Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dating pool is different.

Sure, lots of ambitious kids at UVA, but also half that are content with working a normal 9-5 yuppy career.

Chicago is full of gunners aiming for high-status top law schools, medical schools, PhD programs, and big $ tech finance consulting.

Oh lord. If we're going to go down that rabbit-hole, most of the science tech nerds become the worker bees, NOT the CEOS. True story.

Apples to apples, so please exclude baby boomers, and point us to all these high flying generation X’ers who went to UVA and became CEOs. The future is brainy, not barstool sports frat life goofballs allergic to grinding.

I went to a good state school (like UVA) for undergrad, and then to U of Chicago for law school (in the 1990's).

On the one hand, going to the U of Chicago has opened a lot of doors for me over the years. On the other hand, I'm glad I had the big state school experience for undergrad though.

If money is no object, I'd probably choose U of C. But it's a really tough call.

Anonymous wrote:OP - What crossed my mind as I read your posting is that this is a kid that was interested enough in UChicago to do a great job on what is likely one of the most difficult, thought provoking applications out there. So that leads me to believe he's probably a pretty academic type whether that be overt or of the hidden nerd type. If money is not a huge issue for you, UChicago will insist on fully exercising his intellect. He will graduate as an educated person and be prepared for where life takes him 10 years down the road. He can also have a great education at UVA but the sense I have is that he'll need to lead the charge on that. What is that worth to you and does he like a hard workout?

I agree with this -- you can get a great education at UVA but you can also just get a diploma. Chicago is going to be much more difficult but everyone knows you had to earn your degree.

Anonymous wrote:Dating pool is different.

Sure, lots of ambitious kids at UVA, but also half that are content with working a normal 9-5 yuppy career.

Chicago is full of gunners aiming for high-status top law schools, medical schools, PhD programs, and big $ tech finance consulting.

No school is worth a huge loan. An unmanageable loan has a way of weighing down life's milestones by 10 years or more, including law school, med school, grad school, first date, marriage, homeownership, kids...

OP - What crossed my mind as I read your posting is that this is a kid that was interested enough in UChicago to do a great job on what is likely one of the most difficult, thought provoking applications out there. So that leads me to believe he's probably a pretty academic type whether that be overt or of the hidden nerd type. If money is not a huge issue for you, UChicago will insist on fully exercising his intellect. He will graduate as an educated person and be prepared for where life takes him 10 years down the road. He can also have a great education at UVA but the sense I have is that he'll need to lead the charge on that. What is that worth to you and does he like a hard workout?

Anonymous wrote:Dating pool is different.

Sure, lots of ambitious kids at UVA, but also half that are content with working a normal 9-5 yuppy career.

Chicago is full of gunners aiming for high-status top law schools, medical schools, PhD programs, and big $ tech finance consulting.

Oh lord. If we're going to go down that rabbit-hole, most of the science tech nerds become the worker bees, NOT the CEOS. True story.

Dating pool is different.

Sure, lots of ambitious kids at UVA, but also half that are content with working a normal 9-5 yuppy career.

Chicago is full of gunners aiming for high-status top law schools, medical schools, PhD programs, and big $ tech finance consulting.

Anonymous wrote:The data is crystal clear on this: for the students who get into both but elect to go to the state school, their outcomes are the same.

No it's not

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2473238

Income disparities arise not only from differences in the level of education but also from differences in status associated with an individual’s degree-granting college or university. While higher ability among those who graduate from elite undergraduate institutions may account for much of the earnings premium associated with elite education, ability should be largely equalized among those who graduate from similarly selective graduate programs. Few graduates of nonselective institutions earn post-baccalaureate degrees from elite institutions, and even when they do, undergraduate institutional prestige continues to influence earnings overall and among those with law, medical, graduate business and doctoral degrees.

Anonymous wrote:The data is crystal clear on this: for the students who get into both but elect to go to the state school, their outcomes are the same.

No its not. Read

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2473238

Anonymous wrote:DC has about 14 days to decide. Undecided on major - maybe trying for the business school McIntire at Virginia. As a parent, is it crazy to think Chicago will have fewer distractions compared to the rah-rah UVA?

If DC is really the one who's undecided, I'd go with UVA.

- It's a fine school.

- For you, it's cheaper.

- It's probably better plugged into D.C.-type jobs.

- The classes and students are probably way more diverse. Your DC would have more freedom to evolve. Your DC could either take very challenging courses at UVA or go in a different, take easy classes and party a lot. That option may not be available at the University of Chicago.

- I've never even seen the University of Chicago, but it sounds as if the University of Chicago is for an intense student who really wants that particular college experience, not for a decent student who just wants to go somewhere respectable for college.

- It's nice to go away for college, but it's also nice to be able go home without getting on a plane.

- It sounds as if the University of Chicago is pretty mean about maximizing its reject rate. Maybe it would be good to turn that university down just to punish it for leading kids on.

Anonymous wrote:DC has about 14 days to decide. Undecided on major - maybe trying for the business school McIntire at Virginia. As a parent, is it crazy to think Chicago will have fewer distractions compared to the rah-rah UVA?

Paying 2x to send kid to a far nerdier college for fewer distractions - nevermind fit and happiness? Bold strategy, Cotton - let's see how if it pays off.

Not on a par academically. Question (in addition to finances) is whether Chicago is overkill for your DC, given personality and interests.

Chicago has a rigorous core, so if DC doesn’t want to retake Calc and chem, as well as a year each of humanities, social science, and civ course (with the option of subbing a couple of arts course for hum/civ), then that could be a deal breaker. On the other hand, if he’s an intellectually-oriented kid looking for a similarly-minded cohort and a well-rounded (vs specialist or pre-professional) education, it could be a great choice.

Re business school, I think Booth has a (highly selective) BA/MBA program and that there will be a new business Econ major next year.

As a U Of C parent, I’ve been wildly impressed by career counseling/internship opportunities, small class sizes, and enthusiastic and accessible profs there.

UVA Echols? Then UVA. Garden variety UVA? Then Chicago. Two incredibly different schools. One has happy, socially adept people, as a general matter. The other is very nerdy.

Anonymous wrote:Hey, another UChicago thread. Another opportunity for the UChicago hater to show up and post some inane non sequitur. Lets see how quickly this thread devolves

Well, you just stirred the pot, drama llama.

Anonymous wrote:OP.

U of C has better resources. It is a unique and intellectually aggressive place. It is NOT an undergrad business school. Your kid will get a traditional BA there and learn things he probably won't at UVA.

UVA is a fine school, but it is not U of C.

Now, what is the value added from that experience? Only you and your family can decide that. I personally wouldn't do I think if it involved much in the way of loans, but you might have more than me.

What does that catch-all mean exactly for an average middle of the pack student?