10 Things I Learned My First Year at UChicago
- Take Advantage of O-Week. During Orientation Week, you will meet your housemates and for me that was a wonderful way to meet friends. During my O-Week, there was a glow-in-the-dark party, with carnival games, obstacle courses, and a silent disco. It may be intimidating at first to put yourself out there, but everyone here is so welcoming and there are plenty of fun events that the University puts on that help to ease the transition.
- Maroon Dollars are the Best. Each quarter the University gives you $100 Maroon Dollars as part of your meal plan and these can be used at the student-run coffee shops, the market inside the bookstore, and at the two markets on campus–Bart Mart and Midway Market. I’m a big fan of Midway, so every night my friends and I would go there and get sodas or ice cream with our Maroon Dollars. Fair warning though, those $100 will run out sooner than you think!
- Make Friends With Your RH Family. Your Resident Heads (RHs) are a university affiliated family who often teach or work at UChicago who live in your house and organize fun events for everyone. Over this past year, my RHs organized trips to an arcade, a play at Chicago Theater, and a Bulls game! During my time here, my RH family have been some of the most wonderful people that I have ever met and I am definitely very blessed to have them as my RHs. They have been so helpful during my time at UChicago, both during the school year and during this summer. They even lent me a bike to get to my internship!
- Get Involved With IM Sports. Intramural sports are typically teams composed of other members of your house and you compete against other houses in every sport, from traditional sports like flag football and basketball to unique sports like broomball and innertube water polo. All of this is done in the hopes of winning the championship in as many sports as possible in order to get points to win the Maroon Cup. They are a great way to have fun with your housemates and create a sense of house pride. Even if sports aren’t usually your thing, any and everyone can play, IM sports are just for fun and nobody is a pro!
- Make use of the Study Rooms in the Libraries. This may seem a little obvious, but I didn’t start using them until the end of winter quarter and I wish that I had started using them sooner. They are a wonderful way to hang out with friends, but also actually get work done too. If you’re anything like me, if you’re doing work with your friends, you usually end up messing around more than actually doing your work. However, the study rooms are in such an academic environment because you’re surrounded by books and other students studying that it encourages you to work, but you are still in the company of your friends so doing your work seems a little bit more fun.
- Get Involved in HUM Discussions. Every first-year student takes their humanity core classes and these are largely discussion-based classes with fewer than twenty students. At first, it may be intimidating to jump into discussions, but everyone benefits when more people participate. It is also super beneficial to your understanding of the material to ask questions and learn from the perspectives of your peers.
- Walk to the Point. Promontory Point is a small part of Jackson Park a few minutes from campus that juts out into Lake Michigan. From The Point you can see a beautiful, unobstructed view of the Chicago skyline. Taking a walk there is a wonderful way to relieve stress and connect with nature. Many events throughout the year are held here-from house BBQs to RSO events. It’s a very relaxing setting and a great way to take a break from studying, especially during finals week.
- Take Advantage of your UPass. When you get to campus, you will be given a Ventra UPass which lets you ride the Chicago public transit (CTA) for free with just a tap of the card. This is a wonderful resource to get around and discover all that Chicago has to offer. Some of my favorite places to take the CTA to include River North, Andersonville, Lincoln Park, and the United Center for Bulls games.
- Take Advantage of Your Access to the University’s Athletic Facilities. Every UChicago student has access to the school’s athletic fields and gyms with your student ID. In addition to being a free way to exercise in a climate-controlled facility, the gyms are also a great way to have fun with your friends and meet new ones. I met one of my really good friends playing a pick-up game with him on the first day of O-Week.
- Enjoy Yourself! It can be easy to get caught up in your school work here, but UChicago is really a very fun place. There is so much fun to be had: playing games in the house lounge, going downtown with your friends, going to Medici, getting dinner in Hyde Park, IM Sports and midnight soccer, chilling on the quad, and so much more. I genuinely had some of the best times of my life this past year and I know there is so much more fun to be had over the next three years!