<p>You guys go to the most underrated school in the USNWR top 25. I really respect your students and your curriculum. I applied and was accepted to U of C. But I was lured away by "bigger" names. </p>
<p>I love my alma mater to death, don't get me wrong. I really cannot imagine going elsewhere. Still, there is a part of me that imagines what could've been. Braving the harsh Chicago winters and curriculum appeals to the romantic (lol) side of me.</p>
<p>Can I say ■■■■■? You think U of C is not a big name? Wow you are really disconnected from this world. U of C is one of the most respected name world wide. Why? U of C was where the Chicago Pile-1, the worlds’ first artificial nuclear reactor, was built. U of C was where the mass of an electron was calculated, Millikan’s Oil Drop Experiment. U of C has more Nobel Prize winner than Harvard.</p>
<p>
If you ask any U of C student, they will say that no one honestly cares about ranking. People who care about ranking and select schools based on their ranking is a ■■■■■■. College is a fit, not a prize. Also I have to say the most underrated school is Rice University. </p>
<p>
But I don’t respect you for ■■■■■■■■.</p>
<p>I originally thought that cdz512 was overreacting a bit, but going through the OP’s history, the label ■■■■■ may be more fair than what it initially seems.</p>
<p>Also, at least in academia, Chicago is probably about equally respected as Harvard/MIT/whatever. Whether the rankings indicate it and whether the general public is aware of it is irrelevant except, perhaps, in the realm of finances.</p>
<p>Honest, I wasn’t trying to “■■■■■.” Re-reading what I wrote, I can see how you might think that. It just came out wrong, that’s all. That’s why I put “bigger” in quotes because I couldn’t think of a more appropriate word.</p>
<p>I admit that being new to this site, I didn’t observe decorum in the forums of certain schools that I don’t respect. But I am not trying to flame anybody, especially U of Chicago students. </p>
<p>I just feel that you don’t get your due respect in CC. I wanted to express that I had a little regret about not giving U of C a chance, that’s all. </p>
<p>Sorry I started this thread. Just ignore it please.</p>
<p>Come on, give happymeds a break. While the average UChicago student probably puts less stock into rankings than the average non-UChicago student, it is undeniable that at times UChicago students feel a sense of frustration at those out there who equate the school with a public institution or claim that its vastly inferior to the ivies. Cdz512, you list some of Chicago’s more recognizable academic achievements, and in doing so, I think you implicitly make the argument that Chicago deserves 1. a higher ranking and 2. more general name recognition (not amongst academics as its long been established that its name recognition in academia couldn’t be any better). Happymeds is simpy expressing his disbelief that a school like, say, Vanderbilt would be considered more prestigious than Chicago on this board. Cdz and Phuriku, you as Chicago students may not care, but happymeds does find that to be a problem and I don’t think you should label him a ■■■■■ for identifying it as such. You can’t really expect him to be clairvoyant to the mentality of the average UChicago student regarding collegiate hierarchical structures considering he doesn’t go there.</p>
<p>Okay, I buy your argument. I actually didn’t even consider that your post was ■■■■■■■■ until cdz512 said so, and then rereading it, you could see how things could be taken differently. But really, don’t worry about it.</p>
<p>Among the general public, and especially among people seeking prestige over rigorous education, as you see so much of on this forum, Chicago isn’t going to be very popular. That’s alright. I don’t think too many people here care too much what the outside world thinks of the school they went to. Honestly, I find it a bit annoying how the most commonplace way to judge a person is by the groups to which he belongs. Since none of my extended family knows of the University of Chicago, it’s pretty nice not to be classified as a certain person (Harvard - genius, MIT - nerdy, Ivy League - snobbish [they’re opinion, not mine]). I can remain an individual and be judged as an individual.</p>
<p>In any case, I think Chicago is an amazing university, and I love it here. (I say that because it’s summer now. I won’t be saying this in the winter.) You should come visit sometime. Campus is being renovated and should be looking quite nice in the fall.</p>
<p>Wow, I do respect U of C. Look at this ranking. </p>
<p>[Top</a> 50 Colleges Ranked For 2009 - The best colleges & universities in the United States](<a href=“GoDaddy Corporate Domains - Protected”>GoDaddy Corporate Domains - Protected)</p>
<p>I don’t think you should base the level of respect you have for a school on its position on an online ranking that has questionable metrics.</p>
<p>^^ True it is ranked very well, but I think this list is a little… skewed. I mean, Maryland being above MIT, Caltech, Northwestern, WashU, Johns Hopkins, Georgetown, etc? Seriously? As well, I would put Swarthmore a lot higher, if Amherst deserves to be 5th, Swarthmore deserves to be at least top 20. </p>
<p>But nonetheless, I do think that UChicago is a little underrated in the grand scheme of society, but who really cares? It should matter what the reputation is amongst its peers and in academia, and its reputation in that arena is quite good.</p>
<p>See here’s my view on ranking. I ranking colleges by groups not individually. Top 10 are pretty much the same (it is really impossible to rank UPenn over U of C or Duke–essentially, to me U of C is just as good as Harvard for people that find U of C as a fit for them). Then 11-20 is pretty much the same and they are not far behind top 10 either. The difference is very little. And pretty much it’s the same pattern for 21-30, then 31-40. Also the fact that US News is a extremely weird ranking, I don’t trust them. I don’t get why they didn’t rank Liberal Arts college like Amherst and Williams with the other colleges? They honestly don’t need their own ranking, it makes it seem they don’t deserve to be ranked with the “National Universities”. I mean the ranking was about undergrad school, why separate them? If your going to rank undergrad programs, you don’t need to separate schools with grad schools and schools without. I don’t like ranking at all really. I found that Stanford’s former president didn’t like it either. </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.stanford.edu/dept/pres-provost/president/speeches/961206gcfallow.html[/url]”>http://www.stanford.edu/dept/pres-provost/president/speeches/961206gcfallow.html</a></p>
<p>Haha, I definitely agree that UChicago is underrated. I mean, my guidance counselor was absolutely mortified when I dropped off the Brown waiting list after being accepted at Chicago. It completely boggled her mind, and I generally wasn’t acknowledged as “special” or anything - the only two in my graduating class who were fawned over were the kid who went to Westpoint, the valedictorian who’s going to Georgetown, and the salutatorian who’s going to Brown. (Not that I’m an attention-whore, don’t get me wrong. I really don’t care. I’m just making an observation on how our accomplishments were ranked respectively). </p>
<p>The person who did freak out over it was my aunt-by-marriage, but she’s kind of in the world of academia, which tend to be the ones who have actually heard of the school and know it’s reputation. So take it for what you will. In any case, people who come here generally don’t come for the prestige. They come because it’s a generally great school. Well, at least I’d hope they do :P</p>
<p>You can deny it all you want, but “UChicago” does not get the same reaction as “Harvard”. My story is exactly like erika27’s. When I turned down my admission to Rice (USNWR 17), the counselors at my school thought I was crazy. When I tell people that I’m going to UChicago, they either think I meant UIC or make some comment about the distance. So, UChicago is not a name school. But that doesn’t change the fact that it’s freakin’ awesome.</p>
<p>Kmad - the post about Rice is interesting. Are you from the Texas area or the southwest generally? If so, it’d sorta reinforce my point about the top schools in a region generally enjoying the sort of “home field advantage” that U of C doesn’t have in its very own city.</p>
<p>I’m gonna squishy you.</p>
<p>I do agree, Rice is the most underrated top college. I they have some of the best undergrad focus and the graduates are just as good as Ivy leagues. I actually think it is less of U of C and all the other colleges being underrate but more of the Ivies being overrated (but yes U of C and the other top colleges are still quite underrated). Like HYP is quite justified as getting good reputation but there are other schools that people think are better than Duke, U of C, Rice, Caltech etc.</p>
<p>The reason to go to a college shouldn’t be for reputation and being able to “brag” about it. College is a fit, not a prize.</p>
<p>Some colleges in the Ivy League aren’t even as good as U of C in my opinion.</p>
<p>Yah gunit5? Like which ones? Back when Chicago was a big, wealthy, powerhouse school - directly comparable to Harvard or Yale - many would have laughed at thinking a school like Brown, for example, was even remotely in the same league. So I’m interested to see how, initially, you might have placed some “lower ivies” ahead of the U of C.</p>
<p>Yeah, I’m from Texas. And I think Rice is way overrated in this neck of the woods. The reaction it gets isn’t proportionate at all to its accomplishments or its success. </p>
<p>Aaaand, if ratings don’t matter, why do we talk about them so much?</p>
<p>
While it can be nice to dwell in the past (which is also where Chicago’s football prowess lies :p), this thread deals with the current level of respect for Chicago. Although I disagree that Chicago is superior at the undergraduate level to any of the Ivies, I do agree that it is at least on par with all of them.</p>
<p>In any case, that’s hardly a fair comparison. As I’m sure you know, Harvard and Brown as we know them today didn’t exist then. Harvard was split into Harvard and Radcliffe, and Brown was split into Brown and Pembroke. With coeducational status comes greater selectivity, wealth, and indirectly respect.</p>
<p>Interestingly, people’s reasons for choosing a college back then were as varied as now. Here’s quote from one of my favorite scholars, a graduate from Chicago (both BA and PhD). She grew up in Chicago and attended the university in the 40s/50s.</p>
<p>I didn’t want to be a writer, though; I wanted to be an archaeologist. After graduating from high school, I went to the University of Chicago–not because it had a world-famous department, but because it was close to home and I had received a scholarship.</p>
<p>IBClass and Kmad - what you guys are referring to relate to one of my biggest contentions with the U of C. Pretty much every top college, from Harvard in New England to Rice in Texas to Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, enjoys a strong, pronounced reputation in its immediate area. This allows the school to then enjoy getting great students right from its own backyard, and eases up the pressure on long-distance recruiting.</p>
<p>Of course Rice is overrated in Houston, just like Penn is overrated in Philly or CMU gets a lot of respect in Pittsburgh. When the university is right there, it tends to get a bit of an inflated rating, and the best kids in the area apply almost automatically. </p>
<p>This is the one area where Chicago needs to make up ground. Most kids don’t venture that far from college. Chicago needs to improve its rep in the city of Chicago itself.</p>
<p>On another note, sadly, for schools with dampened recognition on the national stage - schools like Chicago and Penn - I think it’s more important for these schools to do well in the rankings, because it’s the easiest and quickest method to achieving legitimacy. This is not right by any means, but if Penn and Chicago continue to hover around #7 in US News, it makes it easier for someone from the Southwest or South or whereever to pick a Chicago or Penn over an Emory or Rice. If for nothing else, when the guidance counselor balks at this, a #7 vs. #18 (or whatever) ranking supports - however superficially, but in the eyes of poorly informed guidance counselors, it’s persuasive - the final decision.</p>