Niece just finished her freshman year at University of Chicago. She hates it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chicago is an "isolated location in the Midwest"? It's the 3rd largest city in the US.

What percentage of UChicago undergraduates remain in Chicago after graduation? Very few outside of the kids who go straight to Chicago-based graduate programs. The most lucrative full-time job offers are in New York City, California, Washington DC, Seattle, Miami, and Boston. What is the point of spending 4 years in Chicago if you're not going to stay there?

Proof?

UChicago outcomes: https://careeradvancement.uchicago.edu/files/docs/uchicago-undergraduate-career-outcomes.pdf

And also LinkedIn. Search University of Chicago class of 2018-2022. The kids still in Chicago are Chicago natives or originally from the Midwest. The Midwest gunners and coastal kids never stay.

[Anonymous]

According to the U Chicago Admission page, only 19% of the Class of 2026 is from the Midwest. According to the most recent post-graduation outcomes report , double that number remain in the Midwest after graduation. Also, for the Class of 2026, 35% of the Class of 2026 is from the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, whereas only 31% of graduates move to that area after graduation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:According to the U Chicago Admission page, only 19% of the Class of 2026 is from the Midwest. According to the most recent post-graduation outcomes report , double that number remain in the Midwest after graduation. Also, for the Class of 2026, 35% of the Class of 2026 is from the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, whereas only 31% of graduates move to that area after graduation.

So 2/3rds of every class GTFO of the entire Midwest?! That’s...a lot. And that is not factoring in how many of that 1/3rd leave the Midwest after a year or two of work experience and also graduates who immediately go to UChicago, Northwestern, Notre Dame, and Midwest-based Big Ten universities for graduate school — then they leave the Midwest, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is uncool to remain in Chicago after graduating. The gunners all move to the coasts.

I’m a coastie but Chicago would be world class if they just went full Lee kwan yew

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is uncool to remain in Chicago after graduating. The gunners all move to the coasts.

I’m a coastie but Chicago would be world class if they just went full Lee kwan yew

+1

[Anonymous]

Jeez. What is wrong with you?? It is world class. And Chicago is an amazing city. My god.

[Anonymous]

Loved that campus. It was one of my top favorites (the campus itself). Thought the neighborhood was fine, but then again I prefer urban environments. Some great restaurants, bookstores, around there and so close to the lake.

Chicago is a rigorous school and the quarter system makes it even more intense and it is not for everyone. Hope she can find a more laid-back school that is a better fit for her needs.

[Anonymous]

I took my TJ DC there and I absolutely loved it. Best admissions talk by far of any school we toured. DC asked the tour guide what he did on weekends and the kid said 'study all weekend'. DC refused to apply. HS sent 15+ kids there his year (21) and of the 3 DC keeps in touch with they aren't happy. I think its a grind, and you have to want a grind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to the U of Chicago for Law School in the late 90's. I found it to be a serious place, and I had very smart classmates and professors. I found the people very likeable. I liked the campus, but OK, it was not ideal to live on the South Side of Chicago, as it is a bleak place. It was not a particularly fun stage of life, but I am glad that I went there because it gave me a lot of opportunities career-wise.

Is your niece normally a relatively positive/neutral person, or does she tend to be a complainer / kind of paint with a broad brush? If the former, then perhaps she should transfer if it was really that bad. (Granted, I kind of doubt it's that bad as she's describing?) If she tends to be a slightly negative person anyway, then perhaps she will not particularly enjoy any college.

A lot has changed in 30 years, grandma!

My brother did not like U of Chicago for the same reasons 3 years ago. His O-Chem professor spoke very little English. The TA for the class also spoke broken English. He basically taught himself most of the material and used the resources friends at other universities provided him from their courses. He ended up transferring to Duke after his 2nd year and was much happier.

PP here. I am 52 years old, and so not quite yet a "grandma." I recommend taking a more balanced view in your posts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is uncool to remain in Chicago after graduating. The gunners all move to the coasts.

I’m a coastie but Chicago would be world class if they just went full Lee kwan yew

Of course, but that will never happen, so it's a bleeding city and uncool to stay there when you have better options. The kids who really love the city of Chicago are the kids from the Midwest who want to remain close to family. Average Big Ten graduates love Chicago. More competitive top 20 private college graduates generally don't want to be in the middle of the country, they prefer New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington DC, Miami and Boston.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chicago is an "isolated location in the Midwest"? It's the 3rd largest city in the US.

What percentage of UChicago undergraduates remain in Chicago after graduation? Very few outside of the kids who go straight to Chicago-based graduate programs. The most lucrative full-time job offers are in New York City, California, Washington DC, Seattle, Miami, and Boston. What is the point of spending 4 years in Chicago if you're not going to stay there?

Proof?

UChicago outcomes: https://careeradvancement.uchicago.edu/files/docs/uchicago-undergraduate-career-outcomes.pdf

And also LinkedIn. Search University of Chicago class of 2018-2022. The kids still in Chicago are Chicago natives or originally from the Midwest. The Midwest gunners and coastal kids never stay.

My kid is a 2022 graduate. Several of her friends took jobs in Chicago who are not from the Midwest originally. It isn't uncommon, but I also wouldn't say it is standard.

I don't understand "What is the point of spending 4 years in Chicago if you're not going to stay there?" That really makes no sense. UChicago graduates can and do go wherever they want afterward.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is uncool to remain in Chicago after graduating. The gunners all move to the coasts.

I’m a coastie but Chicago would be world class if they just went full Lee kwan yew

Of course, but that will never happen, so it's a bleeding city and uncool to stay there when you have better options. The kids who really love the city of Chicago are the kids from the Midwest who want to remain close to family. Average Big Ten graduates love Chicago. More competitive top 20 private college graduates generally don't want to be in the middle of the country, they prefer New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington DC, Miami and Boston.

You have a weird obsession. It's just a school. If you went there and didn't like it, sorry. If you didn't go there, why do you care? Why crusade all over the internet?

The truth is that UChicago does what it does with undergrads very, very well, but people either value that or they don't. If you don't value it, choose a different school. Most are not at all like UChicago, so you or the student(s) you support should have plenty of other options without resorting to slander to attempt to diminish an option very few students will ever have and all are free to pass on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is uncool to remain in Chicago after graduating. The gunners all move to the coasts.

I’m a coastie but Chicago would be world class if they just went full Lee kwan yew

Of course, but that will never happen, so it's a bleeding city and uncool to stay there when you have better options. The kids who really love the city of Chicago are the kids from the Midwest who want to remain close to family. Average Big Ten graduates love Chicago. More competitive top 20 private college graduates generally don't want to be in the middle of the country, they prefer New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington DC, Miami and Boston.

You say many things (e.g. , what's considered "uncool" or who the kids who love Chicago are) as if they are facts, but they're not. It is your biased opinion,, so of no value.

[Anonymous]

And...so...??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She earned very high marks and she does not wish to return. And not just for known reasons like violent crime, weather, and its isolated location in the Midwest, and more specifically, on the deep south side of Chicago. We had a long lunch and here are her words in quotes: Her classmates are "repulsively obnoxious" and "insufferable," her professors were "checked out" or "barely spoke English," the university seems "unprofessional" and in "disarray," and most of the staff she encountered were "useless" and "incompetent." "It looks like a serious university but it does not operate like a serious university."

It was not her first choice but she was so excited when we met for lunch late last summer. It is sad to see her so unhappy after a year.

Schools better than UChicago:
Harvard
Yale
Princeton
Stanford
MIT
UPenn
Caltech
Duke
Columbia
Dartmouth
Brown
Georgetown
Amherst
Pomona