<p>Hey Everyone!
So this fall I'm going to be a senior and I am spending a good amount of time now on my college search. I really like University of Chicago ( mainly for its beautiful campus, cool housing system, good academics, city urban) the only thing that worries me a little is its reputation of being a VERY VERY challenging school. It's true that I like learning and I'm pretty good at studying I could say, but I really don't want to have to be forced to study ALL THE TIME. I want to be able to go out and have fun with friends. But I'm worried that with this kind of environment no one else will want to go out/will always be busy. Is this true for Uchicago? Apparently it's where 'fun goes to die'</p>
<p>Are there any similar schools that are a little less challenging that come to mind? I'm looking for a school
-city/urban on the east coast or nearby so there's lots of things to do and stuff is always going on (New York Boston etc)
-BEAUTIFUL CAMPUS
-medium sized (size doesn't matter much)
-good dorms/sense of family/home
-challenging but not IMPOSSIBLE. I'm towards the top of my class (33 act, 4.7 gpa, full IB program and AP classes) so I want to definitely be challenged and be surrounded by people you know school is important and are interested in learning, but are also interested in creating fun memories. </p>
<p>Sorry if that post didn't make much sense, I'm only starting this whole process and my mind is all over the place.</p>
<p>Thank you for any tips/ideas/advice! Really appreciate it. </p>
<p>I think that with the exception of Princeton, most or all of the urban ivies would accomplish those things. Columbia comes to mind as the school most similar to uchicago in the sense you write about, although being in new york it can suffer in the dorm department. Penn is a very social and urban school while having a quite customizable workload. </p>
<p>Other than that, Carnegie Mellon, and obviously Stanford comes to mind. These are all obviously elite schools from an admissions standpoint, and I think it would be ill-advised to not apply to a school because it might be too hard. These days, if you are an elite applicant, you need to apply to a broad range of places, see where you get in, and THEN ask these types of questions. </p>
<p>^^^I’m not sure if @thebanshee was saying that the schools s/he addresses are like or unlike chicago in their rigor. CMU and Stanford can be grueling. Michigan, UNC, Duke, Pomona, Vanderbilt, and WashU have a nice mix of work and play. </p>
<p>I don’t think anyone who thinks that UChicago is too hard would think Columbia is easier.</p>
<p>BTW, you realize that “where fun goes to die” is the tongue-in-cheek way of how U of C kids make fun of their reputation, right?</p>
<p>Personally, I think sterotypes are overblown.</p>
<p>I know that, for instance, the pre-med basic science classes at UMich, Vandy, and WashU are just as much of a grind because of the curves and tons of pre-meds at those schools (that’s almost certainly true for Duke and UNC as well).</p>
<p>The only difference is that most of those places have sports teams while U of C kids like to blow off steam by having intellectual discussions.</p>
<p>Great! thank you for all the information. Im trying to find a good balance of strong academics and fun plus urban setting on the east… Ive got plenty of research ahead of me!</p>
<p>At many schools in an urban setting in the East you will find groups of students like the students you imagine populate UChicago AND other students who like to have fun by sports, clubs, online games, pranks, drinking, ultimate, clubbing, etc. Chicago has its reputation, but it doesn’t have a monopoly on Chicago-like students. Plenty of Chicago-like students are like you and wouldn’t go near Chicago for all the intellectual discussions in the world–they wanna have fun, too, just like everybody else, and they know there’s a time and a place for it. Have no fear. You will find your peers almost anywhere if you’re willing to put yourself out there.</p>
<p>What are you interested in studying? Emory or northeastern could be a good alternative</p>
<p>Tulane and Vanderbilt fit most of your specifications, although they might not have quite the same campus “culture” you’re looking for. Would Reed be too small for you? I think it has the same intellectual vibe you’re seeking. </p>
<p>I think I want to study political science or international relations… something related to that. Yeah i think Reed would be a little small and a bit far from home, I want to stick to the East Coast Area with some exceptions if i find the perfect fit! </p>
<p>Its hard to explain like I have this clear image of where I want to go but I just need to find the school that matches the “vision” lol. Uchicago does look amazing but Im just a little worried that I wouldnt fit in.</p>
<p>And honestly thank you so much for the ideas so far! Its helping me minimize and organize. Ill do more research on Northeastern and Vanderbilt.</p>
<p>my criteria: (sorry if i sound too picky)
-urban/ CITY!! (new york, boston, chicago etc…) but does have a campus
-strong academics (But not that I have to be staying in all the time studying)
-does have the social aspect with lots to do on weekends
-close nit dorms that create a sense of family</p>
<p>UPenn might be an option for you.</p>
<p>Pitt might offer you a lot of merit. My niece has found an extraordinarily close-knit community of friends at this urban public uni. The academics are tough but the city and campus is a lot of fun. She’s in Europe right now with a gang of friends doing studies abroad and traveling to see their friends on weekends. they have an honors college or program that has a really nice new dorm. She said their first night at Pitt the students sat around lamenting how they got into [IVY] but came to Pitt because of the merit; after that they didn’t mention the ivy again and went about taking Pitt and the city for all they were worth. Pittsburgh is a beautiful city of hills and rivers and bridges and pro and college sports teams and great museums and food. Pitt is in a hillside neighborhood adjacent to Carnegie Mellon. Its architecture is diverse, but you have to explore the cathedral if you visit. My D is joining her cousin there this fall, and she has stats like yours, has been admitted to Honors, and got a lot of merit.</p>
<p>Georgetown is excellent for international relations.</p>
<p>In terms of U Chicago’s peer schools in terms of academic excellence, to me it’s a pretty short list:</p>
<p>Harvard
Yale
Princeton
MIT
Stanford
Columbia</p>
<p>I think it ends there. Is there a school in the US with more Nobel laureates working as professors? Chicago hangs with everyone when it cones to academic excellence.</p>
<p>And if you want to have fun… if npbody is having fun on campus, well, check out Navy Pier, Michigan Ave, Rush Street, or a Bulls/Hawks/Cubs/Bears game. Chicago is an awesome city.</p>
<p>@Prezbucky I’d say UChicago’s peers are slightly greater when you’re on the undergraduate level; after all, there’s Williams, Amherst, and Swarthmore (the last of which has a campus culture similar to UChicago’s, though will more of a social activist feel).</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Your attitude suggests that UChicago may not be right for you if you want to be happy. </p>
<p>Traditional UChicago students WANT to study all the time. </p>
<p>That IS the attraction. They don’t need to be forced. </p>
<p>Actually, they need to be forced to stop studying every once and a while. </p>
<p>@ClassicRockerDad I’m not so sure–UChicago’s personality, while still highly academic, has changed somewhat. Participation in frats is up, pre-professionalism is up, attendance at sports games it (afaik) up. Chicago isn’t quite so much of an academic monastery as it was 20-30 years ago.</p>
<p>They can admit all of the econ majors that they want, but it’s not going to make the professors make the classes any easier, and I don’t think those preprofessional econ majors are going to be happier than the pure academic types that Chicago still attracts. </p>
<p>I never specified anything about econ majors…preprofessionalism can come in a lot of forms.</p>
<p>But that’s not the point. UChicago’s feel, while still intellectual, is more akin to its academic peers now than it was 20-30 years ago. Is it hard? Yes. Is it so hard that only the ‘traditional’ UChicago student should be there? No. Chicago is changing and has changed significantly–“where fun goes to die” is on the verge of being an untruth.</p>
<p>But, OP, reputation isn’t everything–UChicago is hard, certainly, but its not that much harder than other schools. For all the talk of Harvard having grade-inflation and Chicago having grade-deflation, the actual difference in average GPA is around 0.1. You want to have fun in college? Then there’s Greek life, which is growing and becoming a bigger and bigger part of UChicago’s campus culture. There are athletic events, there’s Scav (and Kuvia, and all the other fun Maroon traditions), and there’s the city of Chicago. You don’t need to worry about being overwhelmed or not having fun.</p>
<p>@kaarboer you’re right – I meant only among national universities. Among the LACs I’d put Amherst, Swat, Williams and maybe Pomona in that stratosphere for undergrad academics.</p>
<p>Doesn’t meet your criteria, but I think University of Tulsa is beautiful and a level below Chicago. Washington University is about equal in terms of academic rigor. Southern Methodist University is extremely nice and amidst a huge metropolitan area. (I’m a midwest person - sorry)</p>
<p>As someone who looked at chicago and chicago-like schools, I liked Tufts and Wake Forest, but Reed and Pomona also have very Chicago-like environments.</p>