Hi,
I’m a current senior trying to narrow down my college list. When I visited Chicago, I was impressed by the campus, multitude of opportunities and obvious intellectual curiosity at the university. But, I have heard from many that the students there are as a whole extremely competitive and it is very hard to get a high (above 3.6) GPA, especially in the sciences. Is this true? Is the workload really that difficult and the vibe cutthroat?
thanks for your help!
Chicago is one of the top 10 schools in the USA, no matter how you look at it. The programs in Chicago are challenging and competitive. But all top 10 schools in the USA have challenging and competitive programs, do not let some one misled you that you get an easy street at Harvard, Yale or Brown for that matter.
Well I mean, you get an easier street…
Tophat – are there any students from your HS at UChicago? If so, they may be your best source of info because they’ll know what kind of background you’d come in with and what kind of workload you’re accustomed to. Even if they aren’t people you already know, it might be worth reaching out to ask.
Yes, it’s hard to get a high GPA, subject independent. No, that doesn’t mean people are cutthroat. It’s just a hard school. People are pretty open to working together and helping each other out.
Climbing the Matterhorn is hard, but that doesn’t necessarily mean people stand at the top and chuck rocks down at you.
People are quite smart, and work harder than at many other school. But I think it’s uniquely uncompetitive, in the sense that no one worried about the curve. It’s a very collegial environment and study groups are extremely common. And of course there is significant dispersion across majors/student groups.
Chicago is definitely a hard school, especially in the math and sciences, but getting a high GPA (3.9+), is less uncommon than you might think. If you do your homework, study as per the instructor’s guidelines, and put in adequate time for your classes, you will do great.
As for the culture, it is the opposite of competitive. Most students form study groups and work together; you will often end up learning more from your peers than you will in the classroom, and that is after learning a lot in the classroom!