<p>I was accepted EA to Chicago and thought I was definately going there (I fell in love) but then I got into MIT which i never really looked at that much. I was so familiar since i live outside of Boston, did research there and my parents are really involved with the school, so i just applied, never expecting to get in. I want to study environmental science/possibly economics and I really want a well-rounded education. </p>
<p>My parents and everyone I know want me to go to MIT, but I'm very torn.</p>
<p>Academically, UChicago might be better at economics, while MIT might have the edge on any of the sciences. If you know your intended major, you can look up major-specific rankings online. Also consider speaking with professors and department heads if you ever visit.</p>
<p>Socially, the two are very different schools, potentially offering two very different experiences. Think about what kind of person you are, and what kind of person you want yourself to be. Think about what kind of experience you want and expect to have in college, and what kinds of peers you want to have around you. Then, visit the two and see which one fits you best. If there's really no way for you to visit, then CC and college guidebooks (I'd recommend The Insider's Guide and *Princeton Review's Best 361 Colleges<a href="the%20number%20changes%20with%20each%20edition">/i</a>--they give pretty informative descriptions of the student bodies and the typical social life of each school).</p>
<p>I would spend some time thinking about what kind of 'core' you are interested in. My understanding is that they are extremely different (the HASS at MIT vs. the Common Core at Chicago). Especially at Chicago (I can't say I know much about MIT), the core will take up a large portion of your time.</p>
<p>what a decision! they’re my two favorite schools
First off, Chicago’s econ program is not “that” much better than MIT’s; they actually share the number 1 spot in the category on US news. If you’re looking at environmental science, the schools are different. Chicago is respected as the best school in ecology and evolutionary biology, which is more of a humanities take on envi sci. MIT is on top in terms of envi engineering, which applies math and science to create wind turbines and whatnot. The biggest difference between the schools is their take on general education (besides that both schools are tough as hell and place a big emphasis on research). Chicago’s core is big on humanities such as literature, philosophy and history. MIT has… well, no emphasis on humanities at all and instead focuses on teaching students advanced calculus and physics as requirements. Both have quirky and creative students, both are adjacent to great cities, both place huge value on academia; i’d say you might as well flip a coin on it.</p>
<p>if you’re serious about economics you cannot get a better degree than that from chicago combined with environmental studies.</p>
<p>but MIT is amazing too. you need to go visit both properly and figure it out. </p>
<p>MIT is ranked 4th or5th. And I believe chicago is ranked 8th. But I don’t think that means much…you need to figure out the rankings for the majors you’re interested in and the student body.</p>
<p>personally i’d go with chicago, because i really value humanities learning also. i just don’t think the focus at mit is as strong on those subjects. i also think you will meet students with a much broader range of interests and passions at chicago.</p>
<p>I want to correct myself:
In terms of graduate school rankings (US News doesn’t do undergraduate rankings for econ), MIT is ranked #1, while UChicago is ranked #2.</p>
<p>It really depends on your criteria and what you’re looking for. Intellectually, I’d expect MIT to be a lot more rambunctious and biased towards engineering and suchlike, but as far as intellectual stimulation and knowing you’ve got very intelligent peers (for the most part - I’ve yet to come across a Chicago admit from my school’s history who wasn’t very smart, whereas several of the MIT admits got in more on being very dedicated and disguising how useless they could be), there shouldn’t be much distinction.</p>
<p>My research indicates that Chicago is more well-rounded, so the emphasis there is whether or not you want more of a potential career carryover, or more intellectual satisfaction and the ability to hold the floor at cocktail parties (for the record, these are the words of a few of my teachers, and I’d prefer the latter myself [though since I’m aiming for medicine, career carryover isn’t too much of an issue for undergrad]).</p>
<p>If it helps, MIT is the one school from which I hoped to be rejected purely because I wanted to go there almost as much as I want to go to Chicago. If I were in your shoes, I would probably take Chicago and fight rabidly for research positions and grad school placement, but as indicated above I have a bit of bias against MIT based on the admission choices from my HS.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Core - yes or no?</p></li>
<li><p>Diverse nerds (Chicago) or science-math-engineering focused nerds (MIT)?</p></li>
<li><p>Short drive from home to Cambridge or flight-buffered distance from parents?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Academics in your areas of interest will be great at both.</p>
<p>awww goshh are you freaking serious???
i’d love to be in your position
MIT all the way no doubt about it. MIT is among the elite and distinguised. Graduating with a degree from MIT will get you far. word.</p>
<p>You are a very lucky kid. I live near Chicago, but I have never visited U of C. I guess I’ll visit soon because everyone tells me the campus and people are amazing. As for Chicago as a city: AMAZING! Like the city is by far one of the best cities I’ve ever had the pleasure of carousing through, and I’ve been to MANY cities in the U.S. and out of the U.S.</p>