<p>I'm interested in history, english, philosophy, psychology, paleontology, astronomy, international relations, politics. Math and science and foreign language aren't really my interests.</p>
<p>I'd like a place that's kinda small but not too small, but I'm not really sure about that. I like Rice's size, but also Penn's size. however, Cornell seems a little big, and Swarthmore a little too small.</p>
<p>I'd like to get to know my teachers. I hate large lectures and like small group discussion.</p>
<p>I like pretty campuses, but it's not that big a deal. A residential college system like at rice and Yale sounds really cool because it would be a great wat to foster friendships.</p>
<p>I want the atmosphere to not be cutthroat on academics.</p>
<p>My stats or whatever are pretty good, and I'd have an ok-hopeful shot at anywhere but HYPSM (And I wouldn't want to go MIT anyway).</p>
<p>I hear Chicago. (I always hear Chicago; I have to).</p>
<p>But before I go on to explain why I think Chicago is a great choice, I also suggest: U of Rochester, Wesleyan, Pomona, Vassar, Tufts, Dartmouth, Brown, Columbia.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Chicago kids tend to have a lot of academic interests, and usually people who have a wide range of academic interests find a core curriculum beneficial, because core covers tonnns of things. Additionally, your interest in paleontology jibes with one of Chicago's particular strengths-- it's in the student prospectus:
<a href="https://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/lifeofthemind/SWF/28_41.swf%5B/url%5D">https://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/lifeofthemind/SWF/28_41.swf</a></p></li>
<li><p>Chicago's a "medium size" at 4,500 or so undergrads. Rochester, Tufts, and Dartmouth also have 4-5,000 undergrads. I had a similar reaction: 1,000 was too small, 10,000 too big, 4-5,000 just right.</p></li>
<li><p>Chicago emphasizes small classes, particularly in the core curriculum, but you will end up taking small classes throughout. I agree that small classes are a great way to get to know your prof, your fellow students, and feel more responsible for the material.</p></li>
<li><p>Woohoo! Pretty campus!</p></li>
<li><p>Residential house system with 30-100 kids per house. Houses are not quite as big a thing here as they are at Rice or Yale, but they are definitely an important part of the Chicago experience.</p></li>
<li><p>Chicago is probably best described as students learning for the sake of learning. The vast majority of people here really, really, really like school and also happen to be really, really, really good at it. Nobody is going to ask you about your grades and if you feel pressure to get a high grade, that pressure will come from within and not from without. I'm very laid-back about my grades, and I've found it much easier to be laid-back about them here than it was in my high school, where everybody knew how everybody else was doing.</p></li>
</ol>