UChicago feels COLD & DREARY??

<p>I've recently visited Uchicago, and although the campus does look nice, I have mixed feelings about it. The greyish stone buildings coupled with the cold weather and cloudy day that day gave me shivers. The parking's a hassle and the campus is huge. Is this just me?? or are there many others out there that feel the same way? Or maybe Uchicago students like it that way? What about my future classes, will they all be scattered around and classes will be one after another, or will there be irregular schedules? SO many questions.</p>

<p>Visit timeschedules.uchicago.edu to find out when you can schedule your classes.</p>

<p>My schedule: MWF: 10:30 -11:20, 11:30 - 12:30. TuTh: 12:00 - 1:20, 1:30 - 2:50. W: 4:30 - 5:20.</p>

<p>Regarding the grey: It's pretty during the fall, and absolutely beautiful in the spring as soon as the trees flower. Winter can be miserable, but if it snows at least it's miserable and pretty.</p>

<p>Regarding the huge campus: If you know where you're going, you can get from any one point on campus to another point on campus in less than 15 minutes. If you want to make a more substantial trip (i.e., BJ to Walgreens), there is a free bus route, though it's a pleasant walk if the weather is nice.</p>

<p>11:30 - 12:30. TuTh: 12:00 - 1:20,</p>

<p>Did your schedule just overlap?</p>

<p>oo sry nevermind...I didn't see the dates. Are the classes every weekday? or almost every weekday?</p>

<p>The weather has been strange lately. It was in the 70s for a little while, even reaching 80, and then the temperature dropped suddenly. The campus isn't huge if you know your way around. It's a five or ten minute walk to the quads from Max, Pierce, BJ, Snell, or the new dorm. The other dorms, such as Shoreland, have free buses and shuttles to campus all the time. There is a main academic quad, and a science quad a five minute walk away from that. There are a couple classes in other locations, but they are all easy walking distance. The dining halls are five or ten minutes from the quads. </p>

<p>Classes are usually T/Th or M/W/ or M/W/F. Languages and some math classes are daily, and science classes have additional lab periods. Some classes have additional problem-solving or discussion sections if the regular class is lecture-style. Many courses, including the core courses hum, sosc, and civ, generally meet for three hours a week with two hour and a half classes (such as T/Th or M/W). Your individual class schedule depends on the classes you are taking and on how you design it. If you have one class after another, there are ten minutes between class starting times to get from one to the other. Most students don't have classes one after another, though some do. In between classes, students eat lunch, visit with friends, finish up work for their next class, go to the library, nap, or whatever else. Students take either three or four classes a quarter.</p>

<p>What about access to downton Chi-Town? Does the weather hinder going out or anything?</p>

<p>The weather has no effect on going out. You just add some more layers of clothes. Public transportation makes it easy to go into the city, and as long as the roads are cleared the weather makes no difference.</p>

<p>vutiful: My son was there last week, and did get a sort of "cooler" feel to the school. He's used to spending time on a big campus (Stanford), but still found the size of the Chicago campus a bit big for his tastes. So I guess I don't think it's just you. As I think I've written elsewhere, he had been really excited about Chicago, but felt like it wasn't "warm" enough feeling once he was there last week, so he's chosen Reed instead.</p>

<p>I think this is kinda interesting, 'cause I had similar feelings before coming here as well. I visited, loved the people, the buildings in it of themselves, but did feel a lack of that "warm" feeling... I chose to come despite of it, and I'm really glad I did. Since reading your post I've tried to think back again to why I had that similar feeling, but I really don't know. All I can tell you is that I had a very similar feeling last year, and that it was completely unrepresentative of the way I view campus ever since I've been a student. Move-in day.... omg... it's gorgeous. The school is just beautiful. Over the winter, there is something to be said for being in Harper or in your philosophy class, seeing the snow slowly fall on the quads... I mean, I'm in love with our campus. Nonetheless, I can completely relate to the anxiety you guys had while visiting campus - even though I cannot comprehend why I also had it - but I hope to offer at least an example of a kid who felt like that but soon loved the campus.</p>

<p>I know one one student who transfered from another school who is now returning to her previous school in part because she did find some kind of lack of warmth here. It could be that she doesn't have a good group of friends on campus or that many of her classes are with students not in her year, but when explaining it to me she did describe a similar feeling. She also, I should add, chose Chicago for maybe not the best of reasons. I would say that this campus is overall quieter than some, given what my friends here have said while visiting other schools. The same people say that after a few days at the other school they feel overwhelmed by the constant people and movement and miss being able to have peace and quiet, which is definitely possible in your dorm room if that's what you want. I personally like the atmosphere, and I don't get a "cold" feeling at all.</p>

<p>Should I dorm there and spend an extra 11k? or is a 35 min drive from home everyday from Northside Chicago worth that amount? I usually do fine during the fall, but when the weather drops, I know that everything is going to be hectic (It's like that every year). Would a living environment with peers be to my advantage and worth the price?</p>

<p>No one can tell you that since no of us know what $11,000 is worth to your family or what the various factors of campus life are worth to you in relation to that.</p>