<p>I loveeee U Chicago and the city of Chicago - beautiful campus, pretty close but not directly in the city scattered throughout the city like other city schools, how diverse in opinions everyone is and open minded (not leaning one way), how much they care about discussing ideas and learning and discovery (and academics come first but it is still fun!!), great career services, lots of student involvement, etc.
But I'm from IL and I want to be further and experience new things and new cities. I've heard Boston College is like it with its proximity to Boston, except less diverse bc its white catholic rich kids. Any suggestions would be nice -schools like UChicago's experience, but a different place.</p>
<p>Penn in Phili
Drexel in Phili
Columbia in NYC
Emory in Atlanta</p>
<p>JHU in Baltimore is very similar to University of Chicago. </p>
<p>Reed in Portland reminds me very much of the U of C of my adolescence, in terms of academic rigor and free thinking, quirky personalities - this may be outdated, I think its significantly less mainstream than the U of C of today.</p>
<p>And I second what @Lacoste said. Especially Columbia in NYC, being outside the city center and having a strong Core curriculum.</p>
<p>I would not include Drexel on that list. Curriculum is very skills and career oriented, my sophomore has not found many students interested in discussing ideas and learning and discovery. </p>
<p>Thanks!
Yes, I don’t believe Drexel is comparative, but Emory I think deserves a second look - I didn’t consider it because of its southern location.
I like Reed! Isn’t it mostly left leaning so I’m worried that people who aren’t as hippie radical (don’t know if that is the right word) as them wouldn’t fit in.
UPenn and JHU seems more competitive against your peers and a more cut throat culture, no? </p>
<p>More competitive than U of Chicago? No. All 3 are high achieving, expect to work very hard. JHU has that cutthroat reputation - I am unsure why, I think b/c pre-meds like to ■■■■■ about such things - but I’ve found the undergrads similarly serious/academic but less stressed than U of C. I think its the collaborative nature of all the engineers at JHU and their engagement with research off the undergrad campus. Penn is more social and less serious than either UofC or JHU. </p>
<p>UPenn also has a more preprofessional culture. You may like Brown.</p>
<p>Tulane University in New Orleans?</p>
<p>In some respects, the College of the University of Chicago is more like a LAC than a typical urban university. Only 5% of Chicago’s undergraduate classes have 50 or more students. Chicago has no engineering, nursing, business, or any other pre-professional majors. The campus is fairly compact (211 acres, compared to Penn’s 302 … or UIUC’s ~4600). Undergraduate professors are appointed to “The College” at large; awards are granted for quality undergraduate teaching. As at a number of LACs, relatively many Chicago alumni go on to earn PhDs in the arts and sciences. </p>
<p>So have a look at liberal arts colleges such as Reed, Swarthmore, Haverford, Carleton, and Macalester. </p>
<p>I would also recommend University of Rochester, Columbia, and Yale.</p>
<p>Personal observations:</p>
<p>JHU, although the main campus (Homewood) isn’t exactly in the Inner Harbor. That is, it’s not the best part of Baltimore - huge difference as soon as you step off campus. Heavy focus on graduate research and sciences. Possibly the most prestigious medical school in the world, at least according to the locals.</p>
<p>Georgetown, which like BC is a Jesuit school - technically Catholic, but quite willing to follow their conscience and challenge authority. Georgetown is pretty much the opposite of Johns Hopkins in many ways - located in a very wealthy area, and their most prestigious department is probably their School of Foreign Service.</p>
<p>Penn (to me) feels more like a giant version of JHU - but just taking over and spreading and crushing everything around it. They have their own term for it, the “Penntrification” of the neighborhood. Like JHU, when you step off campus, you’re in a pretty seedy area.</p>
<p>Agreed on Columbia, Yale and Reed College. Can Rice be comparable and considered?</p>
<p>Grinnnel? Not in a city so much, but the student intellectual culture is similar. .</p>
<p>The Claremont Colleges?</p>
<p>William&Mary?
Penn is overwhelmingly preprofessional compared to UChicago. Both are urban and very competitive.
Drexel has nothing in common with UChicago (type and caliber of students, vibe, campus…)</p>
<p>You seem more focused on the campus than on the thing that distinguishes U of Chicago from most other schools, which is the “life of the mind”. U of C has historically been a home for true intellectuals (a bit less so given recent changes in admissions, but still carries a strong flavor of that). The students who attend go for that – the setting is secondary for almost all of them. Yet your description is mostly about setting. Makes it hard to make a recommendation.</p>
<p>What about UCLA?</p>
<p>intparent - not at all, the intellectual curiosity and diversity of opinions and openness is what i love about it and want to find somewhere else
the location is nice (city, but not a city campus), but I’m looking for a school not in my home state and preferably not in the middle of nowhere
thanks for all the suggestions! some of already on my list or have been added!</p>