Everything that I seem to read describes this school as such an impossible workload where many seem to have no time to live their lives. it is made to seem as if it the workload is exponentially larger than the likes of Columbia, Harvard, etc. How true is all of this? I’d love to know from anyone with insight. It seems like an exaggeration to me, but, I wouldn’t necessarily know about its rigor myself.
It’s definitely not impossible. Most people find it at least somewhat hard, but in general people are also able to have “a life” (other commitments/activities/fun outside of schoolwork). Not sure if I can compare having only attended this school, but it seems to be similar to other schools you mentioned. I also think the reputation is a little bit exaggerated.
Since I am just a UChicago parent, I can only offer what I gathered over the years from parents with kids who have gone to schools such as Harvard, Columbia, Stanford, MIT, Caltech, Berkeley, Princeton, Yale, etc. In a nutshell,
In a nutshell, although UChicago is hard, if you got accepted, you should be able to handle the course load. I would not say it’s going to be easy. I would only put MIT, Caltech and Princeton in the same league in terms of academic difficulties. Harvard and Stanford would be relatively easy to get good grades. In UChicago, you have to work for it.
Good to know. Thanks
I do expect it to be far from easy. It will definitely be a lot of work but it seems to be worth it from what I can tell.
Quarter system can be unforgiving (though each course is a smaller % of your GPA). My perception (parent of a UofC first-year, Harvard undergrad, taught undergrads at Princeton and JHU) is that UChicago seems to have more classroom time and more frequent assessments, but considerably less reading, than the other schools I’m familiar with. I think grading is stricter at Chicago than I’ve seen elsewhere. (Not as much rounding up, discounting, benefit of the doubt). But there’s a serious caveat here which is that some – maybe all – of these differences could be accounted for by the fact that my UofC kid is science-oriented and my experience at all the other schools was predominantly humanities/social sciences. FWIW, the hum/soc sci courses my kid has taken at UofC fit the generalizations I’ve made, but I just don’t know how representative those particular courses are.
Re college workloads generally – depends on how many courses you take and which ones and who’s teaching them. Harvard gives you more time (and thus more info) to sort that out. Best strategy at UChicago may be to sign up for 4 courses and seriously consider dropping one by week 3 (or whenever the drop deadline is). And if you really want or need to take 4, don’t sign up for more than one exceptionally demanding course at a time.
Re time for things other than studying. My kid seems to find it (most weeks!), though doing so increases workload pressure. But I think a lot comes down to personality, priorities, how fast you are, and knowing your own limits – which is stuff most people are still sorting out in college.
((Re other comparisons. CalTech and MIT are pass/fail for the first year IIRC. Not sure where the perception that Princeton’s workload is heavier than Harvard’s comes from.))
This is from 2006, but I imagine that it hasn’t changed much.
Of note, in 2006, while Chicago had a 3.35 avg (according to the site), and this number represents a significant increase from a decade before, Chicago’s average gpa remains considerably more grounded than Harvard (3.45), Brown (3.59), Stanford (3.55), Pennsylvania (3.44), and Amherst (3.48).
My wife went to UChicago for undergrad. She said it was very difficult. Most classes were graded on curves, and the level of competition was intense. Many top students can breeze through the work. But there are some tough classes no doubt. Its definitely no cake-walk.
My son’s closest friends from HS go to MIT and Harvard. He has considerably more work than they do. A’s are harder to come by as well. Comparing similar math classes they all took 1st year his work at UChicago was much more theoretical and proof based. My son has had to totally drop activities some quarters when he ends up with too many time intensive classes. 2nd year has been better than 1st because he figured out how to balance his schedule more but depending on major there can be very little leeway on finding some easier classes.
Yeah our math major is amazing. The only one I know is that is comparable is Caltech - their required first year calc class is very similar to the 160s.
Interesting a that MIT wouldn’t be as hard and everyone knows that Harvard is an arrival school, once you arrive your don’t have to work hard anymore. At some point that will have to reflect on the college overall.
If UChicago really wants to compete with Stanford and Harvard, you just need to look at H and S average GPA, they have two grades, an A or a B. Just think what that does for your retention and graduation rate.
(never mind deleted - I really don’t feel like getting dragged into these arguments that just go on and on ad nauseum again)
I think UChicago should have 3 grades: A+,A,A-, 
BTW, I understand that at least in the Physical Sciences, profs hand out C’s and even D’s. Seems like an overkill to me. Also incents kids to stay away from tough classes.
It is quite difficult.
However, don’t kid yourself. All of the very top schools are rigorous, even the ones that people like to denigrate, like Harvard and Stanford. They may not be quite as relentless as Chicago, but they are difficult. The students there are very hardworking and successful, which is how they got in in the first place. That doesn’t just go away.
However, those students suffer from “Duck syndrome.” That is the pressure to look cool and confident, gliding across the water without a care in the world… while meanwhile below the surface you are paddling your little feet like crazy to keep up. Chicago students openly wallow in how hard they are working, while Stanford and Harvard students have to hide it from the world.
The problem here if I graduate from Stanford with a 3.8 or UChicago with a 3.4, are my outcomes the same, if not then UChicago is handicapping it’s grads.
The notion of thoughts that MIT is not hard is totally untrue. I have too many family members went there and they all feel the school is as hard as it can be. My niece was just graduated from MIT and she ended up a depression from the school work and gave up the medical school dream. Also, I have a kid, used to be a top student in a NJ top school, drop out of Harvard in her 4th year due to academics, that indicates Harvard is not a easy ride either.
If you want to do well in any school and be competitive, you have to work hard anywhere, there is no free lunch.
@CU123 as far as jobs go - probably not. As far as professional grad school goes . . . maybe. Depends on what the outcomes reports for both schools are saying for med school, law school, etc. One advantage of graduating from UChicago is that it definitely gives you a leg up on being admitted to a UChicago. grad. program. No data, but a lot of strong anecdotal evidence on that. As far as PhD programs, your kid would be fine with either school.