Hey guys, so I was admitted to both Princeton and UChicago and I’m really confused. I’ve read almost all other “princeton vs uchicago” posts on CC, and both princeton and uchicago seem to be almost equal in all parameters, but I’m leaning towards Princeton.
The only reason I’m not committing because I don’t want to leave UChicago’s intellectual atmosphere and I’m scared of Princeton’s “anti-intellectual” reputation. So could someone tell me whether UChicago is genuinely (and considerably) more intellectual than Pton, or is it just the way UChic has tried to brand itself?
Also, how true is the Princeton myth?
One of the major reasons I’m not picking Uchicago becuase its Econ is too theoretical (i dont wish to get a PhD btw) and it is too rigorous to maintain a social life as health as Princeton’s. I wish to have a more balanced college experience.
And, could someone tell me the differences between the kind of student body at both places? I’m an international admit so I cannot visit either.
Thanks a lot for your help. I’m literally (cringe) splitting hairs here!
I feel like I’m in some kind of Twilight Zone, where Princeton - a top 5 institution - is considered “anti-intellectual.”
To be frank, I don’t think it matters whether UChicago is more or less intellectual than Princeton. Any differences between the two are likely to be so infinitesimal as to not matter completely. Princeton has a 5% acceptance rate; the middle 50% of its students score between a 700 and an 800 on all three sections of the SAT; and 96% of their students were in the top 10% of their HS class. These are scary-smart, accomplished, impressive young people. If they are anti-intellectual, the rest of us should just hang it up right now! 
In all seriousness, I think Princeton has acquired that reputation simply because they have a more robust social life than many other elite schools, what with the eating clubs and such. There’s this idea out there that nerds can’t have a social life, or that if you like to party and socialize that must mean that you also don’t like discussing Keynes. Neither is true, of course!
So, back when I was applying, Princeton was my top choice and Chicago my top non-HYPS choice; so I’m a tad biased towards Princeton. But, to clear up a couple points:
- Princeton is, after Columbia and perhaps Yale, one of the most intellectual of the ivies. Chicago is marginally more so (around Columbia's level), but not so much as to make it all that relevant
- While Chicago econ is very theoretical and math-heavy, a lot of people go into the traditional routes afterwards (sure, we have more PhDs, but we also have more prop traders. IBankers and [to a lesser extent] consultants make up a large chunk of graduating Econ majors).
- Social lives are had. A little over 10% of Chicago students are in frats (comparable to most peer schools) and I haven't seen anyone who didn't explicitly want to do nothing but study have anything but a great time. Princeton still wins slightly in this regard, but it isn't some gaping chasm.
A few other points. Princeton is much better if you want to stay on the east coast, esp. in NYC. They’re pretty equal in the Midwest, and Princeton leads slightly in the South and West.
Princeton has a wider range of overall studies, but does, IMO, suffer from the fact that they haven’t grasped onto the tech boom as much as they could have and are playing catchup. Granted, Chicago has that same problem–except Chicago has decided that instead of playing catchup, they want to be at the forefront of another field–molecular engineering. If you’re interested in at least investigating traditional engineering fields, Princeton. If molecular is more your jive, Chicago.
Honestly, I don’t think you can go that wrong here. I’d recommend you visit and see what you think about each one, and then decide. There is some cultural difference (though not as much as in previous years), which could make or break your decision.