My U of C experience through 1 quarter...as a transfer

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
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<p>I'm waiting around for something and don't feel like studying, so I decided I'll just post about my life here so far. I like to believe my life offers quite a contrast to the "Where fun comes to die" and super nerdy anti-social U of C streotype.</p>

<p>I'm a transfer student in my 2nd year here, so I have another school which I kind of compare my life here to...</p>

<p>So for starters, I'm taking a full courseload:
Econ 200
Math 195
Hum 120
Arab 101</p>

<p>Arabic is very time consuming....class 5 days a week for a total of 6 hours plus a lot of homework, weekly quizzes, etc. (Just thought I'd throw that out there)</p>

<p>I enjoy my classes a great deal for various reasons, but here are the big ones:
In my Hum class, Greek Thought & Lit, we only have 7 kids and my Professor is great (He speaks Ancient Greek and Latin which really helps to break down the texts). I am by no means someone who was at all in any way shape or form intrested in reading the Illiad or Herodotus, but honestly, I really enjoy the class, its engaging and enlighting and it has definitely contributed to my education. (Plus my TA is great)</p>

<p>In Arabic, its 11 kids and super intensive. We turn in about 2-3 pages of hw each day and our Prof or TA reads through it, word for word, even correcting little errors like forgetting dots on letters...it's amazing to have that level of feedback.</p>

<p>Math is good too. I'm in a class taught by a 4th year PhD student who is only 22 years old and simply a genius. I have a good relationship with him and I had to make a quiz once and he ended up talking about his PhD problem, the 4th dimension and time - really sweet stuff...mind boggling.</p>

<p>Econ is sweet. Its rigiourous, challenging, and very real world at the same time. I have a really good relationship with my professor, even though its lecture. I stay after class and talk to her, go to office hours, etc. Shes awesome. To put it into a little perspective, read the paragraph about my job at the GSB.</p>

<p>To sum it up, academically, its awesome here. It is a lot of work, but if you can manage your time well, your golden. Even if you don't particually feel that your intrested in a subject, like me with Greek Thought and Lit, having a great professor can make the class really fun, and you get a lot out of it. Also, I care a GREAT deal about my GPA. And many people here do, thats why people study instead of sleep. But so far, I've been able to do pretty well in my classes here. It is by no means impossible to get all A's if you take school seriously.</p>

<p>Now, as far as everything else....</p>

<p>I plan to pursue a job in business, like many kids here. I'm this program called Chicago Careers in Business which is run by the career office (CAPS) and the GSB. The vice chairman of Goldman Sachs IB division had this program kind-of back when he graduated in '72 and brought it back last year because he felt it really helped him succeed in the business world. We have weekly workshops -interview practice, cover letter writing, etc etc and also it's great for networking...they really like to place all the CCIB kids into internships.</p>

<p>I currently work as a Research Assistant at the GSB. I put in around 15 hours a week, there are a lot of research jobs on campus for undergrads in case that matters to you. The PhD student I work with was an econ major at a top 3 school according to US News and said they did things that we do as 2nd years as seniors back where he went to school....shows you the rigor of Econ here.</p>

<p>Okay, now, for everything else. As a transfer, I haven't joined clubs yet because I was settling in and adjusting, but I do have a good chunk of free time. </p>

<p>So, for example, every night, I play either Madden or Fifa on PS2 in my dorm with my friends...its addicting and fun. Twice a week, I play basketball at the gym...pick up games. Now for football, there is IM football, which a lot of people take seriously. We have practice twice a week for it, and are playing in the championship game tomorrow. On top of all that, I also work out 5 times a week with my friends, so theres definitely time to spend on these things.</p>

<p>Also, every week we head downtown or to northside. I've eaten at some great places....rolled into Dunkin Donuts really late downtown, gone up to Devon, Greek Town, etc. Tonight theres a comedy show with Demetri Martin, which I unfortunately do not have a ticket for...=/</p>

<p>My point is that U of C can be whatever you want it to be. If you LOVE to read all the time, then great, you can do that. But you can also take advantage of the sweet city your in, you can engage in extremly competitive things, you can waste time with your friends however you would like. Even as a transfer, I have a great group of friends and we have tons of fun, but the great thing is, you can legimitely enjoy your classes here and you WILL fall into intellectual discussions (during lunch just now we had this huge argument about paradoxes and whether time is continuous or a series of "nows"). However, coming from a state school, I can tell you that I don't fit the "nerd" profile in any way, and a lot of people here don't at all.</p>

<p>So I hope my giant post helps out at least one person in some way, good luck to those of you applying. It's a great school and I highly doubt you'll regret it if you come here.</p>

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<p>I don't know how the hell you have that much free time.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the great post. Sounds like you have some awesome classes.
This post makes me want to go to UChicago even more!!</p>

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<p>I really enjoyed reading your post, akx, because it's good to read other perspectives.</p>

<p>I'm pretty much on the opposite of the personality curve from you, it sounds-- GPA is not important to me at all and I am not interested in pursuing anything that most people consider "prestigious" (professionally, I'm thinking about counseling, teaching, social work-- of course that could change!) but I do not feel like I need the prestige of the school to help me accomplish personal goals. I get 8 hours of sleep a night :-)</p>

<p>Nonetheless, I too have really found a giant space for me to do what I want to and not feel pressured for doing (or not doing) whatever other people are up to. For example, I was sick of students in high school who were just doing things for grades-- at Chicago, if students are into grades, they're into learning too (otherwise, they wouldn't choose a school where they were required to take classes that might be murderous to their GPA, like Greek Thought and Lit). I'm also not really a party person and I don't think I make friends that easily, but I've found a really solid network of friends here through the house system and through my discussion-based classes.</p>

<p>What I think akx confirms, though, is that this school really, really is what you make of it. And there's so much of it to make!</p>

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<p>I am a non-genius first year with a full course load (Honors Calc, Hum, Sosc, Accel Bio), and I usually finish work (if I work straight through) by about 7 or 8, and don't do much work Friday or Saturday or Sunday morning for that matter, aside from some reading at a spare moment. The work is interesting, but not unreasonable to plan around. </p>

<p>I think that I am doing well, but as long as I pass, that is not a priority. I am very undecided.</p>

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<p>I am also a non-genius first year with a full course load (Hum 170, Socs 141, Stat 200, Music 151). I usually finish work early...around 8 or so during the week...and I do work until around 6 or so on the weekends. The work is fantastic -- I LOVE the readings we have in Hum and Socs. The only class I dislike is Stats. My teacher isn't very good. My music class is phenomenal - Amazing teacher, great material. </p>

<p>I'm doing well in all my classes (A's), with the exception of Stats. That one is rather low at the moment... But I don't mind so much...</p>

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<p>"whether time is continuous or a series of "nows"</p>

<p>wow thats amazing. mind if u share some of the main points on both sides?</p>

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<p>Just to compare notes...</p>

<p>... I'm convinced I'm the stupidest person here. I work about 3-5 hours a day (outside of class) Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, am horribly unproductive Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and buckle down to do serious work on Sundays. My grades are not particularly high (they're also not particularly low), and I, of course, love this place like none other.</p>

<p>It's not terrifically difficult to coast (relatively), but I can promise you that class won't be meaningful without investing some serious effort into what you're doing. I sort of fell into that problem earlier this quarter... my classes were kind of bleh until I started paying more attention to the readings and doing them more carefully. Then I started having more and more fun.</p>

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<p>Your major will also determine, to some extent, the hours that you need to put in. My son is a chemistry major, and is taking p-chem this year. Lots of work! But good times, too.</p>

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<p>Yes, I feel particularly bad for the bio majors.</p>

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<p>I ended up getting a ticket to the Demetri Martin show....it was sold out...and a great show, I'm glad MAB got him.</p>

<p>As far as work, my weekend is gonna be rough. I have a Hum rough draft due Monday, an Econ problem set due Monday, a math problem set due Monday, 82 sections of Herodotus to read and a ridiculous amount of Arabic homework.</p>

<p>Here we go....</p>

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<p>Looks like you're reaching peak. My peak occurred around 6th/7th week. We were assigned about 150 sections of Herodotus to read for each class period and lots of homework in math, accompanied with quizzes and a midterm. For the 8th-10th weeks, the only work I have was/is writing a 5-page paper and finishing up a problem set... and studying for finals, of course. Good luck.</p>