University of Chicago Top Questions

Not very talkative, but brilliant. Somewhat clique-y, but nice enough.

Pretentious yet interesting.

The most stimulating group of people I have ever and WILL ever be with. I love it here and will dearly miss it. People are motivated and full of intellectual vigor. People generally eat food at their cafeteria's house or dorm table. It allows you to eat with a group of people you know at almost any hour of the day. Most students move out of the dorms by their second or third years and into off-campus apartments. Apartments are cheaper and teach you the life skills you'll need when you graduate. I highly recommend moving out of the dorms half way through college!

What I like about the U of C is that it's hard to pin down a specific "type" who goes here. Sure, they've probably got tiny nerd molecules floating around in there somewhere, but walking on the quads you see so many different types of people walking together: you've got the hipsters, the nerds, the preppy kids, the athletes, etc. There is no mold for a U of C student. I look at it this way: if the U of C were a person, I would love to be friends with it. With so many different personalities, ideas, and ideals, it's not hard to find your niche here.

Students here are driven to succeed and very interested in what they study- one of the things I liked best about this school is that if you are walking around campus, you will hear kids in a variety of conversations, from plays and events in the city to parties that weekend to intense academic debates about mathematical theorums. Students here are very passionate about everything they do, and most students have a broad span of interests

Many of the classmates seem isolated and often gravitate to "clicks" of culture and race.

Student body is quite diverse and open. Honestly, someone who isn't very involved in learning, or thinks that spending time in the library is lame would not fit in. Obviously there are many very liberal students, but the incredibly strong economic program fosters more libertarians and fiscal conservatives. Financial background is very broad, from humble backgrounds to Saudi Arabian princes.

Students are quite tolerant of ethnic, religious, socio-economic, and sexual diversity. Dress is typically informal, and financial backgrounds of students vary considerably. My closest friend is from a much different economic background than mine. I have heard many people complain that parties are too infrequent or lame here, so maybe if someone had parties near the top of his or her priorities then this school is not a good fit. Many students are politically aware. Most of my friends have relatively informed political opinions, but not all of them favor the same positions. They are mainly socially and fiscally liberal, but everyone is open to discussion and it is all good-natured.

Each table in the dining hall is assigned to a house, which is the floor on which you live. People either sit with their houses (usually this is how it goes first year) or at open tables with friends. House tables tend to be diverse and full at dinner times; people with textbooks gabble about whatever interests them. Snippets might be: Studying for strategy final: 1: So, what's the difference between a gun-type and an implosion-type device? 2: *starts explaining the difference between uranium and plutonium nuclear weapons with a lot of detail for a lecture a month ago* 1: Wait, how do you know all this? You must be a terrorist. 2: Yeah, I interned for al-Qaeda. It was part of my independent research. *keeps explaining* Wait, hold on, how DO I know all of this? 1: Was it for Scav? -- Scav is this gigantic four day scavenger hunt that people get really, really intense about. There's a road trip section where you decorate your car, and one year somebody built a functioning nuclear reactor out of a vacuum cleaner. Or: And then Hilary asks, 'But what about the werewolves?' and then Obama says, 'We CAN defeat the werewolves and the zombies and the vampires and the aliens from outer space with their alien blood, AND the Cylons.'" Or: Dude, that's nothing. I once took a cat in the shower with me. --These are actual quotes from around campus.

LGBTQ isn't that active on campus; it's largely Asian, White, Indian, Jewish, and Northern, with a smaller Hispanic and Black population. Most students wear jeans and button downs or t shirts to class, and in the winter, t shirts, sweaters, jeans, under armor, boots, and three pairs of socks. Some people would rather study than wash their hair every day, but that just means interesting hairdos in the morning. Most people are wealthier just because this school is better known in wealthy circles, but I for one am not and love it. Money isn't really a thing here. There exists a Conservative political contingent and they are active but not as active and the College Dems, who get a speaker to come to their gala every year, and this year they got Gloria Steinem. A fairly decent number of students will go into investment banking or consulting. The biggest extracurriculars on campus are MUN, SASA (South Asian Students Organization), and, probably, either Hillel or Student Government. Anyone willing to think a lot would be welcome here.