<p>i'm physics and econ</p>
<p>English and Poli Sci. But now I'm really discouraged after reading a lot of posts from CCers about it's "preppy" and "competitive" student body. Uggh. Definitely not my thing. What do you guys think of this?</p>
<p>I was always under the impression the student body is not as competitive as it is curious for knowledge. </p>
<p>Where are you transferring from and what year are you?</p>
<p>The way I understand, UChicago is probably less preppy and competitive than the ivies, but probably moreso than most LACs. Preppy and competitive are both relative terms, so you've got to figure out for yourself. If you're going to study PoliSci, you should know that UChicago's polisci dept is kind of conservative in comparison with a lot of east coast schools.</p>
<p>A close friend of mine attends U of C, and the impression I get is that the sciences are the most competitive, but not cutthroat by any means..</p>
<p>As for preppy-- I think its a mix.</p>
<p>I would be transferring from Oberlin, so I think a semi-preppy school that boasts Paul Wolfowitz as an alum might not be right for me.</p>
<p>Why are you transferring out of Oberlin? (I am pondering transfer from UChicago to Oberlin...)</p>
<p>By any chance, does anyone have the transfer admission stats off of the U.S News site? </p>
<p>I want to know what it says-- but I'm too cheap/poor to pay the 14.00 to view it..</p>
<p>Ummm, a myriad of reasons. I can't stand rural Ohio -- people get really wasted every weekend because there's nothing else to do. The students aren't as intellectual as I thought. My classes are way bigger than I had anticipated and there is virtually no discussion. Oberlin doesn't have a film production major, and I would really like to double major in english or poli sci and film. But I don't think U Chicago is still one of my transfer options -- I'm more interested in Wesleyan at this point.</p>
<p>"The students aren't as intellectual as I thought. My classes are way bigger than I had anticipated and there is virtually no discussion."</p>
<p>I don't question the validity of your particular experiences, but this is certainly not what has been reported to me from my kid who goes there. Au contraire. In fact I was told the class sizes and they have almost all been small by any standard. I think she's got one big class this semester; first one. But then she didn't take all the basic freshman intro classes. A transfer probably wouldn't be taking them either.</p>
<p>I'm comparing Oberlin to other schools I applied to that had a way more unconventional pedagogical approach -- think Hampshire, Evergreen, Marlboro, etc. Oberlin seemed like a good compromise between academic rigor and a progressive student body. You're right; I think my problem is that I'm taking all intro classes.</p>
<p>How do you think Wesleyan and Oberlin compare? (I'm thinking Wes might be my first choice...)</p>
<p>i am applying from Cornell University, already accepted
and i expect to get in again</p>
<p>ecape -- I think they're really comparable socially. I visited both and have friends at both. It sorta depends on what you want to study. Oberlin's creative writing program is nationally renowned, whereas Wesleyan doesn't offer a creative writing major. I'm personally interested in film, and Wesleyan has a better film department.</p>
<p>Do you think Wes is any better academically? I'm never sure how much US News Rankings mean...</p>