There is no getting around the fact that Chicago is a city, but Hyde Park itself is very much a bedroom/university bubble. There are many blocks that are quiet and residential, and everything revolves around the university and hospital. The commercial/shopping areas are very manageable and easy to access.
The college has invested in resources to make it easier for students to access the Loop and North Side, but generally speaking I honestly think UChicago would be a bigger problem for a student who is craving a bustling urban setting than for one who is unsure about it.
Based on my son’s experience at a LAC, that thankfully does offer graduate classes/degrees in STEM, if you are already that advanced in math and are a highly motivated student, you will run out of undergraduate math courses quickly and will need graduate level courses.
My son coming from a public high school did not start off even as advanced as you are, but has been like a kid in a candy store taking as many math courses as he can fit into his schedule. He has just enrolled in a graduate math course for fall of his junior year. Without the availability of graduate courses, he would be left hoping each semester that an undergraduate math elective which he had not already completed would be offered. He is currently in a 3 student advanced undergraduate elective which a professor was persuaded to teach, but that would really be a tough way to get math courses for over half his time at college.
My advice is to make sure you are at a university offering graduate courses that would preferably count towards a future Masters or PhD.
Hi! Apologies for the late response. I ended up choosing Kenyon! They offered me a scholarship and paid international summer school (like the Budapest Semester in Mathematics) but they also offered for me to do a unique-to-me dual degree BA/MA program with perhaps UPenn so that I would be able to get graduate education in the specific field of math I wish to go into. Kenyon College and their counsellors have been incredibly helpful and accommodating, and the director of admissions has even reached out to me in order to look into getting a more generous financial aid package.
Regarding EPFL in Switzerland: Do you have proficiency or fluency in French ?
For math: U Chicago followed by EPFL (although possible language barrier) then U Mass-Amherst. Connections made at U Chicago would be quite valuable in any field related to math.
Will be interesting to read how you feel about your decision in a year.
Did you visit EPFL ? One of the most beautiful locations in the world.
For EPFL you do not, as long as you’re willing to go early to start intensive French classes during the summer. Also I don’t have the money to visit EPFL in Switzerland lol. I can’t even afford domestic flights normally.
