I’m a pretty social person and want to hang out with a lot of new people and party in college. I’m also into academics a lot and want to put in work and learn a lot, but I don’t want the environment to be so academically oriented that my goals in the last sentence are unachievable. I also worry about grade deflation if I want to attend law school or get a PhD, which I’m unsure of.
So, I’ve been accepted into UChicago which has a nerdy academically oriented culture and where its hard to get good grades I imagine. I’m worried that this won’t be fun, it will be hard to party and talk to lots of people and find students that are interested in those things and aren’t so academically intense, and that my postgraduate school applications will suffer. On the plus side, it’s of course ranked highly and maybe my career will benefit a lot from this? But then again, maybe it’s not more prestigious enough to matter?
I’ve also been accepted into Berkeley and UMichigan where I’m confident I’d be an above average student coming in, and I imagine that I’d live a more relaxed life. But maybe social life wouldn’t be as great as I imagine in schools with huge populations? (And WashU and Emory if those help, but the starker contrast is between the public schools and UChicago.)
Anyway, I’d really appreciate any advice. I don’t want to make the wrong choice and be miserable for 4 years or make the wrong choice and regret the impact on my career.
I would not make the assumptions you did. The toughest classes at Cal and UMich are plenty tough which is why the top students at those schools are as good as those anywhere.
You’re right I did misjudge a bit. But while certainly the top students at these schools will be of the same caliber, I think the average student a UChicago is probably of a higher academic caliber than at the others so were I to attend them I’d perhaps be above average in most classes, or am I wrong on this too? I’m just basing it on SAT and GPA I guess.
I guess there’s a perception in me that the students at Chicago will be less balanced and weirder on the whole than even the top students at the other schools, but maybe this is an unsubstantiable bias?
And a higher average GPA at the U of C would balance out the (slightly) better student body, so you can not make assumptions about where it may be harder/easier to get a high GPA.
If you are not ready to work hard, I would advise against UChicago – it has the reputation of being a very intellectual atmosphere, with difficult classes.
Now, some majors are going to be hard anywhere – for instance, Engineering and CS. But UChicago is known for being tough, period. If they had a Basket Weaving major, you’d probably have to weave one blindfolded, standing on your head, to pass the intro class. I would advise against it if you are not a “life of the mind” type of person who loves academic work, studying, and discussing subjects with others. (if uchicago students want to soften that image a bit, so be it. that’s how i understand the academic environment at UChicago to be. I think rigor is great, but it’s not for everyone.)
I echo others in thinking that Cal and Michigan are (or can be) pretty hard too.
If I see one more post from people complaining about the “average” schools they got into…yawn.
I absolutely think you should NOT go to Chicago. It’s known as the college where fun goes to die. That doesn’t seem to be your type of place at all. Go to one of the “easier” (haha!) schools where you will be cough, cough, above average.
If I had a buck for every HS student who thought college wasn’t a major step up in academic rigor, I’d be retired by now. (not meant to be snarky). Get back to us after your first semester of reality and truly hope you are able to find the balance you are looking for.
There is a simple question you must ask yourself. Do you care more about the grades or the education. It seems to me that you care more about the grades, with good reason, and therefore should reject the University of Chicago.
If a balanced college life is important to you pick the school where you can get a great education and have time for all the fun stuff. Wash U sounds like it might fit the bill, as you seem to not want a huge school.
I suggest trying to think about what happens not only to the top students in the class, but also about the outcomes for the middle and lower parts of the class. The top students at all of these schools will do just fine, get every opportunity, go on to med school, etc. However, the middle and lower parts of the class at UChicago are going to end up with more and better opportunities on average than the middle and lower parts of the class at the other schools on your list.
Don’t assume that you will just coast to the top at Berkeley or Michigan. The top of the class at those schools will be very strong, and by definition, the overwhelming majority of students are in the middle of the class or lower.
Serious advice: Don’t make assumptions about levels of rigor and academic level of students based on general reputations of any given institution.
I’m a faculty member at an open-access university—basically, if you have a high school diploma or GED (and sometimes even lacking one of those), and we still have room, you’re accepted. We still, however, have a chunk of students here who graduated in the top 10% of their classes—and every year, we have a number (a small number, but still) of those high achievers who flunk out because they figured they could just coast through at the ultimate in safety schools.
No matter where you go, whether it’s Chicago or Berkeley or Michigan or even a local community college, you’re going to have to step things up when you get to college. Going in with the attitude that you can slack off because you pick a place that’s lower ranked on some of the popular lists? Yeah, have fun with that.
@ThankYouforHelp: “However, the middle and lower parts of the class at UChicago are going to end up with more and better opportunities on average than the middle and lower parts of the class at the other schools on your list.”
It’s so hard to say.
For example, when it comes to getting in to top MBA programs, top med schools, top law schools, top companies in media, high tech, engineering, and on Wall Street, the U of C was in the top 20 of 3 of those lists while UMich was in the top 20 on 6 of those lists and Cal was in the top 20 on 4 of those lists. And it seems like all of them (except for the Wall Street list) were adjusted for enrollment: https://www.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/blog/category/infographics/
The key point is that the line between half-tiers (like an Ivy/equivalent like the U of C) and Near-Ivies like UMich/Cal are so fuzzy they are almost indistinguishable. CC kids tend to blow up the differences to be more than they actually are in real life.
Though they are good schools and certainly are nearly indistinguishable from UMich/Cal (or possibly the U of C). WashU makes 1 of the top 20 lists and Emory makes zero of them, for what that’s worth.
@PurpleTitan Interesting link. The three lists Chicago is on are the big three for professionals: law, medicine, and MBAs.
You are correct that lack of engineering at Chicago is the reason they are not on the lists for engineering and for tech companies. Its also not surprising that they are not on the list for media. That is a niche list, and all of the schools on that are very large schools with daily student newspapers.
I also see that Michigan and Berkeley are not on the CEO list when it is adjusted for enrollment, and you are correct that Wall Street banking list doesn’t appear to be adjusted for enrollment.
Plus, OP said he wanted to go to med school. Chicago is on the top list for feeders to med school. Neither Berkeley nor Michigan makes that list. Neither does Wash U or Emory. Of his choices, only Chicago does.
The U of C isn’t on either CEO list and I didn’t count the CEO lists in any case.
On the med school list, look closer. Cal is listed. In fact, it's the school listed right above the U of C called "University of California, Berkeley". WashU is also listed. It's the school listed 3 slots below the U of C called "Washington University" (the lists are alphabetical).
Finally, the OP expressed an interest in law school, not med school. On the law school list, UMich is listed. It's the school right below the U of C called "University of Michigan".
and truly hope you are able to find the balance you are looking for.