Social Life?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
1

<p>So, basically I've heard U. of Chicago referred to as "the place that fun goes to die"
My counselor told me that I would hate U. of Chicago because there is virtually no social life and it's an intellectual school, as in, people just go to coffee shops to talk about lectures. </p>

<p>Don't get me wrong, I love intellectual discussions but if that's all the school has to offer {socially} then... and I'm not a big party person, but I do like to go out once in a while to just hang out and meet new people. </p>

<p>So basically...if anyone could tell me about the social life at U. of Chicago I'd really appreciate it!</p>

2

<p><em>cue unalove</em></p>

3

<p>nathanie, almost every other post raises this issue in one form or another. Unalove and Corranged and others have taken the time (time and time again) to illustrate that for those who desire it, there is an active social community at the University of Chicago. Whether you enjoy parties, movies, drinking, theatre or just hanging out, there is plenty to do. The one complaint I have yet to hear, either from my rising second year, or from my 2007 graduate, is "there's nothing to do and no one to do it with." Do some research and you will find the answer to your question...many times over.</p>

4

<p>I'll try to save the other posters some energy...</p>

<p>There is most certainly a social life to experience beyond talking about lectures at coffee shops (Although the coffee shops are pretty cool).</p>

<p>While it may not be the most happening campus or a party school, you can easily meet people, there are always things going on, you will meet people in your house, your classes, the clubs you decide to join. And of course, as I think many students sometimes forget, your in the city of Chicago. Getting downtown/North Side is only a bus ride away (approx $2) and I can tell you that in 4 years you won't run out of things to do.</p>

<p>I would say that U of C grows on you and every other student to some extent, where people begin to very much enjoy the coffee shop culture and their classes become more than just work for them.</p>

<p>VISIT!</p>

5

<p>There are definitely parties here. On my overnight, my host (though he told me he was probably an exception at chicago) liked to party a lot, and he showed me a frat party that night at DEEK. I thought it was really fun, and I was walking back to MaxP wasted at about 2AM...so you'll certainly have nights like those if you want. What's more, I thought it was a pretty nice party, and my host said parties are usually better than that, so I think it's safe to say that that scene is there and NOT dead.</p>

6

<p>First of all, cory, thanks for that cue.</p>

<p>Secondly, while I usually dislike contradicting guidance counselors, I don't always think they are on target. My guidance counselor steered me away from schools I think I should have considered more carefully (namely, Brown and Wesleyan) and it was only when I realized that he's a socially conservative Christian (I am a very socially liberal, spiritual, non-religious person) that I thought that perhaps his personal views were interfering with his advice. </p>

<p>Guidance counselors can be great, but they're just another voice in the throng, and not always a reliable one at that. To simplify their job, they're going to try to tell you that Chicago is for "nerds," Williams for "jocks," Dartmouth for "frat boys," and Harvard for "snobs." However, I have a handful of friends at each of those schools who would be more than eager to disprove those respective stereotypes.</p>

<p>Anyway, I believe the question has more or less been answered, but I would just add that I was more or less in the OP's situation. I love doing work, I don't love doing it all the time, and I ideally wanted to go to something like 1-2 parties a month before I came here. Now that I'm here, I go to maybe 3-6 parties a month, and I could go to more.</p>

<p>The house system is terrific at introducing you to people in a family-like setup, so if you want to be very social and host a lot of parties, you will probably gravitate towards the people in your house who also like to be very social and host a lot of parties. If you want to take advantage of the Greek scene, there's that, too. Also, because a lot of students have off-campus apartments, you might find yourself invited to a lot of relatively large apartment parties.</p>

<p>At the same time, there's a healthy segment of people who aren't partying or drinking.</p>

7

<p>UChicago's social scene is just missing the top rung and a half of the social ladder if that makes any sense. It really doesn't affect you. I'd venture to say that nobody at the university is socially stifled. Essentially, if you're too cool for UChicago, you already have a good fake id and will have no problem finding fun outside of the university.</p>

8

<p>I love the social scene at U of C. There's something for everyone here... And people really surprise you and are super cool. </p>

<p>Don't believe stereotypes and those lame sayings like "where fun goes to die"... the social life here is what you make of it.</p>

9

<p>hello there,
wow i havent posted here in over a year and i used to be such an avid cc-er, esp when i was a senior in high school! well now that im STILL on summer break, i thought i'd randomly drop by after over a year of my absence here in cc! </p>

<p>i go to u of c (rising 3rd year) and there's definitely a lot of things to do and see if you go out and seek it.
definitely, being close with your house can give you lots of social opps to meet new people, go to places, etc. my house (wallace) has trips to musicals, second city improv, restaurants, game nights in the house lounge, etc. ive seen ppl go out to see dane cook in concert. we've had ben folds play on campus. my 1st year we had lupe fiasco and common play. we've had bob saget perform too. we also have doc films, a theater on campus where you can watch movies ($5 a ticket, or $25 for a quarter's membership). we also have lots of cultural organizations hold culture shows, our dance organization has a spring dance show at the end... lots of campus-wide study breaks.. and also acapella groups hold concerts too, as well as our on-campus improv groups. there's quite a lotta things to do here!! and you can def find the time if you manage your time wisely.
and yes, def stuff for you if you are a partier: there's parties almost every week, bar night every wednesday at alpha delt, and some houses hold house parties, and sometimes there are apartment parties. although i gotta say that i've had my share of parties my 1st and 2nd year and they do get a lil routine after awhile with the same people and same music and same dancing and what not.</p>