University of Chicago: what kind of student does best?

[Anonymous]

My DS visited U of C last month, and loved it. I am from the Pacific NW and don't really have much knowledge of the school. Would appreciate any insights.

[Anonymous]

Likes cold weather and dark winters, diligent, independent thinker, good debater, confident, intellectually curious, extremely well-rounded, manages stress & internal/external pressures well, etc.

It's a relatively small undergraduate population so one can't really fly under the radar. Many students who would do well at W&M would do well as a Maroon IMO.

Hyde Park is *okay*, but it's not my favorite, safest location for a university around the Chicago area. I would say Northwestern has a far better physical location and more of a rah-rah atmosphere (hence their BigWhatever membership).

As for the name cachet, it still gets mixed up with University of Illinois-Chicago even with the locals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Likes cold weather and dark winters, diligent, independent thinker, good debater, confident, intellectually curious, extremely well-rounded, manages stress & internal/external pressures well, etc.

It's a relatively small undergraduate population so one can't really fly under the radar. Many students who would do well at W&M would do well as a Maroon IMO.

Hyde Park is *okay*, but it's not my favorite, safest location for a university around the Chicago area. I would say Northwestern has a far better physical location and more of a rah-rah atmosphere (hence their BigWhatever membership).

As for the name cachet, it still gets mixed up with University of Illinois-Chicago even with the locals.

I'm from the Chicago area and this is just not true.

[Anonymous]

Um, sorry, just happened last week with my new neighbors who hail from the wilds of Naperville. I am merely speaking from my experiences.

[Anonymous]

It's highly selective and prestigious. People who know about good colleges don't get it mixed up with a state school (kind of like UPenn and Penn State).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Likes cold weather and dark winters, diligent, independent thinker, good debater, confident, intellectually curious, extremely well-rounded, manages stress & internal/external pressures well, etc.

It's a relatively small undergraduate population so one can't really fly under the radar. Many students who would do well at W&M would do well as a Maroon IMO.

Hyde Park is *okay*, but it's not my favorite, safest location for a university around the Chicago area. I would say Northwestern has a far better physical location and more of a rah-rah atmosphere (hence their BigWhatever membership).

As for the name cachet, it still gets mixed up with University of Illinois-Chicago even with the locals.

Um, Northwestern is not in the "BigWhatever." It is in the Big 10.

[Anonymous]

Kids who are seriously into academics and looking forward to college as an intellectual challenge. Kids who are comfortable living in a big city and who can handle public transit, racial and economic differences, and cold, windy weather. Kids who want a broad but intense education.

Basically, have your son look at the Core Curriculum and at the Uncommon Essay topics (U of C's supplement to the Common App). If he's still interested (or even more interested), it's probably a good match. My kid was also attracted by the arts scene both on and off campus (theater, comedy, museums, music).

It's a great university, with a worldwide reputation and amazing resources. But it isn't what the vast majority of American kids are looking for as their college experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Likes cold weather and dark winters, diligent, independent thinker, good debater, confident, intellectually curious, extremely well-rounded, manages stress & internal/external pressures well, etc.

It's a relatively small undergraduate population so one can't really fly under the radar. Many students who would do well at W&M would do well as a Maroon IMO.

Hyde Park is *okay*, but it's not my favorite, safest location for a university around the Chicago area. I would say Northwestern has a far better physical location and more of a rah-rah atmosphere (hence their BigWhatever membership).

As for the name cachet, it still gets mixed up with University of Illinois-Chicago even with the locals.

I'm from the Chicago area and this is just not true.

Same here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kids who are seriously into academics and looking forward to college as an intellectual challenge. Kids who are comfortable living in a big city and who can handle public transit, racial and economic differences, and cold, windy weather. Kids who want a broad but intense education.

Basically, have your son look at the Core Curriculum and at the Uncommon Essay topics (U of C's supplement to the Common App). If he's still interested (or even more interested), it's probably a good match. My kid was also attracted by the arts scene both on and off campus (theater, comedy, museums, music).

It's a great university, with a worldwide reputation and amazing resources. But it isn't what the vast majority of American kids are looking for as their college experience.

+1 on the description.
Definitely not much rah-rah.
As for whether people confuse it with Univ of Ill-Chicago: many do, but nobody in the academic world does.
So there is a chance that people will be confused and not ooh and aah, but part of the Chicago mentality is also not to be much concerned with that kind of thing.

[Anonymous]

Jewish kids, of the type they were raising in the 1950s. Serious intellectuals who are very competitive, cultured, and feel estranged from mainstream America, but not in a rebellious way, in a "I will conquer it" way.

[Anonymous]

Smart, very academically curious, intellectual.
Quirky.

[Anonymous]

Can anyone compare the student body /campus feel at U of C -- on average - with the student body/campus feel of Yale?

[Anonymous]

My DC found the atmosphere at Yale more welcoming, less uber-geeky than Chicago. Double majors are more likely to be music and biology instead of molecular biology and philosophy.

[Anonymous]

Both Yale & Chicago have highly-competitive populations who expect to change the world. Chicago is more research science driven overall

[Anonymous]

Lots of kids who are attracted to Chicago see themselves as more intellectually serious and less into status/networking/"leadership" than HYPS types. And Harvard/Stanford/MIT/Wharton seem to be the peer institutions they see as alternatives or rivals -- not Yale or Princeton.

I suspect Yalies don't think about Chicago at all.