<ol>
<li><p>There are numerous other threads on this topic. It might be worthwhile to check those out if you aren’t satisfied by the responses here.</p></li>
<li><p>There are parties at UChicago. If you want to party during the schoolyear, there will be plenty of opportunity on Wed/Fri/Sat for sure (talking about frat parties or larger apartment parties). Other than those (for the smaller parties) it’ll probably depend on who you know that’s throwing parties, etc. What do you define a ‘good party’ as? There will be plenty of booze if you get there early, and your social circle will probably dictate more of how much you enjoy the parties than any other variable. Don’t worry about it too much. </p></li>
<li><p>It does not take an hour to get downtown. You should check out the metra, HonorsCentaur. You can time it out and it takes about 25 mins to get downtown. And even 55’ing to the red line to downtown should be 40 mins. Furthermore, there are plenty of places to visit, go out to eat, and check out random museums within Chicago. There are many diverse neighborhoods and it’s honestly one of Chicago’s greatest treasures. </p></li>
<li><p>I never really have gotten a strong ultracompetitive vibe here, although I’m not an econ major (which I would expect to be the major that attracts that the most). </p></li>
<li><p>I’m still of the opinion that the school is definitely below average looks-wise.</p></li>
</ol>