<p>The average GPA at Chicago is 3.3, which is actually fairly high (unless you compare it to Harvard or Stanford, perhaps). Rather than having grade deflation, Chicago lacks grade inflation. As a con, Chicago does have + and - grading, which is BAD. You also have to pay more for a course overload, I think.</p>
<p>robertson: Diocletian summed it up. I wasn't trying to posture or imply that I'm all "hardcore" because I lived in Bronzeville. I was just saying that HP is a good place, the areas people consider ghettos are places you shouldn't be, and there are colleges in Chicago much worse off neighborhood wise than UChicago.</p>
<p>Students can take 5 courses a quarter if they so desire, many do if one includes the P.E. requirement, but it is not advisable to do so.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies.</p>
<p>Exactly how cold is Chicago? I live down in Georgia of all places and have never been north of Tennessee. I don't think I've experienced anything below 20-30 degrees. </p>
<p>Also, I was reading another thread about how getting a 3.0 GPA makes it very difficult to get into graduate school. If 3.3 is the average...does that mean UC grads have a harder time getting in?</p>
<p>Neverborn, </p>
<p>Yes, the area around IIT has its problems, but they are rapidly going away. ALL of the projects near there will be torn down by the end of the year. Instead, developers are putting up townhomes selling for hundreds of thousands. </p>
<p>To call the area north of 51st or 47th a ghetto is just plain wrong. Either you have not been there recently or you don't know ghetto (Hint, stroll down to 63rd and state...not around IIT.)</p>
<p>Enough geography. The environs of U of C are fine...</p>
<p>"Exactly how cold is Chicago?"</p>
<p>It gets cold in the winter - and you will have to dress for it. But - it's not cold <em>all</em> the time, and the buildings are heated, lol.</p>
<p>idad,</p>
<p>That's not the case. One can take as many as four non-PE classes at a time. To take more one must petition the appropriate department and then pay extra. One can, however, take as many PE classes as one likes in a quarter, irrespective of how many other classes one is taking.</p>
<p>"You also have to pay more for a course overload, I think."
You're not paying for a degree, you're paying for an education.</p>
<p>newmassdad: Uh... the Stateway Gardens south of us are getting torn down. I haven't heard that they're tearing down Dearborn Homes or Harold Ickes Homes.</p>
<p>Diocletian: I reread what I wrote and was definitely not clear. Thank you for the clarification, I meant students can, and some do, take 5 "with P.E."</p>
<p>
[quote]
Biggest con = frigid weather, espcially off the lake.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>This is funny... Because although I didn't mention the cold in my Chicago application, I did in my Northwestern Application. Check out the first paragraph of my "Why NU" essay:</p>
<p>
[quote]
I've seen it snow only once in my life, and the flurry was a measly one. I don't know how many Northwestern applicants list "cold" as a reason for applying, but you can count me as one of them. Growing up in Northern California, we really only get two seasons: rain and shine. So when the two years at my community college approached an end, I began deciding which schools would best suit my needs and temperament. And as whimsical as it may sound, I immediately excluded all schools where the powder never falls. Northwestern (surely there's no need to tell you) survived the cut.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I hope mentioning NU isn't anathema here. :) Chicago is still my first choice.</p>
<p>Now, if they would just take me off the wait list!</p>
<p>
[quote]
You're not paying for a degree, you're paying for an education.
[/quote]
Quite true. I was comparing it to places like Duke that allow you to take extra classes at no extra cost, which is very nice when there's a lot of topics you want to learn about. Chicago's quarter system allows you to take plenty of courses, though. (Anyway, who would even want to overload a lot at Chicago? :))</p>
<p>Someone earlier was talking about how high the sticker price for chicago was.
Wesleyan is like 47k+ for this year, thank god for financial aid. I can't even pay the sticker for Penn state. Hahah.</p>
<p>At UChicago, you pay for the education.</p>
<p>But let's face it, you pay for the degree as well. How many people would pay 160k (4 yrs at 40k) to go to an institution where the degree is not recognized by employers?</p>
<p>I go to IIT too. I second that the neighborhood (especially IIT's, but also U of C's) isn't half as bad as neverborn said. If you want real ghettos, go west or south of U of C. Luckily, you'll never have a need to. The immediate area, Hyde Park, is one of the most beautiful neighborhoods in Chicago, kind of like a suburb minus the fake, cheap feel that suburbs always seem to exude.</p>
<p>However, here at IIT, we do pay insane amounts of money for a degree from a place that no one has heard of. We know, however, that it's one of the best schools in the midwest (a few spots behind U of C, of course) and so for (some of) us, the quality of the education outweighs the school's recognition.</p>
<p>The difference between IIT's ghetto and UChicago's ghetto is that IIT's is pervasive. You leave Stuart Building at 9:05PM when your class is over, and you tell me you don't live in the ghetto. Stateway is gone, Dearborn/Ickes are not. <em>One</em> assault on campus? What about the incident with the Kappa sisters and 35th Street Quizno's(Across from the POLICE STATION.) What about the murders in the past 5 years (2?) </p>
<p>I met with Lew Collens at his lunch and told him exactly why I felt unsafe on campus. 35th is the Cottage Grove or 61st of IIT. Unfortunately, 35th is much closer to campus than Cottage Grove. How is this not a "real ghetto?" I hope Wood's is evicted with the new developments - it is a LARGE part of why 35th near campus is as bad as it is. How is going 2 blocks north of campus by car and seeing police cameras everywhere and project-dwellers trying to open your car doors not a real ghetto?</p>
<p>Also, laldm: do I know you? Do you know me? Feel free to PM.</p>
<p>I just think it's funny when kids complain of UChicago's locality and then say they love UPenn...</p>
<p>"You're not paying for a degree, you're paying for an education."</p>
<p>Why the hell would you pay $200 grand for an education you can get for $1.50 in late fees at the local library? (That's right, I quoted Good Will Hunting.)</p>
<p>collegedude01,
Your ideas are intriguing and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.</p>
<p>A con of UChicago is their ****ing admissions department!</p>