Bored on winter break. Ask me anything you want to know (even gpa, anything lol) Will do my best to dispel myths.
MODERATOR’S NOTE: Anyone is free to ask or answer questions in this thread. It is not the place, however, to ask for chances.
What drew you to UChicago?
What are some myths you believed going in that you’ve learned aren’t true?
I was super idealistic and drawn by the aura surrounding the econ department as well as by the culture of free speech and robust discussion the school promotes. Wanted a place that cares about exploring ideas and would prepare me for the rigors of the real world…whatever that means
Some myths: GRADE DEFLATION. I actually didn’t hear about grade deflation until after I was accepted EDII(lol) so going in I feared this would be an insurmountable barrier, erected by the founders who conspired to kill the concept of “fun”, that would dash my professional dreams and force me into a life of pondering the implications of Plato’s republic for minimum wage. In reality, while classes aren’t easy per se, if you are willing to put in effort you can/will get excellent grades. Go to office hours, don’t wait till 1 AM the day of to write a paper, etc. The professors aren’t going out of their way to make life hard. If you show them you care, they will definitely do their best to help you succeed. Granted, I’ve only completed 1 quarter thus far but that has been my experience.
So it has been your experience that people are generally accepting of various political views and discussion topics? I’m from Wyoming, so my surroundings are very republican (eg. a mob of kids chanting ‘build a wall’ in the hall after Trump was elected). After looking around, my understanding of some top-tier universities is that they’re becoming liberal echo chambers. I want to go to school somewhere not so polarized. Is Chicago pretty moderate? Thanks for the answers 
As a conservative myself, I’ve found that while the majority of students are liberal, the vast majority of students are open and care more about discussing ideas than making character assumptions. In terms of idelogical balance, as I said, most are liberal but I know swaths of right wingers and the school as a whole definitely seems much more moderate than most universities these days. So if you want as balanced a school as possible, UChicago is a great place to be imo. But in any case, politics does not dominate conversation by any means and you will be able to make friends with lots of different people here.
One more thing, what did you write your admissions essay(s) about?
For the uncommon prompt, I chose the past prompt about a word from another language and wrote about an inside joke at my school. For the Why Uchicago I wrote about free speech and how much it meant to me. Yeah kinda lame but I guess it worked haha. If you decide to apply and need some input feel free to pm me
- Have you joined any clubs? How does the process of joining clubs work?
- What can someone accepted this year do to prepare themselves for their first quarter?
- Are there are mistakes a first-year should avoid making?
- Any suggestions for classes we should take in the Core?
- How is your dorm like? Is the House system a positive experience for you?
- What is your favorite part about UChicago so far?
- Anything else someone should know?
It’s a lot of questions, but thank you for your time!
@SupremeRussian 1. I joined 2 clubs initially, but right now I really only do one which is the Intervarsity Christian fellowship. As for how to join, you literally just show up haha, whether it’s a club sport or interest group they will post events and stuff online and you will definitely hear about them from others during O-week. Finance clubs however have an application.
- Relax and enjoy time with your friends but try to keep yourself somewhat busy(with something you like) so when first quarter hits you won't be overwhelmed. I did a small internship last summer and it helped me get a better sense of my career path as well as kept my mind in decent shape for the school year. There's nothing mandatory for survival though. BUT, if you really want to get ahead of the curve academically, like 110% serious, then read and analyze Plato's republic, Genesis, the Iliad, Aristotle's politics, basically the work of any dead Greek guy, learn delta-epsilon and other proofs for calculus, learn/relearn all of AP biology, write a bunch of essays, and you will be basically halfway done with first quarter.
- Do visit campus or at least learn about the dorms. I know way too many people who didn't bother researching their dorm and ended up with less than ideal situations. Also, biggest mistake imo to avoid would be studying alone. UChicago problem sets weren't made to be solved by yourself in one sitting. Joining/creating study groups and having people peer-edit your work does wonders
- For suggested core classes, that would depend on your personal interests but I guess I can give some guidelines. If you are terrible at biology and just want to get it over with(like me), take the metabolism sequence(curve is great) My favorite class so far is Classics of Social and Political thought(it's a Social science core) because I do have an interest in philosophy and I've learned more in that class this quarter than my entire life. But overall just look at the example syllabus for each core class online before you choose in the summer because they are pretty accurate to guaging your interest.
- I'm in Burton-Judson. It's traditional and historic(which to me just means no air conditioning) with mostly single rooms. Location is alright but it's far from the gym. As for house culture, BJ has super strong house culture but I'm not too into it, but I never felt pressured or forced to attend. I spend most of my time with my closest friends who live in South.
- My favorite part is definitely going through this adventure with my new friends. UChicago is a one of a kind challenge and you will be pushed to your limits but we're all in the same boat, going through the same struggles and we've had some great times together. As for the school itself, my favorite part is the satisfaction of actually learning stuff. Like whatever grade you get you earned 100% of it and come away with genuine knowledge every time. Sounds cliche but you'll know soon enough haha
- Harold's chicken shack on 53rd is soooooo good. Also, it gets really cold. Like really cold. Good luck and congrats on your acceptance!