<p>Enrolled yesterday and quite excited. But in all of this jittery-ness, I am trying to get together a list of stuff I need to adapt to. I like lists a lot…</p>
<p>So what I’m looking for is a list of stuff I will need. I know I’m going to need a big coat, that goes without saying… but other stuff. More obscure things that a boy from Texas wouldn’t think of. And don’t restrict it to just material things. </p>
<p>How should I prepare for the fitness test?
How should I approach orientation?
What website do I need to become familiar with and check regularly (The College, Maroon, Student Loans, etc)?
How the heck do access all of these different departments in such a LARGE university (coming from a small private school that is highly centralized)?
And anything else you might like to add…</p>
<p>Unless they’ve changed it, you will have to do some sort of cardio test, stretch test, strength test, sit ups… and maybe one other thing for the fitness test. Depending on how you do, you will pass out of 1, 2, or ideally all three quarters of the fitness requirement. Do whatever you want to do to prep for this stuff. It’s not that hard. FWIW, cardio is weighted more heavily than the other aspects. </p>
<p>Oh, and know how to swim. :-)</p>
<p>For orientation - no matter what, you’re going to be taking a language placement test and a math placement test. Might help to brush up on both those skills before you arrive. I’m not saying go out there and learn how to prove Fermat’s last theorem. Just it helps to make sure that you’re not rusty on either - you can get a LOT of core credits out of the way by doing well on o-week tests. </p>
<p>Check regularly? Um, not much. You should enjoy your summer break. </p>
<p>How the heck do you access all departments? Umm, find out where they’re located? It’s not like you need to know the chemistry password to seek out these places. Also, your academic advisor should be a good source for info. You’ll meet him or her during O-week. </p>
<p>Important thing I’d like to add - think, honestly, about what you’re most interested in pursuing. It really helps to arrive at UChicago having a concrete idea of what you’d like to study. I know that college is supposed to be a time when you explore your interests, but if you truly wait until the end of the second year to pick a major, it might leave you in an uncomfortable rush in your last two years. You’ll obviously have core classes to get out of the way, but that doesn’t mean you can’t start homing in on your major from the get go.</p>
<p>My biggest purchases for Chicago as of yet (mostly because my mom and I went to the REI garage sale, and a couple thrift stores):</p>
<p>One $300 long, down coat (marked down to $100 woot!)
A pair of cute sorel, waterproof snow boots (originally $150 marked down to $44)
A timbuk2 messenger back that fits my laptop ($90 originally, $45 mark down)
One ugly refrigerator that’s a little less than 4ft^3 (only $12!) (also planning to buy paint for it)
Tons of wool socks
I knitted 3 scarf/hat sets
A device that is somewhat disallowed, but will keep me very warm</p>
<p>Still looking for:
an area rug, extra long sheets/comforter, shower caddy, bulk price on my favorite organic soap, a dorm chair!</p>
<p>I’m also starting to think about what pictures I want to take and how I’ll arrange them.</p>
<p>I also have to narrow down all of my books… right now I have a full book shelf and a bunch under my bed… I need to choose between my children.</p>
<p>I want to get a head start on this stuff because I’m going out of town near the end of summer. Let me know if you think of anything! :)</p>
<p>Those are great purchases, definitely- and socks, nice wool socks, will take any UChicago student far.</p>
<p>If your “device that is somewhat disallowed, but will keep me very warm” is a space heater of any kind… return it. Not only are space heaters VERY not allowed in the dorms (I’m an RA and am usually pretty lax about the things technically not allowed… microwaves etc… but this one is the kind of thing we will have your parents take home with them on move-in day) because they are a fire hazard, they’re really unnecessary. All dorms are well heated (sometimes a little too well heated) during the winter, and you’ll probably just find it taking up space.</p>
<p>On the locations part: I’m talking more about where stuff is on the internet (blessed be it). What websites should I check regularly for goings-on? Certain stuff I need to know, news, etc. I feel like I have seen A TON of uchicago websites all over the place, usually taking the form of: <a href=“http://www.%5Binsertdepartmenthere%5D.uchicago.edu%5B/url%5D”>www.[insertdepartmenthere].uchicago.edu</a> and I can’t really imagine all the ones I’m going to need or what their names are.</p>
<p>my recollection from my S’s 1st year is that there is a website for every graduating class. That site should have lists of things to bring and other links. Also, look at Chicago Life.</p>
<p>Guys! Relax! Enjoy the end of high school, buy a prom dress or something . . . . Go to a movie.</p>
<p>You have lots of time to get what you need. You have lot of time to figure out what you need before you get it. Contrary to what seems to be a universal impression among recently admitted students, the city of Chicago has LOTS of goods available for sale, and rumor has it that Amazon and other online retailers sometimes DELIVER stuff right to your dorm if you ask them to. For free if you are buying a couple of things. What’s more, the area around any college is a veritable souk for used items that students enjoy, like chairs that fit in your dorm room. (Granted, this is more true in June than in September, but clever entrepreneurs often figure out how to carry inventory over the summer.) You can wait to see what your dorm room actually looks like, and how much space it has, and how you are going to use it, and what your roommate thinks, before you buy something and lug it thousands of miles, only to find out that it doesn’t fit in your room or it induces epileptic seizures in your roommate.</p>
<p>A great deal of what my first child brought to college was never used, and wound up being stuffed into a closet where it could never be reached to keep it from crowding an already crowded room. My second child brought almost nothing, and missed none of it.</p>
<p>Orientation stuffs five or six hours of content into a week; you will have plenty of time to focus on your material and spiritual needs then. Not to mention September! You have no idea how long the third week of September is when everyone you know started college two weeks ago! It’s like dog years: You feel like three days have gone by, and it’s not even lunchtime yet. Save some obsessing for then!</p>
<p>@PSAC electric blanket. aren’t those ok-ish? oooo… I could possibly have a microwave? You can just wink or something if it’s something I could get away with. I don’t have the money for the combined microfridge, so it would be nice.</p>
<p>I’m not really freaking out over buying stuff or anything. I don’t have a closet full of plastic organizers “for my dorm room” or anything crazy. it’s more that when there’s a big sale with prices or items that I could not get again (or for another year), then I buy minimal stuff I think I will need. I already had a smart wool sock addiction… this is just an excuse. ;)</p>
<p>I completely disagree with the kids that go to target a week before moving into their dorm rooms and come out with all of those matching sets and lamps and organizers for their desk… and then have to return it or just have it clutter up their rooms. That said, I am definitely aware that I can get much better prices and shop for exactly what I want given the summer to shop around.</p>
<p>I feel like I have it covered as of now… besides a cool Chicago nalgene and a dorm chair. :)</p>
<p>Wow you guys seemed very prepared for college. Seriously, all you need is a pair of sandals for the winter here. At least that was what I wore during the winter. Maybe it’s cause I come from a frozen country that’s literally -35 every winter</p>
<p>@kitkatkatie… hahaha, sorry, had me worried. Electric blanket is totally legit. Just got scared that you were trying to move in a space heater/heat source.</p>
<p>That said for everyone else: no open heat sources! This means hot plates, halogen lamps, anything with fire, or anything that could easily catch things on fire are off-limits. We’re pretty flexible on a lot of other things, but heat sources are a big no-no, and honestly most of the things that have them aren’t necessary to have if you live in a dorm anyway.</p>
<p>@Rny- yes, as long as you don’t amplify it you can play it in your room- I play my electric cello in my room with no problems (both currently in Max and previously in the very-quiet Snell-Hitchcock).
Most dorms have music practice rooms or at least some multi-purpose-type room that is often empty for amplified practice, so long as the noise level doesn’t get out of hand.</p>
It’s not like you need to know the chemistry password to seek out these places. Also, your academic advisor should be a good source for info. You’ll meet him or her during O-week. </p>