Student Welcome Packet
2026 Summer Session Pre-College
email: summersession@uchicago.edu
phone: 773.702.2149
Welcome to UChicago!
This guide provides information for students and families about courses, residential life and activities to do in your free time on campus and in the surrounding Hyde Park neighborhood. Let us know if you have any questions or would like more information. We hope you will enjoy being part of our lively academic community this summer!
Sincerely,
UChicago Summer Session Staff
Campus-area Highlights
Doc Films, Max Palevsky Theater (in Ida Noyes Hall), 1212 E. 59th St. Be on the lookout for the summer calendar. Doc Films shows a mixture of classic, art-house, and mainstream release films.
Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures, 1155 E. 58th St. ISAC is a must-see for enthusiasts of Egyptology, the Middle East, West Asia and North Africa.
Smart Museum of Art, 5550 S. Greenwood Ave. Tuesday through Sunday 10 am-5 pm, Thursday 10 am–8 pm.
Powell’s Bookstore, 1501 E. 57th St. Open seven days a week. Shop for used, rare, and out-of-print books.
57th Street Books, 1301 E. 57th Street. Open seven days a week. “Where Serious Readers Go for Fun.” Shop for recent fiction and nonfiction, cookbooks, magazines, and other non-academic reading materials.
Religion on the Quads
There are several religious organizations and groups that offer services near campus during the summer. To find a group and their contact information you can consult spirit.uchicago.edu.
The Reynolds Club
The Reynolds Club includes the Hutchinson Commons food court, a Pret a Manger coffee shop, ATMs, and is home to many student organizations.
Academic Resources & Support
University of Chicago ID Card
Your student ID card is an essential tool for your daily life on campus. This card is used for meals and building access.
A $50 fee will be charged to replace a lost card. It takes up to three (3) business days to receive a replacement card. Students are responsible for paying for meals in the dining hall until a replacement card can be created. In case of a lost UChicago Card, senior staff members should be notified immediately to request a new card and deactivate the lost one.
Academic Advising
An academic adviser is available to help you with any academic issues you may encounter in the fast-paced summer schedule. You can talk with the academic adviser about strategies on studying effectively, ways to approach your professors or teaching assistants, your assignments, or how to manage group projects.
Schedule an appointment with Sarah Lopez to meet either in-person or online: https://calendly.com/sarahlopez606/academic-advising
Libraries
Visit lib.uchicago.edu for any questions about the university’s libraries. You can search for hours, locations, and browse the online catalog.
Writing Tutor
UChicago offers writing tutoring for College students to help them manage their challenging coursework. You will have access to this resource as well. Tutoring hours will be posted in the residence hall. Every week, an experienced writing tutor will offer:
Seminars designed to help you make the transition to doing college-level reading and writing,
One-on-one help with readings, research papers, essays, lab reports, special challenges faced by students for whom English is not their first language.
We strongly encourage you to take advantage of this resource — just like UChicago College students do!
Academic Integrity
To submit another’s statements or ideas, to inappropriately reference outside sources, or consult with others (including generative AI tools) to complete assignments intended to measure the individual’s mastery of content is a serious violation of the university’s standards. Such violations can lead to a failing grade for an assignment or an entire course. If you are unclear if something is an AI tool or constitutes an inappropriate source or consultation, ask your instructor before you submit your work.
Accident and Sickness Insurance for 3-4 week Summer Programs
Overview: As a participant in a short-term summer program at the University of Chicago, you receive accident and sickness insurance through AIG Personal Accident Insurance. This coverage lasts for the duration of your summer program from the first day of your summer program to the last day of your participation in the program.
What type of coverage is this? This plan should be viewed as two complementary forms of insurance: 1) medical insurance coverage for accidents, injuries, and/or illness, and 2) travel assistance coverage for emergency evacuation or repatriation services. Please note that if you have a chronic condition (e.g., asthma, diabetes, etc.) this insurance will only cover incidents that occur while you are participating in the UChicago summer program. It will not cover routine medicines or therapies needed to manage your chronic condition.
How do I use this insurance policy? If you have an accident or become ill while you are participating in the UChicago summer program, you should first seek care at UChicago Student Wellness. You can find their locations and hours at wellness. uchicago.edu.
If you are referred to a specialist or need a specific procedure (e.g., labs or X-rays) you will need to show your AIG insurance card as proof that you have accident and sickness insurance. Be sure to write your name on the card in advance.
If UChicago Student Wellness is closed or unavailable at the time you need care, you should go to an immediate care clinic to receive care. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, you should go to the closest emergency department at a hospital. You will be asked to show your AIG insurance card.
What if I already have insurance? If you have insurance that covers you in Chicago for the duration of your summer program, that insurance will be considered your “primary” insurance.
When you seek care, you should show your insurance card for this primary coverage. The AIG accident and sickness insurance provided by UChicago will be considered “excess” insurance for students who already have insurance coverage.
What if I later receive a bill from the doctor? What should I do? Some doctors/providers may send you the bill rather than bill AIG directly. If that happens, you will need to complete the claims reimbursement process with AIG. For more information refer to the back side of your AIG insurance card.
If I have questions, who should I contact? For questions about your accident and sickness insurance benefits, please call AIG at 1-800-551-0824, Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm Eastern time. For non-urgent, general inquiries, please email studentinsurance@lists.uchicago.edu.
Technology On Campus
Two-Factor Authentication
Some online resources, including Canvas and the Google Suite, require you to log in with your CNet ID and to verify your identity via two-factor authentication. Download the Duo Mobile app to your mobile device, then follow the directions on UChicago IT Services website at cnet.uchicago. edu/2FA/about2FA to complete the set-up process.
Canvas
Canvas is the online course management tool used by faculty and lecturers teaching in Summer Session. A course’s Canvas site includes syllabi, assignments, textbooks, online reading and resources, and other essential course information.
Log in to canvas.uchicago.edu to review your course information. You will need your CNet ID to sign in.
For additional information on Canvas, visit its.uchicago.edu/canvas.
For 3-4 week programs, your UChicago email address is your official email while you are a Summer Session student. All course and program correspondence will be sent to your UChicago email.
Microsoft Outlook is part of the Office 365 Suite. You are strongly encouraged to use Outlook. You can access your email at portal.office.com.
Computers
There are several computer labs across campus for 3 & 4 week students to access. You’ll need your student ID to get in, and your CNET to log in. Visit the TechBar in Regenstein Library for walk-in help.
Printing
UChicago’s printing service is available at all campus libraries and residence halls. For complete information, visit: printing.uchicago.edu/.
Getting Started
Visit its.uchicago.edu/students for information on all academic technology resources, including:
Campus wifi networks
Canvas (course management)
my.UChicago (student self-service portal)
How to contact IT Services help
UChicago email and CNet ID
Two-factor authentication
Passio Go! (transportation)
My.UChicago
Students in 3-4 week programs need to verify their personal information and billing address through my.UChicago.
At the end of Summer Quarter (late August), please review your grades and request copies of your transcript on my.UChicago. Simply click on the Academics tab to reach this information.
When you apply to colleges and universities, use the website to request official UChicago transcripts and have them released to other institutions.
If you have a hold on your account, please visit the Office of the Registrar website for further assistance.
Grades and myUChicago: my.uchicago.edu.
Office of the Registrar: registrar.uchicago.edu.
Campus Safety
Common Sense
Multiple organizations provide security resources to students on campus. These include a full-service, CALEA-accredited police force that serves our campus and surrounding neighborhoods, and contract security officers posted every day on many blocks around campus. Our front desk staff provides 24/7 coverage at residence halls. Students living in a city need to be vigilant about their personal safety and make smart choices about communication, travel, and protecting personal property, which includes:
Maintain control of your space and surroundings. Walk well-traveled routes; plan your way in advance; avoid being maneuvered into alleyways, doorways, or cars; avoid deserted areas; and be aware of the locations of the BlueLight emergency phones across campus and the neighborhood.
Be aware of those around you. If you think you are being followed, cross the street, change direction, or go to a busy public place; never accept rides or help from strangers; and if a driver asks for directions, direct him or her from a comfortable distance, even if it means shouting.
Don’t be a target. Walk purposefully; leave valuables at home; avoid taking out money or your wallet on the street, train, or bus; don’t wear headphones while you walk; try to always walk with companions; keep your purse near your body and keep your wallet in your front pocket; and use caution when using ATMs.
Above all, trust your instincts. If you feel threatened, get out of the situation; if someone approaches you and seems agitated or aggressive, be on your guard. Your safety must come first, even if you feel you are being discourteous.
Download the UChicago Safe App
To support campus safety, UChicago released the UChicago Safe app, available for iOS and Android phones. We strongly encourage all residential students to download and set up this application, which provides helpful information, maps, and a tracking feature to help students get to their residence hall safely.
Additional Tips to Remember
Always plan ahead. Figure out your route to and from your desired destination before you leave.
If you are going downtown to explore beautiful Chicago, let someone know where you’re going just in case you get lost or have trouble getting back to the residence hall. Tell a friend staying in the residence hall that day, your RA, or another member of the staff. They can help you as needed.
Always charge your phone before you leave. Your phone can be your best asset in the city. If you get lost, call your RA for help, or consult a map app.
BlueLights
Throughout Hyde Park there are white pillars capped with blue light bulbs. These BlueLights will be pointed out by your RA on campus tours. If you ever feel unsafe you may press the red button on these BlueLights and a UCPD officer will be there to help you as soon as possible. If you do not feel safe waiting for a UCPD officer, continue walking and press the BlueLight buttons along your path; UCPD will be able to track your route and respond.
A mobile BlueLight can also be used via the UChicago Safe app.
UCPD Safety Escort Program
If you are out when it is dark and you are alone and do not feel safe walking back to the residence hall alone, you may call the University of Chicago Police Department (UCPD) at 773-702-8181 and a UCPD officer will escort you back to the residence hall.
Curfew Policy
Pre-college students must be in their residence hall building from 10:00 pm to 6:00 am. All residential pre-college students are expected to check in for curfew every night and remain in the residence hall until the following morning. Curfew violations are taken very seriously by the Summer Session staff; disciplinary actions will be taken. Repeat offenders will be subject to increasing disciplinary actions with possible dismissal from Summer Session.
Procedures
Students must check in with their RA every night in their assigned lounge. Students will have a 15-minute window to sign in for curfew starting at 9:45 pm each evening. After signing in for curfew, students may not leave the building until the following morning at 6 am.
Discipline Policy
Any student found in violation of Summer Session’s curfew policy will be issued an increasing disciplinary action with each offense. Students will speak with both their RA and residential staff about their reasonings for being late to curfew. Potential consequences include early curfew check-ins, required absence from trips, informing parents, meeting with the Director of Residential Programs, and in cases of repeated curfew violations, dismissal from the Summer Session program.
Releases
A student may be excused from a nightly curfew check-in. The student must initiate a request 48 hours in advance via the Curfew Release Form, which will be shared after arrival to Summer Session. Students who are excused from curfew must have an adult pick them up and return them to the residence hall at the time specified on the release form. Before leaving the residence hall, the student must have their release confirmed, which ensures that the resident staff are aware of the departure and return times.
Prior to curfew and after class, students are welcome to leave campus without an RA or instructor, but should share details with residential staff such as where they are going, when they are leaving, and when they expect to return.
Hyde Park Information
Chicago is a city of 77 unique neighborhoods. Hyde Park, where the University of Chicago main campus is located, is a neighborhood a few miles south of the downtown Chicago area. Here are some things you should know about Hyde Park, transportation, and staying safe in an urban environment.
Hyde Park Businesses
53rd Street
(between Woodlawn and Lake Park)
53rd Street is Hyde Park’s oldest shopping district, lined with small businesses and restaurants. Harper Court, a small business oriented shopping center, extends north of 53rd Street along Harper Avenue. A farmers’ market is held there in the summer.
Things you could check out include 5 Rabanitos (Mexican cuisine) Small Cheval (burgers), Target (retail store), Five Guys (burgers), Harper Theater (cinema), Nando’s, Sweetgreen (salads), Rajun Cajun (Indian), The Sit Down (Sushi), Cedars (Mediterranean), CVS (retail store), Capri and Giordano's (pizzas), Chipotle, Roti, and more.
55th Street
(between Harper and South Hyde Park Blvd, and Woodlawn and Ellis)
The segment of 55th Street between the Metra line and South Hyde Park Blvd offers a series of restaurants. Between Woodlawn and Ellis (just north of campus), you can find a Starbucks, Roux, Saucy Porka (Latin American – Asian Fusion) and The Nile (Middle Eastern).
West of the Metra line, between 54th and 55th streets, lies the Hyde Park Shopping Center where you can find la Boulangerie (a French bakery), Walgreens (retail store), Trader Joe’s, Potbelly Sandwich Works, a Post Office and Ace Hardware.
57th Street (between Kimbark and Harper)
57th Street is noted for its independent bookstores, including Powell’s and 57th Street books. Things you can find on 57th street include: the Medici Restaurant and Bakery, Noodles Etc, True North Café, Seoul Tacos, Salonica, and more.
Transportation
GETTING AROUND HYDE PARK
Biking
Divvy, a bike sharing program, is available on campus and throughout Chicago. You can purchase a daily or annual membership to check a bike out from one of the many Divvy bike stations and return it to any other station in the city.
CTA Buses
The 171 and 172 buses are free to UChicago Students showing their UCID. These buses run around UChicago campus and greater Hyde Park area on weekdays during rush hours (approximately 7:00 am-9:30 am and 4:30 pm-6:30 pm – though times do vary). Go to www.transitchicago.com/schedules/ for exact times and maps of the bus routes.
UChicago Campus Shuttles
UGo Daytime Shuttles: The University provides free daytime shuttle service around campus and portions of the neighboring communities. Shuttles are a safe and convenient way for all students to get around. Just tap your UChicago Card to board.
UGo NightRide Shuttles: The University provides a comprehensive nighttime shuttle service that travels throughout the campus as well as the Hyde Park neighborhood. NightRide shuttle routes are within one to two blocks of nearly every building on campus.
Routes are designed with specific University destinations in mind to make traveling around campus more convenient.
GOING DOWNTOWN
UChicago Downtown Campus Connector
Catch the free shuttle in front of the Rockefeller Chapel. Check the Campus Connector route on Passio GO!
The Metra
The Metra is a quick and easy way to get downtown. The Metra picks up between 59th and 53rd street on Lake Park. With one ride you can be dropped off right in the heart of downtown (Millennium Station at Randolph and Michigan Ave). To look up times, we are located on the Metra Electric (ME) line.
CTA Buses
The 192, 2, and 6 buses are the most convenient and easy buses to take to get to and from downtown from campus. These are express buses and will get you downtown. See more information at www.transitchicago.com.
Check-In Info for Int'l Students
Students arriving in Chicago from abroad on a UChicago-sponsored student visas are required to check-in with the Office of International Affairs (OIA) within 5 days of their arrival in Chicago.
Students who arrived in the United States early to visit friends or family should also complete the check-in process within 5 days of arriving in Chicago.
STEP 1:
When filling out the online check-in form, please make sure you do the following:
Enter your name exactly as it is listed on your I-20 or DS-2019
Enter your 8-digit UCID as your Student ID#. Your UCID was sent to you by email and is also listed on your ID card.
Enter your UChicago email address. This is your CNET ID that ends with “@uchicago.edu.”
Do not leave the “Phone Number” field blank. If you do not have a cell phone that will work in the United States, please enter “0000000000”
Please select “The College” as your Division.
Please select “F-1” or “J-1” as your Visa Type depending on what you have. You are not a Booth School student, so instructions specified for Booth students do not apply to you.
You must provide a U.S. address. Most likely this will be your address in the residence hall.
This is a multiple step process and all steps must be followed. You must update your address AND set it as the SEVIS address to update it correctly.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) requires that all SEVIS addresses are entered in the United States Postal Service (USPS) format. If your U.S. address is not entered in the required format, you will be in violation of your visa status.
EXAMPLE: If you are staying in room A-123 of the Granville-Grossman Residential Commons, the correct formatting of your U.S. address will be: 6031 S Ellis Ave. RM A-123 CHICAGO IL 60637
Please note this is an example; your room number is not A-123 so do not provide this as your room number. Enter the room number you were provided at check in. If you are not sure of your room number, please ask your Residential Assistant (RA).
The USPS zip code website will provide you with a 9-digit zip code but all 9 numbers will not fit when entering your U.S. address; so, only enter the first 5 numbers as shown above
Examples of right and wrong address formats are available at internationalaffairs.uchicago.edu/ page/ address-update-requirement#AddressFor matInstructions
If your address in the U.S. changes (for example you visit friends or family after the completion of your Summer Session program), please update your address once you have departed campus. Directions are available at internationalaffairs.uchicago.edu/page/ address-update-requirement.
STEP 2:
After you have provided your U.S. address, retrieve your I-94 Arrival Record from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) by following the instructions on the CBP website at www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors/i-94.
For more information, or if you have trouble locating your I-94 Arrival Record, contact CBP Deferred Inspection by email at i94chi@cbp.dhs.gov or by calling (312) 834–0908 between Monday – Friday, 7:30 am and 4:00 pm.
Fire Safety
UChicago Housing & Residence Life considers fire safety education a priority and makes efforts to educate all members of the University community in the fire safety and evacuation procedures in our residence halls. Please review the policies and procedures outlined below. They are specific to your residence hall.
Fire Safety
Learn in advance the locations of the fire alarm pull stations, fire extinguishers, and fire exits in your hall.
If you discover a fire, immediately pull the nearest fire alarm pull station. It will alert others and summon the Chicago Fire Department to the scene.
Your hall is equipped with heat/smoke detection and fire suppression systems. Do not cover, block, tamper with or hang items from these systems.
Evacuation Procedures
If the fire alarm sounds, first feel the door to the corridor with the back of your hand before opening it.
If the door is hot, keep it closed. Stuff clothing, towels or bedding in the crack at the bottom of the door to prevent smoke from entering your room. Take no unnecessary chances to get out of your room unless you are in immediate danger as you may be safer where you are. Put a sheet out of your window to alert the fire department to your location.
If your room door is cool, open it slightly.
If the hall appears free from fire or smoke, leave immediately by following posted exit signs. If possible, close windows and doors along the way to reduce the spread of fire. Turn the room lights on, take your key/ID and knock loudly on the room doors as you exit to alert others.
Proceed immediately to the nearest stairwell. Head down the stairwell and out the fire exit in a calm and orderly manner. The residential staff will share a specific area where all students will congregate. Do not congregate in the elevated courtyards or use the elevators.
The University of Chicago Police and/or Chicago Fire Department will provide an all- clear when it is safe to re-enter the hall.
Fire Suppression System
Your residence hall’s fire suppression system is made up of a network of pipes in the walls and ceilings, which are filled with pressurized water and have sprinkler heads providing protection to hallways, rooms, stairways and other areas of the building. Smoke and heat detectors provide an excellent method of early detection and warning of a fire; however, they do nothing to keep the fire in check until the fire department arrives. It may take the fire department several minutes to get water onto a fire once they have arrived. Activation of a sprinkler head will greatly slow the progression of a fire, saving property and lives. Sprinkler heads are individually activated by extreme heat and one sprinkler activation will not result in all sprinklers activating. The suppression system is constantly charged with water, which is often dirty and smelly from sitting stagnant. When activated, a single sprinkler head generally flows approximately 55 gallons per minute. NEVER tamper with a sprinkler head; tens of thousands of dollars of damage can be caused due to the clean-up needed after a sprinkler head is activated.
More fire safety information can be found by visiting the Environmental Health and Safety website at https://safety.uchicago.edu/.
