U. Chicago....A Bunch of Nerds?? (hope not)

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
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<p>It is a good thing kids like slipper have other choices for schooling. </p>

<p>Not everyone would be happy at Chicago, as I and others have said. Those that want a broad range of frat parties to choose from, heavy greek oriented social life, multipe parties to choose from every night of the week, drowning in alchohol, these kids should really be looking at Duke or Northwestern, for example. </p>

<p>While most Chicago undergrads tolerate a barfing hallmate or two, and will even help clean up, I think Chicago students tolerate such behaviour more than admire it.</p>

<p>Keep in mind, too, that Chicago's culture is not dominated by athletics. Rather, it gives more emphasis on individual and group activities. Improv is big. Theater is big. Talking is big. Movies are big - doc films anyone?</p>

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<p>slipper is just a parent who for some reason or another rampantly supports dartmouth (with a kid who will be going). I guess if they prefer attending a school that relies more on the Ivy name than its own thats fine by me bud do they have to come trash us on our own forum (and others) about having no social life even though they havnt had a student attend Uchicago?</p>

<p>And US News rankings are crap...there is no way to truely rank the schools as a whole. They provide a general picture, but their rankings with in say, the top 25 dont mean all that much (and jpps1 mentioned some reasons why chicago shows up lower). If you really want to talk rankings...princeton review puts chicago as #1 undergrad and dartmouth isnt even on the list (neither is duke for that matter).</p>

<p>Blah.</p>

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<p>"If you really want to talk rankings...princeton review puts chicago as #1 undergrad and dartmouth isnt even on the list."</p>

<p>In all fairness, the PR rankings are pretty subjective also, moreso than USNews'...also, it was a list of schools with the top academic experience, not the top schools in general.</p>

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<p>Funny Jpps, all I was doing was retorting grasslands issue with my USNEWS comments. It is true that Chicago has never been ranked in the top ten undergrad schools in ANY ranking EVER.</p>

<p>I hate Chicago because its a social life black hole, and tries to recruit because of "academic excellence" but the truth is it really isnt more excellent than its peers. There is nothing worse than a school full of pretentious people, lacking warmth and community. I want to dissuade people from going to a school where nearly every alum isnt satisfied. Go to student reviews and you will see what I mean.</p>

<p>4000 kids means fun? No it doesnt. It means there are a ton of disconnected cliques who don't really have a connected social scene. Its a lonely place.</p>

<p>1400 posts? Many of those come from the Dartmouth board where its fun to help prosepectives (and beat Brown in posts). </p>

<p>College can be an amazing experience, intellectually and emotionally. Chicago misses out on half of this equation.</p>

<p>You trade spirit for a marginal academic benefit that arguably even exists. </p>

<p>Sure, Chicago is better than JHU, WUSTL, and maybe even Northwestern. Chose it over ANY Ivy/ Duke/ top LACs, etc? No way.</p>

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<p>at studentsreview.com, it seems that a large majority would in fact return to uchicago while it looks like almost a third of the dartmouth students would not. Granted these are small samples but if it were as you claim and almost every student hated it, it would show (and as you see on review sites, people with negative views are far more likely to seek out a place to display them).</p>

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<p>I think this sums it up. If you are the Chicago "type" go there, but make sure you aren't a social type person.</p>

<p>People love saying that this university is for nerds and that is pretty much true. I think that a lot of undergraduates who choose to come here are the type who had few friends in high school and cared more about their grades than having fun. This mentality definitely spills over into college life at the U of C. Students complain that there is no social life, but if this is so it is because most students who come here are socially awkward to begin with and would rather spend their evenings in the library studying than getting smashed, drunk, high, intoxicated, inebriated, wasted, plastered, etc. I firmly believe that you get out only what you put in - fun is not delivered to you on a platter; you have to find it yourself. Most students here don't even bother to look.</p>

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<p>"Chose it over ANY Ivy/ Duke/ top LACs, etc? No way."</p>

<p>I never said it was better than any ivy...Duke is a debatable one, but if I got into any Ivy (save Cornell and Brown--I have no interest in them due to their locations), I would choose it in a minute over Chicago.</p>

<p>However, as it stands, I've applied to Chicago...Basically because I wanted to leave early (12th of 13 years here in Quebec) and at the time, it was the best university I would have a shot at getting into...although the city and reputation were major attractions. If I don't get in this year, I will probably re-apply next year, however, it won't be my EA choice--I'll leave that to either UPenn, UCB, or NYU. </p>

<p>I can put up with a lot, and I can adapt well to social environment--I party like crazy in a party atmosphere, and relax in a less vibrant atmosphere. Neither bothers me. I look at it this way--I like to have fun, and by fun, I mean consume copious amounts of booze at bars and clubs. If I am applying here, than at least one or two other people of the 4000 must be like-minded...no?</p>

<p>As it stands, I would choose these schools over Chicago--UPenn, Columbia, NYU Stern, UCB, UNC-CH, Duke, Dartmouth...</p>

<p>I think the diversity of my list speaks volumes of the fact that I don't have a "dream" school--none of the schools on the list possesses everything I'd like in the college (i.e., Duke has great sports to watch and a great social scene, but it's not in a big city, which is important to me).</p>

<p>The fact is, that you REALLY seem to hold an unhealthy grudge against Chicago, and we don't want to hear it. Look, we all come out equal in the end at this level; it's a matter of personal preference where we go. It's only natural for people on this board to boost their own school; you do it with Dartmouth (and Duke, for some strange reason). But I don't understand why you're being so immature as to put Chicago down AND try to persuade people not to go...</p>

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<p>I think you are pretty accurate with where you place Chicago, but many people aren't. </p>

<p>As for my "unhealthy grudge", how can someone be more of assistance then helping people avoid going to a place that might be a horrible fit for four years! I think people need to be aware of what Chicago truly is.</p>

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<p>"As for my "unhealthy grudge", how can someone be more of assistance then helping people avoid going to a place that might be a horrible fit for four years!"</p>

<p>Key word there is "might." I was always a proponent of trying the slipper on (no pun intended) to see if it fits.</p>

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<p>As an alumnus of the graduate school and one who knows many many former Chicago undergrads, their love for The University is intense to say the least. We all say our blood runs maroon. While I was there, the undergrad social life was very good, but more importantly, the intellectual climate was second to none. I worked on collaborations with many colleagues from Harvard and other Ivy's. After a visit to Chicago, they would invariably remark how they wished their environments where as intellectually electric as Chicago's, especially among the undergraduates. I'm not saying Chicago is right for everyone, what I am saying is that it has its own unique commitment to scholarship that is typically not found elsewhere. My training at Chicago was amazing, I will forever be grateful for the time I spent there as a student. Would I have been as successful if I had gone elsewhere, the data suggest yes, but would I rather have been anywhere else, absolutely not. As far as the coursework, from the many undergrads in my classes and those for whom I was a TA, I did not think most felt overburdened. From what I observed, it seemed to get easier once a concentration was decided upon and the core completed. (Then again, maybe they just got used to it!)</p>

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<p>"I hate Chicago because its a social life black hole, and tries to recruit because of "academic excellence" but the truth is it really isnt more excellent than its peers." </p>

<p>Wow...you actually hate something that isn't even connected to you. Are you bitter at a rejection or something? Morons like you who would prefer to get wasted, plastered, high, intoxicated, or f-ed up instead of doing something intellectually rewarding should just go to the University of Retarded Losers.</p>

<p>If anybody is confident enough in their social abilities, they will go anywhere and cause a stir and start something. They aren't ones who are waiting in a dark little room hoping somebody would invite them somewhere. The great UofC doesn't need any sub par moron bad mouthing it. 77 Nobel Prize winners and helping nuke Japanese empire is enough for me.</p>

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<p>You are proud of the Nuking of Hiroshima/ Nagasaki? WOW, you are a school of heartless trolls.</p>

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<p>I'm proud that 1 million American lives (est. loss of Americans if nukes were not used) were saved and that the empire was crushed quickly without more death. The 23 million Chinese civilians and millions of other civilians killed by the invading Japanese outweights the deaths caused by the nuclear bomb.</p>

<p>And also, I don't represent UChicago. You are just another rejected soul looking for spew crap on the rejecter.</p>

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<p>that last bit was uncalled for, j10cpc. and i thought the manhattan project was done at columbia? I agree with everything you said up to that point. UofC is a great school for people who are confident in their own skin. For people who are insecure, its not a place where you will be able to become popular because you can throw a party or wear a short skirt. For people who know how they want to have fun, its a good place. For some people, Chicago will be a better fit than HYP, so i can see how someone would pick it over an ivy. Certainly it is much more respected academically than Cornell, and maybe brown and UPenn as well. It seems to have a nicer atmosphere, reputation and feel than Columbia too, and as far as big city schools go, I think Chicago is tops.</p>

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<p>Trolling: "Intentionally disrupting a Usenet newsgroup by posting obviously inaccurate or inflammatory information hoping to get a rise out of people. The perpetrators are known as 'trolls'."</p>

<p>It sounds more like YOU are the troll.</p>

<p>I hope that when you grow up and have children, dartmouth will reject them and UChicago offer a full scholarship so that you can see the truth.</p>

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<p>J10, its seriously up for debate whether American lives were saved. According to reports, the Japanese were about to give in.</p>

<p>And I got into Harvard, Columbia (college), Dartmouth, Duke, Brown, Northwestern, and Michigan Honors. I never applied to Chicago.</p>

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<p>Good, go find something better to do.</p>

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<p>Ah, now we understand Slipper. What do Duke, Dartmouth, Northwestern and Michigan all have in common? Strong Greek systems, a heavy jock mentality, and lots of drunken parties. Harvard and Brown are on the list for snob appeal.</p>

<p>At least we know what kind of person we are dealing with.</p>

<p>What is disappointing about Slipper is the display of such immaturity as shown by the total lack of understanding that someone could crave an environment different than, say, Duke. Given the circles this person must hang out in (lolling around at the country club, no doubt...), I'm surprised slipper ever ran into a Chicago grad.</p>

<p>It is always funnny watching someone make a fool out of themselves opining on something that they clearly have no knowledge about.</p>

<p>Slipper, care to share any other golden, astute observations of Chicago life like the ones you've made already, or are you finished making a fool out of yourself?</p>

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<p>I think slipper forms his impressions of Chicago thanks to people like you. There is no reason to look down at the academics at Duke, Northwestern, Dartmouth or Michigan. They are all great schools.</p>

<p>In slipper's defense, he criticizes Chicago's social life while acknowledging that it is, at least academically, on par with any top 10 school. However, to you, any school that students party at is a crappy, lazy school. Right?</p>

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<p>J10/ Newmassdad, another issue is that you (and many Chicagoites) only see two worlds, 1) intellectual academic and 2) puking frat jocks who were mean to them in high school.</p>

<p>I can tell you that colleges arent so black and white. My favorite memories of Dartmouth were getting to have lunch (with a group of 5 or 6 students) with Ang Lee, Sean Penn, Howard Dean, etc when they were "in residence", going to dinner with Professors, getting a $8000 Dartmouth grant for my thesis research in the Marshall Islands, going ice skating on Occum Pond for my first date with my girlfriend, swimming in the river before class, getting an "office" in the History department for my research, never having a TA, etc.</p>

<p>People at the Ivies are smart too, not just drunken fools. Its an unfair, reactionary, stereotype.</p>

<p>Academically there is no question Chicago is a top school. There are others too, that offer much more balanced overall atmospheres.</p>