Reply to UChicago plans to expand by 23% in its undergraduate enrollment

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]UChicago may be one of the last remaining pipelines for private school students to gain admission to a truly elite university. That kind of pipeline used to exist more broadly at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, but those schools can now afford to be far more selective.

UChicago made a very smart strategic decision: it took on debt when interest rates were low, invested heavily in the institution, raised its profile, and climbed into the ranks of the top universities. It deserves the ranking it has today.

My daughter is there and is a top student. Her private school sends 10+ students to UChicago each year. Are all of them exceptional? No! Some are fairly average within that private-school pool. But every year, within that group, there are always a few truly outstanding students — the 1600 SAT, 4.0 GPA, deeply serious academic types — and those students absolutely belong at a place like UChicago.  It only takes a few exceptional minds to make a place stand out.

I think this board often views UChicago through a private-school admissions lens. Maybe some people resent the pipeline; maybe they think it makes the school less selective or less impressive.

My daughter went to UChicago looking for smart, quirky, intellectually serious kids — and she found them. Her cohort includes students from private schools, public schools, scholarship backgrounds, and privilege. Some had every advantage; some had very few.

But the common thread is that many of them are genuinely brilliant, curious, and distinctive.That is what makes the school special. Not every admit has to be extraordinary for the institution to be extraordinary. A university only needs a critical mass of exceptional students to create the kind of environment where the best minds sharpen each other.

I will add that I also have a child at HYP, and it is a very different environment. Not better or worse — just a completely different culture.

HYP feels more traditionally elite and, frankly, more elitist in some ways. UChicago feels different: more quirky, more intense, more intellectually self-selecting. Academically, I think they are absolutely on par. The difference is not the caliber of the top students; it is the culture around them.

UChicago has built something distinctive. It may still have certain private-school pipelines, but that does not diminish the academic quality of the place.[/quote]

UChicago and Harvard grad. Well written description of UChicago. However, I question the premise that UChicago investment strategy to borrow heavily was planned or intentional. There has been a shroud of secrecy on the roots of UChicago's current financial predicament. The Stanford Reporter reported an ill-timed bet on crypto, but the administration denied it. Then there is a vocal and persistent critic from UChicago that points out the failings of the investment strategy and its ramifications. I am saddened that UChicago had to sell its CSRP crown jewel, which has produced multiple Nobel prize winning work (e.g. Eugene Fama) over the decades. But glad that Morningstar was the buyer; the Mansueto family has been a loyal friend and generous benefactor to UChicago over the years. My hope is that the worse of the university's financial burden has been alleviated and that they have a good plan to dig out from the financial mess.

https://stanfordreview.org/uchicago-lost-money-on-crypto-then-froze-research-when-federal-funding-was-cut/
https://chicagomaroon.com/44858/viewpoints/op-ed/university-leaders-and-their-plans-a-pathology/?ref=stanfordreview.org
https://news.uchicago.edu/story/morningstar-inc-agrees-acquire-center-research-security-prices-uchicago

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