<p>Hey, I am a current 2nd year in the college.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask here.</p>
<p>Okay… So I’m on the waiting list for UChicago, but am planning to visit there on the 18th (since I’m also going to Northwestern). I already wrote a letter of intent/update to my application and wish to hand-deliver it to the admissions office. Is this, in your opinion, a good or bad idea?</p>
<p>Any additional information on the waiting list would be nice.</p>
<p>Also, if you could just describe the environment at Chicago, like academics, social, etc… My interviewer said that during the winter term, UChicago feels “like a prison” b/c you have so much work and its so cold that you can’t really go anywhere. =O</p>
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<li><p>The letter of intent idea is a good one. I don’t know how successful you’ll be in delivering it yourself to an admissions officer, but it is certainly worth a try! Sorry I cannot be of much help in telling you anything about the wait-list. I don’t have much experience with that issue. </p></li>
<li><p>Regarding the environment at UChicago:
Academic – It is quite intense. There is a lot of work and there are not really any classes that can be considered “easy” classes. There are some that are less work than others, sure, but none that you will be able to coast through without working and still do well. Mostly everyone works extremely hard and classes are full of kids who are enthusiastic about being there, do the reading, contribute to discussions, and have a lot of insightful ideas. All classes are pretty challenging and I guess I would agree partially with your interviewer who said that winter quarter is the worst. It does get very cold during winter quarter, but everyone gets through it and learns a lot so no harm done! </p></li>
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<p>Social – It definitely does not meet the stereotype about being “where fun comes to die.” It is the perfect place for some people, and not a good place for others (as is the case with every school, I would imagine). I would say that the average student is a hard worker, has a wide range of interests (and usually one or two really passionate interests that they can talk about for hours on end), likes to have a good time when he/she isn’t working, and likes to be involved with things going on at school (e.g. house activities, IM sports, scav, orchestra, newspaper, RSO’s, plays, etc.).</p>
<p>do people ever get laid? ever? :)</p>
<p>@Andreea… yes. Actually, more frequently than you’d expect.</p>
<p>please tell me that the school isn’t as hard in terms of academics as everyone says it is?</p>
<p>The important thing to remember is that the academics are difficult, but manageable. If you do your work all along - take notes, do the readings, pay attention in class - you will be fine when it comes to papers and exams. Make sure you go to office hours and ask questions; don’t be intimidated by your professors or TA’s because they are there to help you and if you get to know them they can be very helpful aiding your exam preparation and paper writing. </p>
<p>The academics are tough but the classes are meant to help you manage the work-load. You won’t get a 4th year student’s level work-load as a 1st year - they give you a lot of work at the beginning but they help you learn how to write papers and professors’ expectations are high but based around the fact that you’re a first year and are still learning how to be a college student. </p>
<p>So don’t flip out over the academics, take things one step at a time, and you’ll do just fine!</p>
<p>Im there, then 
Just kidding, I paid my deposit the first hour I found out my decision </p>
<p>Ok, I have another question:
If Im interested in a civilization studies (no language requirement) study abroad program, can I stiil go abroad after Ive completed the general requirement in Chicago? For example take the civilization course abroad as an elective during my third year or something? Also, what do you have to do to qualify for a study abroad program?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Someone else should field your study abroad question because I don’t know much about the study abroad programs. I think though that you would be able to go abroad for the CIV program even if you’ve finished the CIV requirement at UC, but I could be entirely wrong about that. I’m not sure what you need to do to qualify for a study abroad program, but mostly likely you need to meet certain language requirements, course requirements, and probably need to write an essay about why you want to attend a certain program. I’m sure requirements vary from program to program though.</p>
<p>1) I’m interested in economics and biological science. However, I realized that they have very little overlap. Someone told me that he knows a girl currently double majoring in biology and economics and she always seems like she’s about to cry. How difficult is it to double major in the two?</p>
<p>2) What makes Chicago so difficult? I flipped through the midterms and finals of first year 15100, 15200 and 15300 midterms and they are not that difficult. (I’m in I.B. Math HL and just finished the course with the optional topic in Series and Differential Equations.) I only saw 1 A in 20 students, meaning none of the students scored 90%+ (defining A in that particular professor’s class). What’s going on!!!???</p>
<p>3) I am a native speaker of Mandarin and received 5/5 on AP Chinese Language and Culture. Can I opt out of the language requirement?</p>
<p>4) Do you recommend me to opt out the whole first-year biology with my 5/5 on AP Biology? Is the biology curriculum continuous in university?</p>
<p>5) Do you recommend me to opt out the first-quarter Calculus with 5/5 on AP Calculus AB, or do you recommend me to take honor instead (I don’t wish to skip the whole year of Calculus)? I heard honor Calculus is for genius only. XD</p>
<p>6) Is pre-med at Chicago really bad? I don’t really know what I want to do, other than the fact that I enjoy math, social science, biology and organic chemistry tremendously.</p>
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<li><p>Biology/Economics would be a very difficult double-major. If you feel you can manage it, go for it by all means, but be warned that it will require many of the most challenging courses at the school and you would be in class with many extremely competitive students. </p></li>
<li><p>I think that what makes Chicago so difficult would be the level of students, the expectations of the professors, and the heavy work-load. Students really push one another, professors ask a lot of their students, and there is quite a massive work-load on a regular basis. </p></li>
<li><p>Yes, you can opt out of the language requirement with that score. </p></li>
<li><p>You should probably take the AP 5 Biology sequence. For the biology major you’re required to have take the Fundamentals Biology sequence or the AP 5 sequence; if you have a 5 in the AP, the logical sequence to take is the AP 5. </p></li>
<li><p>You should probably just skip the first quarter of calculus with that score. Either that or you can go to the first few classes of honors calculus and see how you feel about it before making a decision. </p></li>
<li><p>I don’t know all that much about pre-med at Chicago. It is a very tough major to take on, so if you want to do it, go for it whole-heartedly. You will be exposed to a lot of different disciplines through the core requirements though, so if you’re at all unsure about what major you want to pursue, don’t worry about it too much because you will experience a lot of different fields through the core that might help you make up your mind.</p></li>
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<p>Is it worth the debt?
How are you/people around you dealing with it?</p>
<p>I am very lucky to have a scholarship so I don’t have debt to deal with. However, for the people I know who do have debt, I think they are dealing with it through work-study at the university, jobs around campus, and outside scholarships. Sorry I can’t be of more help in this area – I am fortunate to not have to experience this issue. </p>
<p>Someone else, feel free to chime in.</p>
<p>Cosmos,</p>
<p>Chicago does not have a pre-med major. Med schools have requirements that can be met in a variety of ways, and many of the core courses meet med school requirements. </p>
<p>FWIW, prospective med students (i.e. pre-meds) are no more competitive at uof than anywhere else. All serious pre-meds work hard because getting into med school is hard. That’s all.</p>
<p>Usually, when people here say they are majoring in pre-med they mean biology or chemistry or biochemistry, so that’s how I addressed the OP’s question.</p>
<p>if you get a 5 on the BC Calc exam…you can go straight to the honors calculus level right? and that means you skip the first two quarters of math.</p>
<p>does that mean i automatically fulfill my requirements for the core in math? do i still have to continue math at chicago, or can i just use the credits I earned from the AP Calc BC 5 score?</p>
<p>You can use your BC 5 credit to place out of 151 and 152 so your entire math core requirement will be filled.</p>
<p>Does the university really have a “sink or swim” attitude? What happens if you do, in fact, “sink” a little? Do your problems compound and you keep sinking? Or is it possible to get out of it?</p>
<p>What happens if TA’s are being unhelpful?</p>
<p>How easy is it to balance activities and classes, particularly HUM sequences? I see myself doing a lot of theatre-type stuff.</p>
<p>Are other students generally helpful or competitive?</p>
<p>I can think of the Singapore-government sponsored econ majors who have the following choice to make: get a 3.8 GPA and graduate in 3 years vs. their government does something “really mean” to them. Those kids are competitive. </p>
<p>Other than that, people are quite helpful.</p>
<p>Farro-- S2 has really stretched and taken aggressive courses that are out of his comfort zone and he has always found help and support very accessible. Once he blew a paper, never went to talk to the prof and later found a class discussion clandestinely steered toward his issue. In other words, help and clarity were furnished even when they weren’t sought!
Classmates all seem to rally around the material together and hours with profs are easy to find when the going gets tough. Seems like he’s always able to find encouragement he needs to learn whatever he wants.</p>