<p>My friend got into the U of C and she said that one of the reasons why she chose not to go was b/c the core would take up too much of her college life since she is planning on doing a double major and also that students here have to work 10 times harder to get the same grade as another student at say one of the ivy leagues. Any truth to that? Can you still have time to have a good time away from the books? </p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<ol>
<li>You have to want the core. If the core is something that you think is wasting time, then you shouldn't come here.</li>
<li>You can do the core and double major. The core, assuming no AP credit but having language competency, is 15 courses. Each major is probably around 11. Assuming no courses overlap, which would be unusual, that equals 37 courses. You need 42 courses to graduate, I believe. You can take up to 48 courses, and many students have AP credit for math or science core, and most double majors will have some overlap with each other or with the core.</li>
<li>Based on what I've heard from friends, Chicago students do tend to work harder than students at other schools for the same grades. </li>
<li>You can definitely have fun, especially on the weekends.</li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks....i didn't know that the core classes can be considered towards your major</p>
<p>The core rules, hundreds of people arrive here with an idea of exactly what they think they want to major in (this is very easy to do when you've never taken a single class in that field!) Then they have to take a bunch of classes in diverse fields because of the core, find something that they truly enjoy, and it ends up helping to shape their major and career paths. Of course, it IS fairly demanding and will take up a lot of time and effort - but jeez, you can't just be afraid of doing things you'd rather not do when you know the payoff is totally worth it. </p>
<p>It's a damn shame that people are turning down UChicago for ridiculous reasons (like thinking that it's impossible to get good grades here). Obviously, it might not have been the right school for her for any number of reasons, but that in particular is a pretty misinformed take on the school's academics; the point of the school isn't to wear you down and make you into a cloistered workaholic geek, it's to mold you into a hardcore brilliant person so that you can go off into the world and have a profound influence on it. There's really nothing that's closed to you if you come out of Chicago with a BA.</p>
<p>Well, they're not technically counted toward your major, but some majors require certain areas of the core that students otherwise may not take, if that makes sense.</p>
<p>She is going to Duke for engineering and she is quite happy with it. I however, needed more information about the schools i am considering to apply to this coming year and it seems like the core really broadens people's views and allows them to give other subjects a chance. If you are required to take 42 courses before you graduate, does that mean the school runs on a quarter system? I am thinking of fulfilling Pre-Med requirements (maybe a major in Bio) but i also have an interest in English. </p>
<p>Thanks for your comments!</p>
<p>Yeah, Uchicago is quite a few things but an engineering school is not one of them. Still, I wouldn't trade the core for anything. The only bad thing about it is that you'll irritate the heck out of all your friends when you go back home, because you won't be able to stop talking about Plato/Hegel/Marx/Marcuse/Joyce etc.</p>
<p>Actually that sounds like something that i would look forward to! How are the student-professor relationships? Research opportunities? What do they put the most emphasis on for admissions? Uncommon application?</p>
<p>
[quote]
The only bad thing about it is that you'll irritate the heck out of all your friends when you go back home, because you won't be able to stop talking about Plato/Hegel/Marx/Marcuse/Joyce etc.
[/quote]
And at the U of C students bring up these authors randomly in conversations all the time, since all of us read a lot of the same authors. </p>
<p>Student-professor relationships are really easy to form. Core classes such as the humanities and the social sciences are discussion-based classes with about 18 students, so professors get to know students quite well. Even in larger classes it's easy to get to know professors. The largest class at the school tends to be Intro to Microeconomics, which I took first quarter. Even though I didn't go to office hours or make an effort to get to know the professor, when we shared an elevator the other day, he knew me immediately and asked how I was doing and everything else. Professors are all very open to talking with students. They actually enjoy teaching undergraduates. </p>
<p>I have never heard of someone who was looking for a research opportunity and couldn't find something. The UC Hospital is a block from the main academic quad, and there are tons of professors and grad students doing research. </p>
<p>Admissions looks at youe academic record first, including grades and your course choices. Also very important are essays, including the Why Chicago? essay, and teacher recommendations. Of lesser importance is SAT scores and other factors that I can't remember right now.</p>
<p>Pre-med and English is very do-able. Pre-med overlaps with the core. So you have core + pre-med = 24 courses. I think English is 11 courses. That equals 35 courses, assuming no AP credit. Many students at every college, by the way, choose not to complete all pre-med requirements while at college and instead take courses during the summer or after graduation at another institution because while in college they want to take more electives or study abroad or whatever else. That's not something to worry about.</p>
<p>This may sound really stupid, especially since U of C is one of the best universties in the country but do students have a difficult time keeping up solid grades? The students that attend the school obviously had exceptional grades and were very involved in high school. Since i am thinking of Med School, would i have to kill myself for a 3.7 GPA at the school? If students work hard enough, will it pay off? Abstract question i know. Probably depends on the person. Thanks!</p>
<p>If one is truly pre-med focused, one can take the lower level math and science courses, which meet med school requirements, even though one could take higher. That is, Calc 130's versus 150's or higher, physics 120's etc. My S is pre-med and said some other pre-meds advised him to do this for the grades, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. His GPA, whatever it is, would probably have been higher, but he preferred the challenge. A 3.7 is an A- average, chemistry, o-chem, etc. tend to take a heavy toll, making that a tough, but not impossible, thing to accomplish. Keep in mind, College honors is 3.25.</p>
<p>It depends on the person and, as idad said, the class choices. There are multiple levels for many math and science courses, and the "honors" sections are notoriously difficult. A 3.7 pre-med would be very difficult. Search past threads for information on pre-med acceptances, though. Students who plan well for med school and get average or above scores on the MCAT can get into med schools with around a 3.3. The pre-med advisors tell students to aim for Dean's List, which is 3.25. Working hard is all you can do, and it will pay off.</p>
<p>So is it safe to assume that not a lot of A's are given out? Do a lot of the Pre-Med students end up at the top med schools with a 3.3 or that GPA is just to get into a medical school?</p>
<p>Top medical schools are absurdly difficult to get accepted to. You'd need above a 3.3 for those. There are no bad med schools in the US, though. All are good quality, and all produce doctors. We've had a number of past posts about this, including quotes from pre-med advisors at Chicago and people who work for admissions departments at med schools. Run a search.</p>
<p>A's are certainly given out, but most students can't pull of an A or A- average with a challenging pre-med curriculum. Math and science classes tend to be graded on a curve, too, so you have to be at the very top of the class to get the high grades.</p>
<p>I guess the U of C name carries weight though. Sorry about all of the questions...i have too much curiosity and i don't know if that is a good thing</p>
<p>is their a ton of competition amongst students or is it more of a competition within oneself? Also, do students have time for a social life?</p>
<p>I haven't noticed much competition at all among students. Most don't have a clue what kind of grades anyone else gets. Especially in the science classes, where you'll have a cohort of people going through the sequences together, there is a lot of cooperation on work and studying and such. And yes, social lives exist. You can't party every night and expect to do well academically, but you have plenty of time to enjoy friends, the city of Chicago, or whatever else you want to do outside of academic stuff.</p>
<p>There is very little competition among students. Students work with each other on problem sets, talk about paper topics together, exchange papers for editing/proofing, help students in classes they've taken already, and whatever else you can think of.</p>
<p>What makes UChicago the best choice for a school out of all of the others?</p>
<p>It isn't. It depends on the student. </p>
<p>I like that it ensures that a student will graduate having had a true, liberal arts education.</p>
<p>Seems that way....thanks for all your help!</p>