@jackrabbit14 with all due respect, all TomSr did, was in a very binary way, say most of the schools mentioned are dissimilar to UofChicago. There was no insult, merely a fairly flat statement–without any pejorative.
I agree, UofChicago is arguably one of the most unique schools in the country, and not easily emulated.
Very true, and it is at least as important to understand this as to suggest alternatives.
My personal suggestion is Reed College in Oregon. Much easier to get admitted, but smaller than U.Chicago and vibe is more west coast. Nonetheless, Reed is similar intellectually to U.Chicago (about as close as it gets).
I know Reed pretty well, lectured there a couple of times. So, while certainly a cerebral and quirky place, here is how it is dissimilar: UofC has incredible research, globally recognized graduate and professional degrees, intercollegiate athletics, and some connectivity to the great city of Chicago. Don’t get me wrong, Portland is fantastic, but Reed stands by itself, and can be a transition that is very difficult for some, it is in someways the anti-preppy, and thoroughly alternative and undergraduate focused. If it’s the right fit, tremendous school, if not, you will profoundly dislike it…
Q: Which college or university is most similar to x (where x is is a college or university and can have more than one value)?
A: The University of Chicago.
If anyone can identify x, provided x is less selective, then the OP will have their answer. Some of the previous suggestions may already fit.
My reasoning on St. John’s and Reed was:
Bard qualifies on 1 and 3, although not 2. Naturally there’s things that separate them out - all are LACs, not research universities. And the drug scene almost wholly absent at U of C, unlike Bard and Reed.
If you break down UChicago to it’s base parts like @NavalTradition did for SJC and Reed, you’ll realize there really is nothing exactly like UChicago. Here’s a list, I can think of:
-Urban environment but with a real campus (a la Columbia, not NYU)
-High %age go on to PhD
-Unique, school-defining traditions replacing sports as a source of school spirit and pride (Scav, HvZ, Kuvia, bagpipe procession etc. etc.)
-Lots of complaining
-House system
-Gothic architecture/looks like Hogwarts
-Extensive core, hum/sosc classes based on Great Books program
-Theoretical, rather than professional, oriented academics
-Lots of opportunities for research
-Very small classes and faculty:student ratio
-Small undergraduate size
-Strengths in econ, math, physics, history, literature
-No engineering (technically there’s molecular, but it’s a fledgling program…)
-very cold for most of the academic year
-quarter system
-lots and lots of grad students around, plus influential law, med, and business schools
-“quirky” students
@iamaturtle if you can figure out what you care most about it will be easier to find a school that fulfills what you want.
Given that two of OPs four stated criteria are:
“colleges with the same sense of humor and quirkiness as UChi”
(the other two being less selective and less strenuous workload)
I have two questions for OP:
I am not trying to be difficult, just responsive. The school My D1 picked instead of my suggestion of U chicago for her had nothing to do with #1, and as for #2 it depends on what OP means. I know three Chicago grads I can think of. I like them all and they are all smart, but I am not at all sure what else they have in common. Two of them don’t like sports, and neither does my D1, but I’m not sure that constitutes a “quirk” per se. But if that’s what OP means I can answer.
Rather than wait for an answer to above, I realized my thoughts , based on what my D1 did, would probably wind up being the same, so I’ll just post them. She was someone I thought might like U Chicago.
The colleges she did apply to which might be relevant included Oberlin and Carleton. A couple she didn’t, but that might be relevant, are Grinnell and Brandeis.
It’s likely true that nothing is quite like Chicago, but fortunately OP is not requiring that. I am basing these suggestions merely as less selective schools than Chicago that attract academic-oriented students that are considered “quirky”, or at least are not team sports-oriented places.
Someone mentiond Hopkins, I can see that. You might check out U Rochester too, believe it or not.
got time4d out from above…
D1 refused to apply to Chicago because she didn’t want anything that smacked of a core curriculum, or being told what to take, anymore. But also because she was lazy and didn’t want to work quite that hard. She ultimately selected Oberlin and later, in retrospect, said that to her it had the right work balance. Students still work hard there though.
I frankly do not know for sure what the workload would be at schools people in my family did not actually attend. And to some extent this can be a matter of perception, influenced by individual choices and capabilities. So this would be something for OP to investigate further.
Just thinking, in the South, is Rice a good choice? Or Emory?
These are not thought of as particularly “easy” schools. But their workloads might tend lower than Chicago’s?
Throw Washington U in there too, it’s a stone’s throw from the South, depending on who’s measuring.
Note: I see these were previously mentioned, oh well.