<p>Here are my responses to the comments from the past several hours. please respond to my responses, diverge to new ideas, or restart the conversation. Any constructive input is welcome.</p>
<p>MD Mom: I am planning to major in math/science.</p>
<p>WiscoKid: I am fine with the idea that Chicago does not put much emphasis on sports or other “social” things (using your sense of the word). And that is part of the problem. It was nice… Just not spectacular</p>
<p>noimagination: True, a “dream school” might not actually exist but does that mean that I should settle for something which is nicely adequate?</p>
<p>tk21769: Yes, I was there for a few days and shallowly explored most of what you mentioned. And when you said “Other than Scav Hunt there are not too many big institutional EC attractions like Princeton’s eating clubs, Dartmouth’s fraternities, or Big Ten football. Students are relatively left to their own devices to entertain each other.” I like that part of Chicago… The idea of fraternities and eating clubs bothers me on a certain level.</p>
<p>glassesarechic: so would you also attend a school just because you didn’t feel a bad vibe? Because that non-feeling could apply to many schools.</p>
<p>HST: That warm and fuzzy feeling is not necessarily what I am looking for; but did you or other Chicago students walk on campus and know that you wanted to attend the school?</p>
<p>veritas24: Thanks for that response. I know that if I matriculate I will eventually find a wonderful niche, and academics do play a large role in my decision, but would you have turned down your current college for a less academically stringent/intense college which had a better atmosphere?</p>
<p>bugaboo: but if you hadn’t felt the fit would you still have attended? And did you feel that the campus and atmosphere were hyped up?</p>
<p>spark09223: I agree with your comment, but it seems to me that you turned down other colleges because of their bad (or unwanted) vibes. so doesn’t that mean that U. Chicago had the best vibe for you?</p>
<p>qizixite:
I cannot really answer your question, because I knew I wanted to attend Chicago before I set foot on campus.<br>
You may have found the campus a bit subdued (I know I did). It is a very rich and rewarding academic environment, but a rather tough one as well. Most students work very hard; as a result, when you visit campus 7 months into the academic year, you are likely to run into a good number of tired students (whether or not they admit, or even realize, this fact). But UChicago imparts a terrific education for those who are willing to put in the requisite effort.</p>
<p>qizixite- in response to your question, in all my 18-year old wisdom I almost turned down Harvard to follow my gf to Bucknell. A great school in its own right, but definitely would not have exposed me to the academics, people, professors, and career opportunities that I experienced at Harvard. And if U of C is that head and shoulders above your other options, then that’s what I would make my decision on. But that’s just me.</p>
<p>No, of course not. But in the event that none of the schools you were accepted at particularly strikes you as “your” school, I’d turn to other factors–strength in your intended major, strength of student body, student access to professors, study abroad, whatever floats your boat. </p>
<p>In my case, as a junior who’s visited a few schools, no one school resonately exactly as “my future school,” but I could envision myself at most of them. The ones that had a distinctly negative vibe went off the list (as I assume they did with you back when you were deciding which schools to apply to). And next year around this time, if I can’t discern one school that I absolutely adore, I’ll probably turn to factors like location, housing, and strength in my intended major since those are important to me.</p>
<p>Actually, I don’t attend Chicago. I’m a prospective student like you, and I’m also still making my decision between multiple schools.</p>
<p>That being said, I went to Chicago with relatively low expectations because I had subscribed to the belief of it being overly intellectual and where “fun goes to die,” which I didn’t necessarily see. I wasn’t expecting Chicago to become one of my top choices, so perhaps that’s why I liked it so much.</p>
<p>Would you mind listing your other schools? IMO, if you have the slightest doubt about a school you really should sit back and envision your next 4 years there and really see if that is the place you want to be. If you felt more comfortable at another school that has decent academics, your college experience will be what you want it to be and I’m sure there are plenty of academic opportunities</p>
<p>sure wiscokid, my other choices are: vanderbilt, carnegie mellon, rochester, and tufts as well as a waitlist at one of HYP. I loved tufts’ campus when I visited, found vanderbilt to be too sporty/fraternity, and haven’t actually seen CMU. Rochester was more of a safety and I believe that U. Chicago has it beat in pretty much every category.</p>
<p>I understand that many people, after reading that paragraph, will probably say, “go to tufts” but I believe that there is something to be said for U. Chicago’s academic rigor even if I liked tufts’ campus more.</p>
<p>Yes, U. Chicago is more academically rigorous than Tufts; however, Tufts is one of the top universities in the nation. Remember, you still have grad school if you want the academic rigor of Chicago, but undergrad is about the experience along with the academics. Ultimately, it is your choice, and since I don’t know you, I have no clue what you want, but I think that it will make up 4 years of your life and possibly shape who you are as a person, I think loving the college campus and feel of the student body is very important</p>
<p>Chicago is certainly one of the top universities in the country (way superior to Tufts, btw) but also one of the most rigorous academic environments that one can encounter. The reputation of “where fun goes to die” is not completely baseless. The school has become very “self selective” student wise and that is perpetuating that perception as well. I think that if more quirky, artsy students would attend (rather than the “nerdy” type) people would not make such a big deal about the “academic rigor”…</p>
<p>Love sometimes happens at first sight and other times happens over the course of time. You may not have fallen immediately involve with a “dream school” but you may enroll and fall in love with it over your time there. </p>
<p>Honestly, most students end up loving their colleges and their universities whether or not it was their “dream school” Chicago is great, i’d go in a heartbeat!</p>
<p>personally i disliked my visit a lot. my dorm was small, dingy, cramped. the people i met were all a bit “off” and in general the school felt very unsocial…i guess living up to their name the place where the fun goes to die.</p>
<p>but in terms of academics, the school is incredible. their faculty is all top notch and their departments are all stellar. perhaps i was a bit biased when i went, just because of all that i had heard, but i figured it wasn’t the school for me.</p>
<p>Anybody who lived around Boston a few decades ago might recall newspaper colunmist George Frazier’s writings on the mysterious concept of “duende.” He made long lists of which people and places had it, and which did not. Familiarity with duende might help people articulate their feelings about “fit.”</p>
<p>Here’s an explanation:
"George Frazier was fond of duende. The literal translation has something to do with ghosts or goblins but it’s more. It’s used to describe that quality that’s indescribable about a person or a place. Frazier once wrote, “…style was Joe DiMaggio’s drifting back after a fly ball, but duende was DiMaggio’s barring Peter Lawford from Marilyn Monroe’s funeral.” So the next time a young girl walks by in really tight shorts - - No, wait. I meant to say, the next time you’re trying to describe something with soul and that “x” factor that’s so hard to define – you now have the perfect word. Duende.</p>
<p>And then there’s cursi. I don’t think Frazier knew about cursi ‘cause if he did – he’d as sure as hell have used it. Cursi means bad taste but includes, “one who has pretensions of refinement and elegance without possessing them.” Man, that says a whole lot for only five letters. Put that on your vanity tags or your Lands’ End bag. When I discovered the word cursi…my mind did the equivalent of looking around to make sure no one saw my fly was down. “Am I cursi?” I thought. Why not. I like to think I have better taste than most. But what if I’m wrong? What if I’m…cursi?"</p>