<p>Because of the rapidly approaching deadlines, I only have time to apply to one more college- Yale or the University of Chicago. The two are very similar in academic rigor, and both have great biology (ecology/evolution) and English departments. Both schools are about the same size and distance from home. I simply CAN NOT decide! Any advice?</p>
<p>haha...a tough choice indeed. One plus with UChicago is Chicago, one of the grandest cities in America.</p>
<p>I will randomly assign values to both Yale and Chicago
Chicago: 90% overall rating based on no information meriting consideration.
Yale: 90.00001% that's right it wins based on no information and a margin most people would call insignificant but I call "not" insignificant. My Rampage continues :)</p>
<p>haha...i like your irration, pompous way of thinking. Like a child.... keep it up!</p>
<p>go for yale.</p>
<p>ur probably more likely to get into yale than chicago. u should already have a common app filled out by now anyway, why not just do both? it can't be that hard.</p>
<p>yeah, the chicago city advantage gives uchiago a big plus. new haven is a dump.</p>
<p>uchicago
i mean why pass up a sure thing
ooo controversy is sparked</p>
<p>haha...just answered your other post.</p>
<p>Retaliation against Chicago, eh?!</p>
<p>which is generally harder to get into?</p>
<p>yale, large applicant pool...almost 2.5 times the size of chicagos. </p>
<p>But both Yale and UChicago draw different types of students.</p>
<p>chicagonobel, how so? what types of students does Yale draw, and what types does Chicago draw?</p>
<p>If I'm not correct, please correct me ChicagoNobel (he's really into UChicago and knows a lot about the school), but I think UChicago is more based on the student having a desire to learn and isn't too based on #'s (although being above their average stats always helps); Yale looks for major awards or big accomplishments (like 1st place or finalist at a major tournament or competition) IN ADDITION to close-to-1600 SAT scores, and close-to-800 SAT ii scores.</p>
<p>I have had an opportunity to study at Uchicago during summer of 2003. I found the students to be extremely passionate about what they were studying and they knew the exact direction of where they were going. The students there were very approachable, but at a higher academic plane. I have never visited Yale.</p>
<p>I have to think about this. I think ChicagoNobel is right...but I can't articulate why. Show me 20 applications and I could probably sort them into more likely Yale, more likely Chicago. It's a personality thing, not a stats thing.</p>
<p>You won't find prestige whores or lazy rich kids going to Chicago. It's no easy ride. However, you will find quite a few at Yale - though probably less than you would at other Ivies. If getting connections and all that is your thing, then go for Yale...</p>
<p>This is BIZARRE, I thought I was the only person choosing between Yale (already accepted) and U of Chicago (I hope hope hope to be accepted, haven't yet applied).</p>
<p>One thing about U of Chicago: "Where fun goes to die" - this is NOT a joke.</p>
<p>When asked about the reputation of U of C being at the bottom of the fun list, a U of C student replied "Fun is not linear" - this is typical U of C.</p>
<p>I would generally say that U of C creates a certain kind of person, or perhaps draws a certain kind of person. I sometimes cannot stand that kind of person - but this is a result of the fact that my parents are both U of C people. At the same time, I acknowledge that I AM this kind of person.</p>
<p>I am getting this distinct yet unclear (ha) picture of UChicago students, and "fun dying," and "skinny white nerds," etc... this worries me a bit... can someone articulate exactly what "kind of person" UChicago attracts v others schools... </p>
<p>so, in general, what is life like beyond the classroom at UChicago?</p>
<p>a common theme on chicago group tours is that the guide chose chicago for being a non-ivy. the yale atmosphere is heavily scented with ivy league prep school aristocracy, instead of chicago's pure passion for learning.</p>
<p>Which is weird, since a lot of people see it as an Ivy safety. I'm applying to a lot of schools that are "Ivy safeties" like UofC and Swarthmore, but no Ivies.</p>
<p>I love that response, "fun is not linear..." I agree with it as well. Who said fun meant "not intellectual?" It's just as silly as "fun = drinking or fun = not drinking." Neither is mutually exclusive. Fun need not subscribe to this sort of binary logic. Honestly, wherever you go, if it is a good school filled with intelligent kids, you're obviously going to find a few folks to hang out with. It's rather ridiculous when people actually believe the whole "where fun came to die" comment and believe they won't find A SINGLE PERSON to befriend. I think that UChicago is simply unabashed about its image. I sometimes feel that schools like Yale have this sort of "screw you" mentality--they don't need your 20,000th body in the applicant pool, screw you if you do or don't apply, screw you if you do or don't come. Chicago seems to only say "screw you" to those who want to change the school, or make it into something it isn't. The school is what it is and is honest about that image. But they never seem to take a casual or impersonal air when you're an applicant or a student. I feel like they want me there, that they welcome me, that they know me. It's personal. That's what seperates those schools. If you don't want personability, or if you don't care or mind--and that's fine--then maybe Chicago isn't for you and a place like Yale is. If personability is what you care about, in my experience with Ivy students and grads, they honestly feel that they are going through a machine.</p>