<p>I was wondering if any of you had heard this from parents/friends/relatives/teachers as well:</p>
<p>I was talking to my stepfather about the rigorous econ program at UofC, and he told me that I was a fool - I should have gone to either Harvard, Yale, or Princeton instead, since the experience would not have been as demanding. I am certainly not saying that this statement is fact, but has anyone heard something like this as well?</p>
<p>I've actually gotten this advice in reference to all the colleges I applied to. "Don't you want to go somewhere where you won't have to work so hard? What about a nice state school, or one of your safeties?" argh, why don't people get that the fun of education is having to work hard. (and being able to complain about it, hehe)</p>
<p>It depends on what you mean by "demanding." If you mean getting a high GPA, then yes, HYP would have been a better choice. Chicago's reputation for grade deflation is somewhat exagerrated, however. The average GPA in 1999 was 3.26, which is not too bad. To compare, see here:
<a href="http://www.gradeinflation.com/%5B/url%5D">http://www.gradeinflation.com/</a></p>
<p>If you mean working hard, then also HYP again would have been a better choice, but to a lesser extent. HYP have a lot of grade inflation, but their students do work hard (particularly Yale). Also, Chicago has the quarter system, which makes things a bit more intense than at HYP. </p>
<p>It depends on what a person wants out of his/her college education. If (s)he likes getting high grades and being near the top of his/her class, Chicago might not be the best place for him/her. If (s)he would like to be challenged by academically-driven peers, given a broad education by an extensive Core, and work hard to decent grades, Chicago might be a good choice.</p>
<p>To be perfectly honest, your SF does have a point.</p>
<p>3.26 is definitely "bad" if you're applying to grad/law/med/etc.</p>
<p>no not really. admissions councils do understand that chicago is pretty much as hard as it gets curriculum wise. i think a 3.25 at chicago is much better than a 3.75 at a public university for example</p>
<p>Chicago is one of the most academically demanding schools in the world. This is one reason for its self-selectivity. The first cut comes with the question, "Is this for me? The next cut comes after acceptance with the question, "Is this REALLY for me?"</p>
<p>From a few years ago, but it still has some grains of truth.</p>
<p>jjjjj: There's no statistics to show that in admissions to elite grad/law/med/etc.</p>
<p>Though not specifically related to "elite" programs (which may surprise some as to where those are, e.g. #1 ranked med school for primary care and #7 for research is the University of Washington) this study indicates Chicago grads do quite well in getting into Ph.D. programs: </p>
<p>An interesting take on all this by Andrew Abbott:</p>
<p>...Higher education in America requires less and less work from college students. Most of our university competitors deliver their education in large lecture courses, requiring occasional papers, easily thrown together in a few late evenings and read by graduate students rather than faculty. Students spend much of their time on extracurricular activities. Seniors spend their entire last year finding their post-graduate jobs. Grades average A- or better and three quarters of students receive honors.</p>
<p>This has not been the Chicago way; we believe in education and insist that our students get the reality, not the show. That reality is costly but effective. Our alumni love it and echo our own faith in it. But unless we are both careful and courageous it may be difficult to defend real liberal education. Since graduate degrees are replacing college degrees as the common currency of success in American society, students have less and less incentive to challenge themselves in college, both here and elsewhere. This is the more true since substantial numbers of our competitors deliver high grades and second-rate education to many of the brightest young people in America, who enter the graduate and professional school competition looking wonderful on paper even while having hadby Chicago termsvery little college education. It will be more and more difficult to stand apart. A sign of this difficulty is the fact that Chicago itself is up to a 3.3 (B+) average GPA and a 50 percent honors rate among graduates.</p>
<p>Neverborn--here's an old joke:</p>
<p>What do you call the student who graduated last in his class at med school?</p>
<p>Doctor.</p>
<p>Anyway, it's conversations like this that lead one back to the basics: The most important thing about education is what one learns, not the name on the diploma. College is learning for life, not a career. And so forth.</p>
<p>neverborn - thats why i said "I THINK". i am not an admission counselor anywhere and have not gone to mind reading school.....yet</p>
<p>In a college book a read, a bunch of quotes from current students, one student said about U Chicago--"this is where fun comes to die." I'm sure this is an overstatement, but you get the point...It's probably pretty tough!</p>
<p>That statement is a joke that one can buy printed on a t-shirt. It is often quoted around mid-terms and finals. Yes Chicago is demanding, and there is an intellectual emphasis, but that IS part of the fun for those who choose to attend. S has had a great time socially as well as academically, and has made many many new friends. Even with that and his love of the school, he will write that his Hum class is "stealing his life." But more important, it is this heretofore science oriented guy's favorite course. He particularly thought the recent Homer marathon was great. Here classics faculty join together to read aloud the Iliad and the Odyssey, in both English and ancient Greek (I believe) over about a 14 hour period. I believe they call it a "Homerathon" for short. Now who could stand more fun than that! </p>
<p>Plus they just got a mid-winter break last friday with no scheduled classes. It has affectionately come to be called, suicide prevention day.</p>
<p>And, how's this for maxed out fun:</p>
<p>Chocolate Tasting by the Culinary Club
Because there's so much more to chocolate than Hershey's....</p>
<p>Come to Culinary Club's very first Chocolate Tasting Event.</p>
<p>Get a head's start on Valentine's Day and sample 13 of the world's finest dark chocolate from 11 different countries while learning the proper way to indluge.</p>
<p>The event will take place tomorrow at 8pm in Stuart 104.</p>
<p>Tickets are $3 and space is limited to 35 people. Your ticket enters you into an event-day raffle. </p>
<p>Tickets (and $1 brownies) will be on sale in Cobb on Monday from 11-2pm. You may also buy tickets at the door for no extra charge. Do come early. Remember, space is limited!</p>
<p>We hope to see you there! </p>
<ul>
<li>Culinary Club -</li>
</ul>
<p>There seem to be some folks at Harvard having some issues with fun as well:</p>
<p>That made me laugh. And they would think UChicago kids are like that...? If they are, there's always Columbia and Loyola to fall back on. ^_^</p>
<p>Andi: Loyola's my safety - when you have to stay in Chicago, and you can't stay where you are, you got to have one. :P</p>
<p>I never heard of any good graduate of Chicago somehow being DQ'd from grad school because of grades. Grad schools DO recognize that Chicago is a demanding school.</p>
<p>If you want to study econ at Chicago -- as my son did -- then just do it. You'll work hard, and that major itself is rigorous. If you work hard and you're smart, and you want to go on to grad school you'll have the grades for it; not coincidentally, you'll get a pretty damn good undergraduate education. And you'll have a chance to go to college in a great city (and a great sports town, to boot). You can even take a year abroad, perhaps studying econ at London School of Economics (as my son did).</p>
<p>I thought those in this forum might be interested in seeing this post:</p>
<p>"My son is neither introverted nor nerdy and he just graduated from UChicago last June. A couple of people have said he looks like Ben Affleck. He loved the University and he loved Chicago. He received a BS in mathematics with a concentration in Stats (with many econ classes too!). He had 4 job offers six months before he graduated and took a position at a hedge fund making well over six figures and he lives in NYC with two former UChicago grads who are also doing very well. They have a very active social life on the week-ends in the city. How is that for social skills and use of your academics? Oh..and he got into Vanderbilt too but chose Chicago. However, I think Vanderbilt is an excellent school too! I do believe that UChicago has a more world-renowned reputation, esp. in economics (my son had the author of "Freakonomics" as a professor) and the sciences."</p>
<p>--Peacemaker</p>
<p>To have a class with Steven Levitt...what a dream! Despite a biochem concentration, can I make it happen?</p>
<p>I was admitted EA, so I went to visit there three weeks ago. Sat in on one of his lectures, then talked to him for 20mins after class. Great professor! so yeah, you can def. do that!!!</p>