<p>I dunno. Too far away from campus for me, and I’d MUCH rather be in an “old” dorm like BJ or S-H than a new one (Max P. ICK!) lol.</p>
<p>Coming from a friend of mine who is at the U of C right now: </p>
<p>“the most social dorms are definitely max p. and shoreland. bj and snell-hitchcock have the reputation of being “weirder”, but i definitely have met great people from both places. location-wise, max p. is super, and you have private bathrooms, and it’s new, etc. etc. the actual rooms are somewhat small, but no one seems to care, and you also get the best dining plan.
and it is VERY social-- right next to frat row, full of athletes and people who like to have a good time.
shoreland, as i said, is also very social. i’m hoping to live there next year. it is definitely a shlep, and is not in nearly as good condition as max p. (next year is the last year shoreland will be a dorm-- it has been sold, and consequently the university doesn’t really care about its upkeep). but you have the chance of getting enormous rooms with a lake view, kitchen, dining room and couch.
or you could get a forced triple (a single or double they have stuffed 3 people in). i guess it’s kind of a crap shoot.
ummm, lets see… there’s also pierce, which is supposed to be pretty social too. i only have a couple friends who live there. the place looks like a prison, the rooms are the size of cardboard boxes, but apparently that forces everyone into the common areas = lots o’ fun. pierce is also very close to campus, so it has that going for it.”</p>
<p>Max P, my dorm, is awesome if you like a healthy social life and convenience to campus. It’s also new and modern, clean, suite-style living is great (having your own bathroom beats having a communal one and you don’t have to wear flip-flops in the shower). Plus, the shower is hot almost as soon as you turn it on - awesome. It’s literally a minute from dining, the library, both the Henry Crown (indoor track/gym) and Ratner (huge new gym) and a block away from the Reynolds club and the 55 bus stop. It’s also right alongside frat row, so going to and coming from parties is easy. </p>
<p>Obviously, the social aspect doesn’t override the academics, and Max people will always be studying, working hard etc… the rooms are very sound-proof which is great for masking the sound of drunk people partying in the hallway when you’re trying to read the Iliad. </p>
<p>If your idea of a vibrant social scene is more of the board-games variety, and not drinking/dancing, you can still fit in at Max, there are plenty of people here who do movie nights, baking, other fun stuff. If you’re one of those people who tends to turn up your nose at drinkers and scoff indignantly than it’s probably not your best bet, you WILL have to co-exist with these people after all. </p>
<p>So in short, Max P. is awesome. I consider it my home and I couldn’t be happier with my experience here. It’s got the perfect blend of normal, well-adjusted people and UChicago’s typical nerdiness that I find really appealing. </p>
<p>People also seem to really like Shoreland too, but I go over to my friend’s place every so often and it reminds me of a tenemant slum more than anything else. That being said, I don’t live there and nearly everybody who does is really, really fond of it so there’s obviously something there that I’m missing. My friend lives in a quad and we’ve actually been able to have parties (2 by last count) with big dance floors, a bar, lighting effects and a sound system, etc… the only condition is that we stop at 1:00 AM. Last party, we had over 120 people in the room at one time. So yeah, you can do awesome things there.</p>
<p>can anyone tell me what the deal is with BJ? I got a phone call from a 1st year, and he says if you like the gothic architecture and people being social, it is the best compromise (Hitchcock is known to be more antisocial). How is its location, etc? How does it compare in every aspect to Max (both tied for my number one)?</p>
<p>Snell Hitchcock isn’t anti-social within the house; they’re just a lot more secluded within their own house, from what I’ve seen. A lot of people in BJ say that it’s very quiet. Some people like that; some people don’t. I know some social people there, and there are parties there every so often. It’s about a five or ten minute walk from the main quads, but it’s across the midway which is windy and seems a lot longer than it actually is. It’s somewhat separated from campus–“across the midway” is a whole other part of campus with BJ and some grad school buildings, but with the new dorm being built near BJ this may change. It has its own dining hall. Max is a mixed bag and is known for having the most normal mix of students. There are kids of all types in Max. They also eat at the best dining hall, which matters more than you’d like to think. Max has private bathrooms, and since the building is new everything is in good condition (cool desks, good hot water, etc.). BJ has the Harry Potter look, which is really cool. I’d suggest Max if you want a more mixed and social atmosphere.</p>
<p>As far as social/study life goes, does anyone know what Pierce is like?</p>
<p>Pierce has small rooms, which makes it more social. You may want to do your work in the library if you want more room. My friends in Pierce like it. It’s a good dorm. They have their own dining hall with pretty bad food. They’re about ten minutes from the main quads, which is fine. They’re really close to the gym.</p>
<p>What about Maclean? It’s very close to the Ratner, which could be good for someone kind of lazy but health-conscious like me, but is it filled with varsity athlete types?</p>
<p>All of the responses have been very helpful.</p>
<p>I ate in Pierce dining hall on a visit, and everyone was telling us it had the worst food, but I found absolutely nothing to complain about. I thought the food was good. I must say from pics of the other 2 halls though that they are much more aesthetically pleasing. </p>
<p>I’d like to know about Maclean and Breck too. I am considering them for the 3rd choice after S-H and BJ.</p>
<p>All of the remaining dorms are in the same category of “unknown.” There aren’t many students who live there, particularly first years. Honestly, you’re probably better off in one of the other dorms just because if you’re in a dorm without a lot of first years and somewhat off campus, it’s a lot harder to meet people. Having said that, I know students at Breck, Broadview, and Maclean; some like it, some don’t. If you’re first choice is Snell or something like that, though, you may be fine with it, but those other dorms don’t really have the social atmosphere of Max, Pierce, or Shoreland.</p>
<p>TheLorax, if you’re looking for something near Ratner, look at Pierce and Max. You can likely get into either of those, they’re close to Ratner, and they have pretty social atmospheres.</p>
<p>thanks for all the help so far with dorm info–i think I’ll just go with max, which is also supposed to be easy to get into i think.</p>
<p>also, its very rare for people to switch dorms after frosh year, because people get attached to their classmates there etc. right?</p>
<p>I was under the impression that there was significant switching going on from year to year. Anyone else know about this?</p>
<p>Honestly, I think it depends mostly on what house/hall/roommate you end up with - me and my roommate are best friends, I love the people on my hall and house, and just the atmosphere in general, and so I’m definitely living in Max Central, Woodward house next year. The majority of my circle of friends are in Max and Shoreland and I’m pretty sure most of them are living in their dorms again, unless they’re planning on moving out. Can’t really tell you about other dorms unfortunately, but I suspect it’s mostly the same. It all depends on the experience you have first year.</p>
<p>From what I’ve seen, most people try to stay in their house or move off campus. There are students, though, who decide they want a single or an apartment-style room or something else that can’t be found in their current house. There’s not a ton of house loyalty like there is at Harvard, but it does exist, and people tend to get a little attached to their houses.</p>