Few days to decide: U of Virginia or U of Chicago?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ask yourself if the extra debt is worth it. Will it matter when he is 40, will his friends and family care which school he went to 20 years prior.

But: is the kid so profoundly brilliant that the brilliance is almost like having a severe, isolating handicap?

If a kid is so bright that finding similar kids at UVA would be hard, maybe paying for Chicago for that kid is the equivalent of paying a lot for a special school for a kid with autism. You find the money, if possible, because it’s necessary for the kid to have a normal life.

I don’t even like UVA that much, but U of Chicago is not all that. Just because you are a weird introvert doesn’t make you a genius.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Only you can answer money aspect. But from the quality of education standpoint, they are not comparable. Chicago is a few steps above.

+1

Absolutely not comparable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ask yourself if the extra debt is worth it. Will it matter when he is 40, will his friends and family care which school he went to 20 years prior.

Well, for my family it very much did matter at 40.

If I hadn't gotten the undergraduate education I did, I wouldn't have gotten into the grad program I got into and my career would have turned out quite differently.

Same story for my husband.

We both have elite undergrads (me Ivy, him equivalent abroad) and top ten in our field PhDs.

[Anonymous]

If your DC is the Stephen Hawking type, not going to U Chicago would be a loss not just for you but for humanity. If you think your kid is wall street type, or any other type, it does not matter he goes to Chicago or UVA.

[Anonymous]

If your kid wants a more extroverted college experience - school, Greek System, big time sports, then UVA. If your kid is more academic focused and "nerd" (I mean that in the best way) then Chicago, if you can afford it.

[Anonymous]

Chicago is a cut above in terms of academic reputation and expectations. That aside, they are so different. 4 years in the largest midwestern city vs. 4 years in a southern university town? Championship NCAA basketball vs. Cubs, Bears, Bulls. Mostly NoVa classmates vs mostly Midwesterners? Plane flight away vs. easy drive? Many of my friends kids who went air travel distance away didn't really end up staying so far away. But some loved it. How worldly is your kid?

[Anonymous]

My step-S who got kicked out of his HS received his complimentary promotional material from Chicago. Bizarre college. Or a desperate one.

[Anonymous]

They don't seem to be very similar schools to me. That might make it easier. Public vs. private. College town vs large city. ACC vs Division III. Intellectual vs more all rounded.

Chicago is now lumped in with the Ivy+ schools. Ivy + MIT, Stanford, Duke, Chicago, etc. UVA is not. That said, I don't know that they outcomes would really be that different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My step-S who got kicked out of his HS received his complimentary promotional material from Chicago. Bizarre college. Or a desperate one.

Haha, as if Chicago has any reason to be desperate.

I had a choice between in state at IL or Chicago (with loans). I went to Chicago and it has and still makes a difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ask yourself if the extra debt is worth it. Will it matter when he is 40, will his friends and family care which school he went to 20 years prior.

Well, for my family it very much did matter at 40.

If I hadn't gotten the undergraduate education I did, I wouldn't have gotten into the grad program I got into and my career would have turned out quite differently.

Same story for my husband.

We both have elite undergrads (me Ivy, him equivalent abroad) and top ten in our field PhDs.

I'm curious, how do you know you wouldn't have gotten into the grad program you did?

[Anonymous]

Apples and eggs these places are.

[Anonymous]

I feel like a college thread here isn’t complete until someone says Middlebury. Whoops.

[Anonymous]

There is no comparison for national and international opportunities post graduation. UVA is a good school but it's reputation is predominantly regional/east coast so it's harder, not impossible, to move into elite grad schools and employers. I wouldn't say that the new UChicago is only attracting the old nerd type. Your kid will work very hard and be expected to meet high expectations. If that level of mental work out motivates your kid, then that's the place to be if it's affordable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ask yourself if the extra debt is worth it. Will it matter when he is 40, will his friends and family care which school he went to 20 years prior.

Well, for my family it very much did matter at 40.

If I hadn't gotten the undergraduate education I did, I wouldn't have gotten into the grad program I got into and my career would have turned out quite differently.

Same story for my husband.

We both have elite undergrads (me Ivy, him equivalent abroad) and top ten in our field PhDs.

I went to a no-name christian college and got into a top-10 (in my field) PhD. My husband went to a second or third tier state school and then medical school at Hopkins.
Surely if you went to top PhD programs you met lots of people like us too!
There are many ways to success after college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My step-S who got kicked out of his HS received his complimentary promotional material from Chicago. Bizarre college. Or a desperate one.

Haha, as if Chicago has any reason to be desperate.

I had a choice between in state at IL or Chicago (with loans). I went to Chicago and it has and still makes a difference.

uva isn't il. the ROI difference between uva and chicago is only $5000 more per year.