<p>OP, both schools are great and have great reputations. The difference, in spite of what others are arguing over is very small and varies in any given year. You will get a fine education at either place, but if you have fallen out of Chicago, and are picking up on a vibe that you don’t like, I think you have your answer. To worry about rankings and prestige differences in these two schools vs. where you feel you would fit better does not make sense. I think you know that, but are seeking approval for your decision. You don’t need it from us or anyone. Go to the school where you feel you will fit in best and you will end up better off there. </p>
<p>Hi OP,</p>
<p>I haven’t posted on CC in a long, long time, though I lurk frequently, and I finally decided to create a new account because I thought it was so absurd that this post got so many mostly irrelevant posts yet practically nobody actually addressed your main concerns re:social life. And while I agree that you should go somewhere you feel comfortable and should certainly incorporate your perceptions from your visit into your decision…your suggestions that a) Greek life dominates at Chicago, b) there are no middle grounders, and c) house system determines your friend group, seem kind of insane to me.</p>
<p>I can see where these ideas might have come from, but as someone who graduated from UofC within the past few years, all of these statements run completely counter to my experience.</p>
<p>a) I didn’t attend a single frat party as a student (I did go to one as prospie). I did go to a lot of really fun dorm and apartment parties, with dorm parties dominating in the first year or so and apartment parties taking over as folks moved off campus. Some of these parties were dinner parties and game nights. Many of them involved loud music, alcohol, and dancing. An awful lot of them would fit your description of 10-15 people, good conversation, good music, not rape-y. Parties like this are really, really common. Besides parties, I went to movies, comedy shows, concerts, plays, went on hiking and camping trips, and went out for dinner in different Chicago neighborhoods. There are about a million things to do on campus and off on any given weekend, only a few of which are frat parties. And students, first years included, do all of these things. The frat party attenders are a lot more obvious, often hanging around near campus all dressed up–the apartment parties and dorm parties would likely have been less obvious to a visitor. Also, if you’re looking for a party to take your prospie to, frat parties are the easiest, since there is always going to be one at one of a few locations. The other kinds of parties are common enough that a given person probably knows someone throwing one every other weekend or so, but for a host to know where a good small party is happening just when their prospie is visiting is a little harder.</p>
<p>b) I have friends and acquaintances who are the nerdliest of nerds and some who were frat bros. But the vast majority of people I know from Chicago, and all of my close friends, were neither of these. Even in my super nerdy dorm, there were folks who loved, loved, loved sports, and I know a couple of athletes/frat types who got Fulbrights or similar. Everybody was smart and passionate about something or other, but I always had plenty of people who would talk about Gossip Girl with me or somesuchthing. Again, frat types can be loud, kids wearing capes stand out, but normal kids can be harder to notice even if there are a lot of them. I don’t know a ton about Penn, but there are more students and so maybe more diversity. But when I think about the ~4 students who went to UofC and the ~7 who went to Penn from my high school class, the former group was way more diverse personality/interests-wise than the latter group.</p>
<p>c) People do make a lot of their first friends in their houses, but over time, most people’s friend groups tend to shift to people they know from student organizations or that they’ve met through other common interests. None of my closest friends are from my house. Most are from my club sport and one or two other organizations.</p>
<p>This is all to say–these are both great schools, and you will probably find friends and plenty to do at both. But please don’t discount Chicago for the reasons you stated above, because I really do not think they are generally true, even if a few people experience the school that way.</p>