Why all the Chicago bashing?

[Anonymous]

On another site, discussions of UChicago always ended up focused on the schools’s substandard “social prestige.” They seemed to respect the academics there, but it didn’t have the smell of old money/Thurston Howell III that would impress anybody in the Hamptons & Martha’s Vineyard.

From the comments here, it looks like sheer brainpower still isn’t enough for some people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like this is the general consensus of the thread:

Those who are hyper-obsessed with rankings & prestige over academics & post-grad outcomes tend to think lower of UChicago because they attract the majority of their students from the ED pool (which, in their minds, must make the school an undeserving T10).

Those who know about academics, job placement, and support their children no matter what college they fall in love with think UChicago is an excellent school that equips students with the skills they need to do extremely well in their future.

Signed, a concerned UChicago student from the DC area.

I think this is generally correct.

For those of us who are a little older, Chicago was always known as the "intellectual" school. We visited three years ago - and it still seemed like one of the smart schools. Good vibe. Smart kids. Generally very good professors. Tons of opportunities. Great city. Very nice campus.

But private school families seem to have some disdain for it. Personally, I think Chicago should embrace their roots and be the intellectual school, never mind the Sidwell and Dalton families. Chicago has raised their profile enough in recent years. They should remember their identity - and be the difficult, passionate, intense, nerd school that made Chicago Chicago.

No one has distain for it. Everyone thinks of it as a highly intellectual place.

We are simply saying (for the one millionth time) that Chicago routinely takes kids with middle-of-the-class GPAs whereas the other top15 schools do not.

At our school, college counseling will suggest Chicago as a sure-thing ED2 for any top kid who was rejected ED1/SCEA from another top20 school. They will also suggest Chicago for families who want prestige and/or a high academic school but have a kid without top grades. Scoir/Naviance do not lie. Chicago takes kids down to a 3.5 at our school every year. As such, it has lost some of it's sparkle. As the saying goes, "I don't want to belong to any club that will accept me as a member." Chicago suffers from some of this at top privates.

Again, that may be true at your private. Our DMV private sends 3-4 kids to UChicago (out of 80-90) every year. The students who are encouraged to apply are top notch. Last year, they were all in the top 10 percent of the graduating class, with average SAT/ACT of 1540/35 (per Scoir). The rest of the top ten kids get into Ivy Plus schools, so it is truly the case that the UChicago students self-select into applying there.

They self-select in terms of either recognizing they do not have the intangibles to otherwise get in to a top school and/or because they are risk averse.

I really don’t get the defensiveness with Chicago. We all know it’s an easier admit. It is still probably a top 20 school. So what’s the problem?

Either you care about its top 10 ranking (too much) or you don’t really believe the self-selection argument you are making.

It used to be an intellectual place. Those days are gone. (Unfortunately, as I loved the old Chicago.) The only school that is arguably still like that (Swarthmore having gone pre-professional) is Reed.

Why is it so hard to accept that the self-selection is not always based on risk aversion. UChicago still has the reputation of being nerdy and intellectual, at least compared with many/most other T10 schools. For instance, my UChicago kid could have easily gotten into ED Cornell, Dartmouth or Upenn. But they knew that it was the wrong fit for them. (And I know this because kids from our school get in with worse stats and ECs).

In general, it is. Why is this so difficult for you to get your head around?

In general, Chicago is an easier admit if you apply ED (not just private school kids, but public too). Why is this so difficult for you to get your head around?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like this is the general consensus of the thread:

Those who are hyper-obsessed with rankings & prestige over academics & post-grad outcomes tend to think lower of UChicago because they attract the majority of their students from the ED pool (which, in their minds, must make the school an undeserving T10).

Those who know about academics, job placement, and support their children no matter what college they fall in love with think UChicago is an excellent school that equips students with the skills they need to do extremely well in their future.

Signed, a concerned UChicago student from the DC area.

I think this is generally correct.

For those of us who are a little older, Chicago was always known as the "intellectual" school. We visited three years ago - and it still seemed like one of the smart schools. Good vibe. Smart kids. Generally very good professors. Tons of opportunities. Great city. Very nice campus.

But private school families seem to have some disdain for it. Personally, I think Chicago should embrace their roots and be the intellectual school, never mind the Sidwell and Dalton families. Chicago has raised their profile enough in recent years. They should remember their identity - and be the difficult, passionate, intense, nerd school that made Chicago Chicago.

No one has distain for it. Everyone thinks of it as a highly intellectual place.

We are simply saying (for the one millionth time) that Chicago routinely takes kids with middle-of-the-class GPAs whereas the other top15 schools do not.

At our school, college counseling will suggest Chicago as a sure-thing ED2 for any top kid who was rejected ED1/SCEA from another top20 school. They will also suggest Chicago for families who want prestige and/or a high academic school but have a kid without top grades. Scoir/Naviance do not lie. Chicago takes kids down to a 3.5 at our school every year. As such, it has lost some of it's sparkle. As the saying goes, "I don't want to belong to any club that will accept me as a member." Chicago suffers from some of this at top privates.

Again, that may be true at your private. Our DMV private sends 3-4 kids to UChicago (out of 80-90) every year. The students who are encouraged to apply are top notch. Last year, they were all in the top 10 percent of the graduating class, with average SAT/ACT of 1540/35 (per Scoir). The rest of the top ten kids get into Ivy Plus schools, so it is truly the case that the UChicago students self-select into applying there.

p.s. At our private, it’s Dartmouth, Cornell and UPenn that take middle-of-the-GPA-distribution kids, not UChicago.

Dartmouth, Cornell and UPenn will take 3.5 GPAs from your DMV school? Unhooked?
Name the school please!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:On another site, discussions of UChicago always ended up focused on the schools’s substandard “social prestige.” They seemed to respect the academics there, but it didn’t have the smell of old money/Thurston Howell III that would impress anybody in the Hamptons & Martha’s Vineyard.

From the comments here, it looks like sheer brainpower still isn’t enough for some people.

I think you are severely underestimating the “sheer brainpower” necessary to get into the actual top schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like this is the general consensus of the thread:

Those who are hyper-obsessed with rankings & prestige over academics & post-grad outcomes tend to think lower of UChicago because they attract the majority of their students from the ED pool (which, in their minds, must make the school an undeserving T10).

Those who know about academics, job placement, and support their children no matter what college they fall in love with think UChicago is an excellent school that equips students with the skills they need to do extremely well in their future.

Signed, a concerned UChicago student from the DC area.

I think this is generally correct.

For those of us who are a little older, Chicago was always known as the "intellectual" school. We visited three years ago - and it still seemed like one of the smart schools. Good vibe. Smart kids. Generally very good professors. Tons of opportunities. Great city. Very nice campus.

But private school families seem to have some disdain for it. Personally, I think Chicago should embrace their roots and be the intellectual school, never mind the Sidwell and Dalton families. Chicago has raised their profile enough in recent years. They should remember their identity - and be the difficult, passionate, intense, nerd school that made Chicago Chicago.

No one has distain for it. Everyone thinks of it as a highly intellectual place.

We are simply saying (for the one millionth time) that Chicago routinely takes kids with middle-of-the-class GPAs whereas the other top15 schools do not.

At our school, college counseling will suggest Chicago as a sure-thing ED2 for any top kid who was rejected ED1/SCEA from another top20 school. They will also suggest Chicago for families who want prestige and/or a high academic school but have a kid without top grades. Scoir/Naviance do not lie. Chicago takes kids down to a 3.5 at our school every year. As such, it has lost some of it's sparkle. As the saying goes, "I don't want to belong to any club that will accept me as a member." Chicago suffers from some of this at top privates.

Again, that may be true at your private. Our DMV private sends 3-4 kids to UChicago (out of 80-90) every year. The students who are encouraged to apply are top notch. Last year, they were all in the top 10 percent of the graduating class, with average SAT/ACT of 1540/35 (per Scoir). The rest of the top ten kids get into Ivy Plus schools, so it is truly the case that the UChicago students self-select into applying there.

p.s. At our private, it’s Dartmouth, Cornell and UPenn that take middle-of-the-GPA-distribution kids, not UChicago.

Dartmouth, Cornell and UPenn will take 3.5 GPAs from your DMV school? Unhooked?
Name the school please!!

It’s a well-regarded DMV private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like this is the general consensus of the thread:

Those who are hyper-obsessed with rankings & prestige over academics & post-grad outcomes tend to think lower of UChicago because they attract the majority of their students from the ED pool (which, in their minds, must make the school an undeserving T10).

Those who know about academics, job placement, and support their children no matter what college they fall in love with think UChicago is an excellent school that equips students with the skills they need to do extremely well in their future.

Signed, a concerned UChicago student from the DC area.

I think this is generally correct.

For those of us who are a little older, Chicago was always known as the "intellectual" school. We visited three years ago - and it still seemed like one of the smart schools. Good vibe. Smart kids. Generally very good professors. Tons of opportunities. Great city. Very nice campus.

But private school families seem to have some disdain for it. Personally, I think Chicago should embrace their roots and be the intellectual school, never mind the Sidwell and Dalton families. Chicago has raised their profile enough in recent years. They should remember their identity - and be the difficult, passionate, intense, nerd school that made Chicago Chicago.

No one has distain for it. Everyone thinks of it as a highly intellectual place.

We are simply saying (for the one millionth time) that Chicago routinely takes kids with middle-of-the-class GPAs whereas the other top15 schools do not.

At our school, college counseling will suggest Chicago as a sure-thing ED2 for any top kid who was rejected ED1/SCEA from another top20 school. They will also suggest Chicago for families who want prestige and/or a high academic school but have a kid without top grades. Scoir/Naviance do not lie. Chicago takes kids down to a 3.5 at our school every year. As such, it has lost some of it's sparkle. As the saying goes, "I don't want to belong to any club that will accept me as a member." Chicago suffers from some of this at top privates.

Again, that may be true at your private. Our DMV private sends 3-4 kids to UChicago (out of 80-90) every year. The students who are encouraged to apply are top notch. Last year, they were all in the top 10 percent of the graduating class, with average SAT/ACT of 1540/35 (per Scoir). The rest of the top ten kids get into Ivy Plus schools, so it is truly the case that the UChicago students self-select into applying there.

p.s. At our private, it’s Dartmouth, Cornell and UPenn that take middle-of-the-GPA-distribution kids, not UChicago.

Dartmouth, Cornell and UPenn will take 3.5 GPAs from your DMV school? Unhooked?
Name the school please!!

It’s a well-regarded DMV private.

p.s. I said “middle of the GPA distribution” , not 3.5.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chicago checked a lot of boxes for dc who was accepted ED1. In a city, prestigious/selective, smart student body, private, mid-size, beautiful campus. DC did not want huge Greek, tailgate culture or a SLAC. It was pretty much Columbia, Penn or Chicago and we are in NYC so definitely wanted someplace else. If it’s a fallback to HYPMS, well that’s a pretty amazing place to be.

This also describes my DC exactly, who also chose ED1 to Chicago. Would he have taken a guaranteed spot at HYPMS instead? Yes. Would it have been smart to pass up ED1 to Chicago for the 0.01% chance his application somehow would have been randomly selected for HYP? Of course not. So yes, the higher acceptance rate was a factor in the decision, but it had nothing to do with the school's position on the US News list. If his second choice to HYP had been Rice or Emory or anything else, he would have done ED1 to one of those instead.

And have less likelihood than Chicago of being admitted. Get it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like this is the general consensus of the thread:

Those who are hyper-obsessed with rankings & prestige over academics & post-grad outcomes tend to think lower of UChicago because they attract the majority of their students from the ED pool (which, in their minds, must make the school an undeserving T10).

Those who know about academics, job placement, and support their children no matter what college they fall in love with think UChicago is an excellent school that equips students with the skills they need to do extremely well in their future.

Signed, a concerned UChicago student from the DC area.

I think this is generally correct.

For those of us who are a little older, Chicago was always known as the "intellectual" school. We visited three years ago - and it still seemed like one of the smart schools. Good vibe. Smart kids. Generally very good professors. Tons of opportunities. Great city. Very nice campus.

But private school families seem to have some disdain for it. Personally, I think Chicago should embrace their roots and be the intellectual school, never mind the Sidwell and Dalton families. Chicago has raised their profile enough in recent years. They should remember their identity - and be the difficult, passionate, intense, nerd school that made Chicago Chicago.

No one has distain for it. Everyone thinks of it as a highly intellectual place.

We are simply saying (for the one millionth time) that Chicago routinely takes kids with middle-of-the-class GPAs whereas the other top15 schools do not.

At our school, college counseling will suggest Chicago as a sure-thing ED2 for any top kid who was rejected ED1/SCEA from another top20 school. They will also suggest Chicago for families who want prestige and/or a high academic school but have a kid without top grades. Scoir/Naviance do not lie. Chicago takes kids down to a 3.5 at our school every year. As such, it has lost some of it's sparkle. As the saying goes, "I don't want to belong to any club that will accept me as a member." Chicago suffers from some of this at top privates.

Again, that may be true at your private. Our DMV private sends 3-4 kids to UChicago (out of 80-90) every year. The students who are encouraged to apply are top notch. Last year, they were all in the top 10 percent of the graduating class, with average SAT/ACT of 1540/35 (per Scoir). The rest of the top ten kids get into Ivy Plus schools, so it is truly the case that the UChicago students self-select into applying there.

p.s. At our private, it’s Dartmouth, Cornell and UPenn that take middle-of-the-GPA-distribution kids, not UChicago.

Dartmouth, Cornell and UPenn will take 3.5 GPAs from your DMV school? Unhooked?
Name the school please!!

It’s a well-regarded DMV private.

p.s. I said “middle of the GPA distribution” , not 3.5.

So the middle is 3.8 or above? 3.85?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like this is the general consensus of the thread:

Those who are hyper-obsessed with rankings & prestige over academics & post-grad outcomes tend to think lower of UChicago because they attract the majority of their students from the ED pool (which, in their minds, must make the school an undeserving T10).

Those who know about academics, job placement, and support their children no matter what college they fall in love with think UChicago is an excellent school that equips students with the skills they need to do extremely well in their future.

Signed, a concerned UChicago student from the DC area.

I think this is generally correct.

For those of us who are a little older, Chicago was always known as the "intellectual" school. We visited three years ago - and it still seemed like one of the smart schools. Good vibe. Smart kids. Generally very good professors. Tons of opportunities. Great city. Very nice campus.

But private school families seem to have some disdain for it. Personally, I think Chicago should embrace their roots and be the intellectual school, never mind the Sidwell and Dalton families. Chicago has raised their profile enough in recent years. They should remember their identity - and be the difficult, passionate, intense, nerd school that made Chicago Chicago.

No one has distain for it. Everyone thinks of it as a highly intellectual place.

We are simply saying (for the one millionth time) that Chicago routinely takes kids with middle-of-the-class GPAs whereas the other top15 schools do not.

At our school, college counseling will suggest Chicago as a sure-thing ED2 for any top kid who was rejected ED1/SCEA from another top20 school. They will also suggest Chicago for families who want prestige and/or a high academic school but have a kid without top grades. Scoir/Naviance do not lie. Chicago takes kids down to a 3.5 at our school every year. As such, it has lost some of it's sparkle. As the saying goes, "I don't want to belong to any club that will accept me as a member." Chicago suffers from some of this at top privates.

Again, that may be true at your private. Our DMV private sends 3-4 kids to UChicago (out of 80-90) every year. The students who are encouraged to apply are top notch. Last year, they were all in the top 10 percent of the graduating class, with average SAT/ACT of 1540/35 (per Scoir). The rest of the top ten kids get into Ivy Plus schools, so it is truly the case that the UChicago students self-select into applying there.

p.s. At our private, it’s Dartmouth, Cornell and UPenn that take middle-of-the-GPA-distribution kids, not UChicago.

Dartmouth, Cornell and UPenn will take 3.5 GPAs from your DMV school? Unhooked?
Name the school please!!

It’s a well-regarded DMV private.

There is no private in the DC area that is reliably sending unhooked 3.5 students to Dartmouth or Penn. And I don’t think Cornell either. Pray tell, what is the private school in the DMV that is sending 3.5 students to Dartmouth?

[Anonymous]

What well regarded DMV private had a middle of the grade distribution that isn't a 3.5?

This is the average GPA at NCS, Sidwell, GDS and even Maret.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s a great school and one of the best undergraduate educations out there.
People bash it because of its heavy use of ED. Many of those who bash it likely are upset that kids who they think are less qualified than theirs end up at a better school because they were willing to play the game and apply ED.

This is definitely why chicago is bashed. Students borderline for even cornell/dartmouth ED are encouraged ED chicago at our private and usually get in. The scoir data indicates slightly lower stats. FWIW these admits are all easily within in-state UVA as well as ED wash U, Vandy, Rice, NDame EA range. They are excellent students. They ED Chicago and similar or slightly "better" students get shut out of all T15 because they ED'd or EA to an ivy, got rejected or deferred, then had bad luck RD, end up at UVA their backup. Then they are jealous of their ED-Chicago friends. Because it is seen as more prestigious and "ivy plus"/T10-12 overall, it sparks more jealousy than the same-caliber students who select Washu/Rice/Vandy and have success in ED.
No bitterness here, mine is at a "good" ivy in the top 10 and got into other top-10s too. My current senior may regret not ED Chicago because they are that slightly lower gpa, 1500 not 1570+, borderline ivy student for our school. However they are in at ND EA and have that if the RD round is harsh, and they support their ED-chicago good friend. Chicago was not our DC top3 so no way we would push ED.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like this is the general consensus of the thread:

Those who are hyper-obsessed with rankings & prestige over academics & post-grad outcomes tend to think lower of UChicago because they attract the majority of their students from the ED pool (which, in their minds, must make the school an undeserving T10).

Those who know about academics, job placement, and support their children no matter what college they fall in love with think UChicago is an excellent school that equips students with the skills they need to do extremely well in their future.

Signed, a concerned UChicago student from the DC area.

I think this is generally correct.

For those of us who are a little older, Chicago was always known as the "intellectual" school. We visited three years ago - and it still seemed like one of the smart schools. Good vibe. Smart kids. Generally very good professors. Tons of opportunities. Great city. Very nice campus.

But private school families seem to have some disdain for it. Personally, I think Chicago should embrace their roots and be the intellectual school, never mind the Sidwell and Dalton families. Chicago has raised their profile enough in recent years. They should remember their identity - and be the difficult, passionate, intense, nerd school that made Chicago Chicago.

No one has distain for it. Everyone thinks of it as a highly intellectual place.

We are simply saying (for the one millionth time) that Chicago routinely takes kids with middle-of-the-class GPAs whereas the other top15 schools do not.

At our school, college counseling will suggest Chicago as a sure-thing ED2 for any top kid who was rejected ED1/SCEA from another top20 school. They will also suggest Chicago for families who want prestige and/or a high academic school but have a kid without top grades. Scoir/Naviance do not lie. Chicago takes kids down to a 3.5 at our school every year. As such, it has lost some of it's sparkle. As the saying goes, "I don't want to belong to any club that will accept me as a member." Chicago suffers from some of this at top privates.

Again, that may be true at your private. Our DMV private sends 3-4 kids to UChicago (out of 80-90) every year. The students who are encouraged to apply are top notch. Last year, they were all in the top 10 percent of the graduating class, with average SAT/ACT of 1540/35 (per Scoir). The rest of the top ten kids get into Ivy Plus schools, so it is truly the case that the UChicago students self-select into applying there.

p.s. At our private, it’s Dartmouth, Cornell and UPenn that take middle-of-the-GPA-distribution kids, not UChicago.

Dartmouth, Cornell and UPenn will take 3.5 GPAs from your DMV school? Unhooked?
Name the school please!!

It’s a well-regarded DMV private.

There is no private in the DC area that is reliably sending unhooked 3.5 students to Dartmouth or Penn. And I don’t think Cornell either. Pray tell, what is the private school in the DMV that is sending 3.5 students to Dartmouth?

nor anywhere in nova or central va either. PP is making it up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:On another site, discussions of UChicago always ended up focused on the schools’s substandard “social prestige.” They seemed to respect the academics there, but it didn’t have the smell of old money/Thurston Howell III that would impress anybody in the Hamptons & Martha’s Vineyard.

From the comments here, it looks like sheer brainpower still isn’t enough for some people.

At least the other site is touching reality. This site lacks the brainpower to get past the admissions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On another site, discussions of UChicago always ended up focused on the schools’s substandard “social prestige.” They seemed to respect the academics there, but it didn’t have the smell of old money/Thurston Howell III that would impress anybody in the Hamptons & Martha’s Vineyard.

From the comments here, it looks like sheer brainpower still isn’t enough for some people.

At least the other site is touching reality. This site lacks the brainpower to get past the admissions.

There are smart parents of smart kids here, but the haters seem to be dumb careerists who think students should trick their way into a prestigious school and then maximize lifetime earnings per hour of studying. Those folks have no interest whatsoever in the intrinsic value of what the student learns and expects.

[Anonymous]

11 pages and still going. I would have never guessed so many Chicago haters out there!