Is this still the prevailing reality at UChicago - where "fun goes to die"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:UChicago is a top notch graduate school, and I'm proud my dad got his PhD in economics there and had a few good friends go to the law school.

At DD's school, it seems like Northwestern became more popular for undergrad. Maybe they like the fact that you get to go to a safe, suburban campus and then when you want you can venture into the city to enjoy what Chicago has to offer. Maybe was seen as "more fun" that UChi for awhile?

Yes, UChicago has been actively trying to work against their “where fun goes to die” reputation as it negatively affects the school by turning away applicants and decreasing yield.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UChicago is a top notch graduate school, and I'm proud my dad got his PhD in economics there and had a few good friends go to the law school.

At DD's school, it seems like Northwestern became more popular for undergrad. Maybe they like the fact that you get to go to a safe, suburban campus and then when you want you can venture into the city to enjoy what Chicago has to offer. Maybe was seen as "more fun" that UChi for awhile?

Yes, UChicago has been actively trying to work against their “where fun goes to die” reputation as it negatively affects the school by turning away applicants and decreasing yield.

No worries. By getting middle of the pack private school students ED0 through ED3, I am certain it will positively affects the reputation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UChicago is a top notch graduate school, and I'm proud my dad got his PhD in economics there and had a few good friends go to the law school.

At DD's school, it seems like Northwestern became more popular for undergrad. Maybe they like the fact that you get to go to a safe, suburban campus and then when you want you can venture into the city to enjoy what Chicago has to offer. Maybe was seen as "more fun" that UChi for awhile?

Yes, UChicago has been actively trying to work against their “where fun goes to die” reputation as it negatively affects the school by turning away applicants and decreasing yield.

No worries. By getting middle of the pack private school students ED0 through ED3, I am certain it will positively affects the reputation.

I understand how frustrating it must be to have your kid rejected from UChicago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is an n=1 experience but my DD is a sophomore at UChicago and absolutely loves it. She is a mainstream, maybe “trendy,” social person, and has found her people. She’s in a sorority, and goes out frequently to frat parties, mixers, and restaurants/bars/clubs in downtown Chicago. She’s doesn’t do that every week of course, especially during exams, but more frequently than the “where fun goes to die” motto would make one assume. Beyond social life, she has loved all her classes and admires her professors, who are often very very esteemed and accomplished but humble and always willing to talk to students. I think the student demographics of UChicago in 2026 are a closer match to peer schools compared to 1990, even the 2000s and 2010s.

My dd is heading there in the fall and aspires to be like this student.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I realize this article is 5 years old, but is this still the reality at UChicago?

For Better or Worse, You Are UChicago

The instinct to distance oneself from the slurry of stereotypes that circulate campus is powerful—however, doing so only makes life harder.
By Manya Bharadwaj
September 8, 2021

It’s no surprise that the University of Chicago, with its self-proclaimed motto of being a place “where fun goes to die,” has so many miserable students. One source even shows that we had the eighth most depressed student body in the United States in 2019. Students here love to complain, and while students at other colleges do so as well, there’s something different about the conversations that we have. They’re less tongue in cheek and more resigned, frustrated, and bitter.

Many cite academic rigor as the main culprit. This is certainly a tough school (in fact, UChicago was recognized as the fifth-toughest college in the country in 2017). But any student who committed to this place knew what they were getting into. We did it either because we knew we could handle the toughness or because it was something we wanted from our college experience. Other schools of comparable difficulty on that list such as Princeton or Georgetown don’t have the same reputation for misery that we do, so I don’t think the academic difficulty is responsible for the cynicism that is so predominant on this campus. Rather, I think it’s often because of something a little more overlooked: the lack of togetherness in our student body. From what I’ve observed, the unflattering stereotypes that students have of one another are responsible for a certain sense of divisiveness in the community, fueling disdain for the school rather than pride. It’s a form of deep-rooted pessimism that’s fueling a fundamentally disjointed, unhappy environment.

UChicago students don’t seem to like one another—or at least the idea of what they represent. This school has so many student stereotypes that are each considered emblematic of a core aspect of the University, and these aren’t generally positive, which breeds a distaste for the school itself. One common example: With economics being our most popular major comes the archetype of the econ/finance bro, and this character tends to be disliked most by students who hate UChicago for being what they describe as a cold, cruel, capitalist institution. I’m most definitely guilty of a similar aversion myself, albeit to a much different (and probably the most common) UChicago archetype.

The archetype I’m envisioning is the one who works too hard but doesn’t know how to have fun; someone who is solely academically oriented and far too theoretically focused to be a part of the practical, real world; someone who is socially awkward and perhaps a little too eccentric for me to have enough in common with. So I try, both consciously and subconsciously, to distance myself from that stereotype by emphasizing myself as someone who is well-rounded, well-adjusted, and sociable. I know with full certainty that there is a plethora of well-rounded, well-adjusted, and sociable people at this school. But I can never fully shake this image out of my head because it’s been frequently reinforced by my experiences during my two years here. Take, for example, the advice I got from a networking call I had with a recent UChicago alum in February. “When you get to the interviews, make sure they know that you can have a conversation with them,” he told me. “UChicago kids have a reputation for being weird and awkward, so it won’t be hard to stand out from the rest once you do that.” It’s one of many moments when I’ve found myself disheartened by what the image of the classic UChicago student seems to be.

I want to emphasize that I don’t hate UChicago; I’m having a wonderful experience and I don’t regret coming here. But I’ve realized that I, just like every other cynical student, have somewhat alienated myself from this university because of its unflattering stereotypes. We have no school spirit. Instead, we each justify ourselves by saying that we’re not quintessential. But in clinging so firmly to our exceptionality, we’re reinforcing a norm defined by nerdiness, social ineptitude, and factionalism. Perhaps, instead, if we could embrace ourselves as part of UChicago’s culture, not as exceptions to it, we could add a bit of dimension to the perception of our school. We have to stop telling ourselves that we’re not like other UChicago students—that we’re different.

Manya Bharadwaj is a third-year in the College.

It’s been updated to “Where fun goes to be shot in a gang-related drive-by.”

Well it’s in Hyde Park on the Southside and admittedly will never be as safe as Evanston. However, the Obama Library is opening in June and it’s just a few blocks from campus- this should make the whole area busier and safer.

When we visited for admitted students days, the campus felt fine but there were campus safety and police cars parked on many streets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UChicago is a top notch graduate school, and I'm proud my dad got his PhD in economics there and had a few good friends go to the law school.

At DD's school, it seems like Northwestern became more popular for undergrad. Maybe they like the fact that you get to go to a safe, suburban campus and then when you want you can venture into the city to enjoy what Chicago has to offer. Maybe was seen as "more fun" that UChi for awhile?

Yes, UChicago has been actively trying to work against their “where fun goes to die” reputation as it negatively affects the school by turning away applicants and decreasing yield.

No worries. By getting middle of the pack private school students ED0 through ED3, I am certain it will positively affects the reputation.

I understand how frustrating it must be to have your kid rejected from UChicago.

can't be rejected if you never were interested or applied in the first place!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UChicago is a top notch graduate school, and I'm proud my dad got his PhD in economics there and had a few good friends go to the law school.

At DD's school, it seems like Northwestern became more popular for undergrad. Maybe they like the fact that you get to go to a safe, suburban campus and then when you want you can venture into the city to enjoy what Chicago has to offer. Maybe was seen as "more fun" that UChi for awhile?

Yes, UChicago has been actively trying to work against their “where fun goes to die” reputation as it negatively affects the school by turning away applicants and decreasing yield.

No worries. By getting middle of the pack private school students ED0 through ED3, I am certain it will positively affects the reputation.

I understand how frustrating it must be to have your kid rejected from UChicago.

can't be rejected if you never were interested or applied in the first place!

Academic rigor and the core curriculum usually scare away shallow SAHMs like you.

[Anonymous]

Only prestige addicted would ED to a “T10” school. But they will be quickly disappointed. At best a T20.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Only prestige addicted would ED to a “T10” school. But they will be quickly disappointed. At best a T20.

Only the insecure would make a gripe like this. We can tell it's the same mom, just grumbling to herself in a corner about how Chicago is this and that and posting her thoughts on DCUM. Sad to let a school occupy this much of your headspace.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UChicago is a top notch graduate school, and I'm proud my dad got his PhD in economics there and had a few good friends go to the law school.

At DD's school, it seems like Northwestern became more popular for undergrad. Maybe they like the fact that you get to go to a safe, suburban campus and then when you want you can venture into the city to enjoy what Chicago has to offer. Maybe was seen as "more fun" that UChi for awhile?

Yes, UChicago has been actively trying to work against their “where fun goes to die” reputation as it negatively affects the school by turning away applicants and decreasing yield.

No worries. By getting middle of the pack private school students ED0 through ED3, I am certain it will positively affects the reputation.

I understand how frustrating it must be to have your kid rejected from UChicago.

can't be rejected if you never were interested or applied in the first place!

Academic rigor and the core curriculum usually scare away shallow SAHMs like you.

why do you assume I'm female or that I don't work outside the home? further, why do you imply either of those two things are negative?

[Anonymous]

When did fun become a criteria for college? You are going to school to study, get a degree and ultimately, get a job. My DS graduated from Swarthmore ((another where fun goes to die school). He thrived both academically and socially. Just because there are smart, academically motivated students doesn’t make them all reclusive, studying nerds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only prestige addicted would ED to a “T10” school. But they will be quickly disappointed. At best a T20.

Only the insecure would make a gripe like this. We can tell it's the same mom, just grumbling to herself in a corner about how Chicago is this and that and posting her thoughts on DCUM. Sad to let a school occupy this much of your headspace.

Only the insecure would make ED0 to EDn available. Only the insecure would try to convince every EA applicant to convert their application to ED2. Only the insecure would take 80% of the class ED.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only prestige addicted would ED to a “T10” school. But they will be quickly disappointed. At best a T20.

Only the insecure would make a gripe like this. We can tell it's the same mom, just grumbling to herself in a corner about how Chicago is this and that and posting her thoughts on DCUM. Sad to let a school occupy this much of your headspace.

Only the insecure would make ED0 to EDn available. Only the insecure would try to convince every EA applicant to convert their application to ED2. Only the insecure would take 80% of the class ED.

HAHA. Chicago is cutting edge in managing its admissions. All the universities are moving to or following this model because of its serves multiple objectives. Sorry you got left behind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When did fun become a criteria for college? You are going to school to study, get a degree and ultimately, get a job.My DS graduated from Swarthmore ((another where fun goes to die school). He thrived both academically and socially. Just because there are smart, academically motivated students doesn’t make them all reclusive, studying nerds.

When did fun become a criteria?

In my case, 1990, when I chose to go to Duke.

While there, I had an extraordinary amount of fun, including celebrating two basketball national championships, swinging by kegs (or House CC or Mirecort) with friends whenever we felt like blowing off some steam, hooking up in the gardens, and all sorts of other fun from ages 18-22.

I also got a phenomenal education that has served me very well for thirty plus years and counting. I was admitted to multiple T14 law schools, received multiple BigLaw offers, enjoyed a massive career as a corporate lawyer, and then downshifted into a second career so I can work part-time and spend tons of time with my family.

My DH has followed a similar path. We can afford to retire at this point but want to be good role models for our kids. So we both work part-time and plan retire early, once our youngest heads off to college.

It’s called BALANCE, something that was very much part of our college education. Fun and academic rigor are not necessarily either/or. For us, it was both/and.

So yes, some brilliant kids absolutely want this - the fun is core to their personality, and it’s actually part of what helps them succeed academically (and later, professionally and personally.)

Other kids do not want this. And that’s absolutely fine, too. Different people are different, and there are schools for everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:UChicago is a top notch graduate school, and I'm proud my dad got his PhD in economics there and had a few good friends go to the law school.

This is sweet. I’m glad you’re proud of your father. 🩷

That said, what makes you think your kid’s grandfather’s experience in graduate school fifty years ago is at all relevant to the current conversation about the undergraduate experience in 2026?

Seriously, this is a nice thing to share with your dad. But it may win the award for being the most out of date + irrelevant of all the comments on this rather ridiculous thread.