<p>I again apologize. Everyone I know who goes there currently (and that’s a lot) and everyone I know in Chicago calls it UChicago but I understand that calling it UChicago is a new thing.</p>
<p>Both are extremely prestigious, and if your goal is to make people (especially in the Chicago area) say “wow” when you tell them where you’re going to school, either will suffice. Neither has ever been shown to provide an appreciably better education than Loyola, DePaul, or UI-Chicago, however.</p>
<p>Any comparison between Northwestern and U of Chicago wouldn’t even come up if they weren’t in the same city. In the world of elite universities, NU offers more of a classic collegiate experience with the trappings of Greek life, sports, etc. and U of Chicago offers more of that life-of-the-mind, though there are substantial numbers of students at each school who would have been just fine at the other. If we were doing a perceptual map of colleges based on the experience and type of student attracted, NU would be clustered with Penn, Cornell, Duke, WashU, etc. whereas U of Chicago would be off in a corner by itself, and both schools like it just fine like that. There is no need to make it a competition. Different flavors for different preferences.</p>
<p>To the poster who wrote that his Chicago high school had 5 accepted to UChicago & 55 to Northwestern: Although these figures are hard to believe, Northwestern does have a very strong outreach to the Chicago area public schools which would account for a higher acceptance rate.</p>
<p>To the posters who noted similiarities between the students at Harvard & Northwestern as well as to UChicago & Swarthmore, I noticed the same. Actually, a lot of posts on this thread ring true.</p>
<p>Very different schools in a variety of ways.</p>
<p>That’s right. Northwestern has won eight out of the nine Midwest regional and never lost to UChicago there. </p>
<p>Past National Champions:
2004 Northwestern
2005 Northwestern
2006 Northwestern
2007 Harvard
2008 Harvard
2009 Lafayette
2010 Bentley
2011 Harvard
2012 Northwestern</p>
<p>[College</a> National Fed Challenge - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_National_Fed_Challenge]College”>College National Fed Challenge - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>You take easier classes at a less rigorous school (according to UChicago alum phuriku), have more fun, and still win the contest every single time. You can’t beat that! ;)</p>
<p>Re: #22
Does the average UofC or Northwestern student get a better education than the average UI-Chicago or DePaul student? That is indeed hard to demonstrate rigorously, because defining and measuring what we mean by “a better education” is so hard. By a variety of outcome-based metrics (average starting and mid-career salaries, earned PhDs per capita, law and med school admissions, significant fellowships and awards, major alumni lifetime achievements in the arts and sciences, etc. etc.) Chicago and NU alumni would seem to out-perform the alumni of much less selective schools like DePaul or UI-Chicago. One could suggest that this may only be because Chicago and NU cherry-pick smarter, more motivated students to begin with. If that is the case, it begs this question: why would higher-achieving, more motivated students choose the more selective schools? Are high-achieving, motivated students more shallow and prestige-hungry than average students? Or, does the higher-education market behave rationally, such that the students with the most freedom of choice, after weighing all their options, choose the schools they sincerely believe offer the best education and the best ROI available to them?</p>
<p>At any rate, for many students who qualify for admission to either one, the net cost to attend the UofC may well be cheaper than the net cost to attend a public university like UI-Chicago. In that case, why would you turn down the opportunity for much smaller classes, more distinguished faculty, more engagement in discussion classes and writing assignments, talented classmates drawn from all over the country and the world, better facilities, and one of the most beautiful urban campuses in America?</p>
<p>If you’re a full-pay student making that choice, but your family hasn’t been able to save enough for an expensive private college, that’s different. I wouldn’t recommend taking on a mountain of debt to attend the more expensive school. If average indebtedness at graduation is any indication, not too many families are doing that. The University of Chicago’s (and Northwestern’s) average debt at graduation is almost exactly the same as UI-Chicago’s. DePaul’s is higher. Loyola’s data doesn’t seem to be available (but its net COA after average need-based aid is about $8K/year more than the UofC’s).</p>
<p>^^ I match your obscure extra curricular-related metric with another one:</p>
<p>[Best</a> College Model UN Team Rankings 2010-11: World Division #1-5](<a href=“http://bestdelegate.com/final-2010-2011-college-rankings-world-division-top-1-5/]Best”>Final 2010-2011 College Rankings: World Division Top 1-5 - Best Delegate Model United Nations)</p>
<p>[The</a> Best College Model UN Teams: 2011-12 World Division Final Rankings Top 25](<a href=“http://bestdelegate.com/the-best-college-model-un-teams-2011-12-world-division-final-rankings-top-25/]The”>The Best College Model UN Teams: 2011-12 World Division Final Rankings Top 25 - Best Delegate Model United Nations)</p>
<p>No doubt you will find other activities that Northwestern excels at over U Chicago to actually make it seems like there’s a meaningful difference between the two, but that’s fine because enough rational posts have been made here about the outstanding quality of both schools and their equally distinctive natures. I second all of those and wish anybody applying to one or both the best of luck with the admissions process as well as in college.</p>
<p>^I was obviously not serious yet you had no problem to jump on my post. perhaps you should do the same to your fellow uchicago homer, phuriku, because he/she’s truly serious about uchicago being far superior (e.g. “much harder to get in”) and doesn’t mind expressing that all over CC.</p>
<p>Keep it classy, Sam Lee. Let the socially-less-adept types like phiruku prattle on. Anyone who is anyone doesn’t feel the need to haggle over which is better. They’re both excellent. Let him have his supposed superiority contest.</p>
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<p>Honestly, this is just laughable, especially as regards the U of C (because of its rather unusual nature). Props to tk21769 for dignifying annasdad’s usual crap with a serious answer, though.</p>
<p>Haha, way to go PMC. A winky face indicates that he is joking. He’s pointing out that measuring schools by any metric that matters to few is pointless. I thought yours was a joke at first, since you were “matching” his idea, but apparently you can’t take a joke.</p>
<p>Consolation, I wasn’t even going to respond to that statement, it is so stupid. Thank you for doing it for me, haha. That’s like saying Harvard isn’t better than Northeastern. Obviously when colleges are in the same town, their educations are exactly the same, DUH!</p>
<p>You know, it’s interesting – if one ignores the ‘which is better’ posts in this thread (and one should), I think there is a lot of information here that should be helpful to OP – basically, both are excellent schools, but each will offer a different experience.</p>
<p>Though I know that many students apply to both schools – I’ve often wondered why. It would seem that for most students – based on academic strengths and general overall feel, there would be a clear preference for one over the other. If U Chicago is the clear choice look for schools more like U Chicago (and vice versa). On the other hand, many students apply to both Cornell and Brown – which appear to have very different educational philosophies as well.</p>
<p>Months later, it doesn’t surprise me to see stuff like this from wildcatalum (who never fails to drop her Harvard GRADUATE affiliation at any change she gets):</p>
<p>"If you are smart and socially savvy (or want to be), go to Northwestern. If you are (or want to be) classically bookish smart, go to UChicago. They are equally smart, but Northwestern tends to attract the more popular leader types and UChicago the more “life of the mind” types though both types exist at the two schools.</p>
<p>Based on my grad school experience at Harvard, Harvard students are definitely much more the Northwestern type than the classic UChicago type. This could be a good or bad thing, but Norhwestern and Harvard students care not only about intelligence but also popularity and social reputation. Exposure to this mindset, in my opinion though, is excellent preparation for the elite professional world. I have seen way too many idealistic UChicago/Swartmore grads become embittered when their college years end and they are forced to interact with their not only equally smart but also socially savvier, more popular, better-looking, and more physically fit/graceful counterparts at Duke, Harvard, Northwestern and the like. UChicago guys who are ugly get especially mad."</p>
<p>Truly insightful. Didn’t know you went to Uchicago and could quantify those who are more popular leaders vis a vis students at Northwestern. Ironic that you’re typecasting UChicago while upholding the stereotype of college reputation obsession likely stemming from your asian parents. Hey don’t forget, you also turned down Yale for undergrad! I always seem to forget that every 1 out of 20 posts you forget to mention it as well.</p>
<p>Interestingly enough, in the management consulting world, Northwestern>>UChicago.</p>
<p>^ What is the extent of the “management consulting world”?
It sounds pretty big. How is one able to state with confidence that “Northwestern>>UChicago” in that world? </p>
<p>What would such a statement even mean? Does it mean, for example, that more management consultants graduated from Northwestern? Does it mean that a majority of management consultants, according to some poll, think NU prepares students for management consulting better than Chicago does? Does it mean that NU publishes more (or better) research relevant to management consulting? Or what?</p>
<p>Blah, you actually keep track of how many times I mention Yale? 1 out of 20 is actually not that frequent but even that is an exaggerated figure. Clearly, you keep track of my posts, which is bizarre. I have nothing against prestige, but I strongly prefer the combined social/academic kind which is true for Harvard, Duke, Northwestern. Not the bookish smart but nothing-else-to-show-for-it kind, especially if one is arrogant or insecure about it.</p>
<p>Both are urban campuses, but Northwestern’s located in a safer suburb than UoC’s “island” adjacent to low-income crime-riddled neighborhoods to south and west. Crime is a problem at UoC: muggings, theft, and security within dorms is evidently now a problem too. Northwestern’s Evanston has its gang problems too, but its mostly limited to a geographic area not immediately adjacent to campus.</p>
<p>Both schools attract smart students, but Northwestern’s students are more yuppie-strivers while UoC’s students revel in pseudo-intellectual hipsterdom. Northwestern is more “fun”, while UoC tends to be “anti-fun”. Both schools’ students are very competitive and focussed on achievement and grades. Both schools have great facilities and highly selective admissions. But both schools aren’t necessarily “best fit” for smart students.</p>
<p>In Chicago corporate entry-job market, Northwestern or UoChicago undergrad degree has about same buying power as DePaul or IIT or Big 10 undergrad degree. Different story re: MBA from Northwestern or UoChicago. I’ve run into several employers who complain about “higher than almighty” attitudes from recent UoChicago grads, and are less inclined to hire them for BA entry-level business positions because those employees haven’t “successfully acclimated” in past.</p>
<p>A good friend’s son is at NWU this year. He’s in engineering and also joined the marching band…perfect fit for him :)</p>