What’s in the water in Chicagoland? (Univ. of Chicago & Northwestern)

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I’ve observed with increasing interest that the two main universities in the Chicago area, Northwestern and Univ. of Chicago have exploded both in popularity and general awareness but also seem to be climbing the rankings steadily. What are these colleges doing right? Niece is interested in both and a ton of her friends have either or both of those two schools on their wish-lists.

Nobody cares about either undergraduate college in real life, it’s just US News obsessed middle class strivers spamming message boards. And truth be told both campuses are not really in Chicago; NU is in a boring northern suburb and UC is 30 minutes south of downtown surrounded by a war zone.

This just sounds bitter and jealous

And not even true. U of C is a 10 minute drive from the Loop. With uber, the whole city is very close.

And "war zone?" Please. North of U of C is Bronzeville, a vibrant historically interesting neighborhood on the climb. South is Woodlawn/South Short, also historically black neighborhoods with increasingly interesting commercial outlets. There is violent crime on the south side, but I really hate the (often racist) hyperbole.

Totally agree that describing the South side as a war zone is racist hyperbole.

But it’s more like a 20 minute drive from campus to the Loop. DD routinely took buses/the L/Ubers to various places in the City and never had any problem either wrt safety or accessibility. She definitely experienced living in Chicago and Hyde Park was her neighborhood (not a suburb or a different city).

Any other parents of recent UChicago grads who can comment on safety and how their DC felt there? It is DD's #1 choice but we are all starting to worry a little about crime. For context, DH and I grew up in the NYC and Philly and DD wants an urban campus and all that comes with it. But stories of violent crime sometimes in broad daylight near campus and on public transit into downtown have us wondering. Tour guide was evasive when another parent asked about crime but did say that she and her friends uber everywhere instead of transit because they feel safer.

I live in the Chicago area and the L is several blocks west of the U of C campus. The L stop is in a somewhat sketchy area. Not the "war zone" of neighborhoods further west, but rougher than Hyde Park. I am not surprised that the students prefer to use uber than public transport. Hyde Park is a great neighborhood bu the ones to the west and south have more crime. The U of C police department is huge, though and is a large presence in the Hyde Park area. I am a woman and have never been afraid walking around in Hyde Park in the daylight.

[Anonymous]

PP here.

DD routinely took the bus to the L stop. Never had a problem @ the stop but didn’t relish the walk there at night unless she was with a group.

FWIW, there is also a weekend shuttle bus from campus to a major transit hub/shopping area in the south Loop. (Roosevelt Station).

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:This thread reads like a paid infomercial program.

Positivity bothers you. Classic DCUM.

it's not even positivity -- it's just facts. Northwestern and U of Chicago have always been top tier, sought after schools that attract high achieving students (albeit generally different in vibe).

They are great schools. You wish the administrators at U Chicago were as confident, they are not. So much so they have to adopt ED to lock students, then still not enough, and have to device an ED II to lock more rejects by other top schools. High schoolers were bombarded by Chicago's flyers every couple of weeks throughout the year to invite them to apply. This is the only school doing this much ad aside from U of Pheonix. If not for that we already know it is a legitimate school we would think this is some scam. Why so? How about some confidence.

This. Couldn't agree more to the above post. I'm shocked that a school this high in ranking acts like a mediocre super-expensive private school desperate to get the rich kids enrolled. As hard to get into as U Chicago is, it's unbelievable how low they will go for a kid from an expensive private school. And no school ranked in T25 mails out this much glossy marketing materials to ALL types of kids they have no intention of accepting.

There is that point. Well taken. And what the AOs at Chicago say that also rings true is the fact that UChicago is looking for a particular type of kid. Quirky. Nerdy. Creative, non linear thinker. Maybe on the introverted side. I’ve heard them say that part of the reason they send out all the glossies and want so many applications is because they are looking for a type that you can’t see well before the application. And I’ve also heard them say that they rely on ED so much because they like applicants who self-select. It’s a strong signal that they kid thinks they fit the type so much that they’re willing to spend their ED card on UChicago.

Is that true? Could be at least partly true.

I think that University of Chicago is probably the best research university in the country for brilliant liberal arts majors. My sense is that Stanford and the Ivy League schools tend to attract a lot of status-conscious, money-hungry creeps, and that the best places for nice kids who are into ideas are probably the University of Chicago, Rice and Northwestern.

My son might be a kid who would have benefited from the Great Books program there.

But the problem is that the University of Chicago program makes the university look as if it’s full of fun skateboarders, not anguished intellectuals trying to make sense out of Plato.

My son read marketing materials about a circus performer club there and came away wanting to go there to learn to be a trapeze artist. I think that, if the University of Chicago marketing materials lead kids to think of it as a pre-circus professional school, that’s a problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread reads like a paid infomercial program.

Positivity bothers you. Classic DCUM.

it's not even positivity -- it's just facts. Northwestern and U of Chicago have always been top tier, sought after schools that attract high achieving students (albeit generally different in vibe).

They are great schools. You wish the administrators at U Chicago were as confident, they are not. So much so they have to adopt ED to lock students, then still not enough, and have to device an ED II to lock more rejects by other top schools. High schoolers were bombarded by Chicago's flyers every couple of weeks throughout the year to invite them to apply. This is the only school doing this much ad aside from U of Pheonix. If not for that we already know it is a legitimate school we would think this is some scam. Why so? How about some confidence.

This. Couldn't agree more to the above post. I'm shocked that a school this high in ranking acts like a mediocre super-expensive private school desperate to get the rich kids enrolled. As hard to get into as U Chicago is, it's unbelievable how low they will go for a kid from an expensive private school. And no school ranked in T25 mails out this much glossy marketing materials to ALL types of kids they have no intention of accepting.

There is that point. Well taken. And what the AOs at Chicago say that also rings true is the fact that UChicago is looking for a particular type of kid. Quirky. Nerdy. Creative, non linear thinker. Maybe on the introverted side. I’ve heard them say that part of the reason they send out all the glossies and want so many applications is because they are looking for a type that you can’t see well before the application. And I’ve also heard them say that they rely on ED so much because they like applicants who self-select. It’s a strong signal that they kid thinks they fit the type so much that they’re willing to spend their ED card on UChicago.

Is that true? Could be at least partly true.

I think that University of Chicago is probably the best research university in the country for brilliant liberal arts majors. My sense is that Stanford and the Ivy League schools tend to attract a lot of status-conscious, money-hungry creeps, and that the best places for nice kids who are into ideas are probably the University of Chicago, Rice and Northwestern.

My son might be a kid who would have benefited from the Great Books program there.

But the problem is that the University of Chicago program makes the university look as if it’s full of fun skateboarders, not anguished intellectuals trying to make sense out of Plato.

My son read marketing materials about a circus performer club there and came away wanting to go there to learn to be a trapeze artist. I think that, if the University of Chicago marketing materials lead kids to think of it as a pre-circus professional school, that’s a problem.

I think it’s a stretch and sounds petty to say that Stanford and the Ivy League schools attract “status conscious money hungry creeps” !

[Anonymous]

U Chicago may be climbing the rankings, but it is still a really difficult academic school and the weather is terrible. There are easier ways to get a Bachelor's degree. I majored in Economics (graduated magna) at Harvard back in the day, and my DC at Chicago and I joke that I get his economics courses intuitively, but I can't do the math he is doing in first sequence classes. I honestly think I might have failed U Chicago. Plus for me, too much academic focus, not enough time to do the clubs and sports I also did in college .But - it was his first choice. I do think for the right DC it is a fantastic school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is not new. These have been top schools for years. I graduated high school in 2002 and they were then, as they are now, highly-ranked, difficult to get into, well known schools.

+1
Applications will keep climbing for at least the next 5 years or so

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not new. These have been top schools for years. I graduated high school in 2002 and they were then, as they are now, highly-ranked, difficult to get into, well known schools.

+1
Applications will keep climbing for at least the next 5 years or so

Northwestern in particular seems to be on a really steady positive upward trend, closely following UChicago which had its meteoric rise about a decade earlier.