<p>45percenter:</p>
<p>Absolutely, UChicago used to have a “quirkier” culture and, as I noted, is now probably converging with other schools.</p>
<p>As all the top schools grow more homogeneous, the cultures will converge a bit. It’s more a case now of having different flavors rather than distinct entities. </p>
<p>At the same time, there are probably subjective distinctions that people find ring true to some degree - Swarthmore and UChicago have similarities, as do Williams and Dartmouth, and Penn and Duke, or Brown and Wesleyan. </p>
<p>Certainly, if a student is worried about “rich snobs” the statistics tend to show they are about as prevalent at Penn or Duke or wherever. As the income is about the same everywhere, the cultures then become more prevalent. Penn is certainly more similar to a bulk of the other schools than UChicago is (at this point - although this may change 5-6 years down the line).</p>
<p>At the same time, there are probably distinctions and different feels at say, Penn vs. Brown or Wesleyan vs. Penn. Ultimately, I think all of these schools have different flavors. They may not be as pronounced as the difference say, between UChicago and Wharton when I was in Hyde Park in the 90s, but they’re still there. </p>
<p>I tend to agree with JHS in that, if a student wants an atmosphere where conspicuous consumption is frowned upon, UChicago or Swarthmore may be more on one end of the spectrum, while Penn (from what I’ve observed) and some other schools may be on the other end.</p>
<p>The applicant just needs to keep in mind that the “spectrum” is growing narrower and narrower all the time.</p>