There is more to uchicago than this website is letting on...

<p>This weekend I was at the UofC for a football recruit weekend and my opinion of the University has changed quite a bit. Is there a large percentage of the student population that looked like they never left the library? Yes. Did “fun come here to die?” Eh, not exactly. Reading the posts on here made me start to reconsider my college choice in recent weeks, but my drunken haze of a Friday night (along with the academics and the chance to continue to play football) has taken away my concerns. I live two blocks from the University of Toledo, and twenty minutes from Bowling Green State (two state schools, BG is supposedly known for its parties) and I had more fun Friday than all of my nights at these schools combined. This is not to say the athletes or people are not intelligent, as many of the posters here seem to associate an increase in partying with a decrease in intelligence. Everyone seemed to have the feeling that if you work hard during the week, you should party hard on the weekends (which seem to start on Thursday.) For what its worth, many of the senior partygoers I spoke to had already graduated after the fall quarter, or were scheduled to graduate in the winter. For those of you who are worried that UofC isn’t career oriented, everyone of the seniors I talked to bragged on the fact that nearly every senior they know already has a job lined up for next year, and the ones that didn’t were going to top notch medical and business schools. My impression of Chicago has officially gone from “oh no, the next fours years will suck…at least I’ll learn something” to “top notch education, have lots of fun in my four year, and make lots of money afterwards.” This might be a shallow view and many people on here seem to have a different opinion of the University, but for those of you who are looking for this type of environment, Chicago won’t disappoint.</p>

<p>What <em>exactly</em> do you think our opinion of Chicago is, for the record?</p>

<p>Just what Chicago needs. Another football recruit bragging about his drunken haze. </p>

<p>This is a good reason to go to Chicago.</p>

<p>Why do colleges recruit for sports anyway...Does it really help the college to have strong sports teams? Does it generate more money for them? Especially for Chicago - I hope that's not really the reason <em>anyone</em> goes there...</p>

<p>I doubt anyone goes to Chicago because of the sports, but it is nice to have a sports program. My S recently went to his first Chicago BB game and said he had a great time.</p>

<p>This is not to say the athletes or people are not intelligent, as many of the posters here seem to associate an increase in partying with a decrease in intelligence.</p>

<hr>

<p>alcohol kills brain cells...</p>

<p>hello?</p>

<p>The alcohol must have gotten to him already...</p>

<p>How did this guy get past the self-selection process? With this kind of attitude, I give him about a quarter.</p>

<p>Sorry if I seem dense, but a quarter what exactly?</p>

<p>Chicago is on the quater system. One quarter equals one grading period.</p>

<p>Why is everyone being so hard on this guy? All he did was describe his experience visiting UChicago. I haven't been able to visit yet, so I found his post to be helpful.</p>

<p>Ooooo, drunken orgies full of crazed college students. That sounds no different from my local big state university. Yay, I can get a good education and get wasted at the same time!!! That just made my day.</p>

<p>haha, I was just thinking the same thing Ria....man you guys just tore into this cat. I think it's good there is another percpective that differs from the already nerdified stereotype. It might tip the scale towards the medium of coolness.</p>

<p>I like to the U of Chicago is what you make it, not what it seems to be.</p>

<p>Geeesh, there goes the neighborhood. One kid describes a bit of doing what most college students seem to enjoy doing, and he gets thoroughly bashed for it.</p>

<p>Yea, much as some hate to admit it, some "normal" college students do happen to get by the adcoms and get into U. of C. More power to them. While I don't advocate drinking one's weekends away while in college, I don't condem it either. </p>

<p>BTW, here's an interesting link:</p>

<p><a href="http://maroon.uchicago.edu/news/articles/2006/01/17/student_sent_to_hosp.php%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://maroon.uchicago.edu/news/articles/2006/01/17/student_sent_to_hosp.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Whoa, that's awesome, UC has a jewish frat. Ahh, the diversity that exists is awesome. Another thing is to not advertise an open party on Facebook, the po-po are bound to find out, that's just stupidity on their part, I thought UC students would be smarter than that...</p>

<p>My S, not a varsity athlete, has been to many parties and there are folks on his dorm floor that drink every weekend. There is always something going on (according to him), and he is having a ball. Grades are excellent, and so is the social life. I'm not sure the old Chicago rep is warranted any longer.</p>

<p>Well, this was just about the reaction I had expected, and maybe rightfully so. Many of you speak of the diversity on Chicago's campus, and Chicago is indeed a greatly diverse atmosphere. However, this is not limited to racial population percentages. I simply wanted to comment on the diversity of the student population based on interests and personalities. How diverse could it be if every student felt that debating obscure philosophers and physics equations was fun? While I find nothing wrong in this lifestyle, it simply differs from what I consider fun. I also think that if many of you are expecting a place that is solely a think tank, then you will be surprised (and maybe disappointed?). I enjoy learning and going to class as much as the next person, but I find myself in the minority here on this forum in thinking that athletics and a night out are not the demise of civilization as we know it. Maybe it’s just me, but I feel that one of the great parts about going to Chicago is being able to leave my bubble and the opportunity to experience people with personalities other than my own. But this is just my humble opinion, I could be wrong.</p>

<p>"How diverse could it be if every student felt that debating obscure philosophers and physics equations was fun?"--- well physics and philosophy are pretty diverse fields...so there you go.</p>

<p>No, really, myketb, point taken. It's good to know that there are options at Chicago, and you're not going to be forced to focus on only one aspect of life there. I think that was pretty much the essence of your post before you were pounced on for socializing, no?</p>

<p>Settle people, settle. There's no drinking in the library- I'm sure you'll be just find!</p>

<p>Gambadent, yea, pounced on is an understatement, no? I really didn't mean to ruffle everyone's feathers so much, I feel as if half the incoming class already hates me ha. Luckily for them, I'll be gone by winter quarter. But if I so happen to somehow stay in school more than ten weeks, maybe some of the more open-minded students can go to a musical with me and debate philosophy on Friday night, then go to a frat party on Saturday. It is rare to find a place with such balance, which is part of the great part of Chicago. Luckily, current students on campus seemed to be much more open minded.</p>

<p>P.S. Football players are terrible people I know, but didn’t I read on an earlier post that they have a higher GPA than the overall student body? But I’ll be a political science major, what do I know about statistics?</p>

<p>you might know the amount of electoral votes won by each president since the unanimous election of George Washington</p>