<p>My son is in Snitchcock, and a whole crew was there on the first day of orientation to help the first-years move in - including a girl in an armadillo (their mascot) suit. It was a hot day ... she was very brave. At least at my son's hall, there is usually someone around to talk with at nearly any hour of the day or night. If someone has to do work, they may close their door or go to one of the libraries - I guess you could call that anti-social, but if you aren't interested in doing some work you not be looking at Chicago in the first place.</p>
<p>There is certainly a good-natured rivalry between the dorms - especially with scavenger hunt.</p>
<p>When we dropped off our son in Sept my wife discovered that the doors to rooms did not stay open on their own. To be kept open they needed something that would prevent them closing. When she returned home my wife had me order a couple cases of door stops, which we sent our son who distributed them on his floor. Worked great to facilitate contact between first years.</p>
<p>My old english teacher told me today that she went to UChicago and that she hated it because it was too "conservative" (and for other reasons). When I asked, "Do you mean politically? Because that's not what I heard." She said, "No, not politically, but still conservative."</p>
<p>I don't understand what she meant. If anyone would like to shed some light and explain what she may have meant, it would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>I don't know that its worth it speculating on what your teacher is talking about - she might have wanted anything from wilder parties to more social activism. As far as I can tell, Chicago's students and professors hold a variety of political opinions: a good thing, as it makes for livelier discussions.</p>
<p>
[quote]
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...
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Considering that the frats hire off-duty police officers to work security at the parties, do you honestly think they care?</p>
<p>Look Chicago is a great school, but had you posted (the original post) on any of the other top school websites, you would have gotten "awesome, totally come here, the party scene is sweet". Some kids might party at Chicago, but they are the minority. I was warned when I visited, and although I had some fun at a frat, most of the students there didn't seem to like it that much. </p>
<p>Chicago is more for the intense academic intellectual. These students love it. That means the overall student incredibly hard working, slightly judgemental (against people who party), and is very analytically focused (less high concept and more pinning the details). Chicago might beat Toledo and Bowling Green socially, but check out Northwestern or Brown, stanford, Dartmouth, Penn, Princeton. The students are just as smart (or smarter) at these schools but they don't wear it on their sleeve. </p>
<p>Chicago is an amazing school, but it isn't for everyone. Even the hounds who will be after me in following posts should be able to concede this.</p>
<p>Whereas this was truer in the past, and to some extent it still is, especially the committed intellectualism, it may not be quite like this now. My S has had a great time, out buying a costume for a party this weekend, and has been all over (the city of) Chicago. He and some of his HS friends who attend Harvard, NW, Stanford, Yale, Duke, etc. all got together over break and compared notes. S was shocked to learn that though his classes were more demanding and the grading curve lower (for a similar course for the exact same % of points, he got a B+ while his Stanford friend got an A+), he had actually done more socially and made more new friends than they had. This is, of course, anecdotal and an "N" of one, as all other posts are, but as a reflection of a first year it may be worthwhile. (Personally, I was somewhat surprised he has enjoyed it so much.)</p>
<p>Some people call Chicago conservative because of the Common Core requirements and the lack of fluff courses. The general seriousness also figures in. Nobody goes there planning to just goof off, although a few end up doing just that. People have a serious approach to life on some level. However, the dorms are run more loosely than at most schools, so I would not call it socially conservative at all.</p>
<p>Slipper,
"slightly judgemental (against people who party)"</p>
<p>If you define partying as social drinking, probably not. If you define partying as binge drinking on a regular basis, then yes, some people won't think much of those that choose to do so.</p>