<p>Some people have mentioned that they like Chicago's core curriculum, but I don't really see why. Let's look at the core:</p>
<p>Humanities, Civilization Studies, and the Arts (6 Quarter-Courses)
Natural and Mathematical Sciences (6 Quarter-Courses)
Social Sciences (3 Quarter-Courses)
Foreign Language</p>
<p>That should be it, sorry if I made a mistake/missed something. So basically, why does this appeal to you when compared with other colleges which give you more freedom. If you are really interested in all these subjects woudln't you take them any way? Doesn't being forced (not that most UChicago students would be forced to learn...:P ) to participate in classes you aren't interested in prevent you from taking classes that you are actually interested in? Or does the wide variety of classes in each area help promote your interest? </p>
<p>My parents don't really like the idea as we're from Turkey where students starts choosing their fields in 9th grade and take HS classes in those fields and go to a university that only teaches them their 'major'. This is my 2nd semester in college and I really want to transfer to UChicago, but it's already difficult explaining why I want to major in economics and have only 1 eco course out of all my 11 courses...and honestly I don't know what to say to my parents who are keen on sending me to a Turkish uni :(</p>
<p>My guess the answer would be something like an economist who has a full liberal arts background and is educated overall will be better at considering the whole picture in which economics is a part. Further, it is not just about the job, but connecting to the world as an educated person. Education is a personal thing that allows one to come in contact with experience in a more textured and perhaps more fulfilling way than one would without it. </p>
<p>The Core is designed to bring students into contact with the systematic study of the areas you list. Thinking deeply over a period of time is the goal. Thinking about and appreciating what one might not typically choose is also important. Often, one begins to see the interrelationships between disciplines and draws from them as one finally settles into one's concentration.</p>
<ol>
<li>So basically, why does this appeal to you when compared with other colleges which give you more freedom.</li>
</ol>
<p>I'm interested in a broad range of disciplines and I understand that my education has a lot of holes that need to be filled. Which brings me to...</p>
<ol>
<li>If you are really interested in all these subjects wouldn't you take them any way? </li>
</ol>
<p>I would take them anyway (hence my applying to some open curriculum schools). However, the idea of slaving away with several other thousand peers and having something central to discuss and relate to is certainly appealing. People who come to Chicago love to learn. The environment is unique and conducive to an education that reaches breath, depth, and of course, constant evaluation that I find appealing. </p>
<ol>
<li>Doesn't being forced to participate in classes you aren't interested in prevent you from taking classes that you are actually interested in? (Or does the wide variety of classes in each area help promote your interest?) </li>
</ol>
<p>I'm interested in just about everything. I value a balanced education and have the need to speak various tongues and relate to people of a variety of backgrounds and interests. So I wouldn't necessarily call it forced or suppressive to my main interests (which are barely distinct from my others). I understand that I do not know a lot and I think I need to at least try to become familiar with different topics to further define my interests.</p>
<p>So, I think of Chicago as basically an awakening process.</p>
<p>you can always have a conversation with any other student here about anything- the boiochem kids know kant, the philosphy kids are up on their calculus, and the math kids can quote Milton to you. Part of the value of the core is that everyone has a base in everything, which means that when you graduate, most likely an econ major, you will be a human being capable of enjoying more than market models. Besides, a lot of people come here without clear ideas about what they want to do, or just think they want to study math because they've never read any good old Foucault. There are great opportunities available to the students give more time to consider what they really want to do. At the end of the day, you have plenty of time left to do what you want to do, since its hardly that big a deal.</p>
<p>Um...i wouldnt really advocate that. The GSB is wonderful, but if you want an education in economics, its a good thing to remember that business and economics are not the same thing.</p>
<p>One does not have to enroll in an MBA program. If one wishes to study economics at Chicago at the Masters level, one can enroll in the MAPSS program. Many do this as a stepping stone to Ph.D. work.</p>
<p>Well here is the thing, I think Im fairly over qualified for my current college ( City Uni of NY: Baruch College). I was originally rejected from U Chicago and a couple of other places, and although I was accepted to a couple good schools, I decided to stay at a city college, take the SAT's again (went from a 1320 to a 1520 + 700) and maintain a good GPA so I can go to a school that I really want to go to. Mind you I'm only paying about 3500-4000 this year, but there are so many things wrong at Baruch, especially when compared with U Chicago. </p>
<p>I could always go to U Chicago to do my masters in economics or other stuff (varsity1AC I don't think Andy necessarily meant an MBA) and I am definitely thinking of grad school, but I don't want to necessarily make decisions based on future goals that have a high probability of changing due to so many factors. </p>
<p>As much as I love U Chicago, and it is my 1st choice, the only advantage of the core I see for myself is the intellectual environment it creates. I am very interested in a lot of subjects and am generally very curious, but there are just some things which I don't want to study college, or even Chicago, level. I can also see how it would help those that aren't decided over their majors. Although most students change their minds, I'm pretty sure I'll stick with economics. I love most of the social sciences and I find human/societal behavior very fascinating at times, I also really enjoy math...economics seems to be the best mix of the too :) I also took 1 year of IB HL Eco and loved it. Thanks for all the great responses.</p>
<p>I feel that the Core is very valuable as a learning tool - I'm disappointed that schools (even those of the top twenty) are moving away from the Core style to complete freedom, like Brown. Part of what bubblewrap said is true, as I told my interviewer - I sure wouldn't take a Bio class unless forced to do so. The rest is the fact that I think that concentrating solely on your major (like the OP said starts at 9TH grade in his country) doesn't help you in the long run - many people do NOT do the same thing in life as their major would have you think - taking core classes not only makes you more 'well-rounded' and a smarter person, but you may find yourself using the skills that the University's Core Curriculum offer later in life.</p>
<p>neverborn - You shouldn't need people to force you to do anything. Your education should be what you make of it - after high school it should be self motivated. If you don't want to take a subject - fine - it's your life, your education. I personally value the core at Chicago because I know that the University and professors have gone out of their way to provide an integrated, comprehensive experience, that also creates a close tight-knit community of students. I also applied to Brown because I find their laissez-faire approach to education exciting as it would allow me to create my own educational program - and since I have broad interests I would have a good liberal arts education anyway, but with more choice. If you view education as someone forcing you to study subjects you hate for your own good, you've lost that essential spark of joy and pleasure that comes with learning of your own accord.</p>
<p>Myself-
Do you think neverborn and I would be on the UChicago board if we weren't passionate about learning? Your post seems out of touch with the "real world" of 18-year-olds who might be crazy about some subjects, but lukewarm about others. I admit it: I hate biology. By the logic expressed in your thread, I have lost the "essential spark of joy and pleasure that comes with learning of your own accord." Not so. I simply hate biology. But I am at least mature enough to know that a well rounded education, especially for the concentrations I'm considering, might require a bit of biology, and I'm glad Chicago's core provides the impetus for me to stick with it. Please don't make it sound like we are somehow scholastically deficient simply because we dislike some areas of study.</p>
<p>Students take six quarter courses in the following areas: at least two quarters of physical sciences (see sections A and C); at least two in the biological sciences (see sections B and C); and at least one in the mathematical sciences (see section D).</p>
<p>bubblewrap - Let me ask you a question: since you view biology as something useful to your intended area of concentration, would you take biology if the school didn't require it for graduation? If you know that something will benefit you, but is not particularly enjoyable, do you need a person to force you to do it? Or would you simply put it off untill the end of college? Since you seem goal-oriented and insightful as to your future would you truly be unable to take a class to help yourself on your own?</p>
<p>Personally I'm a procrastinator - if I truly don't want to do something I'll avoid doing it as long as I can - then I'll do it, and the pressure of a deadline actually allows me to perform better than I would if I were to do it leisurely. I understand how you feel it would be better if someone was watching to see if a class is taken and keep you on track - but this isn't high school anymore (not next year at least, regardless of where we end up going). We'll be forced to perform certain things that are hard, difficult, or unpleasant for the rest of our lives. The key is learning to have a self "impetus" in college rather than the same type of authoritarian "impetus" that we've already been experiencing. In the real world no one will be checking or forcing you to get things done - if you don't there are merely negative consequences - as for everything in life. I would perfer to learn to work without the yoke of outside motivation in college rather than have to learn it after college when the stakes are higher and more severe. If I end up attending Chicago I would embrace the Core not as something to force me to learn but as a guide that I know will personally enhance my life and the way I view the world - in essence it will become part of myself. That is why I could function with or without a core curriculum - both have their good and bad aspects - Chicago would have a guide for me to follow - a place like Brown would simply allow me to use my own discretion and create my own path. In the end it depends on the person and their own goals and abilities that determine their course in life.</p>
<p>Personally I feel I've come to the point where I do things that I have to do a long time ago. If I need to take bio, even though I hate it, I'll take it. But I doubt I'll need it as I'm (atleast planning on) majoring in economics, so besides the core requirements, I really don't need bio, and if I don't end up going to Chicago, and my current college doesn't require bio, I'm not going to take it.
I value a 'well rounded education' but I'm not going to eat apples everyday to be healthy even though I hate them. There are other ways to be healthy, ya know? I think if one is mature enough to want a well rounded education then they would be able to choose the classes to satisfy that. </p>
<p>But I can see why being forced to do something you don't want to do, even though you see why it would be good, would be easier for some. </p>
<p>It's also important to note that some students should really take the core into consideration when choosing Chicago. I've had 'very hard' classes that seemed easier to me than others because I was interested in the subject and vice versa. If you aren't that open to classes in different areas that you don't like, having to take a hard course in UChicago might be a pretty heavy burden.</p>