@JHS - no experience with Law. But I know that for undergrad, my husband and I used equivalent calculus texts at entirely different private schools, both on semester system. At the time, mine was a small LAC in CA with a decent level of rigor - his was a well-respected (and now top elite) university with a liberal arts college. I realize things might have changed over the years but it appears that my daughter’s 130’s calculus sequence, covered in three quarters, was equivalent to 3 semesters at both hubby’s school and mine. Another subject I’m familiar with - Economics - was not only faster paced at UChicago back in the day, but they covered MORE material than Hubby and I did as an undergrad in our respective econ. majors. It was not for the faint of heart back then. Now they have provided more intro and principles courses to get you up to speed so a great comparison would be, say, Ec. 10 at Harvard vs. Intro at UChicago. I highly doubt that UChicago is skimming over topics, but someone is welcome to correct me. the good news is that the top econ. kids can still track at the same pace as they could 30 years ago.
Shifting back to graduate programs, Booth was very fast paced as well, but there you simply had to cover the skills (esp. stuff like accounting and finance) in the same depth as other schools on the semester system did, or else you won’t be as prepared on the job market.
Could be very wrong but UChicago seems to be more about mental processing speed than skimming over vital material. I process pretty slowly (IMHO) so it was a real challenge for me. It meant devoting a lot more time to study and less time, perhaps, to partying. Even at Booth.
In this discussion the consensus seems to be building that in a given course at Chicago something like a semester’s work at other schools will be covered in a quarter. If that is so, then won’t that mean that a Chicago student will have 1.5 times more work to get through per course? That ratio can be brought down if that student opts for three courses in a particular quarter (if my math doesn’t fail me, to 1.125 times overall). But you can only do that for a few quarters (someone will know how many) and still graduate in four years. In any event my impression is that most students will normally take four courses per quarter, and only occasionally go down to three, perhaps by dropping a signed-up-for course that isn’t panning out early in a quarter. Certainly in my day almost everyone took four courses most of the time. There was always some tantalizingly interesting or seemingly essential course that made up a fourth after you had satisfied requirements with the first three. You always bite off more than you can chew, in this as in other matters.
If that’s still so today, it must mean that U of C students will generally work harder and longer (especially if they were, like me and apparently @JBStillFlying , slower processors) than their peers at other schools (with Stanford, Northwestern and Dartmouth being exceptions?). It all inexorably adds up to spending more time hitting the books and less time for the other things in college life, no matter how desirable. It doesn’t completely exclude those things, of course, and may even allow a Chicago student to achieve the balance of students at other schools, especially if you are a high-speed processor or don’t mind cutting corners or minimizing the number and difficulty of your courses or simply making poorer grades - all options that flourished in my time and must still fluorish todsay.
However, if a geek is someone for whom learning is the main event in time and energy, then I trust that the tone at Chicago will always be set by the geeks, whatever may be their sporting, socializing or wealth-maximizing potential.
The minimum requirements for graduation, which sum to 42 courses, would allow a student to take 3 courses in half of the relevant quarters. However, when my kids were there hardly any students graduated with fewer than 44 courses, many had 48, and most had 45-46. In other words, taking 3 courses in a quarter was the exception – albeit a common exception – not the coequal rule with taking 4 courses.
This year they have allowed up to 5 courses w/o a tuition increase. So now a full load is anywhere from 3 - 5 courses. My understanding is that is at least in part a demand-driven change in policy. Kids were trying to take more courses and complaining about the extra cost.
Agree with @marlowe1 - if they switch to semesters I can’t see how that’s going to slow down the desire to learn additional stuff. If anything the classes coming in are demanding more, not less.
The first quarter is just plain hard for many first years and it’s understandable to feel particularly overwhelmed during 7th week - which just ended. One should never be asked when they are having more kids right after giving birth, and one should never be asked whether they are for or against the quarter system right after getting through 7th week.
The student who can’t quite cover everything in a course might consider this creative work-around: One of my old Chicago classmates had taken Hans Morgenthau’s famous “International Politics” but had been absent from the class and unable to do the readings for a two-week period. The final exam contained a single essay question directed precisely at the material covered during that period. He wrote the following preface in his blue-book (are they still called that, by the way?): “Dear Professor Mogenthau, I am completely unable to respond to your question, which concerns material I was unable to cover. I expect to receive a failing grade accordingly. However, I don’t want you to consider that your course was wasted on me or that I am a mere ignoramus. I am putting to myself and answering a different question.” He then did exactly that. He was a brilliant guy, and his question and answer must have been good. He received a B-plus on the exam, a very good mark in those days. Morgenthau’s reasoning remained inscrutable, but the old Prof was a bit of a dandy, with duelling scars to prove it. He must have been impressed by the chutzpah demonstrated. However, the grade would probably have been an A in other circumstances.
A strategy not to be recommended, but resourcefulness is sometimes necessary.
If you come in with the number of AP elective credit allowed, you can do 3 classes per quarter in all but two quarters.
My son went in with that approach but has since decided to take advantage of his UChicago resource and take four a quarter here on out. This quarter he did three, plus XC, plus Moot Court (which he said was the equivalent amount of “school type research work” to another course when it was at its full stride). While he does XC for “training” his best events are in track which runs over the entirety of the winter and spring quarters. He believes he can take four, run track, and be ok (especially with a lighter moot court workload). When asked about next fall, he said he’ll look at what is in front of him and if he thinks four will be too hard with moot court, he might scale back to three.
BTW I want to like thank everyone for staying on the topic about quarter and academic load. I really hate to see all the U of C threads degenerate into a shouting match about ranking.
Somewhat related to the original title, I would like to report about construction update. While the Rubinstein Forum construction seems to stall for the winter, the Woodlawn Residential Commons is going on full speed despite an early snow storm in November. The tall tower is already 2/3 finished (I count 10 stories done). And the shorter towers are all going up. Looking at the way construction is moving along, I think Woodlawn Residential Commons would definitely be ready for Class of 2024. There is an outside chance that it may even be ready for Class of 2023.
For a picture of how Woodlawn Residential Commons looks like, check out the picture renderings at UChicago News:
@JBStillFlying You mentioned your DS may be looking at Woodlawn for housing next year. She better be hurry as I see a lot of new townhouse constructions going up at 61st and 62nd Street. I need current students to correct me if I am wrong but my feeling is that the gentrification from 61st to 63rd Street is going on at a rapid pace and cheap housing there may not be as abundant as it used to be.
Thanks for the tip, '85. She’s swamped with 10th week and finals so I’ll wait till she’s home here at end of next week to see what she’s doing about housing (and internships! LOL). Wouldn’t be disappointed if she stayed on campus.
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