<p>Hiya! I'm a junior extremely interested in applying to UChicago next fall, and I just have a couple of questions for current students/anyone who happens to know the answers:</p>
<p>How is the Theatre program at Chicago? Are there lots of performance opportunities?</p>
<p>Is it difficult to double-major (or concentrate? I don't entirely know the difference...) in something like, say, Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities (theatre/performance studies option) and Psychology? I like being busy, but would I have time to breathe?</p>
<p>Lastly: can you suggest any other schools that the average Chicago applicant looks at? So far, my tentative list is:</p>
<p>Chicago
Brown
Swarthmore
Wesleyan
Vassar
Oberlin</p>
<p>...and that's where I get lost. Any suggestions for similar schools that are perhaps a bit easier admissions-wise?? (In case it helps for the "where to look" thing, I have over 2200 on my SAT's, over 720 on all SATIIs, and a transcript I'm quite proud of. I won't bore you with my excessively long speil about EC's :) )</p>
<p>Some of these colleges are quite different from one another. My advice would be to visit and look carefully into what each is about. If you are interested in rigorous academics similar to Chicago and Swarthmore, you might consider Reed College, which might be a little easier admissions wise. If Brown is your thing, then Rice (though they have more requirements) may be of interest and they are expanding their undergrad enrollment. You may also want to look at Colorado College and Grinnell College if Wesleyan, Vassar, & Oberlin are on your list.</p>
<p>I actually asked my tour guide on double majoring and he winked and said good luck. It will be really tough, but is possible in four years if you work at it-although you need to take a fifth year (my advice here is to not step on the seal, then you're in there for 5 years no matter what). Summer is also a good time to get some extra classes in, I am told, if you live near chicago or stick around for a job, etc. But ANYTHING you do at chicago will be challenging, I think that's part of the reason why we all love it so much.</p>
<p>You can definitely double major in four years. It's easier if the majors have a couple courses that can count for both, but it's not necessary. You will have only have a few electives, probably. If you want to explore this more, check out the Courses and Programs of Study online <a href="http://collegecatalog.uchicago.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://collegecatalog.uchicago.edu/</a> and you can look at the number of courses each major requires, the number of core requirements, and compare that to the number of courses you can/will want to take here.</p>
<p>I'm not involved in theatre, but I think it's good. There are a lot of different shows at the end of quarters, and my friends involved in theatre seem to really enjoy it. </p>
<p>I would suggest looking at Carleton College, which is famed for small classes and fantastic professors. Brown and Chicago are very different, but if you like them both that's fine.</p>
<p>Hey I got into Chicago EA, and I am applying to Brown RD just for kicks, but both school's philosophies are very different (Chicago values their core, Brown tells you to do whatever you want). </p>
<p>I do have a question concerning majors--does Chicago also have minors? What percentage of students double major (At Penn, its a large percent, Princeton doesn't really allow it)</p>
<p>Minors are new at Chicago. Some departments offer minors, some don't. There aren't a lot of students now who take advantage of minors, but this will probably change in the future. I have no idea what percentage of students double major. I know people who are planning on double majoring. It's more difficult at Chicago because of all the core classes, but people definitely do it.</p>
<p>I may be mistaken, but I believe only one major is listed for graduation and on the official transcript even if one takes enough classes for two. One can only receive one BA/BS degree, however. My S is a humanities major and is also doing the pre-med thing, so that's kind of a double major. He has had no trouble fitting it all in.</p>
<p>idad, i was accepted EA to UChicago and i'm considering a similar path (or so it sounds...) to your son. i'd like to major in international relations and simultaneously fulfill all the pre-med requirements. i've considered a double major in Biochem, but i'm really not sure if it's worth it. does your son feel prepared for entry to med-school even though he's not technically majoring in a natural science? any advice? thanks.</p>
<p>From what I can tell, he does. He will not only have the pre-med requirements out of the way, but will have also taken a couple science electives. Many med students were humanities majors, so that is not an issue. He did attend a summer program where he did an entire year of chemistry in 8 weeks, and will be doing something similar this summer, only in the humanities. He will have enough courses to graduate at the end of his third year, but he plans on a 4th year of electives and fun. He belongs to the U of C chapter of the American Medical Students Association pre-med group. He has found that to be quite helpful.</p>
<p>Just the post I was looking for... OK first off, for those looking for an experience similar to University of Chicago I would reccomend Marlboro College in Vermont, St. Johns College in either it's Annapolis campus or Sante Fe campus, and also possibly Hampshire which is much like Amherst and is also in Amherst. As Idad suggested, I would totally reccomend Reed, it is sweeeet! (but not much easier to get in unfortunately. although they make and excelent point on admissions on their website). These four colleges I have listed are all from the book colleges that change lives. The website is good, but, until you read the book you do not know how cool and beneficial some of these smaller schools can be to you. The first twenty to thirty pages make a great argument against places like Brown and I would suggest it to anyone considering it. Yes, U of Chicago does have minors but theyre called supplements or something. There are *computational neuroscience, *creative writing, *Big Problems, *? a few others. Some departments are also deciding to make actuall minors ( such as slavic languages). and message to chriscap... GO FOR IT. Seriously its worth it. I will probably be majoring in Economics and Biochem. It will be difficult but once you have it done that one notch under your belt. At this school it isn't really about the grades, it is about the learning experience. A not-so-good grade (in the case of this school) just reflects your journey to comprehend. Good Luck! As the Director of Admissions says at Reed: No admission in to a school is made on accident, they chose you for a reason!</p>
<p>Actually, I would say that most of the schools on the OP's list are more like Brown than they are like the University of Chicago.</p>
<p>Also, no one has noted that there is no performance major at Chicago. Lots of opportunities to perform I believe, but they are through student groups.</p>
<p>I believe it may be easier for one inclined to the U of C environment to be happy at Brown than vice versa. One can form a Core on one's own at Brown, but if one is not so inclined, Chicago will still require it.</p>
<p>I applied to Medill and Chicago, which is very similar to applying to Brown because at both schools you get to chose where you want to concentrate. I want to go to Chicago because there I have every excuse to learn as much as possible about many different fields. In contrast, Medill would allow me to concetrate foremost on my writing and reporting. I think both schools will prepare me well for a career in journalism, but it will be tough decide which path is better, and I suspect students applying to Chicago and Brown are as conflicted as I.</p>
<p>Either way, you must be very dedicated to your academics to keep yourself focused at Brown, and you also must be very dedicated to keep yourself alive while fulfilling all of Chicago's core requirements.</p>
<p>theres no point, really, in worrying about your major now. almost no one leaves after following the same plan they made as a naive senior in high school. any double major is possible, yes, but that shouldnt affect your decision to come or not.</p>
<p>Princeton essentially does not allow double majors. They are a lot of extra work from what I know too--only to be done for those especially dedicated to it.</p>
<p>In fact, what advantages does a double major have over single majors when it comes to Med/Law/Grad school/Jobs?</p>