<p>Congratulations on the interview at Chicago. Keep us posted!</p>
<p>After finally getting the full tour and speaking to the admissions counselor/staff, I can say that UChicago is absolutely my first choice. It’s a perfect school for my personality (smaller, more emphasis on debate in classroom, the core) and way of life. I’m not going to get my hopes up, because I realize how difficult it is to get into a school like this, but all my eggs are going into the UChicago basket, if you will. </p>
<p>For those in a similar situation to mine, they told me that age will not be a factor whatsoever. As long as I have my other credentials in order, the rest is irrelevant. I do feel like I have a great chance if I nail the essays. My personality meshes well with the student body, but obviously that’s going to be the decision of the admissions staff.</p>
<p>I am absolutely thrilled for you!!! I had the same feeling about Chicago, myself. Within about 20 minutes of stepping foot on campus, I just knew it was the place for me. As I had mentioned in my first post to you, I also applied as an older student to the College and Chicago made it clear that my age was completely irrelevant to any admissions decisions. Chicago always makes a place for unique applicants; that is one of its true strengths. The kind of fantastic, though older, student that Yale would push into a separate but not totally equal program – with no undergraduate dorm access – is the kind of student that Chicago will embrace. GO FOR IT!!! Make it your number one! As you will see, Chicago values the essays, with which you’ll have no problem, because you clearly GET the school, and why it is so special. So, nail 'em! </p>
<p>Let me say again: congratulations on a great visit! I knew you would like it. And I knew that Chicago would be completely open to and supportive of your application. That’s Chicago!!!</p>
<p>This is a very inspiring thread! As a faculty member and as a grad student, I have had the good fortune of having nontraditional (older) students in the mix. Each time the unique perspective of that student contributed immensely to the learning environment. We at CC are routing for you and wish you the best results as you pursue your education.</p>
<p>Thanks all. There are some very good vibes in this thread! </p>
<p>I really didn’t feel out of place like I did visiting a few other schools in my area. An enlightening moment for me was when the admissions counselor informed me that grad students far outweigh undergraduates in pure numbers. That was an amazing fact, because not only is this great for the school, but it means I won’t stick out like a sore thumb among younger students. There will most likely be a large number of students around my age or even older. Of course, the students at UChicago are so bright, I don’t think age plays into it quite as much as I originally thought. </p>
<p>I do know exactly what I want to say in my essay about “why us?” because after extensively touring and studying the facility, I know all of the things they can offer me. The core curriculum (which I don’t see anywhere else), the flexibility of classes and majors because of the “quarters” system they run, they emphasize debate within the class (even w/ teachers!) instead of being taught at by an instructor who thinks he/she is the boss and you’re only there to listen, the ease of participating in a study abroad program, the endless list of clubs that are open to any student regardless of major, the absolutely incredible Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts is a dream for an art nerd like myself, and of course the beauty of the campus itself. I truly think it’s an Oxford for the Midwest. It was a “we are one” atmosphere that I assume comes from the smaller campus and student/faculty body.</p>
<p>Again, I’m going to work as hard as I can to get in and we’ll see what happens. I can’t worry about “well what if I don’t get in?” right now, because I’ll cross that bridge when/if I come to it.</p>
<p>Now it’s time to get to work on that test and essay(s)!</p>
<p>A quick question for my CC people. I read a list of books from UChicago titled “books you’ll read before you graduate.” </p>
<p>Here is the list…</p>
<p>The Republic by Plato
The Iliad by Homer
Marx Engels Reader by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith
The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism by Max Weber
The Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud
Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison by Michel Foucault
Nicomacheaen Ethics by Aristotle
Naked Economics by Charlie Wheelan</p>
<p>The only book I haven’t read on this list is “Naked Economics”, although I have read “Freakonomics” and they appear to be similar. Seeing as I’m older and have had more time to explore myself intellectually, do you think this will help me at all? I don’t mean “I read these once!” I know all of these books intimately and would not need to re-read to pass a test on any of them. </p>
<p>What do you guys/gals think?</p>
<p>Don’t worry about being quizzed on these books as a prerequisite to admission. </p>
<p>What really interests me is the absence from this list of what used to be the school book – Thucydides history of the Pelopponesian War. It was assigned in at least four UChicago classes I took, all in different disciplines. I mean, Thucydides was “name checked” in our school cheer (such as it was)! Granted, I graduated in 1989, so maybe Chicago REALLY has changed and become less defiantly quirky. </p>
<p>Let me suggest that you read Thucydides over the summer. Partisans of Herodotus aside, Chicagoans have long thought that Thucydides is history’s first great historian. A good intellectual exercise (to keep the brain fluids flowing) might be to read him first for the history and then second, and even more closely, for the literary strategies Thucydides employs to write the history. Pay special attention to the history’s dialogic structuring.</p>
<p>I have read The History of the Peloponnesian War if that’s what you mean. I wrote a comparative essay about the similarities in the Sparta/Athens conflict and the Cold War. I could give him another look over though.</p>
<p>Hey all, as the time to apply comes agonizingly close, I have a question.</p>
<p>My teachers from high school (my 2 favorites anyway) have agreed to write me letters of recommendation. However, since I plan on applying to multiple schools (5), do they have to write a letter of rec for each one? Can I take the letters and use them at any school? I’m applying for the same program at every school. I would ask them, but I feel like I should know the answer to this question and I’m a bit embarrassed.</p>
<p>The only school I really want to get into is UChicago. All the others are second choice schools that I wouldn’t be upset if I were admitted, but certainly not THRILLED. The place seems to fit me perfectly. Especially their “life of the mind” motto. Since I’m an introvert, I spend a great majority of time in my head debating intellectual/philosophical questions. I have led the “life of the mind” my entire life, because I didn’t have any friends in my town that were the same. I come from a very small town, so any intellectual curiosity is usually looked down upon as upsetting the “natural” order. </p>
<p>Why do these times have to be so nervous?!</p>