<p>So I've (very) recently become interested in applying to UoC, though I do have some misgivings. From what I've heard so far, the sciences at UoC are pretty strong, right? I mean, you can be well-prepped for the future (especially fro grad/med school) through a strong department in something related to biology, right? I've recently heard about the Core Bio class, mostly with unenthusiastic reviews... If I'm interested in Biological Sciences, is this a warning, or something like that?</p>
<p>Also, UoC is located in a big city. To someone whose first choice university is in a small city (not too rural, but not too large), how... uh... overwhelming can life in Chicago be? How safe and comfortable is life in the big city?</p>
<p>Core Bio isn’t a good standard to judge our Bio department. The reason a lot of people dislike it is 1) EVERYONE is required to take it (there are NO alternatives, like PhySci has) 2) there are 7 hours of class each week, compared to 3 for most other classes. The latter seems particularly distressing… the average Chicago student is already pretty stressed, and throwing in a random core class that requires so much time is really unnecessary. I haven’t actually taken the course yet, so I can’t say much for content.</p>
<p>However, if you’re a bio major, you probably won’t have to sit through the normal Bio core. You can either test out of it or take the advanced Core Bio, designated for people who received a 5 on their AP test. We have a very good Bio department here.</p>
<p>Right. No one who is majoring in any lab science, or who wants to apply to medical, veternary, or nursing school, or who gives a hoot about biology takes core bio. They satisfy the core bio requirement with the normal 3- or 5-quarter bio fundamentals course. Core bio is a one-quarter course that’s pretty useless for anything except qualifying yourself to graduate from the University of Chicago. Which isn’t to say that it couldn’t be a good course – one of the highlights of my undergraduate education was a Nobel-laureate-taught Bio for Poets course – but at the moment it simply appears not to be. If you are a science major, the only effect it will have on your life will be that you will have to listen to your non-sciency friends whine about it.</p>
<p>The University is in Hyde Park, which to me feels more like a suburb than a city. For better or for worse, it’s devoid of a lot of urban hustle and bustle. There’s a lot of green space and a lot of trees on campus and in the neighborhood. I don’t think anybody considers Hyde Park to be too urban.</p>
<p>As far as safety goes, you use common sense and try to avoid walking in deserted places at night. The University has its own police force and transportation around campus, so you never have to walk alone or feel unsafe. I’m actually worried about how I’ll feel after I graduate and may live somewhere else in a city, where I won’t have things like SafeRide to depend on.</p>
<p>The University of Chicago can feel as urban as you want it to be. If you stay on campus all the time, and never leave Hyde Park, you will probably be aware that you’re in a city (and may not walk alone late at night outside the central campus area), but you will hardly feel overwhelmed. On the other hand, you can hop on the El, the Metra, or the 6 bus and be in the Big City in the Loop, or in hip, funky neighborhoods all over. </p>
<p>You’ll regret it later if you never do that, even if it takes you a little while to work up to it (other than stuff that you do en masse during orientation). Chicago is a great city, it reminds me why cities are so cool. If you’ve never lived in one before, chances are that, after some adjustment, it will be at least a decade before you want to live somewhere other than a big city again.</p>