Funny how Chicago is getting all the hate here during a scandal that has led Ivy apps to drop 15%. Almost like Chicago was the one top 10 school that didn’t go full DEI and actually stood up for free expression. WEIRD.

UChicago is aggressive and swings for the fences, which is commendable. It's amazing what they've done with that campus and moving into former war zone, the Woodlawn neighborhood the south of the quad. Obama's library coming online to the east of campus will help the region even more. What hurts UC and Northwestern and even Notre Dame is the Midwest is increasingly irrelevant and hollowing out. Economic decline, demographic decline, and nobody wants to put up with that crap weather if they don't have to. Not a doubt in my mind the Catholics worldwide would have Notre Dame at a $50+ billion endowment if it had more favorable geography.

U Chicago incurred the debts because it was seriously competing with the top Ivy schools. Given its relatively small endowment, this is very hard: the best professors can earn over a million dollars. It terms of academics alone (faculty research and graduate students), it is way above the lower ivies.

Anonymous wrote:Neither of our kids who both scored in the 95%+ on the PSAT/SAT got any mailings from U Chicago. I think some zip codes get plastered and others don't.

Both of my kids were inundated with mailings from Chicago. The fun part was when it inadvertently sent out a mass email encouraging students to apply --- and my DD had already graduated from college and my DS was in his senior year at UVA. Neither had applied to Chicago.

If your children mark "no mailings" on the PSAT/SAT they will receive nothing.

Anonymous wrote:Neither of our kids who both scored in the 95%+ on the PSAT/SAT got any mailings from U Chicago. I think some zip codes get plastered and others don't.

My kid who got 1500 on their 1st SAT got weekly mailings from U of Chicago starting the beginning of junior year.

My kid who got 1460 on the SAT received only 1 mailing from U of Chicago. They retook the SAT 6 months later and scored above 1500. The U of Chicago mailings onslaught started after the score topped 1500.

Perhaps the school is only postcard bombing 1500+ SAT scores?

Chicago undergrad enrollment has increased 50% in the last 15 years. https://registrar.uchicago.edu/data-reporting/historical-enrollment/

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Neither of our kids who both scored in the 95%+ on the PSAT/SAT got any mailings from U Chicago. I think some zip codes get plastered and others don't.

Just from goeaning DCUM, UChicago seems to love rich, private school zip codes. They aren't just looking for 95%+ stats. They probably aren't even looking for 95%+ plus $$$$$. Their focus is more on $$$$$$. And if families with $$$$$$ just happens to have kids with 95%+ stats, that's a bonus.

You mean 99% stats, I'm sure? 95% would be low for UChicago.

Anyway, they favor top public magnet schools, too, for students they'll actually admit, and recruit heavily for the fully-funded Odyssey Scholars program from rural and low income communities.

I don't think you know what you're talking about.

When posters use terms like “seems” and “probably” it shows that they don’t really know whether the basis for their assumptions or the conclusions they draw are correct.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Neither of our kids who both scored in the 95%+ on the PSAT/SAT got any mailings from U Chicago. I think some zip codes get plastered and others don't.

Just from goeaning DCUM, UChicago seems to love rich, private school zip codes. They aren't just looking for 95%+ stats. They probably aren't even looking for 95%+ plus $$$$$. Their focus is more on $$$$$$. And if families with $$$$$$ just happens to have kids with 95%+ stats, that's a bonus.

You mean 99% stats, I'm sure? 95% would be low for UChicago.

Anyway, they favor top public magnet schools, too, for students they'll actually admit, and recruit heavily for the fully-funded Odyssey Scholars program from rural and low income communities.

I don't think you know what you're talking about.

The prior prior PP said 95%+, not 99%+. You obviously can't read, so...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Neither of our kids who both scored in the 95%+ on the PSAT/SAT got any mailings from U Chicago. I think some zip codes get plastered and others don't.

Just from goeaning DCUM, UChicago seems to love rich, private school zip codes. They aren't just looking for 95%+ stats. They probably aren't even looking for 95%+ plus $$$$$. Their focus is more on $$$$$$. And if families with $$$$$$ just happens to have kids with 95%+ stats, that's a bonus.

You mean 99% stats, I'm sure? 95% would be low for UChicago.

Anyway, they favor top public magnet schools, too, for students they'll actually admit, and recruit heavily for the fully-funded Odyssey Scholars program from rural and low income communities.

I don't think you know what you're talking about.

$10 billion endowment but crying poverty? Nope nope nope nope nope. Not one ounce of sympathy.

Anonymous wrote:Neither of our kids who both scored in the 95%+ on the PSAT/SAT got any mailings from U Chicago. I think some zip codes get plastered and others don't.

Just from goeaning DCUM, UChicago seems to love rich, private school zip codes. They aren't just looking for 95%+ stats. They probably aren't even looking for 95%+ plus $$$$$. Their focus is more on $$$$$$. And if families with $$$$$$ just happens to have kids with 95%+ stats, that's a bonus.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a really bad sign for higher Ed in general. The top 10 endowments in terms of size are:

HPSM, Penn, Yale, Notre Dame, UT system, UMich, Northwestern, Columbia, Duke.

UChicago is ~15th largest endowment. If they’re talking about struggles, what does that say for the thousands of institutions not as financially blessed?

I only see UChicago and Swarthmore with their desperation to get students to apply. There may be more to Swarthmore than meets the eye. It may be cash strapped like UChicago. The rest of the US universities aren't as desperate as these two. Most of them are fine.

Neither of our kids who both scored in the 95%+ on the PSAT/SAT got any mailings from U Chicago. I think some zip codes get plastered and others don't.

Looking at this, the claims of "financially struggling" seem overblown--they are adjusting to maintain financial strength. Just like every private company does--they probably overhired to adjust to the enrollment increases and now are pulling back with a freeze. Every single college is going to likely do this with the demographic cliff--doesn't mean they are struggling in a way that threatens higher education, rather adapting to the changing conditions like they have all done for hundreds of years.

Anonymous wrote:UChicago is known for its economic/finance depts. It's econ is associated with no less than 16 nobel prize winners. Yet, it is struggling financially. Go figure.

They offer many of these stars (and potential laureates) million dollar salaries. That is part of the problem.