<p>thank u for that very thoughtful and thorough response. my s’s been very respectful about my feelings even though ultimately it is his decision. He has agreed not to sign anything until we talk further (spring break). In his case, there would be 7 guys…
i do get it, the readiness and desire to live without parent figures etc. i will do my best to help my son make a decision that’s right for him as well as knowing exactly what he is signing up for. Life?</p>
<p>what is MAC?</p>
<p>MAC Property Management is the major leasing company in Hyde Park. Their website is <a href=“http://www.antheuscapital.com/[/url]”>http://www.antheuscapital.com/</a>.</p>
<p>Don’t underestimate the debris-accumulating capabilities of seven guys. In about 6 weeks you would need a machete to get in the door, if you could get past the HAZMAT sign. :)</p>
<p>Even though you are letting your son make the decision about whether to live in an apartment next year, you’re the one who may know better than he does whether he is ready or not. (And, I assume you’re the one paying the bills, so you do have some say.)</p>
<p>Two thoughts: First, if your son does decide to live in an apartment next year, you can use this summer as a testing/training period–make him do all his own laundry, have him do a fair amount of “real” house cleaning (including cleaning the bathroom), make it his responsibility to cook dinner once a week, including planning the menu and shopping for food, etc. If you’re doing all these things already, good for you! My experience has been that boys tend to be “spoiled” more than girls in not having to take on “inside” household responsibilities, versus “outside” responsibilities like mowing the lawn.</p>
<p>Second, maybe the answer isn’t an apartment, but a different residence hall. I’ve seen the new dorm, and I would feel exactly the way your son does about all the glass. I would feel creepy and exposed.</p>
<p>Also, in general, I think the north side of campus has more off-campus places (restaurants/shopping, etc) geared to students than the south side of campus has right now. I think this is probably because, up until this year, there were the 600 or so Shoreland students who lived north of the campus. My guess is that, in time, there will be more offerings for students south of the campus because the south campus student population has just increased by 800 students. But, it may make take a couple of years.</p>
<p>Does your son have any friends that live in dorms right in the middle of campus, such as “Max”? I think Max is ugly, and it has some glass, but not as much as the new dorm–and it’s fairly new, built in 2000/2001. And any views from dorm windows would be of the campus (the dorm is only 4 stories). A lot of students like the “suite” set-up in Max, because it means that they only have to share a bathroom with 3 other students–and only one other person for people in singles. However, the students ARE responsible for cleaning their own bathrooms–a surprising turn-off to some students.</p>
<p>I know most about Pierce, and personally, I think it is a “sleeper”–underrated by many. I recently read a post about bedbugs and such at Pierce, but I don’t know how widespread a problem that is. Yes, Pierce does look like a prison at first, because it was built around 1960, when “brutalistic” architecture was popular. But, when I’ve visited I’ve found that very soon Pierce felt cozy.</p>
<p>To me, the best thing about Pierce is that the rooms surround a 2-story central lounge on four sides. Each house has only two floors and there is an interior staircase from the 2nd floor to the lounge. The word I have is that the people in Pierce get very close to the other people in their Houses. Also, there are only 60 people in a House, compared to 100 students per House in the new dorm. Pierce residents do have to share a coed bathroom on each floor–but, that also means that someone else cleans it.</p>
<p>Yes, the rooms in Pierce are fairly small, but they are no smaller than the regular dorm rooms at UCLA (which puts 3 freshman in a room the size of a Pierce room!). I was impressed that, despite being smaller, the dorm rooms in Pierce are set up very efficiently, and hold more stuff that I would have expected. To me, the rooms at Pierce “feel” bigger than the dimensions would suggest.</p>
<p>Also, if a “scenic” view matters, many of the rooms in the Houses on the top floors of Pierce (Thompson, Shorey) have great views since Pierce is 11 stories.</p>
<p>Maybe a House that was right in the center of campus and more on the north side, with a design that leaves students feeling less “exposed,” could be an in-between solution, especially if your son has any good friends in Max or Pierce that he could room with.</p>
<p>The housing lottery for next year is in May. I have no idea how it works, but the U of C Web site has the brochure that explains it. I think people who are staying in the same House have first priority, but changing Houses is definitely an option, particularly since your son has been in the housing system for a year already.</p>
<p>Be sure to let us know what you and your son decide after Spring break. In the meantime, I wish your son (and all U of C students) “good luck” on their finals/final papers.</p>
<p>Newmassdad - I don’t owe anyone an apology. I was just stating my opinion. I grew up in the S.Bronx, was beaten and mugged in the S Bronx - so I have a bit of real world experience. I have walked the area and driven the area. Yes, for several blocks around the new dorm the area is fine and I am sure that over the next decade it will improve but it is much safer north of the Midway where one is less likely to encounter gangs. This opinion is mine not my son’s. My level of comfort with his housing arrangements is based on my life experience and not yours. If Uchicago is so safe and wonderful, why did safety come up as an issue during accepted students weekend? Why did we receive presentations from Chicago Police and Campus Security? Yes, you will say that other schools have similar problems - Columbia (more in the past) and Yale. Being in good company on that list doesn’t make it any more safe, it just indicates the problem is not an isolated one.</p>
<p>Post script - I said quasi-ghetto. Not ghetto - I know what those look like as well both in this country and abroad.</p>
<p>drdom,</p>
<p>Sorry about your mugging, but S. Bronx is not Hyde Park. </p>
<p>Safety comes up during many discussions, and is part of frequent briefings because UofC is (cough cough) a college campus. You might have noticed over the years that college campuses tend to have naive students attending and rather nasty types that want to prey on these students. It is not just an urban college thing, although the risks might be slightly higher in urban campuses. So, I guess we agree on something: “the problem is not an isolated one”!</p>
<p>BTW, you might be surprised to learn of the problems that crop up north of the Midway. Like most other urban environments, drug dealing, gangs and other problems are quite mobile, but not frequent (unless one is looking for something?)</p>
<p>If I might add my two cents…
While safety was a hot-button issue when I did my information session and tour at UChicago this past summer, I must say that all the other colleges I visited had very similar concerns. Some of these include: Georgetown, Vanderbilt (especially), WashU, Boston College, Boston University, Tufts, MIT, etc. I think UChicago puts a LITTLE more into their responses on the topic of security, mainly because parents will have more questions since UChicago is in SOUTH CHICAGO and not suburban Boston, St. Louis, or Nashville.</p>
<p>I have walked north of the Midway as well. I am not surprised. My recollection is that one of the murders (a PhD student) that occured last year was north of the Midway. I think parents should visit and walk and drive around the neighborhoods north and south of the Midway. Review crime statistics and any info that UChicago can provide and find your comfort level with off campus housing and advise your child accordingly. No place on earth is 100% safe but one should go into a situation with eyes wide open.</p>
<p>“one of the murders . . . that occurred last year”?</p>
<p>Come on. There has been one murder of a Chicago student on or near campus in the past 25 years or so (maybe longer). It happened about half a block south of the site of the new dorm, but when it was still a construction site, before the relocation of the University Police headquarters there.</p>
<p>Yes. Okay. One murder that happened last year was south of the Midway. Crime is coming down generally and in Hyde Park specifically, see: [Common</a> Sense](<a href=“http://commonsense.uchicago.edu/crime-info.html]Common”>http://commonsense.uchicago.edu/crime-info.html). I still say the same thing. Visit, research, find YOUR comfort level, advise your child.</p>
<p>drdom,</p>
<p>Agreed. </p>
<p>The sad fact of safety is that too many colleges go out of their way to hide important data. (don’t know if UofC is in this category or not). Some narrowly define “campus” in their reporting. Others use “flexible” reporting standards. Of course this problem is not limited to college campus public safety. Police crime stats are notoriously difficult to compare from one jurisdiction to another. </p>
<p>Bottom line: No college environment is truly safe. Know the basics of personal safety no matter where you are. Know my rule #1: drunk students are a nice target.</p>
<p>I was going along, ignoring this conversation, but that line “one of the murders…” really got to me. Even the “correction” to “one murder that happened” is so misleading that it just can’t go unchecked.</p>
<p>For my own first visit to Chicago, when daughter when in high school, my husband was worried about the neighborhood. I still remember standing in Hyde Park, laughing, and thinking, “He was worried about this green, leafy place with well-kept properties?!”</p>
<p>I’ve read the crime reports sporadically for the U of C, and it seems that many of the crimes are students being mugged (but not physically hurt) when they are walking alone, off-campus, late at night. No, not all of the crimes happen late at night, so students have to learn to be “street-smart”–not a bad lesson to learn.</p>
<p>Chicago is not an idyllic New England campus out of Norman Rockwell. On the other hand, it is an outstanding school, located in one of the most dynamic (and underrated) cities in the U.S. The students there are exposed to diversity on a daily basis.</p>
<p>If crime is a concern for a parent, have your child live in one of the dorms that are right in the center of campus–Max, Snell-Hitchcock, and to a slightly lesser extent, Pierce. All these dorms are just steps from the library, the gym, lots of classes–as campuses go, U of C is fairly compact (at least, compared to the sprawling state school I attended.) And, Chicago is a gorgeous campus.</p>
<p>Personally, I’d hardly call Hyde Park a “ghetto” when the current President of the U.S. has decided to keep his residence there. His house is about 4-5 blocks north of campus, and is reportedly worth $1.5 million (and it’s not a mansion, by any means). Obama’s wife was paid 300k in her job at the U of C hospital, and they are not the only affluent family who has chosen to live in Hyde Park.</p>
<p>You could probably see the house from the upper floors of Pierce. Guess how good security is in that area.</p>
<p>
. Not many New England colleges are idyllic Norman Rockwell style. Not these days. </p>
<p>Any successful market driven mugger/thief goes where the opportunity is. Just ask any UofC econ student…</p>
<p>That was one emotional roller coaster ride of a spring break. It was a bit of a shock to see my son arrive home looking woeful, reserved and a little more disheveled (longer hair, grey whites) than i would have liked to see. As the week progress more of the lively kid I know and love emerged. We clashed a little about moving off campus, career aspirations and what I would want out of college life for him and what he wants. By the end of the week I think I have a better understanding of what he’s going through and I think he has a better understanding of me and that I will always be his biggest fan.<br>
I don’t know if every kid feels this way about uofc but my son describes the scene as too intense academically which leaves little room for creativity and off campus pursuits.
He does plan on moving off campus and hopes to build a family with the people he’s rooming with. If it doesn’t work out he’ll figure out Plan B. He feels he’s gotten a feel for what dorm life is like and it’s not something he enjoyed or embraced.
It was great having him home and I will miss him. I’m sure next time he comes home there will be even more changes.<br>
It’s not easy letting go and trusting that our children’s decisions will be the right ones. It’s hard when parents goals and aspirations don’t always match with theirs.</p>
<p>UofCparent – my son was accepted to Chicago and is trying to decide whether to attend. One of his concerns is the amount of time required for studying/academics. He likes some down time, wants to socialize/talk with friends and participate in ECs. It sounds like your son is finding the academics a bit too time intensive – can I ask what major/class types he is taking and what his academic background was? thx!</p>
<p>uofcparent-- sending you a PM.</p>