Here is an interesting fact for you. Michelle Obama used to be an Associate Dean of Student Services at the University of Chicago.
As most University of Chicago fans know, during the period in which Obama was Associate Dean of Student Services, 1996-2002, the juxtaposition of “Student Services” and “University of Chicago” was practically an oxymoron.
That’s nice…but it was 16 years ago.
Yup. It was 16 years ago but still interesting information for people interested in world of college admissions. Also a lesson for current applicants trying to sell their souls for Princeton and Harvard to know that you can get what you wish for and realize this is not what it’s cracked up to be. She hated Princeton and hated being a lawyer.
I applaud her for having the courage to leave a lucrative profession she didn’t enjoy but if one has to pay back loans for Princeton and Harvard education, it wouldn’t be so easy to just pack up and move on to try something new.
She has reprimanded Princeton for its lack of diversity and has discussed her struggles with maintaining her ties with the AA community while a student. “Hate” might be a bit strong. In hindsight, might she have chosen a different university? Perhaps.
She says she felt lack of brilliance at Princeton with so many people getting in on different hooks. In another article, it was mentioned she never attended any reunion, not even 25th. Her brother also went there on athletic scholarship so one would think they would have a soft corner for a place that educated and sponsored them. It seems, her GC thought she wasn’t a good fit for Princeton and Princeton professor thought she wasn’t a good candidate for Harvard Law. If we look back, may be they didn’t consider these choices right fit for her strengths. It turned out both Princeton and Harvard Law were indeed not the best choices for her.
Did I make a mistake? I thought I was on the University of Chicago board. I made a wrong turn and ended up at Princeton.
@knightcub - That was always my own worse nightmare.
LOL. Sorry! On bright side, she didn’t say anything about U Chicago’s admissions program.
@CupCakeMuffins Mra Obama may have hated Princeton but she also didn’t send her older child to Chicago (or apparently seriously consider it). I’m not certain that is relevant either but it is a fact.
In some interview Obamas mentioned schools they were considering and U Chicago wasn’t even on the list, even though both of they lived in Chicago for many years, both worked for U Chicago and girls attended U Chicago’s laboratory school. Not a positive endorsement for U Chicago. To be fair, I doubt many who can get into Harvard, pick U Chicago unless some merit scholarship is offered. I’m sure there must be some stats somewhere. It would be interesting to see those.
CupCakeMuffins: Just curious what list that was and where you saw it (“In some interview…”)? Was this the list of schools to visit? If that is that is the case, don’t you think that the Obamas had no need to visit UChicago, having lived in Hyde Park, work on the faculty and staff, and having their children go to the Lab School? I’m not in any way saying that UChicago was close to Harvard in their thinking, I’m just wondering if you can legitimately say that UChicago “wasn’t even on the list”.
I can’t, just repeating what I read but will try to find the related news clip for you. However, one would assume they knew Harvard & Princeton as much but they did see the value in Malia visiting those again in her last semester of high school.
I guess as neither acceptance nor finances were an issue, they only considered few schools.
I know at least one student who turned down Harvard for UChicago because of the “life of the mind” reputation. And I think lots of people might pick a different college if they had a “do over” (not just the colleges we are talking about here, but no matter where they attended), and might steer their kids to other places. I went to a highly touted school, and steered my kids elsewhere. So I think, so what if they did as well (which we don’t really know anyway).
@kaukauna - Malia’s college tour was well documented (she visited a range of east coast/ivy league schools, and some schools on the west coast), and it was strange she never visited Chicago (or Northwestern, or others). Yes, the Obamas know Chicago well, but, when Malia went on tours a couple years back, they were all living in DC.
I don’t know if the youngest Obama daughter has interest in Chicago. Hopefully she’ll at least do a visit.
Cue7 - I agree that even if you lived around a uni and your parents worked there, a visit by a prospective student is worthwhile because a new and important perspective would be gained. So I’m kinda sorta in agreement with CupCakeMuffins. Thanks.
You need an antecedent for “it.” Malia is not attending Chicago - that is a fact. Malia did not consider Chicago/Michele or Barack would not let her attend Chicago is a supposition.
I will be happy to be proven wrong, but I recall no news story which indicated that anyone other than Malia was driving the bus. Nor do I recall any story where either Obama listed colleges that Malia was considering before she had visited them.
Perhaps Malia simply did not want to attend school in Chicago - after all, there is no indication that Northwestern was a serious contender. Perhaps she had seen enough of the campus growing up. Perhaps this thread is simply the adult version of analyzing changes in one’s application portal to to discern acceptance odds.
They were away from U Chicago living in DC for several years by the time Malia graduated high school so it would have been helpful for her to visit if they were interested.
Don’t knock studying changes to the portal. 