University of Chicago Top Questions

We are international, quirky, very welcoming, all religions, races, nationalities, all types. We are a complete amalgamation of the world and we accept everyone.

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There is no such thing as a typical University of Chicago student. While in terms of race the school remains dominated by caucasians and asians, in terms of perspective it's to image a place more diverse. While occasionally it can seem as if some are in a vigorous competition to outdo each other in terms of strangeness, often the oddities of my fellow students strike me as fascinating, or at least entertaining. Everyone here is smart, and everyone here is far, far, better than you at something, and this is important to keep in mind. While success for some has bred an undue sense of entitlement and arrogance, and sometimes you'll run across someone so pretentious you want to smack them, but on the whole uchicago students are incredibly friendly. Their straight up kindness and general concern for everyone's well being is perhaps their most enduring quality.

Students here are pretty liberal. A lot of kids are pretty wealthy, but not the majority as depicted by the public. Most people are pretty friendly and relatively social in nature. A lot of students are international and from far away, while another good percentage are from the suburbs of Chicago. Students are very serious about academics, which takes away from some of their interests in other things such as sports. However, most of the students I would say are pretty well-rounded.

Students come from all around the world and clearly not every person comes from the same socio-economic level. There are a wide range of ethnicities and cultures represented here as well as religions, sexual orientations, and interests. I know many people who are involved in cultural organizations, or bible study groups, sports, Greek life, University Theatre, Doc Films, LGBTQ, MUNUC, and a plethora of other student groups. If you have a particular interest and you cannot find an RSO (registered student organization) for that already, there is always the option of starting your own RSO by getting it approved by the Committee on Recognized Student Organizations (CORSO). Like any other college with similar weather, we dress like college kids. College sweatshirts, jeans, bags, but a lot of people have their own personal style and expression in the way they dress. Hipsters, jocks, book worms, whatever aside, will all, if not properly dressed, catch a cold.

It really is a melting pot here. Students are generally very accepting of one another (at least I have never had an experience to indicate otherwise.) Students are from all over the world (the student body is something like 20{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} international). The most prominent religion on campus seems to be Judaism, though there are a variety of religious groups on campus. When it comes to politics it is hard to say, though I am inclined to say that the student body is predominantly center. People enjoy playing devil's advocate too much to only loyal to the extreme of one side. This being said, because of our age group most people are fairly socially liberal. What people wear to class is completely random...we have full on fashionistas (especially male ones, surprisingly enough) but the common UChicago uniform is jeans and some form of school spirited apparel. We are not an overly fashion conscious school, nor overly name-brand or designer oriented. If that's what you're in to, you can find it, but there certainly isn't any competition about what you wear as opposed to some schools. Because of this, it is often hard to tell the financial backgrounds of the students--there is little need to talk about it.

Everyone here is bright and interesting. Some kids fit the socially awkward stereotype, some are so jock-like you can't believe they're at U of C. I'd say there's a wide range of kids. The big groups I can pick out seem to be the hipsters, who seem to multiply every quarter. You can find them smoking clove cigarettes outside Cobb Coffee shop. The others seem to be Econ majors, who are universally vilified to hoping to make money after graduation instead of sacrificing themselves to the god of academia, as is traditional. They may tend to be a little prepier than the rest of the student body and often make up a fair proportion of the frats. No one cares how you dress here. Jeans and tshirts are prevalent. Sure, some people dress nice most of the quarter but come finals it is all sweats, all the time. Politically, I'd say the campus leans right, though the tradition of the Chicago school certainly lives on. You'll meet a lot of fiscal conservatives, but the social conservatives are harder to find. The campus isn't too political overall though the College Dems and Republicans and strong, fairly large organizations and all my friends, at least, enjoy talking about current events.

The best part of the University of Chicago is the diversity of students that you get to meet. We have a large portion of international students and students of all races. In fact, our school really provides resources for every kind of student. We have 3-4 churches and synagogues on campus, with trips to mosques on the weekends for people to stay religious on campus. We have 50 or so multi-cultural organizations for every race and each holds some kind of show every year. We have 5710, a center for multicultural students and LGBTQ students as well. We have a great financial aid program to help any student with financial needs as well as many work-study jobs. Different students interact all the time as my friends are from all over and have all different kinds of hobbies. This is due to the housing system that puts a diverse group of students together and gives them opportunities to get to know each other. If you want to be politically active, we have multiple club to do that, as well as many opportunities in the city to do so.

The best part of the University of Chicago is the diversity of students that you get to meet. We have a large portion of international students and students of all races. In fact, our school really provides resources for every kind of student. We have 3-4 churches and synagogues on campus, with trips to mosques on the weekends for people to stay religious on campus. We have 50 or so multi-cultural organizations for every race and each holds some kind of show every year. We have 5710, a center for multicultural students and LGBTQ students as well. We have a great financial aid program to help any student with financial needs as well as many work-study jobs. Different students interact all the time as my friends are from all over and have all different kinds of hobbies. This is due to the housing system that puts a diverse group of students together and gives them opportunities to get to know each other. If you want to be politically active, we have multiple club to do that, as well as many opportunities in the city to do so.

There is no typical student at UChicago. The campus is very diverse racially with very large numbers of South and East Asians. The diversity also extends to socio-economics because of the university's commitment to generous financial aid. Like most campuses, I would say that most students are religiously apathetic but there are many religious communities well represented on campus. Apathy also extends to the political area and those who are active are part of the UC Democrats, one of the largest organizations on campus. The student that would feel out of place at this school would be the person looking for D1 sports and D1 pride. That is definitely not the case on campus, and many students don't even know that we have sports teams. Students here tend to be very intellectual but not at all prude about their intelligence. Everyone here is smart in their own way and it really adds to the diversity of campus.

The student body is DIVERSE - all countries, languages, religions, socio-economic statuses, backgrounds, affiliations, and interests. But UChicago students do have a few things in common. Most UChicago students dress well (few sport pajamas to classes taught by Nobel laureates). It's not uncommon to see someone buying coffee at midnight getting ready to post up in the library all night, but it doesn't always entail that they're going solo. The students have strong views but are pretty tolerant; intellectual debates are never hard to find, but they typically don't end in the people involved storming off upset. Most people get along with people unlike them just fine.

UChicago is not a conservative school. The students tend to be pretty politically liberal, openminded, and progressive. Chicago is extremely diverse in terms of race, LGBT, and socio-economic background. While students are respectful at Chicago, they will question your beliefs. Admittedly, there are not a ton of highly religious students at Chicago, but they do actively think about and defend their beliefs. There is a high portion of students from the midwest, but Chicago draws students from around the world. Because of the highly academic nature of Chicago (and the cold), class is anything but a fashion contest. As students typically eat with their house in the dining hall, a diverse group of students are often thrown together and not grouped by race, socio-economic background, where they are from, etc.

The University of Chicago is fairly diverse, with especially strong Jewish and Asian populations. However, the interests of its students are so varied that it would take days to name every student organization and club on campus. The only kind of student who would feel out of place here is one who hates studying. Different types of students definitely interact--I'm part of Greek life at the school, which has lately been growing its presence on campus, but I have friends and acquaintances that span the spectrum of personalities and interests here at UChicago. Describing the tables of students at the dining hall is a little silly, simply because every table at the dining hall is assigned by house. A house is typically anywhere from 50-200 students, and this is your home base (a social group you can rely on) while you live in housing, which is typically for the first two years. So every table in the dining hall boasts a unique mix of students! Most students are politically aware, and many love debating current issues. A few students participated in Occupy Chicago this year!

My previous response(opinion of school/stereotype) addresses this question well.

Racially the school is broken down like most top-tier schools: mostly white and Asian (including Southeast Asian), with a sprinkling of Hispanic and black students on top. A decent percent of students come from very well-off and well-connected families, and this is especially prominent among foreign students, as they receive no financial aid. However, a good percentage of students also receive financial need-based aid, and so overall there is no one socio-economic majority. The housing system (everyone is required to live in housing first year, and all students are assigned to a house of 40-100 people with whom they live and share a dining table) allows students to mix and form friendships with people they may not have previously interacted with. That being said, racial and cultural groups do form, as they are wont to do anywhere. Students are predominantly left-leaning socially, but there is a strong population of fiscal conservatives on campus and the College Republicans RSO (registered student organization) is one of the best funded RSOs on campus.

Racially the school is broken down like most top-tier schools: mostly white and Asian (including Southeast Asian), with a sprinkling of Hispanic and black students on top. A decent percent of students come from very well-off and well-connected families, and this is especially prominent among foreign students, as they receive no financial aid. However, a good percentage of students also receive financial need-based aid, and so overall there is no one socio-economic majority. The housing system (everyone is required to live in housing first year, and all students are assigned to a house of 40-100 people with whom they live and share a dining table) allows students to mix and form friendships with people they may not have previously interacted with. That being said, racial and cultural groups do form, as they are wont to do anywhere. Students are predominantly left-leaning socially, but there is a strong population of fiscal conservatives on campus and the College Republicans RSO (registered student organization) is one of the best funded RSOs on campus.

Racially the school is broken down like most top-tier schools: mostly white and Asian (including Southeast Asia), with a sprinkling of Hispanic and black students on top. A decent percent of students come from very well-off and well-connected families, and this is especially prominent among foreign students, as they receive no financial aid. However, a good percentage of students also receive financial need-based aid, and so overall there is no one socio-economic majority. The housing system (everyone is required to live in housing first year, and all students are assigned to a house of 40-100 people with whom they live and share a dining table) allows students to mix and form friendships with people they may not have previously interacted with. That being said, racial and cultural groups do form, as they are wont to do anywhere. Students are predominantly left-leaning socially, but there is a strong population of fiscal conservatives on campus and the College Republicans RSO (registered student organization) is one of the best funded RSOs on campus.

In general, the University of Chicago is a very accepting environment. The University community obviously encompasses a lot of different backgrounds. Most students fit in perfectly and find their own niche in terms of apt cultural, ethnic, racial and other student groups. The unique House system of the University initially helps you acclimate to the social challenges of the University by providing you with a close-knit community of 50-80 students who you live with and can say hi to anywhere you see them on compass. It should be noted that these are the students that you normally sit with at the dining tables (though it is certainly not mandatory), especially when you first arrive on campus and feel daunted by the amount of people you meet. Moreover, it is important to remember that the University of Chicago is made up of a diverse group of students. Of the student body, most are middle to upper class and, surprisingly, 30{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the student body is made up of international students. It seems that every student at the University is united, however, by the common bond to learn in a competitive environment, obtain a quality education, and one day become a successful and productive member of their respective societies. Additionally, most students are very politically aware and- while the school, institutionally speaking, seems to be conservative in standing, most of the students are indeed more liberal and progressive. In fact, LGBT rights and racial tolerance seldom prove themselves as hotly contested issues as most students are very accepting and broadminded. Overall, the student body is incredibly varied; to be sure, it is in this diversity that there is strength.

In general, the University of Chicago is a very accepting environment. The University community obviously encompasses a lot of different backgrounds. Most students fit in perfectly and find their own niche in terms of apt cultural, ethnic, racial and other student groups. The unique House system of the University initially helps you acclimate to the social challenges of the University by providing you with a close-knit community of 50-80 students who you live with and can say hi to anywhere you see them on compass. It should be noted that these are the students that you normally sit with at the dining tables (though it is certainly not mandatory), especially when you first arrive on campus and feel daunted by the amount of people you meet. Moreover, it is important to remember that the University of Chicago is made up of a diverse group of students. Of the student body, most are middle to upper class and, surprisingly, 30{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the student body is made up of international students. It seems that every student at the University is united, however, by the common bond to learn in a competitive environment, obtain a quality education, and one day become a successful and productive member of their respective societies. Additionally, most students are very politically aware and- while the school, institutionally speaking, seems to be conservative in standing, most of the students are indeed more liberal and progressive. In fact, LGBT rights and racial tolerance seldom prove themselves as hotly contested issues as most students are very accepting and broadminded. Overall, the student body is incredibly varied; to be sure, it is in this diversity that there is strength.

It's pretty hard to describe the typical student at the University of Chicago, because each student is so different from another. That's what makes the University of Chicago such a fantastic academic and social experience, because you have the opportunity to get to know so many diverse individuals. I was an athlete, but also was involved in a fashion magazine. This put me in contact with two very different groups of people on campus. But then again, I was a tour guide, and tour guides tended to be absolutely amazing, quirky, incredibly involved individuals. UChicago has so many different people that it's hard to stereotype them. Even at the frat parties, I'd see people who would have been deemed way too nerdy at my high school-- yet here they were the life of the party. That's because UChicago tends to treat people based on their personalities, and not on their looks, which is awesome. We're a very welcoming bunch of people, and I think that's why UChicago gets typecast as an incredibly quirky/nerdy school. It's not that we necessarily are-- we just welcome those people, and they don't need to change their quirkiness or nerdiness to fit in. They're welcome here regardless.