<p>Just as an anecdote to dispel all these rumors: it IS possible to party HARD at UChicago – I went really hard on my prospie weekend (April 14th-15th) and didn’t get back to my host’s room till 4:30 a.m. (i feel bad, he stayed up with his girlfriend worrying about me lol). I was part of that “■■■■ seven students got rescinded” rumor. (my host posted that on facebook) It’s all just a rumor, my host just got really nervous because my iPhone was getting some pretty spotty service and I couldn’t maintain a decent phone call with him. (that and all the music was quite loud =] )</p>
<p>I actually got back to the dorms pretty early… ok, around 2-ish. But I mostly just stayed up late and talked to people. That was the best part. It was cool to see everyone’s perspectives (including other prospies’). The partying was alright. It was more the talking to people at the parties and just hanging out around campus that was cool.</p>
<p>I went to Ripple (a conference run by Splash) and learned to pick locks and get out of handcuffs… best prospie weekend ever.</p>
<p>Yes, you can party hard at Chicago (yes! There is proof!). But, there are tons of other fun things to do. Such as get ice cream at bart mart at 1am and watch sci fi at Hitchcock for 4 hours straight… just saying.</p>
<p>So, apparently there’s a chance, however embryonic, I can still (a) succesfully negotiate my way through the volcanic chunder to get to Chicago, (b) visit classes, sleep in a dorm at the university etc. Then I have three days to make the final decision. What, if I get to go, do veterans of the official overnight suggest I see or do?</p>
<p>go to rockefeller. eat in all three dining halls (judge by lunch and dinner, not breakfast). go to a frat party and a dorm party if you can. go to the point. check out all the dorms you’re interested in (sometimes random people will sign you in and give you a tour). Go to Reynolds and bart mart. go to the seminary co-op. check out the point. don’t let your parents come to everything-- talk to current students by yourself, as they’ll be way more comfortable. sit in on a core class and talk to the professor. try to find an official event and go to it (RSO fair, party in ida noyes…)</p>
<p>basically, just try to get a good sense of campus and the dorms. Good luck! :)</p>
<p>repeat post… gah!</p>
<p>But DON’T go to Core Bio. That was a mistake, haha. :x</p>
<p>Yeah. I thought I’d never have to do biology ever again after GCSE… and look at me now.</p>
<p>Alright, well cheers katie. I’ll be sure to look all that up. By the way, is any one of those things the supposedly superb bookshop that I hear exists somewhere near or on the campus? Apparently it’s a must as well, especially for building any self-respecting rightist economist’s library. I also want to go back to Blighty with as much peanut-butter as I can carry…</p>
<p>The Seminary co-op is almost definitely the bookstore you are thinking of. If you’re exceptionally tall, claustrophobic, or get lost easily do not go there. Haha. The bookstore is amazing but the ceilings are low, the walls are narrow and covered from top to bottom in books, and it’s easy to get lost down there and forget yourself for hours. <3 It’s also across the street from the Oriental Institute which is a sweet museum. Even if you don’t feel like paying the entrance fee, head up the stairs. There’s this great mini-library that I just discovered. Also, go to Harper Memorial Library. I love the couches there and the chandeliers are stunning. </p>
<p>And mmmm peanut butter. When I studied abroad in Rome this past fall my mom sent me some through the mail. My relatives in Italy had never had peanut butter before (or brownies!). I was sitting with some friends at Bartlett cafeteria the other day and one commented that he went to the peanut butter jar and one of the cafeteria workers intercepted him with a huge bowl of his own. They know how much he loves peanut butter (by the fact that he pretty much demolishes the jar every day) and decided to give him some special treatment. 
For your purposes, however, you might want to get directions to a grocery store called Treasure Island.</p>