<p>I was just accepted to both Harvard and the University of Chicago and am dreading having to decide between the two. Can anyone can offer a somewhat objective comparison? (yes, I know this will be difficult I will post on both forums) I can think of pros/cons for each, but I wanted to see if anyone else had more info that could help me make up my mind. Obviously, academics are amazing at both schools (although I do plan on studying Biology), so I guess I am looking more for a comparison of atmosphere/campus activities/etc. Input from current students would be especially nice, too you can only get so much from tours/websites (and believe me, I have researched plenty!) Thank you!!</p>
<p>I thought that Harvard's SCEA policy precluded your applying to other universities, so how come you applied to Chicago also?</p>
<p>I applied Early Action to Harvard and Regular Decision to UChicago...for some reason I got my acceptance packet from UChicago about the same time as the Early applicants did. I'm not sure why--I was quite surprised myself. Maybe they assumed I applied early elsewhere (which I did) and wanted to make sure I considered them before I made my decision? haha, well it's working. Anyways, that's the only thing I can think of...</p>
<p>It sounds like Chicago accidently put you under early action consideration. (Or, you accidently checked the wrong box. Whichever.) Call Chicago and clear this up or risk having both acceptences withdrawn.</p>
<p>It's a troll fo sheezy.</p>
<p>Hey eatsleeprun,</p>
<p>I was in the same situation my senior year: accepted EA at both Harvard and Chicago and having to choose between the two. I chose Harvard, and I'm glad I did. These are my reasons; I think a lot of them are specific to me, but maybe it'll give you some insight.</p>
<p>I like choice. I hate paternalism. I hate having to be told I need to take gym, or US History, or whatever. As much as the Harvard core blows, at least you have a decent amount of choice and it's not a hugely onerous requirement. I can't imagine putting up with the Chicago core.</p>
<p>As cold and miserable as it gets in Boston, I'm pretty sure it gets even worse in Chicago.</p>
<p>I have family in the Boston area and I live within driving distance of Cambridge. To have logistical help when I need it (moving into a summer sublet, or whatever; knowing I have an emergency place to crash if my housing plans don't work out) is pretty handy. Chicago offered me a merit scholarship, but considering that it's slightly more expensive and that I'd have to deal with plane fares to go home and shipping fees to move my stuff, it ended up not really being any cheaper, netwise.</p>
<p>If the social scene is supposed to be worse at Chicago than at Harvard, it must be really bad.</p>
<p>Probably easier to get a job out of Harvard. Doubtless less of an issue if you're planning on going to grad school right out of college, since U of C has a great reputation in academia, but I'm not planning on doing that.</p>
<p>Some considerations that might be in Chicago's favor:</p>
<p>No screwy messed-up calendar (I think)
More flexible (and probably cheaper) housing/board options</p>
<p>yeah corranged, Chicago made the mistake. I know it wasn't me...I made photocopies of every application I submitted and just double checked. Every Regular Decision box is marked. I called them up (I'd been meaning to...good thing you reminded me. Thanks.) and the guy I talked to sounded pretty embarrassed. They going to fix it, but they haven't yet told me what that means for my app. Theoretically, they do not give preference to EA applicants so they can't really withdraw my acceptance without making themselves look bad. But then again, who knows with this kind of thing. Just another instance of my getting screwed over for trying to get something turned in early... </p>
<p>Phoenixy--Thank you so much for your insight! That is exactly what I was looking for...And for taking me seriously (sorry asiaknight, no troll here...everyone here is ridiculously suspicious) </p>
<p>Anymore advice would be appreciated, too...you know, just on the off chance that I don't get screwed over by one/both schools..</p>
<p>Congratulations! My kid was in a similar situation a few years back (he actually chose neither, but that's a different story.)</p>
<p>What he liked about Chicago: the academic intensity, the attention from faculty, the core. Students he talked to there on his two visits seemed to be basically treated more like grad students elsewhere -- if they were willing to put in the work, faculty members were engaged and interested in them and their ideas. What he didn't like about Chicago: the weather and the social life though, to be fair, there's only so much you can find out about the social life on two short trips. The students he met were friendly. He was put off, though, when a bunch of them listened to his list of options and told him he should pick one of his other choices. I think if he had made his decision purely on the education he thought he would get, he would have picked Chicago.</p>
<p>What he liked about Harvard: the sense that he had been "chosen" among the best of the best, of course, and all that goes with that; the huge amount of resources available to students. He has a friend there, for example, who took a first year seminar on Latin America and (as a freshman!) talked Harvard into financing a trip down there for all of them. What he didn't like about Harvard: he didn't get the same sense of intellectual engagement, which surprised him. Maybe people were more involved in their extra curriculars. Some whiff of snobbery, but he might have gone in expecting to find it. The fact he would have had to choose his major after the first year. (He also heard first year advising wasn't great, but chose a place where it's probably even worse!) He found some friendly students, went to a party I think, but wasn't excited about the social life or really about anything on his visit. Basically, I think he came away feeling he should already know what he wanted to do with his life before entering Harvard and that, if he did, it could be unparalleled in what it had to offer -- but that it wasn't necessarily the best place for exploration when you don't yet have a clue.</p>
<p>Hope that's of some help.</p>
<p>Sorry -- just realized I posted this on the Harvard thread. Hope no one is offended by the broad generalizations. Maybe some current students can correct any misimpressions my son got during his whirlwind visit.</p>
<p>In defense of Chicago, you will receive the best overall education to be found in the United States if you attend that school. </p>
<p>Every student doesn't like being told what to take (hence Harvard's "core") but it, like many things, is good for you, and you can be assured that you won't be wasting your time. </p>
<p>"What he didn't like about Harvard: he didn't get the same sense of intellectual engagement, which surprised him. Maybe people were more involved in their extra curriculars. Some whiff of snobbery, but he might have gone in expecting to find it."
That is also true of my impression of Harvard.</p>
<p>The social life at Chicago revolves around intellectualism, while at Harvard it's very elitist.</p>
<p>I'm happy it's all getting worked out.</p>
<p>Sac, may I ask where your son ended up? His thoughts on Chicago and Harvard are pretty similar to my own.</p>
<p>corranged: well, I didn't want to get accused of being a troll, but...he's at Columbia. It had the core curriculum (with the intellectual discussion that involves) and urban location he liked about Chicago, but a social scene that seemed more exciting to him. Added pluses for him: family nearby (important, since he was going all the way across the country), and lots of jazz on campus and off. He made a choice that was very specific to who he is and his interests, and I believe that's the way it should be for everyone lucky enough to have difficult choices. He has said he's still curious about what it would have been like at Harvard. He's also said, and I agree, he probably would have liked just about every place he got in.</p>
<p>I would say UChicago. Harvard is so overratted. When you leave UChicago, you leave much smarter and be able to think and analyze much better than ur Harvard peers.</p>
<p>Overratted, huh? Like UChicago doesn't have its own rodent problems!</p>
<p>;)</p>
<p>lol. but they don't have Boston accents!</p>
<p>Virtually every applicant admitted to both Harvard and Chicago chooses Harvard.</p>
<p>I'm sure that's true. Harvard's a hard place to turn down.</p>
<p>My rationale: Harvard must be better because UChicago doesn't have... um... indoor beach volley ball courts! ;)</p>
<p>Thanks for sharing, Sac. I don't really have any first choice school, but--between you and me--it's pretty much Columbia. Your son and I seem to be on the same page, college-wise. I can only hope that I will have the opportunity to make a choice like the one he made! </p>
<p>Sorry for stealing the thread, temporarily. :)</p>
<p>Probaby 90% of those with the real world option (ie, cross admits) choose Harvard.</p>
<p>It would be extremely difficult to turn down Harvard. </p>
<p>...I might be attacked for this, but I'll say it anyway. The fact that turning down Harvard is so difficult made (makes) me a little scared of being accepted. Since I am more attracted to the educational/intellectual atmosphere of a school like Columbia than to that of Harvard, it would make sense for me to choose it. But, I'm not sure if I would be capable of turning down an offer from Harvard. (Harvard, of course, has its own legitimate advantages.)</p>
<p>Well, that's the end of my little confessional. :)</p>