<p>So I just got home from attending this week's admitted student overnight, and I was completely blown away at how much fun students really have. Going into it, just like anyone else probably would, I expected to come out of the experience feeling validated that it is an environment with hardly any fun, that students study all day and late into the night. I was proved dead wrong. There are parties every night (actual parties, not just nerdy get-togethers or anything of the sort) that an extremely large percentage of the student body attend. UChicago has changed tremendously over the past few years. While it has always been thought of as nothing but an intense research university (which it obviously still is), but it is an amazing place to be a 18-22 year old. I'm ecstatic to start there next year.</p>
<p>D felt the same way! She came back with glowing reports - she was originally shying away from it due to the perceived lack of a social scene. She too was proven dead wrong and is now ecstatic to be a first year in September. She can hardly wait. Prospies, definitely visit before you decide not to enroll. The school has changed a lot over the last couple of years.</p>
<p>I don’t mean to be a buzzkill, just realistic. Please realize that it IS the beginning of the quarter, and everyone has just come back from spring break. I totally agree that it is not where “fun goes to die”, but once the quarter wears on, the parties become less frequent.</p>
<p>Yeah you’re really in no place to comment, you’re a junior in high school</p>
<p>I’d say “extremely large percentage” and “there are parties every night” are exaggerations. There are parties when prospective students are on campus, and on Fridays and Saturdays, and some events on Wednesdays. And what letmein2012 said is true.</p>
<p>But yeah. Parties happen. Whoo!</p>
<p>Can someone comment ( not a prospective) on the pressure? The semesters are so short–the work so tall–I am so over giving up my life for the work–not that I don’t want to learn and be turned on intellectually. I just want a life.</p>
<p>The pressure is only there if you want it to be there. First quarter, I took 3 classes, had a 5 day weekend, and got more sleep than in high school :). Compare this quarter, where I’m managing several clubs, planning a start-up, and holding up a job, I’ve much more pressure. But as they say, work hard play hard. Yeah, some weeks might be rougher than others, but ultimately it’s up to you.</p>
<p>I completely agree with Rny2. If I removed 30 hrs of student organizations/job from my life each week, I, personally, would be bored…If you spend 40 hrs between classes and homework each week, you will (more than likely) do quite well. For me, I’ve found with honors classes being about 50% of my course load, 30-35 is about right. IDK, people have extremely varying degrees of how much work they do though.</p>
<p>OP, I am happy to hear of your decision to attend and am glad your visit went well. I actually coordinated the prospective students for my house and to hear that visits helped influence students to come makes me proud of my peers.
Can’t wait to see you on campus next year!</p>
<p>shhhhhh, i need people to turn Chicago down so I get off the waitlist =P</p>