<p>This isn't quite in line with a lot of the other posts on here I suppose, but I applied EA and have loved U of C for its quirkiness, academics, etc. since junior year.</p>
<p>I only have one concern - do U of C students ever have any fun!? I know all these slogans about the squirrels being cuter than the boys and studying instead of sleeping are all jokes, but am I the only A+ student here who also wants to party in college? </p>
<p>If any U of C students can help me feel better about this one aspect of the university, I would feel so much better. I just don't believe that a school with so many undergrads, no one wants to have a few casual hookups and talk about something other than work on a saturday night, even if they do also have their weird latke/hamentashen debates as well! Am I just looking at the wrong school?</p>
<p>Current UChicago freshman speaking - there’s frat parties and open apartment parties aplenty every weekend, and one of the frats does bar night every Wednesday. Everything I’ve been to (and I go out 90% of weekends) has been well attended. I also know that a thirsty thursday exists, although I’ve never been, and once you start making friends with upperclassmen you’ll probably get invited to a few smaller parties as well. But fear not, though UChicago may be a group of dorky and driven 18-22 year olds, it is still a group of 18-22 year olds and that age group pretty much universally wants to drink and hookup. If you want to party and be social though, I’d recommend rooming in either Max P or South - not that people from the other dorms aren’t social as well, but those dorms tend to facilitate it better. There’s dorks in Max and party animals in Snitchcock but for the most part the dorm stereotypes exist for a reason.</p>
<p>About the boys - while I’ve visited friends who go to state school and the boys there are, on average, better looking, there are definitely good-looking guys here too. I guess the difference tends to be that there are a lot of guys here put the time that most guys would put into their appearance into their studies - there’s quite a few guys in my year who are dorky now but will probs be cute by the time they graduate.</p>
<p>There is plenty of fun to be had. There are parties every Friday and Saturday, as well as bar night on Wednesday, and thirsty thursdays. But, you can entirely avoid the party scene if you want, and a lot of people certainly do, but it’s there if you want to. Plenty of people hook up. The girls tend to be more unattractive than state schools, but the guys are about as good looking as average, leading to girls dating guys that might be considered out of their league at other places. There’s a term for guys lowering their standards over time. It’s called UChigoggles. Other than that, everyone has a ton of fun. Pretty much everyone is very happy, which I can’t say of other universities.</p>
<p>However, if you’re so inclined to dislike a school based on reputation and rumor, perhaps this is not the school for you.</p>
<p>The “fun” scene is certainly, uh, how should I say it, alive and well. The two posts above pretty much summarize it well, but another dorm with a lot of partying is Pierce. As well, even most of the traditional dorms that don’t party have groups of people who go out all the time (BJ, Blackstone, Maclean, etc). My house doesn’t really hook up that much; there are a few intra-house relationships and a few more awkwardly repeating hookups, but no one (that I know of) has had a big night where they brought someone home. That being said, my house is somewhat tame compared to the other houses in our dorm, and I’ve heard a LOT of stories about hookups in South Campus.</p>
<p>I think a lot of people do this because the amount of work is ridiculous. If you don’t have fun (not just partying, maybe you live in one of the stereotypical UofC dorms and play boardgames on Saturday nights), you WILL go crazy. No one can work 7 days straight without losing their marbles.</p>
<p>Also, like people said above, if you want to stay away from the drinking/drugs/sex aspect of college, it’s very easy. Moreover you only have to live in housing for one year, so if you find the whole collegiate party “culture” repulsive, you only have to put up with it for three quarters… then you can move off campus and hide in your apartment all the time.</p>
<p>I’m also an undergrad applying and was having the same concerns - thanks so much for posting this atomicannie! I’m so happy to have it confirmed by real students so I can stop telling people that the “where fun comes to die” thing is not 100% true.</p>
<p>I have another question also - How many students go into Chicago on a regular basis? Also, do U of Chi students ever do anything with students from Loyola, Art institute, or Northwestern students? Oh, and since you guys are talking about certain dorms being certain ways, I assume that means you’re allowed to request certain housing/switch houses every year?</p>
<p>I’m in Breckinridge (one of the “stereotypical” UChicago dorms), and I try to go downtown every weekend. We’re located adjacent to a #6 bus stop on Stony Island, so it’s really convenient to hop on the bus and go up to Michigan Ave. There are some people that play board games on Saturday nights, but plenty of us are more interested in exploring the restaurants and cultural events in the city.</p>
<p>Myself and most of my friends go into the city at least once a week. The only week I didn’t go downtown was week before finals, because I was swamped with writing. As far as doing stuff with Loyola/Northwestern, that’s all dependent on you. If you have friends at those schools who will invite you to parties, it’s east to get there, but like with pretty much any inter-college party, you need to know someone. I know people who do go to parties at Loyola and Northwestern, but they have girlfriends there, and as far as I know, it’s not terribly common.</p>
<p>I’m a first-year and I am having the time of my life at UChicago. Look, this place is not for everybody, and there’s no way around that. If you want to party every night of the week, it won’t be easy for you to do that here. But if you want a balanced social life that involves partying, chilling with friends, and going downtown, then this place will make you very happy.</p>
<p>In all seriousness though, if you like the quirkiness and hopefully get the “where fun comes to die” humor then you don’t need to worry about anything.</p>