<p>Hi guys,</p>
<p>I know that this is a rather ambiguous question, but I've heard rumors that in terms of the work load and expectations, UC is probably one of the hardest universities in the world. Also, I've heard rumors that the atmosphere is very cut-throat and students aren't friendly, and if it is, I'm a little worried that this will hinder my performance as a student. Any thoughts? Sorry for the silliness of the questions.</p>
<p>Jon</p>
<p>Absolutely untrue. You’re more likely to get annoyed at the number of people who think they know how to do your homework. </p>
<p>It’s only one of the hardest universities if you want it to be. If you take honors classes, then yeah, it’s hard. But no one’s forcing you to overload yourself.</p>
<p>I’m sure most people have an opinion on this, but I’m going to hold my tongue. I honestly don’t know because I’ve never attended any other university. What I do know–with proper time management, I finish my assignments with plenty of time to spare and spend with friends.</p>
<p>UChicago is as hard as the next college. What sets kids off is the faster paced quarter system. UChicago is most certainly not killer cut-throat. Remember, it takes an unorthodox approach to education and thinking, and the generic competition as in MIT or Yale is competition for the sake of competition, not for the sake of learning. That would totally not be U of C.</p>
<p>It’s not the amount of work that sets Chicago apart, but more of what one is expected to do with it. S2 has attended other school’s including Ivy’s for courses and found few compare with the intellectual requirements of Chicago even though the number of problems assigned or pages read may be similar.</p>
<p>dartmouth also goes by a quarter system…how come no one complains about the difficulty of dmouth classes?</p>
<p>To wg902010, the quarter system alone is intimidating for the numerous high school students who have grown up on the semester system. Various schools do have the quarter, but the quarter takes a different effect in each school. For some, the quarter allows you to get through a class in a more collected time frame, for others, it just adds to the sizzling speed of college. </p>
<p>As for why no complains about the difficulty of Dartmouth classes:
Dartmouth is of course a renowned Ivy, but it has much a smaller college feel. The quarter system in more intimate settings becomes less shadowy.</p>
<p>All the schools with quarter systems are relatively fast-paced. But one difference between Chicago and Dartmouth is the course load. Chicago requires 42 courses to graduate (3-4 per quarter), while Dartmouth requires 35 (3 with a quarter in which you can take 2).</p>
<p>I wanted to ask. Do students help each other a lot, or is it really “cut-throat?”</p>
<p>At my hs all the AP kids (and all students really) have each others back. We gladly help with hw, when someone is confused with material on the upcoming test, or they are struggling with the latest lab report. I would be pretty disappointed if to find suddenly a very cool and hostile academic environment. Which is one of my bigger worries with UChicago.</p>
<p>Yes, kids do definitely help each other out, which is ironic but nonetheless beautiful.
This is given the fact that some courses, e.g. econ, is graded on a sort of bell curve.</p>
<p>hi, hope you all won’t mind a reply from an <em>ahem</em> ANCIENT Chicago alum lol 
(class of 1983…some of my Profs are still teaching there believe it or not! Altho’ I was at Chicago a long time ago, I don’t think fundamentally that the philosophy of the school has changed over the years, and I’d like to think the same of the students </p>
<p>Anyways.</p>
<p>Without a doubt, the classes at Chicago are very rigorous and intellectually challenging. I have never been that challenged in my life, not even since then. Immediately you are reading texts, having discussions, doing homework. No lollygagging even at the beginning. BUT…it is invigorating and exciting! With the exception of my astrophysics class which was way over my level (& I changed to another science class) because I didn’t have enough high school prep, broadly speaking, all of the classes were challenging. For those in my major, English, challenging in a different sort of way. But ultimately I was able to handle the workload and the challenges and I know that every student that is admitted to Chicago will be able to handle it as well. </p>
<p>I think you will love the small, discussion style format with your fellow students and professors. You will really get to know each other well in classes as well as your professors, Chicago is a very personal experience that way. With rare exceptions, I felt like all of us loved The Life of the Mind, lively discussions, difficult ideas, and did NOT undermine each other. We had out of class study groups to prepare for tests and we bounced ideas off each other for papers. We would critique papers from friends & classmates when we got a lower than expected grade. </p>
<p>I think the most difficult thing for me, personally, at Chicago was suddenly I wasn’t the smartest student in the school. All of a sudden I was surrounded by fellow students who were also the smartest students in their schools! That was a difficult adjustment at first to ones ego but you get used to it and realize you still have something to contribute But that is what makes Chicago such an exciting University to attend…lively discussions with bright fellow students, engaged professors who care about their students.</p>
<p>In a word, I would say: RELAX. I think you will all be FINE. You have demonstrated w/your high school credentials that you have the capability for this level of work. It will be an adjustment period of course, but you will all be FINE. Don’t worry, Chicago is challenging but in a wonderful, exciting way! You will hone your writing and analytical skills to a degree you never thought possible. And…all against the backdrop of the exciting city of Chicago! Good luck to you all, I know you will all do great!</p>
<p>Jamal5: This has not been the experience of my son or his friends. All have done some pretty remarkable ECs at Chicago (pssst, don’t tell anyone, but Chicago even has a Fight Club, though with some rules) and have had a very good time. S1 recently attended a young alumni event (his GF graduate almost two years ago) and was amused by all the alums talking about how much they missed the school. If one checks out the various student review sites one sees that Chicago has one of the highest rankings for students who would attend again if they could do it over, about 90%. The various UCs range from about 44% to about 76%. Stanford is 78%.</p>
<p>One minor note, not many students have earned a 4.0 at Chicago in the last 20 years. According to the Chicago Magazine in 2003 two students graduated with a 4.0, and that was pretty much it.</p>
<p>Jamal5, while I appreciate your input into this thread, I would like to temper your comments a bit. Yes, the U of C is very academically oriented, but some people would argue that that’s what college is for. UChicago is not a typical 4 year college in the traditional Ivy League/Duke sense. The College’s main goal is to break down your preconceived views and knowledge of the world and re-build it (with your consent, of course) into what the University sees as an “educated” person. </p>
<p>It is designed to challenge and in many cases, infuriate bright young people who come into college full of confidence in their abilities. To be honest with you, there are many people who bristle at this approach and never fully buy into the Chicago method. The core and it’s somewhat monastic approach to education is not for everyone.</p>
<p>On a personal note, my fellow students at Chicago were ALWAYS helpful and we all read each others’ papers and helped with problem sets. The residence halls tend to be very family-like and supportive that way. You will absolutely make life-long friends there. I never came across the sort of zero-sum gain competitiveness that I think the OP was worried about. </p>
<p>I am sorry to hear about your friends not enjoying their time at Chicago. On the other hand, 4.0 gpa’s are very, very rare at the U of C and for you to have two friends who both graduated with perfect grades speaks highly of them.</p>
<p>@Jamal5: I don’t know if that was meant as a joke or not, but I’ve seen your other posts in the Chicago forum, and trust me- even if you do manage to somehow convince a couple people on CC to not matriculate, it is not going to increase your chances of getting off the waitlist by any significant amount… :rolleyes:</p>
<p>On a different note, I am very glad to hear that students at Chicago are not ridiculously cutthroat/competitive; I like the idea of intellectual collaboration such as discussing ideas/critiquing each other’s papers like thriftymom said.</p>
<p>idad do you have a link to the student satisfaction survey you mentioned? Thanks!</p>
<p>I totally agree with ILoveUofC Chicago is a fantastic school! And not true that there is is no creativity or fun going on! Yes, lots of reading, homework, studying and many hours spent in Harpers Library and Reg reading rooms. But…I helped edit/worked on “The Chicago Literary Review”, a student-run literary newspaper that featured poetry and other creative writing from U of C students…there is also the Maroon newspaper and I’m sure lots of other outlets like that as well. Chicago also has an active theater group, active music groups…if you play an instrument lots of options for continuing that; and our dorms had parties on a regular basis. We have the Smart Art Gallery and there are lots of other ways you can continue in visual arts if that is your thing. And on the weekends we hopped on the train to go downtown to the Art Institute, Second City, etc. Believe it or not…Chicago is a FUN college to attend! :)</p>
<p>For those who may wonder if I am for real when talking about Chicago as a great place to be creative, check out the Poetry of my classmate Ann Keniston…she is both a prof and an active Poet! :)</p>
<p>[Ann</a> Keniston](<a href=“http://wolfweb.unr.edu/homepage/keniston/]Ann”>http://wolfweb.unr.edu/homepage/keniston/)</p>
<p>chicagoboy: I do not. I read it in a report concerning FA issues at Chicago a couple of years ago.</p>
<p>As for creativity at Chicago, check out what the Scav Hunt students come up with every year.</p>
<p>My son loves being at Chicago, works very hard but still has time to spend with friends (he’s made many, far more than in high school) and do other things he enjoys, and doesn’t feel that the atmosphere is cut-throat in the least.</p>
<p>Best part about Chicago: all the preppy, rich kids at my school are like “yeah, it’s a good school, but why would <em>I</em> want to go where fun comes to die?” </p>
<p>Thanks to all who perpetuate the myth, because I really hate those kids, and a lot of them aren’t applying because they don’t get the joke. They think it will be all work, no fun… boy, are they wrong. Who says Hume, Kant, and Marx aren’t fun? ;)</p>