<p>Well, I am down to two choices: duke or the university of chicago
I've done research and to be honest it has been very difficult to decide so here is a thread that describes what I am looking for and issues I am thinking about. I will be very appreciative of any help!</p>
<p>Wants:
A solid pre-med experience with a major in economics (not sure which path to follow, medicine or economics, so I want my options open)
I do want to have fun but I don't plan to party that much so I know that negates Duke's partying scene
I am an avid runner and thus I need surroundings that allow me to run 5+ miles (don't mind looping but I want to make sure there are safe and easy places to run, sidewalks, trails etc.)</p>
<p>Issues with either:
Durham? how bad is the town? do people who go to Duke mind?
East and West Campus at Duke, is this a hassle to go back and forth? issue at all?
Segregation at Duke? is this prevalent?
UofChicago's cohesiveness, I want a school that has some spirit and some activities together, how is this here, I don't know how much of what I hear is exaggerated
I hear most people at Chicago move off campus, does this detract from the experience with less students actually living on campus
Quarter system vs trimester? I really do not know which would be best</p>
<p>The two are virtually the same cost. I'll add to this if I come up with more.</p>
<p>I don't know a lot about the pre-med experience, but I imagine you're in good hands, with a ginormous hospital on campus.</p>
<p>You will find that Chicago's party scene satisfies all that you're looking for. It's never crazy, it's never non-existent. If you want to go out on a given weekend night, you can.</p>
<p>Running's great along the lakeshore, but probably not something you could do and like year-round. Duke wins for good weather.</p>
<p>U of C kids are spirited in their own way-- the vast majority are not rah-rah, and the vast majority probably don't even know the school's rankings in US News, but my impression is that the people who come here want to be here, and that's really what matters. House affiliations are great, but I think that some students prefer living off-campus after two years in housing. There are, though, events that tend to unite the campus-- Summer Breeze, Scav Hunt, the Latke-Hamentaschen Debate, etc.</p>
<p>Also, with 4,500 undergrads, you'd be surprised how many of them you get to know well.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice!
Weather is not a big deal for me, I can bundle up. I used to live in the Chicago area and lakeshore running sounds great to me.
I know the stereotype is the "quirky/nerdy" type and I can get along with these types of people but I am not really this type. I'm pretty laid back, no real niche, just normal but curious and hardworking. Will I fit in?</p>
<p>I'm not sure if this will matter to you, but if you've joined the facebook group of accepted students, you'll see that most people are pretty damn chill and not as quirky as Chicago students are thought to be. I myself am a pretty relaxed guy; although I do well academically, I love to hang out, party, and do other things. You'll find plenty of people like you and me at UChicago; dont limit your options.</p>
<p>Yeah. I think you find that labels don't really express themselves too well anyways... since when was anybody just a "prep" or a "jock" or a "nerd" just because they fit conditions for a stereotype perpetuated by classic high school movies?</p>
<p>If I were to apply labels to me and my cross-section of friends at Chicago, the words "jock," "hipster," "geek," prep," "Southern belle," and "hick" come to mind. My friends are also "curious" and "hardworking."</p>
<p>I, too, am absolutely torn between Duke and UChicago. Yesterday I went to bed completely certain that UChi was the one, today I wake up and I'm on the fence once more.</p>
<p>I have a couple of questions if anyone is up to answer them :)</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Is the grade deflation (I'm not sure if that's the right term to use) at Chicago a concern to any of you current students? I read that a 3.25 GPA earns one a spot on the Dean's List. At Duke, my brother had to maintain a 3.9 GPA to be on the Dean's List and even when he did, he missed the "with Distinctions" title by a spot. Do you guys worry whether your future employers will understand that a 3.2 is good at Chicago, or does the fact that you attended Chicago actually suffice? (I'm being totally serious. Forgive me if I sounded pompous in any way.)</p></li>
<li><p>My Dad also said that GPA counts for less if you don't apply to grad schools right away after undergrad. Should I leave Chicago with a 3.2, work for a few years, and then try to get into a good grad school, will the 3.2 hurt my chances at the top tier ones?</p></li>
<li><p>I don't know what I'll be majoring in yet. Personally I'm very interested in History (Arab-Israeli, Israeli-Palestinian conflicts, rise of religious fundamentalism) and also Biology (genetics and genomics). However, my key concern is getting a job when I graduate, and for that, I should definitely choose Biology (or so I've been told). I know the humanities side of UChi is amazingly awesome - can anyone give me a quick review of the science departments? In this matter I'm especially torn because Duke is right in the "research triangle" which could boost my employment chances. At the same time though, I want to make sure I have a great Arts/Humanities education because I'm more of that kinda girl; I love literature and history. (I'm actually anti-Math and anti-Physics. The only science I can stand and happen to love is Biology, and some Chemistry.)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks muchly <333 If any of my questions are unclear (I think they may be, LOL, I've been so worried about making the right choice), please do ask me to clarify. I've been leaning towards UChi, but these are the things that have been pulling me back.</p>
<p>So ordinarily I like to answer questions in as few sentences as possible, but the best answer to these questions takes many many many sentences, so many that I'm going to ask my buddy Andrew Abbott, professor of sociology here, to do it for me. I encourage you to read all of the sentences, though.</p>
<p>(The "Aims of Education" is a speech given to incoming students at each O-Week, and this was the speech given in '02. He is not actually my buddy).</p>
<p>
[quote]
With the exception of those planning to become professors in the natural sciences, there is absolutely no career that is ruled out for any undergraduate major at the University of Chicago. What you do here does not determine your occupation in any way. You are free to make whatever worldly or otherworldly occupational choice you want once you leave, and you do not sacrifice any possibilities because you majored in something that seems irrelevant to that choice.</p>
<pre><code> As far as performance in college is concerned, there is not, as I said, any national evidence that level of performance in college has more than a minor effect on later things like income. And in my alumni data, there is absolutely no correlation whatever between GPA at the University of Chicago and current income. Get it straight. Whether you end up on Fire Island or in the Hamptons depends largely on things that are unrelated to what you do as an undergraduate at Chicago.
I hope then to have disposed of the notion that what you do here or how well you do it has any connection with your worldly success either in general or in detail. The general level of that worldly success is already guaranteed by your admission here and by the factors that made it happen. The detailed level of your worldly success depends largely on occupational choices that are unrelated to what or how you do here.
<p>Wow, unalove, that really changed my POV on Duke/UChi tremendously. Thank you! I'm quite certain of UChi over Duke right now; and it's all because of people like you, the friendly posters at the Thick Envelope forums, and the lack of any passion from Duke's side. (That includes my brother, who was very meh about everything in general.) UChi definitely seems to be the place for me!</p>
<p>I would just add that the student body at Chicago is a tremendous asset to the school. My daughter is entering the class of 2012 and her interactions with her future classmates have her even more excited about her choice.</p>
<p>It has always been that way-- one of the best parts of my "prospie weekend" at U of C (back in 1980, no less) was meeting my fellow prospies! A great bunch. </p>
<p>Another factor to consider in comparing Duke to Chicago is that Duke is in the south. Depending on your perspective, that can be good or bad. I am neutral myself. </p>
<p>Some people, myself included, find clear differences in culture and sociology between northern cities and regions like Chicago and southern cities/regions. Some folks are far more comfortable in one culture or the other. Some find it invigorating to move from one environment to another, while others are lost in the same shift. It is just something to consider.</p>
<p>(and yes, while Duke attracts kids from all over, and its location is cosmopolitan, it is still the south.)</p>
<p>As exaggerated and unfair as I Am Charlotte Simmons was, it's impossible to imagine it being written about the University of Chicago, and impossible to miss that it was recognizably about Duke. An unfair, distorted picture, of course (but the raw material was there).</p>
<p>the fact that you generalize an entire region of the United States offends me, as a southerner.</p>
<p>There's a different culture in every state, and indeed in different regions of each state. Have you ever even lived here? To generalize that someone could like or dislike an extremely diverse and rich culture perpetuates an ignorance and negative attitude that people have about "the south".</p>
<p>I'm probably overacting but I do get defensive when people disparage an entire culture that they are entirely ignorant of--not that you, personally, are ignorant but many are.</p>
<p>If I'm taking your original post wrong then I apologize.</p>
<p>Duke students seem more friendly, open, diverse, laid-back and "normal" than their Chicago counterparts. UChicago students are probably more "quirky" and "intellectual" though. One thing to consider is that Duke is more pre-professional and career-oriented than UChicago is. Also, the financial aid tends to be better and the curriculum is definitely more liberal.</p>
<p>Duke definitely has a very northern feel and anyone who buys into the stereotype that the campus is filled with racist students, fratty white boys and naive white girls is painfully ignorant(JHS and newmassdad in particular). 60% of Duke's class is either Asian/Black/Latino and there are about twice as many northerners as southerners.</p>
<p>I'll add deep seated defensiveness, perhaps coupled with an inferiority complex, to my stereotypes of the south. :)</p>
<p>Frankly, I DO find your reaction to be curious - curious as to how one could equate saying the south has differences from the north could in any way be taken as negative. You said yourself said "There's a different culture in every state..." so I don't see the gripe.</p>
<p>What makes this rather comical to me is that if I were to post here, say in comparing Chicago to Columbia, that NYC is different from Chicago, and not everyone's cup of tea, the New Yorkers reading the post would probably take it as a complement!</p>
<p>bacardi, guess you've never been off campus. Last I heard, most of the locals were not "northerners". diatribes like yours make me wonder who the biased folks around here really are. </p>
<p>It is too bad we can't have an honest dialogue about regional differences - differences that are well documented and understood - on these boards, because certain members are waaay too defensive, and quick to accuse.</p>