<p>My guidance counselor told two students in my class not to apply to the University of Chicago because the students there are "anti-society." </p>
<p>What the hell is that supposed to mean?</p>
<p>Is it true?</p>
<p>What the hell is that supposed to mean?</p>
<p>It means your guidance counselor is an idiot.</p>
<p>my guidance counselor loves UChicago :)</p>
<p>“It means your guidance counselor is an idiot.”</p>
<p>She’s a very nice lady, but I knew she was an idiot after I told her I was interested in colleges in Canada and she gave me a list of colleges in Georgia. </p>
<p>I can’t see Chicago being like that.</p>
<p>And I thought my guidance counselor was an idiot when he told me that UChicago might admit me in January after I was deferred, and I was like,“Yea…what the hell are you talking about.”</p>
<p>Do you attend some kind of religious school?</p>
<p>She could have meant either “anti-social”, or “nihilist left-wingers”, or some combination of the two. Either of which could have some grain of truth, but only by comparison with, in the first case, some massive party school, and in the second case Bob Jones or Oral Roberts. If, where you live, most students either choose state schools with sketchy academic reputations or hard-core Christian colleges, the comment might make about 5% sense.</p>
<p>My school is not religious. And the majority of students this year I’m guessing are hitting up the Ivy Leagues or top 20 schools. The two kids she told are “popular.” (that may have had something to do with it)</p>
<p>The only “religious” schools I can think of that people are attending are Notre Dame and BC (if those count as hardcore religious schools)</p>
<p>Raincoat - apply. If accepted go to the accepted students weekend and see for yourself. You can always change your mind.</p>
<p>I think the counselor meant “anti social.” That would make more sense.</p>
<p>I hope it’s a bit antisocial… I’m not the kind of person to party every night. Maybe a couple times a month, but not the typical college partying.</p>
<p>raincoat - she just meant to say “anti-social.” I disagree with some of the posters calling the guidance counselor out on this - if the students she was counseling happened to be the cheerleader/big into sports/school spirit type, it’s not really bad advice at all. Chicago’s not UGa or Texas when it comes to that stuff, nor is it even close to Duke or Stanford on that front. </p>
<p>On another note, for years, Chicago had a terrible reputation with a lot of guidance counselors all over the place. Chicago either just wasn’t known or was perceived very negatively because it was the antithesis of the classic preppy well-rounded stereotype of the American college student. From what I know, this situation has been changing DRASTICALLY in recent years.</p>
<p>I think I understand what she was trying to say. I think she meant “anti-society” in the sense that kids at UChicago do not follow the traditional mode of thought that most schools seek to employ. Instead Chicago students are willing to question what they are taught, or society, meaning what is factual, what is meant to be correct. She was not challenging the student body by calling them anti-social, but I think she was trying to speak about their quirks and unique ideas. I think, going with the extremity I picked up from her tone, a more appropriate word for what she was trying to say was maybe, “radical.”</p>
<p>Why she was saying this to your “popular students,” was maybe because she thought they would not fit in with the student body at Chicago, mainly because Chicago is filled with kids who are not only intelligent, but perseverant in their efforts to become individual minds. From what I have seen in High School is that it is less about the ideas and more about the process. So usually the type of kids who would succeed at UChicago are not the ones who succeed in high school because their ability has not been allowed to begin reaching its potential. It is the kids who will go on to work in business that are able to command the system in high school. They are the ones who figure out what they need to do to succeed, work only towards that and then go on to the high Ivy-League schools were they find others who agree directly with what they are trying to achieve. They care more about the reward, as you can say a Chicago student cares more about what they are doing and seeks no immediate reward other than a more positive self.</p>
<p>Why she phrased it so indignantly? I would assume she is someone who does not value the same things that are valued at Chicago. I would not call her an idiot, but I would say her bias as someone who is supposed to be a mentor was questionable.</p>
<p>Take it from someone who went there- do not apply. Your counselor is very wise.</p>
<p>Hi there IhateUofC… If you are very social, then it might not be the best school for you. But, if you aren’t interested in partying the typical college way, then you’ll be alright.</p>