Shoreland vs Max P

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
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<p>Ok, so I know there have been plenty of posts on the "Unofficial Dorm Guide" thread, but I'm really only interested in two residence halls: Shoreland and Max P. I will be a first year student at UChicago next year and choosing what residence hall to put down as my first choice is proving to be much more difficult than I had originally anticipated. Below is a brief list of my person pro/cons of both dorms, please drop any opinions and/or personal experiences to help ease my decision! </p>

<p>MAX P PROS
-extremely conveniently located
-"private" (one for every suite of four students) bathrooms
-central air
-get the bartlett meal plan
-pretty "social"</p>

<p>MAX P CONS
-the houses are pretty big (100+)
-can't stay in the dorms during break</p>

<p>SHORELAND PROS
-possibility of getting a single in first year (even though it's a small one)
-private bathrooms
-extremely social
-good sense of community within dorm and houses
-amazing views
-lots of restaurants, delis, etc on 53rd</p>

<p>SHORELAND CONS
-the distance!
-relying on the bus in the brutal winter cold
-not ideal during study time, aka not the quietest dorm
-eat at either BJ or Pierce (and I really didn't like the Pierce food when I visited) </p>

<p>About me: I am a very social person, but I do work a lot. I figure I'll spend most of my time studying in the libraries, so the fact that Shoreland isn't the best place to study (or so I've heard from current students) isn't really what bothers me the most, it's more the distance from the libraries. I don't necessarily want to wake up early so that I have to make the commute from the Shoreland, but I'm scared I won't get any exercise if I'm at Max P (I won't be playing any varsity sports - maybe IM). I am definitely not an introvert, and I love going out and having a fun time (which is why Shoreland sounds so great), but I'm scared that if I am at Shoreland, I won't be very productive academically.</p>

<p>Sorry for the novel, I've been thinking about this for days. Can anyone help me out?</p>

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<p>You'll be fine with either.</p>

<p>Shoreland students who study in the libraries tend to stay on campus during the day, so you'll likely go over to campus for your first class, and then you can stay on campus all day if you want. So if you want, you can structure your schedule something like this: Class #1, library, lunch, Class #2, library, dinner, club meeting, library until you finish your work or want to go back to your room. Other students go back to their room a couple of times a day, but many other students spend their free time on campus in the library or studying somewhere else on campus. </p>

<p>Max is really close to both gyms, so if you want to get exercise, it would be really easy to go work out before class, in between classes, in the evenings, or whenever. If you live in the Shoreland, you'll probably do a lot of walking in the fall and spring and not much in the winter. Waiting for the buses and shuttles is annoying but very do-able. </p>

<p>Shoreland tends to be more social than Max within the houses. I do know exceptions to this rule, though, so it's not a given. Shoreland has lots of parties within houses in the Shoreland on weekends, but Max is close to the frats. Many Shoreland students want to go to the frats even if there are Shoreland parties, and then they need to take the shuttle there and back (or the drunk van back). </p>

<p>I'm thinking that maybe you would like the Shoreland as your #1, but keep in mind that since it's being torn down, you could only live there for one year (if the closing date is still what I think it is?). If you want to stay in housing, and stay in your house, then you should consider that a plus for Max.</p>

<p>Pierce food isn't great. BJ food isn't much better. But then again Max students get really bored of Bartlett food pretty quickly. There's usually a little more variety day-to-day in Pierce and BJ, though Bartlett has more choices and better quality food overall. </p>

<p>I'm thinking you should do Shoreland, Max, Pierce or Shoreland, Max, Broadview. I don't think you can go wrong between Shoreland and Max, though. You'll hopefully like whichever one you end up in. A lot of it just depends on chance, too. Houses change personality every year. As I said, there are Max houses that are more social and more tightly knit than some Shoreland houses.</p>

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<p>Wow, thank you! Now I just have to convince my mother ... she thinks staying in the Shoreland is an awful idea. Oy vey!</p>

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<p>IMHO I'd rather be in Max than Shoreland as a first-year; I just value being able to walk to everything easily.</p>

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<p>Any Brecks on the list?</p>