University of Chicago Top Questions

The atmosphere of the school is pretty unique in good and bad ways. I love the architecture, but it's also very dreary. The neighborhood of Hyde Park is also nice, with quite a few interesting restaurants, cafes, and bookstores, but it has a bad reputation for crime which I suppose is founded, but I personally have yet to have a bad experience and generally feel safe on campus and around the neighborhood. Despite being Division III, sports are quite active, though the student support is lacking. It is definitely not a typical college in that regard. A lot of people, even natives of Chicago, don't really know that the University of Chicago exists. If you say you go to the University of Chicago, don't be surprised if they reply back "You mean Chicago State?" or "Where's that?" I find this rather amusing.

UChicago is well-known for it's intellectual atmosphere, and rightly so. Many of its students are honestly interested in the readings they do for class and approach essay writing as a way to investigate and express their own thoughts and opinions. Does that mean we spend 20/7 studying and reading? Hell no! We are not some breed of robot that only know how to read, do problem sets, and act awkward in social situations -- we are crazy teenagers too! There are definitely academic undertones to many things students do, whether at an improv show, during Scav Hunt, or at a frat party, but they don't overtly govern our lives. You will find people on all ranges of the talk-about-academics-all-the-time spectrum, and whatever range you find yourself in, you will definitely be in good company.

So I go out of campus, meet the Malaysian community who lives in Chicago, and their eyes would widen and "oohs" would escape from their lips when I say that I go to the University of Chicago. The public knows the University is one of the leading ones in the country, and we definitely know how rigorous and demanding the academic life here is. Here, we're really big about the "Life of the Mind". But essentially, when I arrived here, I was taken aback by how small the campus is. I could not believe that a small rectangle land, dubbed the "quad" can place the most rigorous academic pursuits in America. Truth be told, the campus lacks the feel of a real university, despite the sprawling lawns, and majestic looking buildings. But nonetheless, I have come to love the fact that it is integrated in the Hyde Park neighborhood, and the many community outreach programs the College initiates.

UChicago is totally unique, as a medium-sized liberal arts college situated in one of the world's premier research universities. As if that weren't enough, it's situated (though not ideally located, in rather boring Hyde Park) in a great city with plentiful cultural activities, beautiful parks, and adequate public transportation. The most striking thing about this place, and I'd imagine any comparable school, is that the people--professors and students alike--are usually damn smart, and this sometimes shows itself most in the contexts you'd least expect. Students complain about lack of social life and the rigor of classes, but either of these is totally manageable and ultimately worthwhile if one is even the least bit proactive. Complaining and self-deprecation are among the top extracurriculars, but it's often tongue-in-cheek.

There's alot of coffee on this campus. Yay coffee! The best thing about UChicago is that everyone loves being here.

The best things about the U of C is the academics -- it is hands down the best in the country. Other good things are that the class sizes are small, which gives you the opportunity to actually talk and interact in your classes, which doesn't happen at a lot of big schools. And, they are pretty cool about letting you do your own thing: the dorms are quite relaxed environments about drinking and parties, they have all night libraries so you can set your own study schedule, and basically the whole school is very open to your use. Unfortunately, in many ways the bad things outweigh the good, or at least far outnumber them. The academics are amazing, but at what cost? Your happiness, personality, physical and mental health, and confidence. It is the most academically rigorous, intense, and merciless school in the country. If you get sick, you are screwed. Teachers are unlikely to give you an extension, and if they do it will only be a day or two. And, there is no one in the administration who will take your side -- your professors have complete totalitarian control about how much suffering they put you through and how much they hurt your GPA. Not all of the teachers want their students to suffer, but quite a few of them do and there is no safety net for you if you happen to get one of these teachers. Also, the other students, while many of them are awesome, are mostly horrid. Too many are cut-throat, self-centered, pretentious, mean, and malicious. This school will work you harder than you ever thought possible and harder than anyone should honestly be pushed. And, while Hyde Park can be nice, it is actually very dangerous. I was assaulted for no reason last year; a guy simply came up to me on the street, yelled at me, and then punched me in the face. And, my car was broken into last year, and my roommate was mugged. These are not isolated incidences. Over 20 young males have been randomly attacked in Hyde Park because gangs of teenagers simply beat them up, and there is a lot of muggings and armed robberies. Just this year a graduate student was shot a block away from campus by a mugger. To make matters worse, the U of C doesn't really care. They will tell you that you are safe -- don't believe them. You can't walk around Hyde Park after dark and even the campus isn't safe at late hours. This is one of the worst things about the U of C. The city of Chicago is great, but you most likely won't get to go downtown much because you will be so overworked. Overall, this school offers an amazing academic education, but it is too stressful and needlessly rigorous, and you will not get the well-rounded college experience of extracurriculars, good people, sports, and fun that you would get at most colleges. And, it is a dangerous area, and the school both lies about this aspect of the school and does not do enough to ensure your safety.

When you go through this school you and everyone who went there (and some that just heard) will know that you had Chicago education. Can't say that about most other coreless schools

One thing I would change about the University of Chicago is the discourse that goes on about race. I think that there are gross perceptions about certain races, particularly African Americans that circulate around this school by people who are not educated in that subject. Many times it seems to make a joke about a certain neighborhood and warn people to avoid that place, but we should really take pause and ask ourselves and those who say such things why they say them. I wish that the University would get to the root of the extensive race issues that are underneath the surface of its pristine lawns and neo-gothic buildings. Race is an issue that this University must deal with at one point or another and whether we like it or not we contribute to the problem, by not making it more of an issue to those in charge.

I love and hate the quarter system. If you are stuck with a class you hate, you only have to put up with it for ten weeks. On the other hand, the curriculum is very intense because we learn in ten weeks what most people learn in fifteen weeks. It would be nice to have a college town, but the city is only fifteen minutes away. I wish I could go into the city more, but I do make it a priority to get off campus at least once a week for a break. I don't mind the quarter system but I would change our start date. Instead of beginning school at the end of September, I'd rather we begin at the end of August. I almost transferred at the end of my freshmen year, and I'm glad I stayed. I've made excellent friends, and I love my activities.

The school's pretty small for a university. We're only about 5,000 undergrads. That may seem like a lot to some people, but I've found it to be a good number: you recognize a lot of people all over campus, but at the same time you don't feel stifled by knowing -everyone-. Our school's famous in the academic world, but otherwise I'm not sure how well known we are...but that's kind of a relief. Anyway, we're becoming more recognized for our academics worldwide which is pretty awesome. I spend a lot of my time on campus around my dorm building since most of my best friends live in my house. But we go downtown when we feel too claustrophobic to go shopping. Chicago's definitely not a collegetown since it's a big city, but it has so many great museums, stores and other sites that are college friendly. The nightlife, however, is not under-21 friendly. So on weekends, most people stick to campus to go out. Our school pride is...different, but reflective of our school culture. We're not a sport school, so we don't have huge turnouts at games, but during Scav Hunt (one of our biggest school traditions) we have people completely dedicated to their dorm's team for 4 days straight.

The best thing about this school is that your BA (or B.S.--whatever degree you come here for) will have the name University of Chicago on it. It is a highly-respected university in the world of academia, and you will go far with a degree from UChicago. One thing I'd change about this school is the social diversity. There's not enough. As I stated for an earlier question, a lot of the people at this school fall under that "weird" category, and I began to get fed up with half the people here. I would like to see more black students on this campus, and more things for black students to do. Sure, if I wanted to go to a Greeked-out university with parties and step-shows all the time I would have gone somewhere else, but the reality is that I'm here for that UChicago degree. As far as the size of the University, I love it. It's not too small and not too large. When I tell people I go to UChicago, most say, "Oh, you mean UIC (University of Illinois @ Chicago)." It annoys me that people aren't aware that University of Chicago exists, but those that do know the name reply, "Oh really? wow..." My absolute favorite thing about this school is the independence the students are given. None of the administrators I've met here are the type to treat you like the high school student you're not. The motto here isn't "Don't drink if you're underrage." It's more like "Live and let live--don't be stupid. We're all grown, so let's just have a good time!"

UChicago has everything, but it's not always easy to find. We don't have a pre-law program or an undergrad business degree, but we have advisers in charge of looking after pre-law students, and we have a strong business program (though not a major) that many don't know about. UChicago is a strong brand name, especially among alums. Because the coursework is sometimes so rigorous, people who know about us--especially in academia, but often in business, too--really respect our degree.

U of C has advantages of a big university with lots and lots of resources and research opportunities and advantages of a smaller college in terms of a supportive house community and a commitment to small seminar classes throughout the four years. If you want to seriously engage with ideas and seriously commit to your studies, there is no better community to do that in, in my opinion. People care about what they are studying here. And the work is intense enough that if you don't care about it, you won't enjoy yourself as much. That's why it isn't as good a package for pre-professional people (pre-med, pre-law) or people who see college as the place to get "contacts" to become "well-connected" and "high-powered" in their career.

Me: "I go to the University of Chicago." Them: "Brr!" Chicago winters are honestly not as bad as people make them out to be. If you get a nice warm jacket and some good boots, you're good. I wouldn't suggest having a picnic or anything in February, but the weather is tolerable.

The best thing is probably the workload and professors: they keep everybody (or do their best, at least) on the same page and studying hard. I might mix up the housing system a little, so that students who don't immediately bond with their house have other opportunities to make friends. I feel that UChicago is the perfect size: many people expressed their doubts to me because the graduate school is so much larger than the undergraduate, but I never see the graduate students and they do not at all dominate campus. Some people are really impressed that I go to UofC, but some people think I chose the wrong school (should have gone to a more prestigious one). Some people remark on how dangerous Hyde Park is. I spend most of my time on campus in class. I like a lot of different study spots: so there's no place that I spend a LOT of time at. I feel there is a lot of school pride at UofC and that's one of the reasons that I decided to go here: because the students honestly seemed to love it and that has made me love it to.

The class size here is good. It is large enough that you can't possibly know everyone, but small enough that you feel connected. It has been great meeting a lot of different types of people from various backgrounds with varying interests. There can be said that certain locations attract a certain type of people, but I found that no matter where I decide to spend the time that I have I never feel out of place. This is especially nice in terms of the campus location. Hyde Park is a very interesting neighborhood and relatively close to the center of downtown, just a quick bus ride away. There is so much that Chicago has to offer and it has been really great to have so many people that come here love the city as much as I have and want to stay.

Chicago is a great place to go to get an education. It's close to the city, which is nice, but being in a neighborhood w/ families is great too. At UChicago, we're proud of being crazy-busy, doing lots of homework, and not having a very active social life.

I think U Chicago is just the right size. It's not too small where you know everyone, but it's not too large that you might get lost. Well, people in California don't really know of the school. So when I was first telling people that I was going to attend the school, most of them just warned me about the weather and said bring a heavy coat. Out here, however, people often mistake U of C for UIC and it can be very annoying. Not there this anything wrong with UIC but it's just not the school that I go to. People who understand that I mean University of Chicago usually assume that I must be smart and probably think I might be stuck up. On campus, I tend to be in the library a lot unless I'm running to class or different meetings. I also spend time in the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs building and also the University Community Service Center. Since we are div. III, there's not an overwhelming amount of school spirit on campus. However, there are people that faithfully attend athletic events and I would say they exhibit the most school pride. U Chicago tends to pride itself on being uncommon or unusual. One thing that is unusual is the quarter system and the rigorous, infamous core curriculum. One time that I'll always remember is O Week or the freshman orientation week, because that is the only time when you'll just be on campus with absolutely nothing to do! And even then we had required meetings we had to go to!

Housing setups make it difficult to meet people. In almost all dorms, first years live amongst upperclassmen, meaning that many of your neighbors already have friends and aren't really interested in knowing you at all. The high proportion of dorms with singles or suites with livingrooms and such encourage people to stay in their own rooms rather than socialize. I lived in BJ the first quarter of my first year and I had to move out because I couldn't stand the people there. BJ is mostly singles, and the people there obviously want to be by themselves. At the dinner table there was hardly any conversation. If there was, it was usually about something like the weather or what was for dinner. People were so withdrawn I felt like I didn't know anything about any of them after living with them for three months. Because the social life in the dorms are so poor, many people choose to live of campus after their first year without feeling like they'll be missing much. I'd say a quarter of second years, half of third years, and most fourth years live off campus. This contributes to the complete lack of community. The university is hardly an urban school. Hyde Park does not offer much in the way of activities or even restaurants. Think if it as a suburban school. Really.

If I were accepted to both Harvard and UChicago, I would turn down Harvard and a majority of the people I talk to here would agree... I just transferred here from a large state school, and there are certain things i wish i knew. For one thing, my social life (I don't want to add to stereotypes, I'm speaking as a transfer here) took a real nose dive for a while, and it's only beginning to pick up again. And i mean beyond the expected interim friendless period. It was a real experiment in extroversion. I think the people who make friends the easiest are in dorms, so do that if this is important to you (i live in a townhouse north of campus). Also, anyone with a general thirst for knowledge and unassuming naivety will make friends easier here with the slightly timid, but fundamentally substantial personalities to be found here.