolwork, but not necessarily grades (or even doing it), likes to hold up to his or her side of a debate, thinks that weird, in small doses, is refreshing, but does not revel in the fact that he or she may be weird. </p>
<p>My housemates this year fall all over the spectrum. Some of them were the "goth" kids in high school and have a taxonomy of metal music. Some were "belles," or "preps." Some were "dark horses." Some were "indie." I hate to put them into categories like this, because it doesn't do them any justice to the amazingly awesome people that they are, but I'm doing it to give you a sense that many different "types" fit in here.</p>
<p>The types of people you find yourself surrounded by will depend a lot on where you live on campus, your major, the classes you take, and what you enjoy socially.</p>
<p>If you like in Snell-Hitchcock, want to be a Math major, are in 207, and love Scav, video games, fencing, and Mafia, then you'll be constantly surrounded by the UChicago "weird" stereotype. Further, you will probably belong in that stereotype. These people love their lives at the U of C. I'm not sure what they do really, but they tend to love housing, the aforementioned activities, and awkward pauses. Some of these students are very proud of their nerdiness, but most just see themselves as weird but normal. Good for them. You'll work with these types of people your entire life. They'll get married, have kids, work in the same offices as everybody else.</p>
<p>If you live in the Shoreland, want to be an English/Anthro/Econ/some other major, are taking a variety of liberal artsy courses with some Ice Age Earth or 153 thrown in, and like to complain about your work, wonder the halls of the Shoreland, go to Bar Night, watch movies in the dorm, and go downtown, then you'll probably find yourself in the company of the supposedly "normal" U of C population. These people can be dorky at times, may throw in random references to Marx or Durkheim or someone you've never heard of, and may get really excited about a particular class, but in most ways are like students at other schools.</p>
<p>"but i'm worried everyone there prizes idiosyncrasies to the point where they shun normalcy, even its smallest manifestations. i'd hate it if chicago students were elitist and snobbish, aspiring towards quirkiness just for the hell of it. it'd be a tad pretentious, wouldn't it?"</p>
<p>haha many people here are ordinary human beings who wear sweatshirts and drink beer on fridays</p>
<p>There are people almost everywhere who "shun normalcy" and "aspire toward quirkiness just for the hell of it." Many of them are much more than "a tad pretentious". Ever read Brideshead Revisited? The Secret History?Chicago doesn't have any kind of monopoly here.</p>
<p>haha, I live in Snell-Hitchcock, and while a lot of people with the traits you described do live here, I don't consider it weird by any standards :) And, in fact, a lot of people here live "normal" lives-- my roommate's on the women's rugby team, for instance.</p>
<p>Wow, a man in a woman's rugby team...That's normal!</p>
<p>(just kidding people, hold on to your hate mail)</p>
<p>
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<p>sweeeeeet.</p>
<p>
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Wow, a man in a woman's rugby team...That's normal!
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<p>for future reference, I = girl</p>
<p>:D</p>
<p>This conversation came up at dinner a few nights ago, but it was the consensus of the upperclassmen in my house that the incoming first years are becoming more normal with every class. </p>
<p>On a more important note (at least in my opinion), there are a sufficient number of hot girls here. *** you say? I know, I thought the same thing. It's awesome. I was expecting a place where "the squirrels are hotter than the girls and more aggressive than the guys."</p>
<p>As I said, Metonymy, most of the people in the "weird" category I mentioned see themselves as normal. j/k I know a couple pretty cool people in Snell-Hitchcock. The combination of multiple factors I listed tend to put someone in the "weird" category. So, there are "weird" people in Max, and there are "normal" people in S-H.</p>