<p>I'm looking into UChicago, but it doesn't seem like the place for student government/leadership types to go to college? Is this just my perception or are there outgoing and sociable people at Chicago?</p>
<p>There are certainly lots of outgoing and sociable people.</p>
<p>I don't know what you mean by "student government types." The U of C isn't Georgetown, but there are people here interested in government and politics. I think that parts of the Core (hum, sosc, and civ) would really help someone interested in politics gain a broad understanding that can serve as a foundation of study.</p>
<p>Yeah, lead in theory. The best way to do it.</p>
<p>he's not talking about politics, he's talking about the outgoing overachievers/future leaders of tomorrow types of kids. and yes, there are plenty of those around, as there will be at any elite college. the reputation of uchicago as a school for introverted nerds with little social skills was relatively true back in the 80s and 90s, but trust me, things have changed since then. the student population has gone more mainstream, and each successive year has seen more and more socially adept, outgoing people. of course there are some people who never leave their rooms and only like to talk about physics, but that isnt the majority.</p>
<p>intellectual leaders!</p>
<p>introverted nerds!</p>
<p>You're kidding yourself if you think there are actually schools that are going to be better or worse for "leadership types." As for "outgoing/sociable," what everybody else said - we have them.</p>
<p>I might be out of my mind, but I've been looking at Claremont Mckenna and it seems as though they try to admit "outgoing/leaders" because thats the premise of the college...</p>
<p>I was just wondering if U.Chicago was more about educating "introverted nerds" (not my words) and socially inept geniuses. I'm pretty smart, but I don't want to spend 4 years with other students who cannot fathom the thought of meeting new people or having ambition/taking charge.</p>
<p>Don't worry about it. Admissions is getting more outgoing students every year, it seems. My friends are fun and outgoing, and we like to laugh, go out, and have a good time. There are some people here who are pretty socially inept, but they aren't the only people here. If you don't like going out and would rather play video games with your friends and leave the room as infrequently as possible, then you can find people who want to do that with you. If you want to party several nights a week, then you'll meet a lot of people doing the same thing. If you spend most of your time on Mock Trial or in another group, then there are tons of people who do that, too.</p>
<p>Noooooo....i want socially inept geniuses around me! </p>
<p>but seriously. skyhawk. if this is a side concern <em>that is you fit the typical chicago-ian mentality but also want a sociable group of people around you</em> then there's nothing to worry about.</p>
<p>No, the people around here are some of the most motivated people I have ever seen. For what most students pay to come here, it's hard NOT to feel pressured to succeed/achieve/take charge. People here want to become successful doctors/lawyers/politicians etc. and are incredibly driven to do it, but again - this is a pretty common feature to all elite schools. GWU, Northwestern, Tufts and such are probably even more in line with what you're looking for (based only on my impressions visiting and what friends who go there say).</p>
<p>Have you visited? Try doing an overnight or at least talking to a bunch of students, it should help you get a better feel for the geist on campus.</p>
<p>Skyhawk:</p>
<p>I know a kid at the UC. He's a junior Olympian, professional actor, and prom king. He's also a debater, award-winning writer, and finalist in the Federal Reserve Challenge in macroeconomics.</p>
<p>Nerd? Nope. Leader? By most definitions, yes. Intensely interested in the life of the mind? Yep. That's the common denominator.</p>
<p>CMC prides itself on being a sort of pre-professional school. UC prides itself on being intensely intellectual. That's the difference in a nutshell, other than geography, weather, and the number of Nobel Laureates hanging around.</p>
<p>Tufts seems like a/the place for you.</p>
<p>ambition/taking charge? In my opinion you have to have MORE ambition to go to U of C. With Harvard, Yale, etc., the challenge is getting in. But at U of C, you are putting yourself through what may be the most intense undergrad experience in the country.</p>
<p>Why Tufts?</p>
<p>Not to bash tufts, but i've just heard about their low endowment, and mediocre academics? something i'm missing?</p>
<p>Tufts has one of the top 30 endowments in the country; granted, it's just over 1 billion dollars, but only 30-odd schools have broken the billion-dollar mark. However, it is still a school that emphasizes undergraduate education (what with its "liberal arts" school feel in a "research university setting") so undergrads get a lot of money for research, travel, projects, etc. I don't know where you heard about "mediocre academics" but that's ridiculous. First of all, that's a blanket statement, and probably doesn't apply to any of the top 30, even top 50 schools in the country. It certainly doesn't apply to Tufts. Tufts students are all in the top of their h.s. classes and are most directly comparable with the kinds of students that end up at Northwestern, Georgetown, JHU, and, yes, even UChicago.</p>
<p>So, one of my relatives is about 5 years older than a sibling. He attended a top Ivy. His sib attended school at a much lower ranked regional U. He decided to check out the school, audited some classes, reviewed the textbooks, looked at the tests. His conclusion, it was nearly identical to what he experienced. No real difference in the "academics." This is no criticism of the Ivy, it is merely to say that the level of academics can be quite good at many many schools, and I wish folks would not be so judgmental without having directly compared settings themselves. (Personal side: the very best year, academically, for me, was a year I spent at a community college! And, I don't mean grades.)</p>
<p>Tufts aint got nothin.</p>
<p>Wow, your mature, well-founded rationale astounds me.</p>
<p>You know, it surprises me that UChicago students would act like this when I feel schools like Tufts, Northwestern, UChicago, JHU, Georgetown, Emory, and the like are all in the same boat. Our educations at these remarkable institutions are often underrated when compared to the educations our peers (some who, yes, maybe did better on their SATs and were maybe #1 or 2 in our classes as opposed to #3 or 4) at the Ivies, Stanford, and MIT receive.</p>
<p>If students at UChicago are as convinced as you are that your school trumps all others, and that you're simply not comparable to the schools I listed above, then I'm glad I said no to UChicago.</p>
<p>Calm down everyone! Tufts and UChicago are both remarkable schools and people in our family have selected both of them over Ivies and Stanford. I do think they do have different approaches, and those differences are relevant to this discussion. Chicago prides itself on pure academic interests--theory more than practice--while Tufts wants its students to use what they know in the local and world communities, what they call active citizenship. I think both approaches are great--one suited to some kids and the other suited to others.</p>