University of Chicago Top Questions

Yes and no. There are some truly brilliant people here, and, as truly brilliant people tend to be, they are weird. But usually they're weird in the "hey I think we should get together and make a suspension bridge out of marshmallows and then see who can eat the most of it" kind of way, not in the cower-in-the-library kind of way. While those people do go here, I wouldn't say they make up the majority of the population. It's nice to go to a school where most kids are different from each other.

Obviously there some are nerdy, non-sociable, "fun-hating", school-obsessed people a U Chicago, but you don't see very many of them for the obvious reason: they don't aren't in on the social scene. If you come here you're most likely to meet people who are sociable, smart and funny. They will generally be very passionate in discussions and willing to talk about almost anything. Conversation is really varied. There is a lot of academic discussion and much of it is school oriented but there is not limit to what can be over-analyzed. Tabloid gossip is also fair game.

Yes and no. Yes, everyone who goes here is for the most ridiculously smart. But they also have fun. No, binge drinking is not a huge thing at this University, although it is true that those who party often party hard, and those who don't don't really at all. We do occasionally talk about Foucault at parties and dating is difficult -- there is a contingent of socially incapable males here and as a female I've had to modify my flirting techniques so as to send the wrong signals. But everyone is not an econ major, and those that are do have souls; we have fun, but that fun doesn't involve all that much beer pong; our parties, I am happy to say, are often themed (Eurotrash anyone?) so that conversation topics are huilt in to one's clothes; we can play beer pong, there are frats and frat parties if you want them, and I for one am not rich at all and that is not all that uncommon. We do read all the time and I have spent a few Saturday nights in the library, but college is as much about if not more about academics than beer anyway.

UChicago is definitely an academic power-house (torture for some) and I like it that way. it is good to be in a place where you are intellectually challenged and where knowledge and learning are the main priority of the school. As for the students, we are not all rich, though many are, but everyone is very warm and friendly though many are geniuses.

No. While students here are often fascinated with cult media such as Monty Python, anime, Star Trek, etc, most are not unusually nerdy or unilaterally dedicated to their academic pursuits. Most students function quite well in social situations. Also, the workload demanded by the University is quite reasonable, and most students spend a substantial amount of time watching TV or going to parties, as opposed to working.

Not entirely. If you wanna have fun, you can.

Students here are nerdy. Some are strange and anti-social, but a lot of people are nice and relatively normal.

Chicago is a fun place to go to school, but students applying to the college need to understand that the atmosphere at U of C is very academic. In this respect I think the stereotypes are true. The U of C is a school where learning is fun, where social life merges with the academic life.

sometimes, but not always

In a way they are, but not in the way they seem. For example, Chicago students are very engrossed in their work and there is probably less "partying" but it really depends on your definition of fun. We might just not have the same ideas.