University of Chicago Top Questions

Some. Academics intense in math, econ, physics, chemistry and some bio courses. otherwise, same as elsewhere (peer institutions per se)

Yes, like I said in some capacity. I think there are those who challenge those stereotypes, but they are not noticed on campus.

The school is focused on academics therefore it is the student's responsibility to create the type of social life he or she would like. This is a self-selective school. There are a variety of people who come here but for the most part, people here absolutely love to learn. The curriculum is very challenging.

The students are definitely nerdy, but I find that it's rare to find anyone who is actually so socially awkward that they can't even function. Honestly, we're normal college kids who might be a little quirkier...but that makes it all the more fun. We -do- go out, we -do- party, but there's plenty of people who choose not to, and everyone has fun despite whether they drink or not. It's a pretty relaxed place socially.

As I said, 75{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the people at this school fit right along with that quirky/weird stereotype.

To an extent. There are all types of people here, but the school does disproportionately attract the bookish and the quirky. But virtually every type of subculture is represented here--you just have to go out and find it. We have the theater types, the math-geeky types, jocks, preps, everything... but even within these subcultures, people here tend to be pretty well-read.

some of them: people are very intelligent. A lot of people are indeed intellectuals and snobbery is not unheard of. However because everyone is really smart, it's kind of cool: even the jock in your core class probably has some really intensely esoteric interest in war history or performativity or physics. People are very passionate about learning and ideas. People take pride in their work and many enjoy talking about their studies in a nonacademic setting. apolitical: no, this is changing; activists have a substantial presence on campus. uc dems and republicans are both very active rsos. don't have fun: inaccurate. it would be more accurate to say "some uc students view doing work as fun." normative defintions of fun don't fly here. there is something going on every day of the week for anyone: there are plays every weekend, the few frats on campus throw parties (and "bar night" thursday night), there are great apartment parties and lots of very active student organizations. many people are, or profess to be, quite antisocial, but the "fun" on campus caters to them as well without excluding other types of fun-seekers. theory-oriented: true. esoteric: i would describe study at the uc as "all-encompassing"--nothing is too small, no detail unworthy of notice. there are a lot of communities on campus but it can be pretty isolating. it's pretty easy to meet people but more difficult to get to know them. there's a sense that uchicago is a "different school" to different communities--it is large enough that you can get out of it whatever you intend to.

Yes and no. There are, no doubt, some socially inept nerdy people here who have no lives. And the "college fun" of frat parties and football are a very small part of the average UChicago student's experience. So if that's what you want, we aren't what you want. But the vast majority of us are pretty normal (but, we'd hope, relatively smart) people who have a lot more varied ways to have fun than just frats and football. As to the second one I mentioned, I sure hope it's not true...

It depends on one's definition of fun. There aren't parties every night, but you can still go out for a good time on the weekends. I actually find a lot of my assignments fun (that testifies to the truth of the nerd stereotype). Work does take up a big chunk of time, but, hey, I had time to do this survey. I might have to skip my weekly shower though...

For some students, but less than half.