University of Chicago - real experiences?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son absolutely loves U Chicago. He made lots of friends and he is very active in fraternity.
You can live 4 years in the campus, but 2 years is mandatory.
Your 3rd year you can live in the fraternity house.
Exam time is very intense. Everyone is at the library. Getting to certain club is extremely competitive.

what are the dining clubs? Private?

I’m not sure what u r referencing. There r no dining clubs. The clubs PP referred to r student organized clubs. Some u apply for or audition for(which also seems to occur in other top schools) and some you just sign up to be a member.

there are definitely private secret societies at UChicago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son absolutely loves U Chicago. He made lots of friends and he is very active in fraternity.
You can live 4 years in the campus, but 2 years is mandatory.
Your 3rd year you can live in the fraternity house.
Exam time is very intense. Everyone is at the library. Getting to certain club is extremely competitive.

what are the dining clubs? Private?

I’m not sure what u r referencing. There r no dining clubs. The clubs PP referred to r student organized clubs. Some u apply for or audition for(which also seems to occur in other top schools) and some you just sign up to be a member.

there are definitely private secret societies at UChicago.

Elaborate

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son absolutely loves U Chicago. He made lots of friends and he is very active in fraternity.
You can live 4 years in the campus, but 2 years is mandatory.
Your 3rd year you can live in the fraternity house.
Exam time is very intense. Everyone is at the library. Getting to certain club is extremely competitive.

what are the dining clubs? Private?

I’m not sure what u r referencing. There r no dining clubs. The clubs PP referred to r student organized clubs. Some u apply for or audition for(which also seems to occur in other top schools) and some you just sign up to be a member.

there are definitely private secret societies at UChicago.

PP was asking about private dining clubs. Which private dining clubs exist?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS is an Econ major. He, too, has mixed feelings about the school. The work load is oppressive, the grading hard bordering on unfair, and the club culture is overly competitive. He’s had great teachers and made wonderful friends. He will graduate in 2025 but would probably pick a different school if he could go back in time.

Yikes. This is my exact fear. Do you think it's worse than other T20 schools? (other than Brown - I know Brown is all fun, all the time).

Other than the easy grading(A- is 4.0 for GPA, most classes have half or more getting A- or A, thus half grads have 4.0), Brown is not very social and the obsession with finance and consulting and law is oppressive. The ones who are not like that are ultra political and left leaning/social justice warrior types. It is "eclectic" for sure. Not a fit for many we know.

[Anonymous]

Will a preppy bro find his people? I know there is the economics crowd but anyone else? We visited this summer during their open house and it seemed like 98% of the prospective students were more on the quirky side (not saying there is anything wrong with that).

My son is coming from a super rigorous high school and is used to (and appreciates) a heavy academic workload but he has mainstream interests: sports, pop culture, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Will a preppy bro find his people? I know there is the economics crowd but anyone else? We visited this summer during their open house and it seemed like 98% of the prospective students were more on the quirky side (not saying there is anything wrong with that).

My son is coming from a super rigorous high school and is used to (and appreciates) a heavy academic workload but he has mainstream interests: sports, pop culture, etc.

Yes. In recent years, Chicago has been moving away from its nerdy, quirky, where fun goes to die identity. It's increasingly becoming a little more indistinguishable from similarly ranked schools - Duke, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Brown. More of the wealthy, private school, pre-professional, finance/consulting crowd. Not everyone is happy about it. Chicago always had a very distinct identity. And they are purposely moving away from it. That's one of the reasons they rely pretty heavily on ED. It allows them to really shape the class they want these days.

[Anonymous]

My son is a second year. Really likes it. Found friends, likes Chicago. Mostly all good classes. Did not find freshman year that stressful. And likes the quarter system because he gets to take more classes! Yes a nerd. In a bunch of clubs and activities; no sense it is competitive. Hyde Park makes me a bit nervous but they seems to know where not to go and when to walk in groups.

[Anonymous]

This site is so crazy. Random person with no connection to the univ claims that 98% of the kids are “quirky.” Random other person who’s never even stepped foot in Chicago claims that no, everyone is a frat bro finance dude wearing a fleece vest and of course everyone who’s anyone belongs to a secret dining club. Random third person who’s never been to Hyde Park claims that you’ll be robbed by stolen-cat-eating immigrants within 2 minutes of arriving. Random fourth person joins every thread to say that UChicago sends too many postcards and Ohmigod they’re also broke. No one with a connection to the place recognizes any of these bizarre statements. Useless site.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS is an Econ major. He, too, has mixed feelings about the school. The work load is oppressive, the grading hard bordering on unfair, and the club culture is overly competitive. He’s had great teachers and made wonderful friends. He will graduate in 2025 but would probably pick a different school if he could go back in time.

Yikes. This is my exact fear. Do you think it's worse than other T20 schools? (other than Brown - I know Brown is all fun, all the time).

NP. You don't know Brown. While community is collaborative and supportive (for the most part), classes are intense and a lot of work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS is an Econ major. He, too, has mixed feelings about the school. The work load is oppressive, the grading hard bordering on unfair, and the club culture is overly competitive. He’s had great teachers and made wonderful friends. He will graduate in 2025 but would probably pick a different school if he could go back in time.

Yikes. This is my exact fear. Do you think it's worse than other T20 schools? (other than Brown - I know Brown is all fun, all the time).

Other than the easy grading(A- is 4.0 for GPA, most classes have half or more getting A- or A, thus half grads have 4.0), Brown is not very social and the obsession with finance and consulting and law is oppressive. The ones who are not like that are ultra political and left leaning/social justice warrior types. It is "eclectic" for sure. Not a fit for many we know.

Another person who doesn't know Brown. Why don't people just comment on what they actually know?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:— if you want to live in a community with people who really do fit the ‘academic elite’ mold, HP
is a great choice.

That all is to say that despite the university being a huge anchor, it does not feel like a campus in the way a typical university does and most undergraduate students I’ve met live on campus. It feels like a sleepy neighborhood filled with nerds.

This is pretty much what my first year observed. He said the conversations and the people are just very interesting and when I clarified if by people he meant the students, he said both students and the people in the neighborhood. Apparently it is not uncommon to just join in on conversations over there. Seems like a very interesting community.

[Anonymous]

My DS and I both attended U of C. 2 decades ago. What you may find most remarkable is that it's hard to gain admission, extremely rigorous workload, and rather disappointing job prospects for non Econ grads. The U of C doesn't have the glamor or name recognition of Harvard or even the alumni network of Dartmouth, Williams or Notre Dame.

My DC is very young, but I wouldn't recommend U of C unless they turned out to be a raw intellectual who is interested in learning for learning, in which case, they would love it.

[Anonymous]

Just returned from parents weekend. First year reports that classes are challenging and they are working hard (this is what they wanted). Taking a very tough class schedule, feels well enough prepared coming from dc private. Students seem pretty nerdy and the library is packed most of the time. Quarter system annoys me because of the schedule but DC likes the fast pace, ability to take more courses and double major.

Campus is absolutely gorgeous. Food is surprisingly good in dinning halls and the handful of restaurants close to campus are really good. Area around school is nice and feels safe but kids know not to venture too far. Large police/security presence on campus too.

Sports—not something DC is into and they are definitely not the center of the social scene the way they are at other schools (eg state flagship etc), but tons of kids walking around with UChi soccer or football or lax etc gear.

Social—can’t comment too much here because DC is a first year, but I think a lot depends on whether you sign up for clubs or play a sport or pledge a frat as those are easy ways to start building friendships. If you don’t do that, it’s much harder (and I think there are plenty of kids there who fall into this category).

Dorms seem to be a real mixed bag. Like any campus there are real pros/cons to each and will come down to personal preference. Important to know what those are before putting in your housing preferences.

If your DS visited the school and liked the vibe, has researched the pros/cons of the quarter system, and likes cold weather, apply. It’s a great school no matter what the DCUM haters say. ED might give you a better shot at admittance but only go that route if your DS is sure that’s his #1 (that’s true for applying ED anywhere).

[Anonymous]

My kid is there - 2nd year. Ignore the people who hate on the school because of marketing and stupid stuff like that.

Kid is a science major and it is hard. Lots of work. The quarter system moves fast. Can be enormously overwhelming. So your concerns are not misplaced. It’s is also a place where she is making great friends, participates in intellectual conversations, learning unexpected new things and really challenging herself. Depends on whether this is what your kid wants for himself. Only he can make that call. For my kid it is absolutely the right choice. For another equally talented kid, it would very much be not ok.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is there - 2nd year. Ignore the people who hate on the school because of marketing and stupid stuff like that.

Kid is a science major and it is hard. Lots of work. The quarter system moves fast. Can be enormously overwhelming. So your concerns are not misplaced. It’s is also a place where she is making great friends, participates in intellectual conversations, learning unexpected new things and really challenging herself. Depends on whether this is what your kid wants for himself. Only he can make that call. For my kid it is absolutely the right choice. For another equally talented kid, it would very much be not ok.

I am this poster. Oh and I agree with the previous poster. Apply ED only if your kid is sure. Mine got in RD.