Are the larger numbers of professionally inclined students the University is now attracting happy with the outcomes?
I have a couple of friends who are upperclassmen. From my sampling, I know of internships at the following places: Goldman Sachs IB, Bain Consulting, Credit Suisse IB, FBI, Congressional intern. Most of those I know were happy with the process.
D is just starting her search now that they are popping up in Handshake. T-Giving Break = internship search time! BTW, by not sure what “professionally-inclined” means LOL. Academic, gov’t or research careers are professional careers too!
@JBStillFlying - I take more “professionally-inclined” to mean “less academic” or “less scholarly.” In principle, it probably means that such students might be less inclined to conduct academic and scholarly research and more inclined to get professional training in such fields as business, law, medicine, or engineering. In actuality, it probably means that they aren’t studying the humanities 
@LoveTheBard - Are the art history kids not eligible for museum and gallery internships during the summer? Do the Lit or philosophy majors not apply to law firms, PR or advocacy organizations? Can’t a foreign language major apply for translation or similar work? Having a hard time thinking these are anything but “professional”. In contrast, pre-med, STEM, economics, and other non-humanities interests could easily lead to a research position for a summer.
A good majority of UChicago College grads headed out to the work force even way back when so nothing new there. However, the Careers-In program, relatively new, is probably what OP is implying. Most of those kids are going to be looking purposefully for paid internships with prominent corporations and organizations and so forth. I wouldn’t call those kids “less academic” or “less scholarly” esp. if they’ve been taking honors and/or have a high GPA 
@JBStillFlying - My guess (a semi-educated one as my D is an art history major) is that there are many fewer museum and gallery internships out there than there are in the business world or in laboratory sciences. Many of the museum internships are restricted to grad students and/or have residential / geographic constraints, and paid internships are rare, with funding, when available, often coming from schools or foundation grants.
I think that higher education has linked itself more with professional training – likely as a result of the cost of obtaining an undergraduate degree and the concern about needing a proper “return on investment.” There are few people out there that continue to view a college education as an end in itself, and fewer still that are concerned about “the life of the mind.”
“My guess (a semi-educated one as my D is an art history major) is that there are many fewer museum and gallery internships out there than there are in the business world or in laboratory sciences.”
- Those were examples but they weren't exhaustive. Our local art museum actually does provide internships to upper division undergraduates, but that might not be standard practice.
“Many of the museum internships are restricted to grad students and/or have residential / geographic constraints, and paid internships are rare, with funding, when available, often coming from schools or foundation grants.”
- that might be true, but what does that have to do with it not being a PROFESSIONAL internship? One area to look, of course, is to see what's offered through UChicago itself, via Metcalf or other. Some of these will require an independent search as well.
My daughter worked in a museum last summer (unpaid) as well as had a part-time job. There are many ways to make a museum job work.
"I think that higher education has linked itself more with professional training – likely as a result of the cost of obtaining an undergraduate degree and the concern about needing a proper “return on investment.”
- Do you mean some professional work is preferred over others? That's surely true. But that doesn't mean that 1) only certain internships provide "training" and 2) only certain internships are "professional". they are ALL professional and they ALL provide training. That's why they are called "internships".
Also, not sure how something like K-12 teaching would fit into your understanding of “professional” and “training”. Last time I checked about 15% of graduates entered this industry, and Teach for America has always been prominently mentioned as a first career option upon graduation.
"There are few people out there that continue to view a college education as an end in itself, and fewer still that are concerned about “the life of the mind.” "
- Shh - don't tell Dean Nondorf LOL. BTW, if this is were even remotely representative of UChicago or those who might have been attracted to the place, I'd be very happy for my S19. He'd love to have better odds!
I think @LoveTheBard has the elements backwards. It’s hard to disagree with the statement that few people view a college education as an end in itself. Kids want to become adults and productive members of society; they want sustainable lives that don’t depend on their parents. College is a gateway to that. I’m sure that all but a handful of kids think beyond merely getting their diplomas.
However, I disagree vehemently that “fewer still” are concerned with the life of the mind. There is nothing inconsistent with caring about a sustainable adult life after college and caring about the life of the mind. My kids, and 100% of their friends, alumni of Chicago and elsewhere, care a lot about both, and certainly did when they were in college and when they were choosing colleges. I did too, in my day, and so did almost everyone I knew. And all of us still do.
@LoveTheBard 's moniker makes me think that she has not given up on the Life of the Mind. Rhetorical overstatement is a vice that many of us have, including the Bard himself. However, I would join her in preferring to retire the phrase, which is stale and pompous, though denotatively useful.
In any college the kids are trying to discover and cultivate their powers in order to make a life. A study of “the best that has been thought and said” - another dusty old phrase - is one way to do this, especially at the University of Chicago. One wants to develop into a true thinking, considering, articulate human being, and ultimately to use these powers in the world. Those powers aren’t developed in a vacuum. There are techniques, there is a history, there are aspirational exemplars. I and my group of friends at the U of C all eventually became professionals, but during those college years the culture and requirements of the place itself were the true dominant factors. One knows it will come to an end, but for the time being it is so much the main event that one could almost call it “an end in itself”. Let’s say that it’s a stage on the journey, possibly the most important one. Better not to look too far ahead else you will lose your focus and stumble. Stay in that unique moment - it won’t come again.
The experiences of different kids at different times will vary. However, I doubt that few kids ever going through the Chicago core will quite resist the culture, thought and knowledge imbibed in that process. You can’t help spending the rest of your life thinking in those terms and even using that thought in professions that seem remote from anything as esoteric as these old college studies. Nearing the end of a lifetime in harness, working, paying mortgages, raising kids and the rest of it, I and my friends can’t quite stop quoting - perhaps misquoting - Aristotle, Weber and the gang. And as for the Bard himself, first read really seriously In Norman Maclean’s “Shakespeare” class, I have never managed to get that peculiar expressiveness and those pictures of human life out of my head. They keep cropping up everywhere, sometimes even in the dramatis personae of this board. The Bard too has his uses.
One can live an honourable life without knowing or thinking about the classic writers, artists and thinkers, but one shouldn’t attend the University of Chicago and expect to come away without acquiring an itch to do that that will take a lifetime to scratch.
Daughter is a second year comp sci major. Completed summer internship in IT infrastructure at a fortune 100 manufacturing company and continues to work remotely during school year for 10 hrs/week. Didn’t seek the job through handshake, though the hiring manager was a Chicago alum. Delighted by the experience, felt like she was well respected for navigating the rigor of UChicago, relied upon like a seasoned employee, compensated well. Hoping the rest of her professional life is as positive as this experience.
Apologies for the sloppy use of the term professionally inclined. Of course all are professional endeavors. I had in mind students aiming for finance or consulting where some firms have a history of designating schools as core or target. To those who replied with their anecdotes…thank you. I too am hearing reports that the interest in UChicago kids is robust.
One more thought to share…this might be a Boston/New York phenomenon but the timeframe for summer internship application was surprisingly early. Most companies were soliciting applications in Sept/Oct, interview before Christmas, offer shortly thereafter.
It was crazy this year for big company finance with applications and offers for junior summer before sophomore summer began for some special invites. The rest followed with summer applications, interviews and done by late September/early October. I think big 3 consulting offers went out the last couple of weeks. I don’t believe this was just Boston/New York as there were a few flights to and fro the west coast too. Of course there are other firms with different timelines. IMO at some point where the big firms go the smaller ones will tend to follow before candidates get locked up.
@RelocatedYankee so your daughter had an internship after her freshman/first year? My daughter is a comp sci major also, (so far) and is concerned about landing an internship when she has only had core courses so far. Did your daughter take any of her major courses early? Just wondering how she would be qualified, or if the internships train enough that it is okay not to have a lot of undergraduate level computer courses. Any feedback would be very appreciated!
Yes she did have the internship after her first year. She had completed the Comp Sci introductory series (i.e. through 154) her first year. She felt like 154 prepared her very well for the internship and she was fortunate to have hefty on the job training. Now of course, she has the added benefit of having a better sense of which programming languages and systems courses make sense for her as she advances through the major.
@uchicagomom In my opinion, Chicago is one of the most heavily recruited schools on the street. UChicago places particularly well into Elite Boutiques like PJT, Evercore, Lazard. I graduated this past year, and while I don’t work in finance, I did accept an offer at a top consulting firm - so finance recruiting is an area I’m somewhat familiar with. That said, I do think the path into finance is a lot easier coming from Chicago than into consulting - Northwestern seems to be more heavily recruited for consulting, but that wouldn’t stop a driven and motivated student from getting an offer anyways. As always, job outcomes depend primarily on the student, not the institution.
Tonight, My D is was offered an excellent marketing internship in the Chicago area. Full time, great pay, etc. Surprisingly, she informed me that she has two additional organizations she’s planning to hear back from next week and wants to put off this first employer for a week or two. Nice to have choices! I believe the other two are Metcalf - less pay but she would actually enjoy the work more. I guess that’s what counts. She’ll stay with relatives so housing is taken care of.
Nice to know that UChicago has these opportunities for the students! She has enjoyed interviewing and figuring out what she really wants to pursue.