<p>I know chicago has a reputation for being a "fun killer" and stuff like that but how true is that? Is it still possible to have a good time with a balanced social life, even if that social life is a bit more reserved than say Penn? Can anyone just give me a general idea of what things are like there?</p>
<p>This is what concerns me, as well.</p>
<p>Obviously, i understand that academics will dominate the scene at elite institutions, they are elite for a reason. However, I have heard uchicago is harsh even by top 15 standards and that it really is just for "intellectuals" and not anyone who really seeks a semi existent social life.</p>
<p>^ Well, they have about a total of 13 frats/sor COMBINED.. says that they probably don't party as much as the usual college student. And it depends on what your idea of fun is.. is drinking/partying fun for you? Or is going to downtown and going to watch movies, watch plays, poetry slams fun for you? But the fact of the matter is that Chicago doesn't party as much bc of their course load.</p>
<p>There are numerous threads on this. Search the previous threads.</p>
<p>I think that of the really great things about Chicago is its house system. It's a built-in social life from O-Week until you feel that you don't need it any more. Some people and some houses "party" in the frat-party sense more than others. But there are plenty of parties in a broader sense and lots of opportunities for everyone to have fun.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that the house system is OK for first year but no guarantee that you'll win the lottery and get something decent for 2nd year. Yes, newcomers, it is a lottery, and if you get a bad number, you won't be able to stay in your dorm, much less your current house.</p>
<p>So Chicago housing is nothing like Harvard or Yale's house system.</p>
<p>newmassdad-- Housing is guaranteed for all four years, and while there were upperclassmen quotas on Max P for a while, there aren't any more. If you like your house/dorm your first year, you can stay all four years. You can also move into a different dorm or off-campus.</p>
<p>
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I have heard uchicago is harsh even by top 15 standards and that it really is just for "intellectuals" and not anyone who really seeks a semi existent social life.
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<p>I've "heard" that too. Make sure the person you've "heard" that from is an alum, a current student, or otherwise has/claims to have a solid basis on which to consider the school. </p>
<p>I have no idea what the conglomerate Penn social experience is as it compares to the conglomerate social experience (what I'm getting at is that there is a variety of ways in which students at both schools are social and I'm not about to comment on the social life of a school I don't attend).</p>
<p>Some students drink and party quite a bit here. (Wednesday/Friday/Saturday, sometimes Wed-Sat, sometimes just Friday and Saturday, sometimes just Friday, sometimes not at all). Some students don't get out much. I think it has less to do with the school as a whole and more to do with the individual students in it.</p>
<p>My son is a second year. Having fun. I don't know about sleep. He is in the same wonderful dorm he had last year.</p>
<p>Ooo, any anecdotes you'd like to pass along?</p>
<p>Yea, newmassdad isn't correct in his depiction of the system.</p>
<p>People currently residing in a house have first shot at the rooms in that house. Priority goes to the people who have been in the house the longest, tiebreakers are done through a lottery. Once this has been settled, any open rooms will be decided by the method newmassdad brought up, but the general house lottery only opens after the in-house lottery has been completed.</p>
<p>Anywho, concerning the social scene, and it has been said before, there are opportunities to do really whatever you want to. And while yes you can party hard at frats, these parties, in general, won't be as big or exciting as those schools that have a bizillion frats that have to really compete to get you to go to their parties. But if you want to get wasted at a frat, you will have the opportunity.</p>
<p>You can also (surprise) not party hard, either just hang with friends in a room, with or without alcohol.. yea... I mean the campus is full of 19-22 year olds, and while there will be a percentage of them holed up in their rooms studying, this is not a majority. Some will be frat partying, others returning from a trip to see a play or from dinner in a random part of Chicago, some playing videogames in the house lounge, some pregaming with friends in a room, etc etc etc. That's all I can say, really.</p>
<p>For any future concerns about social life, I think I'm just going to copypaste from WindSlicer.</p>
<p>And while the frat parties here are not exciting, I think it's because most kids here don't really put a lot of energy into making them exciting. Either that or we just don't chalk them up-- we see them for what they are: an assemblage of people, bad beer (exception: alpha delt bar nights), music, and dancing. There's still some collective effervescence going on, it's just that we don't really glamorize or glorify it.</p>