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This site is designed for first-year undergraduate students. Other sites for newly admitted students:

Alphabet Soup

A - Level: Floor below the ground-floor of the Reg
Admin: Administration Building; location of both the Registrar's and Bursar's Offices
Adviser: The person you go to when you're not sure where to go, especially helpful in making sure you graduate on time
All-Nighter: As in "to pull an all-nighter;" a last, desperate attempt to get the paper in on time or cram everything you didn't learn all quarter into your head
ASU: Asian Students Union
Authcode: Whole bunch of numbers you will likely forget but which you must first dial before calling an off-campus phone number
BS/BA:
1. Nagging Spring Quarter worry for many fourth-years, preceded by the onset of senioritis
2. A really nice piece of paper you get at graduation
Bart Mart: (aka Maroon Market) Convenience-store located on the first floor Bartlett Dining Hall; a source of late night snacks for on-campus students; a place to spend flex-dollars
Big Problems: A set of Interdisciplinary Courses dealing with matters of "global or universal" concern
BioSci/BSLC: Building hidden to the northwest of the quads where several bio classes are taught
BJ: Burton-Judson Courts
Blackstone: Dormitory on campus where quite a few third-and fourth-years reside
Botany Pond: Lovely body of water located on the Quads just south of Regenstein; has fish in it
Broadview: A 1920's "gentlemen's" hotel converted into a dormitory
CAPS: Career Advising and Planning Services, located in Ida Noyes Hall; it provides career-development and job-search resources
C-Bench: A gift from the Class of 1903, in front of Cobb Hall; acoustically perfect
Chicago (UChicago) Lakeview Express: #173 bus providing convenient, safe, late-night transportation from Hyde Park to various hot spots downtown and on the North Side
Chicago Card: Faster and slightly cheaper than using cash or Transit Cards on Chicago Public Transportation; offers you touch and go speed as you get on the bus/train
CHA: College Honors Awards
Chronicle: Newspaper put out by the University News Office
Civ: Pronounced "Siv;" Civilizations Studies core/general education sequence
Co-op: Seminary Co-op Bookstore, where you will buy many of the books required for Social Sciences and Humanities classes (until you realize it's cheaper to do so through other outlets)
Core: Now known as the general education sequence; set of classes which provide the groundings for the College’s liberal arts education; must be taken if you want to graduate
COUP: Council on University Programming; student organizers of several annual celebrations on campus
CPO: College Programming Office; organizers of class development events in the College
Crerar: Science library notorious for creating an atmosphere for hard-core studying; 24-hour study space; source of a USITE where STATA is readily available
Crown: Also HC, Henry Crown; the old gym and field house
C-Shop: Popular coffee shop located on the first floor of the Reynolds Club; home to Einstein Bros. Bagels and $1 Shake Day every Wednesday
CSLTC: Community Service Leadership Training Corps.; a two year community service and leadership based student organization run by UCSC
CTA: Chicago Transit Authority; your way of getting around the city
CTS: Chicago Theological Seminary
CUSA: Chinese Undergraduate Students Association
CWAC: Cochrane-Woods Art Center
Dean's List: List of students with 3.25 GPA or above
Div School: Divinity School; its coffee shop serves the best cup of hot chocolate on campus
Doc: Doc Films; shows movies at the Max-Palevsky Cinema located in Ida Noyes Hall; each day of the week has a movie theme with popular/recent movies shown on weekends
Dollar Shake Day: Offered Wednesdays at the C-Shop
El: Elevated portion of the mass-transit system run by the CTA
E-mail: Something you will compulsively check, especially when you don't want to do work
Extension: Something you seek when your all-nighter fails (See All-Nighter)
Facebook: Student Stalker Network; online profiles of any number of students from any number of colleges
FacEx: Faculty Exchange; Intra-university mailing system
Flex Dollars (aka Flex): Almost like fake money on your UCID, except that you have to buy them and they are only accepted at limited places around campus (C-shop, Hutch Commons, Bart Mart/Maroon Market, dining halls, etc.)
Flying Rocks: Astrophysics I, II, III
Freshman: Correct term is "First-Year"
GMAT: Graduate Management Aptitude Test
God Quad: Grassy area outside the Div School
Grad School: Place where people go after College to put off the "real world."
GRE: Graduate Record Examination
Hafen's Folly: The $10,000 centennial swing near Hitchcock Hall, which is nice but is in no way worth the exorbitant price tag
Happy Half-Hour: Hallowed Grounds, a coffee shop in the Reynolds Club, offers half-priced candy and soda during every week night
Harold's: Chicago chicken chain
Harper:
1. Harper Memorial Library; that big building with the two towers, home to your College adviser
2. The picturesque library on the third floor of Harper
3. William Rainey Harper, UChicago's first President
Harper Fellow: Ph.D. hired to teach certain core/general education courses
HBC: Human Being and Citizen; Humanities class
Herald: Hyde Park Herald, neighborhood newspaper
HIPS: History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Science and Medicine; a major for students studying the historical development, conceptual structure and social role of science
HKSA: Hong Kong Students Association
Hum: Pronounced "Hume;" Humanities core/general education sequence
Hutch:
1. Hutchinson Commons or Hutch Commons, a dining hall that is modeled after Christ Church Hall at Oxford that is connected to the Reynolds Club and C-Shop; houses a food court as well as many large portraits of past University Presidents
2. The courtyard bounded by Hutch Commons, the Reynolds Club and Mandel Hall
Hutchins: Robert Maynard Hutchins, former President of the University of Chicago who pulled UChicago out of the Big Ten.
Hyde Park: Home of the University of Chicago
Ida: Ida Noyes Hall
IHC: Inter-House Council; group of students selected from each house within a residence hall who discuss topics pertinent to the dorms, transportation and dining
I-House: International House; building that offers housing and activities to students as well as to visitors; hosts movies in the auditorium every quarter
IM: Intramural Sports
Jackson Park Express: The #6 bus used to be known as the Jeffery Express, but a change in route has landed it a new name
JELLY: Jugglers Enriching Lives Like Yours, also includes the circus group on campus.
Jimmy's: (Woodlawn Tap) A popular off-campus student watering hole; 21+
KSO: Korean Students Organization
Kuvia: Kuviasungnerk and Kangeiko Winter Festival
LA: Laboratory Assistant
Labbie: University of Chicago Laboratory Schools student (Pre-K-12th)
Loop: Chicago's downtown area, which derives its name from the formation that the elevated train tracks make
LRS: Little Red Schoolhouse; very popular course that teaches students to write clear, unpretentious academic prose
MAB: Major Activities Board; in charge of bringing entertainers to campus
Maclean: Dorm at 54th and Ingleside
Mardi Gras:
1. A popular destination for Chicago students who are seeking the notorious experience.
2. A yearly festival sponsored by COUP for those students who are unsuccessful in their attempts to attend the real thing
Maroon:
1. The official University of Chicago student newspaper is the Chicago Maroon
2. The school color
Maroon Thunder: Lifesaving helicopter-ambulance that drowns out class discussions when en route to the Medical Center
Maroons: University of Chicago's varsity athletes
Master:
1. Head of collegiate division;
2. Senior member of the faculty or administration who lives in a residence hall (see Resident Master or RM) with his/her family
Max:
1. The dormitory Max Mason, according to older popular usage;
2. Max Palevsky Residential Commons, also known as Max P;
3. Max Palevsky Cinema in Ida Noyes Hall
MCAT: Medical College Admission Test
Metra: Formerly known as the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad (IC); slightly more expensive but also more comfortable way to go downtown on public transportation
Midway Plaisance (aka The Midway): Strip of garden between 59th and 60th streets that hosted the World's Fair (1893)
MSA: Muslim Students Association
MUNUC: The Model United Nations at the University of Chicago
NASA: Native American Students Association
NCD: New Collegiate Division; an interdisciplinary collegiate division of the College, specializing in non-traditional majors-Fundamentals: Issues and Texts; Law, Letters, and Society; Religious Studies and Tutorial Studies
O-Aide: Orientation Aide; person who makes sure your Orientation Week rocks
OBS: Organization of Black Students
OLAS: Organization of Latin American Students
Ombudsperson: Deals with problems regarding academics, financial aid, housing, health service, etc.
OMSA: Office of Multicultural Student Affairs
ORCSA: Office of the Reynolds Club & Student Activities; student activities office, located in the Reynolds Club with another office in Ida Noyes Hall
PE: Physical Education
P/F: Taking a course but not for a quality grade (A, B, C, D, F)
PHE: Peer Health Educator
PhySci: Physical Sciences sequence (not Sci-Fi) in the core/general education program
Pit:
1. The student-run café in the basement of BJ;
2. The scary closed-in alley that is the scenic view that some residents of the Broadview enjoy every time they look out their windows
Point:
1. The Promontory Point at 55th Street and Lake Michigan;
2. What many professors encourage you to find when writing papers
Pre-Med: What many entering students are and what few graduating students will be
Procrastinate: Any number of activities accompanied by a nagging guilt that you should be doing something better
PSAC: Pronounced "Pee-sack;" Prospective Students Advisory Committee
Pub: A small pub located in the basement of Ida Noyes Hall, membership is $5 with UCID; 21+
Q&A: Queers and Associates
Quads: Quadrangles; The central plots of land around which the campus is built
Quantrell: Prize for excellence in undergraduate teaching
Query: Q. no grade was submitted or your taking an incomplete was not noted; becomes a W after the 4th week of the following quarter
RA: Resident Assistant Head; third or fourth-years in the College who assist the RH
Ratner: the newest gym
Reader: Free weekly newspaper
Reading Period: Thursday and Friday of tenth week; professors may not technically teach or have anything due on these days
Reg: The Regenstein Library; large library that consumes many students' lives.
Reg rat: They may emerge to go to classes, but live in the Reg
Reggin' it: Spending lots of time at the Reg
Resident Master (aka RM): Senior member of the faculty or administration who lives in a residence hall with his/her family; heading the residence halls within the housing system
Reynolds Club/RC: Building located at 57th and University; home to many RSOs and ORCSA.
RH: Resident Head; Res Head; Graduate students or administrators living in the houses; heading the houses within the housing system
Robbie House: Crazy house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and located at 58th and Woodlawn.
Rockefeller:
1. The man who bankrolled the beginning of the University of Chicago;
2. Enormous non-denominational chapel
Rocks for Jocks: Affectionate name for general education course usually billed as "Ice Age Earth"
RSO: Recognized Student Organization
RSVP: Resources for Sexual Violence Prevention
RTA: Regional Transportation Authority
SAMSU: Singaporean and Malaysian Students Union
SASA: South Asian Students Association
Scav Hunt: A large annual scavenger hunt held in the Spring
SCC: Student Care Center
SCRS: Student Counseling and Resource Service
Senior: Fourth-year student's ego-boosting term.
SG: Student Government
Shoreland: Large converted hotel which serves as a dorm far from campus; soon to be replaced by a "new dorm" south of the Midway Plaisance
SOC: Pronounced "Sosh;" Social Sciences core/general education sequence
SLS: Federal Supplemental Loans for Students
Socratic Method: Method: Method of teaching employed in several courses; involves repeatedly asking questions and hoping somebody in the class knows the answers
SSA: School of Social Service Administration
Stacks: Seemingly never-ending shelves of books in the Reg; site of many an embarrassing make-out session
Stagg:
1. Amos Alonzo Stagg, the University's first athletics director;
2. Stagg Field, located at 55th and Cottage Grove
Stony: Short for Stony Island
1. Street;
2. Apartment style dorm
Study Break: Break from studying, often a source of sustenance when you are out of meal points or have not been to the grocery store in a long time
TA: Teaching Assistant
Tenth Week: Last week of classes in a quarter; immediately before finals week
That One/Kid: Popular epithet used to describe that really annoying boy/girl in one of your classes (mostly in core/general education classes)
UCID: Your plastic ticket to the resources on campus
UCSC: University Community Service Center; organizes quarterly Days of Service as well as variety of community service programs around the University and Chicago
Ultimate: Ultimate Frisbee
UT: University Theater
W: Withdraw; received when you drop a class after third week
(W)HPK: WHPK Radio; the University's very own radio station that broadcasts from the top of the Reynolds Club; 88.5 FM
Work/Study: Federal Work/Study Program that funds campus jobs

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