2nd thoughts...

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
1

<p>Back in HS, I was one of those prestige whores who just wanted to get into a top 10 school by USnews rankings. At the time, that's all that mattered. But I also wanted a school that fit my personality and preferred education. I first considered Reed college and then found that Chicago met both my criteria. I got into chicago and am going there indefinitely.
However, lately I've been hanging out with many of my HS friends and a lot of them are going to University of Texas. I applied there as well and got into natural sciences, of course being the ******* that I am, I pretty much threw it away. But these past few days, I've been wondering what it would be like to go to UT. I keep getting the feeling that I'd actually rather go there for a number of reasons. First off, many of my friends will be there (I don't want to loose contact with them), and it just seems like they have more fun. And when compared to chicago, the weather in Austin is clear blue skies and warm temp. most of the time (definitely not chicago). Austin is also very scenic, which may not seem to matter, but it does to me. I mean sure, Chicago is the end all, be all of uniqueness and academics, but I feel that I could have made the best of UT and gotten the same education. Also, Chicago is kind of a ***** on the checkbook, UT is 2/3 less. I always hear talk about Ultimate frisbee, football games, and parties at UT that just don't seem to happen at Chicago. More and more, I feel like I should have gone UT, and the whole prestige thing actually doesn't matter and is meaningless. </p>

<p>Anyone explain why I have cold feet? Could I get some closure about my decision?</p>

2

<p>This is a very common phenomenon. In real estate, it's called "buyer's remorse." It happens to many, many people when they've made a big decision. There's always going to be "the road not traveled" and at least on some level, you will always wonder what would have happened had you done something differently - not in the sort of "big mistakes" and "big regrets" but more in a "What would my life have been like?"</p>

<p>It's normal, it's natural; as the "big day" gets closer, you may worry more. But assuming that you made the decision thoughtfully at the time, once you get to Chicago, and begin to meet other kids who are as unsure and nervous as you are, I predict that you will lose your buyer's remorse and begin enjoying your journey.</p>

3

<p>Part of it's probably just end-o'-highschool anxiety. You won't really lose too much contact with your friends even if they go to a different school.</p>

<p>If the atmosphere isn't something you like, then there's nothing you can do. I think you owe it to yourself, go to UChi for at least a year, see how you like it. If you don't, if you honestly feel like you'd be happier and more productive back home, then I'm sure you'll have no problem transferring. But prestige aside, Chicago's a great education you'd be giving up, so make sure you factor that in when you make a decision.</p>

4

<p>What's to explain? You would have many more pre-existing friends at UT. UT, like many flagship state schools, offers great opportunities to students who know how to take them, at a price far below what Chicago charges. There is no question your friends at UT will have better tailgate parties and better football games to watch; it isn't a big stretch to predict that they will have more fun. They will also have much better, and warmer, weather. Austin is one of those places almost everyone loves, and you are familiar with it. It sound like you enjoyed your high school years and your friends there; you aren't desperate to get out of Dodge and reinvent yourself.</p>

<p>So . . . your second thoughts are fairly rational, and maybe even predictable.</p>

<p>What do you want to do about them? It would probably be expensive and maybe even futile to try to get out of Chicago and into Texas for next year. So you are probably stuck with giving Chicago a try, and then applying to transfer to Texas if you still feel the same way next winter. If you manage to do OK at Chicago, you probably have a good chance at being able to transfer.</p>

<p>And, remember, Chicago isn't exactly chopped liver. Academically, Texas may be fine for you, but the opportunities at Chicago are even more exciting, and there are fewer people trying to take advantage of them. Your classmates at Chicago are going to be a smart, engaged, exciting bunch of kids. You will make friends with some of them. Many of them will be unlike the kids you know now, and you will learn a lot from their different perspectives and experiences. The city of Chicago, I think it's fair to say, makes Austin look like some regional state capital somewhere. It's a place people fall in love with, too, even people from Texas.</p>

<p>Going to Chicago, the worst thing that will happen is that you will grow some as a person, make some new friends, and expand your horizons, and still wish you were back home. And be cold sometimes. That's not so awful. </p>

<p>So why don't you relax and try to get the benefit out of your original choice for a bit? See where it takes you? If you still feel the same way in six months, that will be plenty of time to rescue the rest of your life.</p>

5

<p>I mean...I believe I am that very specific type of student that chicago looks for. It's just that all of my friends who will be going to UT seem like they will be having more fun than I can imagine. Sure, there's nothing I can do about my friends being in different places, but I just don't get the "fun" vibe from chicago at all...I hope I'm wrong. It also seems like I'll be working my ass off for a 3.0 at Chicago and my UT friends will be wingin' it for a 3.7 and having the times of their lives while doing it. </p>

<p>Also, when I come back home for things, all my friends will have even more and special bonds with each other since they go to the same school. I'll just be an outsider, an interloper, coming into the group and will have missed out on so much that they have been through. I'll come home and they will look at me like I'm "that kid who left us for a better offer at the big name hot shot school."</p>

<p>...This makes my life feel very...wasted, now.</p>

6

<p>landofoo, one question my d asked was "Do I want to go to college, or do I want to relive high school?" That's the problem with going to college with a lot of your high school friends - it makes it harder to branch out or to "reinvent yourself". And you are assuming that your friends will maintain those "special bonds" when they go to college - that is actually unlikely, especially at a school as big as UT. You will all grow in different ways and at different times, and there's no guarantee that they'll even like each other by the end of freshman year!</p>

<p>You may not be getting the "fun" vibe from Chicago because you're not hanging around a lot of kids who will be going to Chicago. Now, I know the stereotype, and I do believe that there will be more tailgates at UT than Chicago, but you're just not making Chicago friends yet. You'll find your fun.</p>

<p>As far as grades: If you got into Chicago, I have to assume that you took honors & AP classes. You could have breezed through high school with a 4.0 taking all regular classes, and been able to party & hang out more. But you didn't. Why? Because learning means something to you. And the intellectual atmosphere of Chicago, and being around kids who (mostly) love to learn will be stimulating to you. Do you want to go to college to learn, or for the grade?</p>

<p>Remember the reasons you chose Chicago, Facebook with admitted students there, try to find some kids from your area who are going to Chicago, and see what happens. (My d and a friend arranged (via Facebook) a local "We're going to __ " get-together at a local restaurant, so they've already met friends going to the same school. Give that a try.)</p>

7

<p>chicago's easy to transfer from, ut's easy to transfer into</p>

<p>you don't like it, still feel like you wanna go to texas, no big deal...can't say you didn't try the option that will be superior in the job market</p>

8

<p>I would again echo the sentiments already expressed, but I would also add that you can have your beer n' frisbee "UT" fun at Chicago, but you'll be doing it with students who, like you, are unusual students, like to read, and think about weird things. This will double your fun, to steal a line from Wrigley's doublemint, because you'll be doing things that you think are fun and you'll be doing them with people just like you.</p>

<p>I just got home from college this week, and I've been having a lot of "fun" with my friends from home (i.e. lots of movies, pizza, Guitar Hero, etc. etc. etc.) and while I have the opportunity to do the things I want (because I'm no longer in school and I haven't started work yet), I'm not enjoying it as much as I would doing ANYTHING with my Chicago friends. I love my high school friends, but they're not completely like me, I've realized, because though they're smart, they're just not.... I don't know. Even if I'm spending the night in watching "Sweet Home Alabama" for the fifth time with my Chicago friends, it beats doing shots with my state-school friends.</p>

9

<p>Chicago > Austin</p>

10

<p>smirnoff...ugh</p>

11

<p>Give Chicago a semester or two, I'm 99% sure that you'll end up really liking it but of course if you don't you can transfer - relatively painlessly - to UT. I think you should definitely give UC a shot, however.</p>

12

<p>Something to think about:</p>

<p>If you really are having second thoughts, bail now. Chicago is NOT for everyone, and a small but significant number of students, around 5-6%, transfer out after their first year. (Keep in mind, though, that FAR more want to transfer in after a semester or two at a party U...but that's a separate topic.)</p>

<p>You need to decide what you want to prepare yourself for longer term. If your goal is just to return to your hometown (perhaps pursue that HS sweetheart all over again...just kidding) and make a career there, then by all means go where your friends are and go in-state. Your career will benefit from the contacts. OTOH if your goal is to broaden your horizons, then the WORST thing you could do would be to go in-state and just keep that same network you already have.</p>

13

<p>As others have said, buyer's remorse is part of what you're feeling. I also know a little of what you mean about the fun thing. While my son really liked the classes he attended when he visited Chicago, he just didn't find the social connection and fun he wanted. It's not that he's a big party kid, but he values his down time as much as his studying. He ended up at Reed because of it. </p>

<p>That said, I know of several CC posters who are having good social experiences at Chicago, so I know it's there. Give it a chance, as others have suggested.</p>

14

<p>I appreciate all your input into this troubling issue for me.</p>

<p>I think I definietely will go to Chicago and see what happens. I the social environment is soooo dead that it is intolerable then I might, only maybe, consider transferring to UT.</p>

<p>My dad offered an excellent way to look at it in that "will you have more buyer's remorse now that you didn't go to the fun school, or will you have more buyer's remorse 10 years from now...which is more important the party or the education" and on that note I think I definitely realize the amazing opportunity I have to go the one of the finest schools in the world.</p>

15

<p>landafoo,
Any time one makes a big decision, there always is some second guessing or "buyer's remorse" as one of the other posters said. My oldest son had similar feelings when he went to college. However, in retrospect, I think he gained a lot of maturity and unique experiences by going away for college. Additionally, he expanded his friends by two-fold as he is still close with his h.s. friends. Chicago is a national and international university-you will meet more different people than at UT. The experience will challenge you but I think, in retrospect, you will say it was good for you as it wlll have broadened your view of the world. If you want to head back to TX after one year, or perhaps for grad/prof school, that may be a reasonable choice for at least you gave yourself an opportunity to try something very different than what you have experienced so far. On the other hand, like Frost's "Road not taken" perhaps by not taking the familiar path, you will find, in time, "I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."</p>

16

<p>I recently made a decision in my life that was so ridiculously, terribly bad. I got out of it fast, even though it caused inconvenience to my family and my wallet.</p>

<p>You will know if Chicago is right for you when you get here. And you will know if it's right for you in that "I'm not happy now, but I could be happy in a few weeks," or the "this place is intolerable."</p>

<p>Try to make sure that you're also in a social dorm enivironment-- that will help you. I hope you put down Pierce as one of your choices-- that dorm is a tower of Happy-- and if you didn't, try to make friends in it so you can get in there (the dorms are only open to current residents and signed-in guests). Check out the frat scene too-- we DO have one. Hopefully you will find what you are looking for.</p>