<p>I agree, I just visited and attended 3 classes, Honors Calculus, Art History since 1960 and the medium physics. Even in art history which should be really easy to make a good comment, noone said anything, the math class had 2 kids out of 20 who actually did anything productive and the physics class, while really good, no student in the class could attempt the problems the professor gave out and he had to spell it out for them. The people were quite wierd for the most part, in the dorm you had to be pro at super mario kart and soul calibur to be cool, there was an hour long discussion at dinner over whether super smash brothers was better then metroid prime. Overall the people seemed underqualified and strange. I really liked the departments though but I'm worried about the other stuff, the few normal people i met said not to go there and that they were the minority.</p>
<p>"Even in art history." Why "even?"</p>
<p>"The people were quite wierd for the most part, in the dorm you had to be pro at super mario kart and soul calibur to be cool, there was an hour long discussion at dinner over whether super smash brothers was better then metroid prime."</p>
<p>I have to say--that's actually kind of frightening. </p>
<p>I'm still hanging on to the hope that when I get there, I'll find other people like myself.</p>
<p>sarahbara-aren't you staying in snell? just curious. i had quite the bad experience visiting snell...</p>
<p>...art history is pretty simple compared to the other two and I would expect someone to say something. It's a hobby for me and I could have said more than they did if the class visit sheet did not explicitly say do not participate in classes while visiting.</p>
<p>I don't like that either. My daughter participated in classes at other schools. The professors actually solicited her participation. She visited an upper-level biology class at Chicago, and the professor asked her if she could follow his lecture and if they had touched on the material at her high school. She felt very good about her AP Bio class, because her teacher had covered the material in some depth, and she could sort of follow the class.</p>
<p>There's no point in my responding to the art history point, but yes caths500, I hope to have a single in Snell. I really want a single in an older dorm in the center of campus with Bartlett as my dining hall. As for friends etc., I don't plan on letting my dorm dictate my social life (just as I don't let my current apartment building dictate it), so I'm pretty indifferent to how social it is. Thanks for the warning though.</p>
<p>If two kids visit the same school, it could be because one of them had a bad host and happened to meet a skewed sample of kids (when there are hundreds of visitors, that has to be true of some). But it's more likely that the two kids saw similar things and interpreted them in completely different ways. One kid's raging kegger is another's slow night; one kid's unpretentious banter is another's pointless talk about video games.</p>
<p>And that's the point of the visit. Someone who's perfect for Penn probably ought to find UC pretty quiet.</p>
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<p>if they're so "nerdy" then why isn't their "nerdiness" reflected in their scores/etc.? </p>
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<p>Because nerdiness is an outlook, not a measure of brains. It has to do with your feelings about academic work and the role you want it to play in your life. The nerdier of two people is not necessarily the smarter.</p>
<p>Its funny, but the term 'scholarly' is rarely used these days. However, it is a positive description of those who may be a little introverted, and more interested in pursuing knowledge than 'fun' in the conventional sense. Not normal. However, I wonder how many of the Nobel Award winners would be classed as normal. You can't be all things to all people.</p>
<p>Scores do not necessarily reflect "smartness." This is why Chicago does not overly rely on them. They find that they get the really smart ones by looking at their essays, recommendations, and accomplishments. They then advertise a curriculum that is arguably the most intensive in the country, which itself causes a real self-selection. I know first hand students with very high scores who did not apply to Chicago because the felt it would be too difficult. It takes a special caliber of student to accept the Chicago academic challenge.</p>
<p>I'm really sorry that you had a bad experience here at U of C, and I'm sorry to anyone who's had a bad experience anywhere. But it really, truly just sounds like bad luck. My friends and I watched as the prospies flooded campus last week. We could spot the one or two who weren't having a good time (frankly, they were consistently frat/sorority/preppy type people), but everyone else was visibly thrilled with his or her experience. I heard nothing but rave reviews, and the same was the case when I myself was a prospie. I'm sorry people in Snitchcock wouldn't sign you in, as I'm sure it was an inconvenience, but a) they're known for being very insular and b) it's really not safe to sign people you don't know into the building, for what I think are obvious practical reasons. As for the physics and math classes you attended (or I might be confusing you with someone else; if so, I apologize), you should understand that the math and science classes here function a little differently than in high school. There's a LOT of material to cover in a very short period of time, and it's often very difficult. So usually people try to follow along in class, but don't ask questions unless they're short, and then they clarify the ideas they picked up in problem sets that meet other times during the week, or during the professor's office hours when time is less limited. As for the students who seemed disinterested, chalk it up to random bad luck, because everyone I know is fiery.</p>
<p>eve3555: Very nicely said. My S was one of those who had a great time and very much enjoyed his overnight stay and the 3 classes he attended. We just returned from a visit to another school as well that has been mentioned as being a viable and more fun alternative to Chicago, and the social experience was quite the opposite, though he did like the professors.</p>
<p>looking back on my visit, even though i hated it, i know why i hated it, i also saw a very small cross section of the chicago students, despite what i said i am pretty ssure i am going.</p>
<p>What major are you thinking of, bubbloy_two?</p>
<p>to all those who have posted--i wanted to say i had an excellent host because she was a close friend of mine from home. both of us debated, and that is how we were aquainted. anyhow, i don't think that it was that bad of luck seeing as i spent about two days there and met a TON of kids. it was just a trend--that's all i'm saying. and again, it wasn't a bad experience necessarily, just not what i was expecting from chicago. and by the way, i don't look too dangerous, eve3555, but who knows, maybe i was having a bad hair day :)
oh and i additionally wanted to add that i definitely believe that intelligence and motivation is reflected by things such as GPA. SAT etc. probably not, but definitely GPA. as for the "academic challenge" at U of C, i don't think it really exisits anymore. i know freshmen there who work less than people i know at other schools. the core requires math/science stuff but if that's not your thing, intro courses are rediculously easy for people to get A's in, so it's not that hard.</p>
<p>Seems to me Einstein had quite the GPA.</p>
<p>bubbloy -- LOL. Well good luck to you. Perhaps your contribution can be to liven up those Art History classes (or whatever classes you end up taking)!</p>
<p>From a biography of Einstein: "During his school years he showed no special aptitude because of his dislike for rigid methods of instruction, and he was cited by school officials as being disruptive. Einstein was fascinated by mathematics and science, subjects that he studied on his own. He became a high-school dropout when he left school to join his family in Milan." </p>
<p>Perhaps his essays would of gotten him accepted at UChicago...?</p>
<p>i'm looking at math and astrophysics, but when i visited they said biophysics was an easy major to create for yourself so maybe that instead.</p>
<p>bubbloy_two,
I guess you keep the left <em>and</em> right sides of your brain busy, then. Biophysics could be interesting.</p>