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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My child is there. So far very happy. But this is a smart, bookish kid who enjoys studying and learning- not frat parties or football games. Spends free time goin to films, museums, hanging out with like minded friends. [b]Not a school for everyone. But perfect school for the right kid.[/b] [/quote]
This[/quote]

Either this is a meaningless statement (e.g. for every school, there is some kid who will find it perfect) and/or it begs the crucial questions (how many such kids/what profile).  Abstractly, my kid (PhD bound, academically well-rounded and there for (rather than despite) the Core, appreciative of the undergrad cohort (smart, serious, friendly, interesting), engaged in a wide range of activities) is the right kid for UofC.  But DC would be the first to tell you that the school is not perfect. Lots of undergrads feel really oppressed/pressured/depressed.  DC is generally not one of them, but being surrounded by smart/serious/nice/interesting/engaged people who are routinely depressed and/or freaking out (and doing so in an environment where mental health services are relatively scarce and not very good) creates an environment that falls far short of perfection. UChicago can be a soul-crushing experience even for kids who came in as joyful nerds.  This is DC’s perspective from the vantage point of 4th year.  First year, DC’s reaction was “this is great!” but arguably “this” was college and the city of Chicago rather than the University per se.  
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PP is you DC STEM or humanities? I’m trying to get a sense of whether there is a difference in terms of stress. My DC can handle advanced reading and writes well, is interested in humanities. Do you have a sense about level of stress for humanities majors? [/quote]

DC is a STEM major. My sense is STEM kids (among DC’s friends, at least) stress out more. Some of the Core requirements (looking at you, Chem!) stress out non-STEM kids. That said, my outsider’s take is that the quarter system is a major generator of stress, especially for kids that tend to be deliberate rather than fast. Time to stop and reflect on what you’re learning seems scarce, at least compared to my college (and teaching) experience. So stress may be less about STEM vs humanities and more about learning style. Knowing what I know now, I wouldn’t send a kid who has issues with time pressure to UofC.

I also think there’s stress for some kids who are used to/invested in/maybe even define themselves as being the smartest or most intellectual kid in the room and suddenly, in a very different room, experience themselves as unexceptional and maybe even below average. That is, of course, a risk at any elite university but it’s often mitigated by other measures of value or other goals among the college cohort at schools whose prestige stems as much from their association with wealth/power/athletics/arts as with brains. UChicago has been developing its arts programs/resources in recent years and I suspect that the arts-oriented kids are among the happiest undergrads there these days. DC has friends doing stand-up, writing plays (and musicals), etc. And the ARTs Core (and elective) courses DC has taken have been fabulous. (HUM and CIV were good; STEM and SOC SCI were hit or miss).

That’s probably about all I can tell you (sort of anecdotal and scattershot) re who “the right kid” is for UofC.  My main point here is “very intellectual” (the conventional answer) is misleading/not a good predictor.[/quote]

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