I am an AA junior and have only visited Northwestern and UChicago so far. Northwestern was great, but after seeing UChicago, it couldn’t come close to hail. The gothic architecture style, the housing system, the research opportunities in the medical sciences, the tradition and entertainment—it’s all too great! Tbh, I don’t want to be the guy who applies to a lot of Ivies just because they show as top schools on a mere Google search.
So, what schools, based on my preferences for UChicago, are comparable as alternatives?
Rice University also has a residential college system similar to the house system at University of Chicago, is located right next to the Houston Medical Center and has many research opportunities in the medical sciences. It’s architecture is not gothic, but it is also a beautiful campus. The weather is a lot warmer in Houston than Chicago. https://www.rice.edu
@Houston1021 Rice seems like an amazing school. Sadly, I don’t think my parents will let me go that far out for college, especially since I live in Ohio. Anything in the NE/MW?
I thought Carnegie Mellon had a similar quirky intellectual vibe and urban location. Architecture isn’t necessarily gothic but some of it is interesting.
Swarthmore might be one to research – known for intensity of its academic experience and a beautiful campus which is a commuter rail ride to center Philadelphia.
WashU might be similar to Chicago in terms of what you are looking for. Similar architecture, Top-5 medical schools, and strong in the Biological sciences.
Vanderbilt is another similar school (highly ranked, interesting architecture, top rated medical school and biology program). And Nashville is an interesting city with a thriving music scene.
Hands down WashU. We visited both all the schools you mentioned (we live in Chicago) and my son and I immediately thought it looked /felt like University of Chicago. Student’s that apply to WashU usually have Northwestern and UChicago on their list… Similar type of students.
Agree that WashU and Chicago students are similar. OP can’t go wrong with applying to any of the schools. Perhaps the only difference is in the sports program since NW is D1 playing in a major sports conference (Big-10) and the other schools are D3.
One of my son’s friends at WashU is a UChicago double legacy (both parents) and went to high school at UChicago Lab and lived 20 minutes from Hyde Park. Why he opted for WashU nobody knows…
@Hamurtle not hard to figure out. He wanted to go away to school and not live so close to his parents… Lol… If you went to the Lab school would you want to stay home and go to UChicago no matter how great it is?
Case Western has much more modern architecture blended with classical, and has very top medical research with Cleveland Clinic available to undergrads. It has similar big city amenities close by, top art museum and Cleveland Orchestra is only beat by Chicago Symphony for excellence. Many Case Western professors got their education at U of Chicago. Cleveland is up and coming, great for sports, art, music, dancing, downtown is smaller, and its more east coast feel than midwestern, but friendly and smaller than Chicago.
Do your research…some schools have their big med school hospital in the middle of campus (e.g. Vanderbilt). Others have it nearby. And others have it hours away ( Cornell).
Notre Dame has the architecture & house system you like, but with a very different vibe. Alas, no med school attached to it.
Duke has the gothic architecture & a big medical center nearby.
Michigan has all sorts of architecture, honors housing , and a humongous medical complex nearby.
U of Rochester has a serious vibe to it & a
Hospital adjacent.
Unless OP is a Canadian citizen/permanent resident I would not consider University of Toronto or any Canadian school a viable option for pre-med/medical school.
Also Toronto is notorious for grade deflation supposedly.
I agree that Rice would offer a great deal of what appeals to you about U Chicago–though the architectural vibe is more Mediterranean than Gothic, and the social vibe is rather more relaxed and laid back than is Chicago’s. Houston is also an easily accessible airline hub, with two major airports.
Wash U offers a similar–if slightly more fratty–feel, and St. Louis is obviously closer to Ohio than is Houston.
Among LACs, Ohio’s own Kenyon College has a good reputation and boasts some of the oldest collegiate gothic architecture in the nation, but it is a good bit preppier than Chicago or Rice. Sewanee, located in a truly rural region of Tennessee, features a stunningly beautiful Gothic campus and some interesting traditions, but its preppy culture and Southern High Church Anglican tenor might not be to your liking.
The LAC most often likened to U Chicago is Swarthmore, less for the campus look than for the noted academic intensity and intellectual focus. The famous Chicago quip is that the school is “Where fun goes to die.” The corresponding Swarthmore quip is “Anywhere else it would have been an A.”
College of Wooster might be worth looking at as an LAC with a strong emphasis on the sciences. And the architecture is similar to WashU/Chicago.
Sewanee shouldn’t be considered-don’t really associate the school with the sciences and an AA male might be put off by the ‘Southern gentleman’ traditions as a lot of the rituals date from the Confederacy and there is a strong association with the Lost Cause with that particular school.