I realize this may be a dumb question but forgive me- I know this is U Chicago but is Max P more of a party dorm than any other dorm? Are there lots of typical UC students (my son is nerdyish but not a nerd) there? Max P would be my first choice for him but he heard it’s “all athletes”. (Again forgive my broad stereotypes etc!!!)
Well, @fbs’s kid is an athlete 
^ And it makes sense for the athletes to be near the athletic facilities.
I didn’t mean any offense by “athletes” my son has rowed crew for 3+ years!! I’m genuinely just trying to get a sense of where he’d be most comfortable!! I appreciate everyone’s comments
My son is a traditional quirky UChicago student that happens to play a sport. As others have pointed out, Max P is a hodgepodge of athletes, non-athletes and international students. It definitely isn’t even close to “all athletes”. Personally I feel North has more.
It’s as serious as you could imagine on the weekdays and as serious as you would want on the weekends. My son is not really into the party scene, prefers going downtown with a few friends for dinner or gaming, but there are plenty off campus and fraternity/sorority offerings should your son like to experience that.
I believe it will be different for your son as they are committed to 2 years on campus. In my son’s class he estimates more than 50% moved off campus at end of year one.
@Chestnutmom1 One of the reasons Max P may be perceived as heavily athletic is due to the fact that fall sports all house their teams at Max P before school is in session. Once school opens they head out to their respective dorms.
My son is not an athlete, so, I would say Map P is a hodgepodge. Yes, we have also heard very similar things about Max P and North, that they are more ‘athlete-like,’ but I didn’t notice that when we went to visit him, and we did not find Map P to have a ‘frat-like’ or ‘jock-like’ atmosphere. On the other hand, my son is not ‘nerdish’ or quirky however. I would say he is introverted, but very social, if that makes any sense. He enjoys being with his friends and going out, or just talking in their rooms. On the other hand, he also really enjoys being by himself.
Hopefully, once the administration receives your housing survey, they’ll be able to match up kids who are similar to your son.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens this next year. Will students be able to specify a dorm preference? Many top schools simply don’t allow that - you go where you are assigned, whether it be a res. college or Freshman Housing. UChicago has such a wide variety of locations, age/type, and room selection that a truly random assignment might not work very well. Kids choose BJ for the look and feel of the place but others would be very unhappy there. Same with any of the dorms (my own kid’s No-Go is MaxP but I-House wouldn’t seem so bad . . . ). Same with singles vs. doubles - there are kids who would STRONGLY prefer one over the other. Wondering if Admin. is also addressing that aspect of this new assignment policy. Over time they can change the expectations to accept what you get but it likely won’t happen in one year.
I know it is tough to swallow, but when you’re out of school, where you spend your freshman year is not going to be something that you should concern yourself. I had a blast my freshman year at Purdue, and would have had a blast regardless of which dorm I was connected to. Especially now, when it is going to be totally random, I wouldn’t worry about it. JBSF is right, but it isn’t very different from anywhere else. Unless a campus only has one residence hall (Navy) will you not have a Newest vs. Oldest dorm. You make your experience, and you will make it where ever you are. The key is acting, not being acted upon. Make the best of it. Every dorm has advantages and disadvantages (yes even I-House). Every dorm will now have a randomly assigned population so you should be rather uniform distribution of Jocks, Nerds, Jocks/Nerds, Work/Play Hard, Work/Play hard/Jocks, an even distribution of social class.
As long as you don’t have health issues because of mold (UMD), overcrowding living on a loading dock (PU), having to spend your first semester studying abroad (BC), it’ll be a great experience if you go into it wanting to make it a great experience.
BB I was out at UMD for National History Day this pas June and we almost froze to death in those dorms! They blasted the AC and no hot showers . . . it was an act of love to have the adults there for the children. Next time, however - Hotel!!
Jbsf. At least you were in one of the newer ones with AC. The older ones with the mold issues have no AC.
You can still indicate your preferred hall (and some other preferences). The change is just that those who put down their enrollment deposit early don’t get preference, which is different from the system for the Class of 2022 and prior classes.