<p>I'm a high school senior admitted to the class of 2017 and am very very close to telling my parents to submit my deposit to UChicago (over Dartmouth, Duke, Cornell, and Vandy). I'm a prospective econ major planning to double in either psych, math, or polisci/public policy. Just a few questions:</p>
<p>1) Is grade deflation overrated at UChicago? My friend who's a junior told me that his overall GPA is ~3.6 with mainly A's in the core classes and electives but mainly B/B+'s in the econ major. He also told me that there's just a more general tendency for students to take hard classes and challenge themselves and get B's (or even lower) rather than easy classes that are guaranteed A's. </p>
<p>2) How accessible is the city of Chicago? I know that you can take public transportation, but does the university have any specific transportation that allows specifically UChicago students to go from campus to downtown? What about Midway/O'Hare airport? </p>
<p>3) In which cases is it likely that you will get a graduate student instructor as opposed to a professor? Are grad student or professors generally better at teaching?</p>
<p>@miltonfriedman. Grade deflation at Chicago has been overblown for many years now. Even in the dark ages of early 80s most of my friends who were “diligent” in their studies and yet have a social life were able to manage easily 3.5 - 3.7 as biology (premeds) and econ majors. These two majors were considered the toughest back then and probably still is. And, you are correct, many of the Chicago students are masochists when it comes to challenging themselves with tougher courses than they “need” to maintain a higher GPA. Something in the DNA of the typical Chicago student is to challenge themselves in very difficult math sequences or taking physical chemistry even as biology majors or taking advanced statistics when they don’t need to…and as far as I know the GPAs have been getting higher in recent years.</p>
<p>…the hardest thing to do is get straight As and graduate with 4.0. I only knew of one person my graduating year…but graduating with 3.5-3.7 GPA not so hard.</p>
<p>…“grade deflation” and “where fun goes to die” continues to be a popular outdated urban myth…I think we secretly still want to be Caltech in reputation.</p>
<p>Re: grade deflation. In recent years, about 60% of each graduating class has received general honors, which requires a GPA of 3.3 (really 3.25, because they round up). That does not indicate a general climate of grade deflation. Cue7 recently posted some data indicating that the average GPA of law school applicants from Chicago was 3.44, which was basically on a par with all but the most grade-inflated colleges (read: Brown, Yale), and only about .1 below them. </p>
<p>In other words, Chicago is not grade-inflated or grade-deflated; it’s squarely in the middle of the pack of comparable universities. Almost everyone complains about grade deflation almost everywhere.</p>
<p>The “city” of Chicago is very accessible; you just have to make up your mind to access it. A few years ago, I was talking with a relative who lives in Chicago, and told her the restaurants my daughter had taken us to over the past couple academic years. My cousin said, “That’s every hot, new, inexpensive restaurant in the city! She sure gets around for a college kid.” That was true. And it was all on the CTA.</p>
<p>Interesting that no one has addressed the OP’s third point so far. My D is down to her top 2 choices now, and U of C is one of them. However, she has serious concerns about the quality of undergraduate teaching in the hard sciences, particularly physics. Current students she talked to told stories of “weeder” classes and professors who gave very difficult exams that had nothing to do with the material that had actually been taught in lectures and assignments. The miniscule number of women profs & grad students in the department has also put her off (other school she is seriously considering is better in this respect).</p>
<p>Sorry for the delay. I will address the 3rd point.</p>
<p>I am a science major. The hard sciences will ALWAYS be taught by professors. Your TA’s will be grad students but the professors teaching the material will be experienced professors. I have had no experience with “vengeful professors” who want to inflict pain and misery for no other reason but to. They have always been passionate, excited, and engaged. I’ve always had the sense that they love to be there and many have even invited me to separate office hours to give me a thoughtful response to a question I had asked in email.</p>
<p>One professor gave very hard exams but it is a part of his teaching style. “I’ve taught you A and B through lecture and homework. Do you really understand the principles of A and B to make an intellectual leap to see and solve C for the first time in an exam?” He won the Quantrell Award for Undergrad teaching btw.</p>
<p>I’d say that 85% of classes will be taught by professors. The grad students I’ve had were spectacular as well. I wouldn’t have any qualms about the quality of teaching at UChicago. The professors are there because they want to be. Whether it is in the humanities, sciences, or any other department, there are great teachers.</p>
<p>Is there any statistic on the average UChicago GPA? Does the university post this? I’ve heard as low as 3.2 and as high as 3.5. What is it really? Based on JHS’ post, I would think it’s somewhere in the 3.40’s. Does anybody know for sure?</p>
<p>@friedman. If you consider yourself a “slacker” then the average GPA for slackers is about 3.0 to 3.2 (minimal worker). If you consider yourself a “diligent” student as I stated above one can easily manage 3.5-3.7 as long as you don’t try to take “unnecessary” killer classes no matter what your major happens to be. If you take “appropriate level” courses not too easy not too hard you will be fine…but as I said before Chicago students are masochistic by nature. Your friend was not joshing nor exaggerating. Don’t let your ego about taking the “toughest” classes get in the way of getting a good GPA…that’s how they do it at Stanford and Harvard. You need time for research, extracurricular activities, and such.</p>
<p>By the way friedman, there are 3 main types of students at Chicago (since we don’t have engineering):</p>
<p>G1) prelaw, premed, IB/consulting/wallstreet types: they seek the highest GPA possible and take appropriate combination of classes to maximize their chances to get into their professional school or bank/consulting/wallstreet…so their GPAs in general if “diligent” range 3.5-3.7.</p>
<p>G2) purely academic professorial tract (they know from day one): they seek the most challenging classes for their major of interest regardless of what grades they may get and they usually do well since they tend to be the “smartest” in the class. And, I am not talking about the wishy washy type of students who after being in the G3 group “decide” to get their PhD. For example, those from G1 or G3 who take advanced economic classes against those planning to get their PhDs in economics will get destroyed (dramatic way of saying hard to get an A against these guys). Or, those unsuspecting premeds from G1 or capricious students from G3 taking higher level math sequence against math majors planning to become future Fields Medal winners. G2 students tend to have the highest GPAs in the graduating class. </p>
<p>G3) constant major changers: they tend to have the lowest GPA in general because they “try” out different classes from different majors often “higher level” going against G1 and G2. Both G1 and G2 have a relative good grasp of what their strengths and weaknesses are. G3 don’t.</p>
<p>Hopefully, this blunt but humorous schema will help delineate which group you fall under…and to plan appropriately…</p>
<p>@jamesbond. Congratulations! Welcome to Chicago’s family as well. You seem to know exactly what you want looking at your posts! I think you and friedman will thrive at Chicago.</p>
<p>haha thanks gravitas! You’ve really provided us, the prospective applicants and students, a lot of info on the university. I don’t think the decision would’ve been as easy for friedman and me, had you, as well as a few other veteran posters here, not quelled some of our concerns. Thanks!</p>