<p>I'm currently studying at Columbia, but I have a certain inclination to transfer to Chicago, some people say I should think twice before making the decision, you know, U of C is famous for being "not so fun" (like I give a damn). The thing is that I'm really impressed with the people I've met from U of C. They are the proudest people on earth, they all have a certain kind of school pride that I find unique, they are very much into study and they speak with so much passion about U of C, that you won't even find in HYP kids (and I've met many, for obvious location reasons)
Do you ever regret your choice? Did you ever considered, for instance Columbia, and chose Chicago over it? Explain why</p>
<p>ur already at a fabulous institution. Transfering is just gonna take time, and if you do get accepted and get all happy and go to chicago, u might not like it there. What are u studying at Columbia? I just say to stay where u are because ur right in the heart of NYC</p>
<p>I'm studying middle eastern studies. I don't know, maybe my chicago friends exagerate the differences, but hey say that "Chicago has an academic atmosphere that Columbia doesn't have" Do you think it's true or are they just showing off</p>
<p>Visit the campus, sit in on some classes, talk to some profs (if you can). See for yourself! If you love it, and your willing to go through all that effort for it, then go for it! If not, then at least you've taken a trip to Chicago, the greatest city on earth (I swear I'm not biased).</p>
<p>Given your interests, if you decide to visit, make sure you drop by the Oriental Institute. <a href="http://oi.uchicago.edu/OI/default.html%5B/url%5D">http://oi.uchicago.edu/OI/default.html</a> It should make the trip worthwhile regardless of your ultimate decision.</p>
<p>Unless you are unhappy at Columbia, I would stay-agree that it is not worth the disruption to transfer from one top school to another. You can go to Chicago for graduate school. My top choices way back when were Barnard and Chicago. I dropped the Barnard application, and applied to Chicago ED. But, location-wise, Barnard was far better for me, so I do regret not seeing it through.</p>
<p>I was a transfer to U of C (majoring in poly sci and eventually getting an MBA in finance) and loved it! However, I agree with the advice of several posters that transferring from one top college/university to another should be based on one's own compelling reasons to transfer (such as a strong major in your field being demonstrably better than at one's current school or significant unhappiness with one's current school compared to the greener grass at the prospect school.)</p>
<p>Columbia and U of C by reputation of their academic emphases and by their location in two "world class" cities are often noted as being very similar so the argument for transfer from one to the other becomes even more problematic.</p>
<p>If you do still want to consider transferring, I echo the "be sure to visit U of C" as well.</p>
<p>if you apply you can always choose not to go... why not what can it hurt... if you still are curious when you get your acceptance letter, visit & make your choice then... good luck</p>
<p>Personally, I'm kind of uncomfortable with the idea of applying before choosing. First of all, you have to pay the fee, and second, you still have to go to a deal of effort for it (and make other people go through a deal of effort). It's excusable when applying for freshman admissions because you need to apply to a large range of schools and I suppose it's "emotional security" not to become to attached before you know if you'll be accepted. But if you have no need to transfer, but think you might prefer another school, than it's pretty pointless to apply before you've made up your mind.</p>
<p>yeah, could be, maybe I was exagerating, maybe I can still consider Chicago for later. It's not that I'm unconfortable here, but rather that I feel like there are so many institutions I would like to be part of one day (I wanna be an academic), and Uchi is one of them. I knd of wonder whether I would also feel like transfering to Columbia had I been attending Chicago. It's like the curiosity for the road not taken. And also what happens is that when you discover that your institution, however good it may be, has some flaws, you begin to idealize other places that seem perfect, and UChi sounds like close to perfection in many aspects. But well, I'm not there to judge whether it may also have weak points</p>