<p>My son is a UChicago football recruit, we visit this weekend.
Smart, handsome CA boy, funny, very popular at his H.S.
(better suited to UCLA in my opinion...take with a grain of salt, I'm his Mom!)</p>
<p>I want UChicago for top education/"think tank" and great city for me to visit! :-)</p>
<p>He's concerned that students will be too "intellectual-nerdy" and he'll be stressed out and won't find compatible friends. Any words of wisdom?</p>
<p>Your son should have nothing to worry about. Athletics at Chicago is approached very differently than other institutions. Scholar-athletes at Chicago are just as respected as any other student who excels in any other “extracurricular” activity. Remember Edwin Hubble, the famous astronomer, was not only a genius at Chicago but a great athlete in basketball and boxing. Both my brother and I were athletes at Chicago and we both became physicians.</p>
<p>Moreover, historically, the athletes at Chicago tend to carry a higher GPA than others in general. This speaks volumes.</p>
<p>FB Coach told us UChicago’s avg male GPA is 3.3 = FB team’s avg.</p>
<p>Another concern is other schools (Ivy’s/UC’s in CA) have athletic tutoring halls with TAs who answer questions and lead exam reviews, etc for athletes; UChic doesn’t per coach.</p>
<p>Everyone (teachers, students) says UChicago is too nerdy for him.
He’s got a “BIG” personality, comedian/life-of-the-party type, but academic procrastinator (self-studied 2 hrs the night before SAT, got 1960- imagine if he applied himself!)</p>
<p>My DS is not a recruited athlete, but is a varsity football, basketball and track high school athlete. He was accepted EA to UChicago. Sounds like they would get along great to me!</p>
<p>A NY Times background article on football at UChicago:</p>
<p><a href=“At the University of Chicago, Football and Higher Education Mix - The New York Times”>At the University of Chicago, Football and Higher Education Mix - The New York Times;
<p>As a recruited athlete (already committed for next year), I would respectfully disagree with the assertion that UChicago is all nerds and work. I’m a girl, but I’m still very social and popular at my school. I was a bit worried about the atmosphere there at first but I went to visit several friends of mine and we had a great weekend. There were several parties going on and plenty of attractive people. There were definitely people who stayed in the dorms though, and you’re free to choose who to hang out with. You have to be able to get along with nerds, certainly, but they don’t necessarily have to be your best friends. I think the social life is really what you make it. I’m going to try to live in Max, which is supposed to be a pretty social dorm with a lot of athletes, and I expect to find at least one like minded group of people out of the 5000 undergrads there. </p>
<p>Also keep in mind that his teammates will likely be more social than average, so he will almost automatically be exposed to the more social side of UChicago.</p>
<p>Let’s put it this way: the beauty of Chicago is in its “students” and how inclusive they are in all the activities they are involved in. There are no boundaries between athletes vs non-athletes at parties or social gatherings. Whether the parties are in the dorms or frats you will get a good mixture of athletes and non-athletes enjoying each other’s company. There is no hierarchy as in some schools. This is why there is so much co-mingling of ideas from nerds to artists to musicians to athletes which makes for a great atmosphere to learn from each other without feeling like an outsider. There is a tradition of genuinely respecting each others view no matter what it may be as long as the student can cogently and persuasively argue their point…</p>
<p>After all, just as many athletes as non-athletes, pursue careers in medicine, law, investment banking, and academia…and they will be your future colleagues and possibly husbands and wives.</p>
<p>Do students look down on football players? The answer is unequivocally no. Your son will be able to find plenty of friends like him, though most of them will probably be nerds too in their own way. </p>
<p>I don’t think it’s a concern that UChicago lacks specific tutors for athletes; athletics on the whole are probably less of a time commitment than the Ivies and the UCs you’re using for comparison, being D-III. Of course, if your son could be playing football at a UC school, would he really want to play at Chicago? I would also bear in mind that while the academics here are manageable, they will require more time than the UC schools and probably even most of the Ivies. Most of us are procrastinators, too, but we all share a keen desire to learn. Your son might not feel that desire as strongly, and may be better suited at a school where academics are less of a priority. On the other hand, he may fit in perfectly.</p>
<p>D was a resident adviser in a dorm. She found the athletes incredibly nice and friendly. She liked them, they liked her, and so did other residents.</p>
<p>Thanks for the feedback everyone, wish us luck this weekend!
(I’m really hoping he’ll like UChicago (better investment) over Johns Hopkins)</p>
<p>In regards to DI vs. DIII- our last Ivy communication was Dec. 17, so working on Plan B. UCLA not an option, but UC Davis coach visiting again next week (possible walk-on).</p>
<p>my son is an recruited athlete in his third year and he sounds alot like your son. I was worried too that the school would be too “nerdy” for him as he’s very popular, social, good-looking, etc… My sons loves it there and enjoys hanging out with athletes and non-athletes alike. The only negative is admittedly it’s not a big sports school when it comes to spirit and big football games like state schools… but he says the education and the degree are worth it. He never looked back and has no regrets.</p>
<p>Getmoreveggies- please let us know how it went. Good Luck!</p>
<p>My kids were not varsity athletes at Chicago, but they knew some athletes (and so do I). Other students there don’t look down on athletes, but they don’t necessarily care about athletes as such, either.</p>
<p>I think the athletes who are happy at Chicago are the ones who really value what the university is off the field. I know one kid who was seriously recruited by various D-1 schools in his fairly important team sport (but not places like Stanford). He shocked his parents by deciding all on his own that he was probably never going to have a pro career, and that he should go to the University of Chicago (which would have been beyond a reach for him without the sport) and focus on trading his athletic skill for a high quality degree. He is very happy with his choice. He is a big deal in his sport – the best player on the team since he was a first-year, eventual holder of several school records – but hardly recognized for that anywhere else around the university. And that’s OK with him. He is an economics major looking for a financial industry job, like many of his teammates, and they have all had pretty good success. He thinks the university has made him a serious person.</p>
<p>Another athlete I know was never really happy there. He was a football starter but not a star, and always felt resentful that there wasn’t the same sort of sports-and-party culture that his friends and relatives enjoyed elsewhere. (He had a two-year-older cousin who was all-conference at a big-deal national football power.) He was very involved with his fraternity, and loved that, but really tried to limit his contact with anyone else at the university. His attitude was that everyone was full of it, and they should just chill. That wasn’t ever going to win him lots of friends at Chicago.</p>
<p>The University of Chicago is more broad-spectrum than it used to be, but it still isn’t for everyone. I think an athlete, like any prospective student, has to look in the mirror and decide what kind of person he really is, and whether that is a University of Chicago kind of person.</p>
<p>One of my kids was on a very serious club team, one that practiced every day, paid a coach, and travelled a lot to compete against other college clubs. It included a few people who had national rankings (but not ultra-high ones) in the sport. The club was really important to the kids in it, they spent a lot of time on it, they were proud and had a lot of spirit, and if you really wanted to get them talking you would ask about their senior theses.</p>
<p>Athletes, cumulatively, may not be looked down on much; however, any negative thoughts towards athletes are definitely directed at, and in many way perpetuated by, the football team. </p>
<p>Also, quoting average GPA of the football team vs. avg. GPA of the overall school is a poor statistic. It’s easy to get good grades if you take easy classes (the “joke” flavor of each core class, the bottom of the bottom major classes, etc.) so there’s some selection bias. </p>
<p>There are many football players that I find incredibly genuine and kind people. There are also many that I find unintellectual and overly obnoxious. Unfortunately, because of their size and how audible they are, the negative, more intrusive and disruptive players tend to stand out more. Also, an obnoxious 6’5" 300lb guy is more conspicuous than an obnoxious ‘regular student’… there are obnoxious kids throughout the student body (and throughout all student bodies), but some are more visible.</p>
<p>
I feel the same way, but it needs to be pointed out that being unintellectual does not necessarily make someone obnoxious (with the exception of classes, certain conversations, etc.), and that there are plenty of unintellectual and overly obnoxious people here (and everywhere) who aren’t on the football team. I think that’s more or less what you meant, but people can jump on things pretty quickly on CC.</p>
<p>Recent (within last 4 years) UC Football player here. There will be plenty of kids on the team your son will make connections with. They are the most “normal” kids on campus, along with the rest of the athletes. </p>
<p>Regarding grades - yes, the team does compete academically with the rest of the university on an average basis. The majority of the team is comprised of economics majors - most of which go on to work in finance. Along with that, the football network within Chicago and New York for jobs is absolutely incredible. You get your foot in the door a lot easier than most kids, which is a major plus. </p>
<p>The opportunity that UC has provided has gone beyond anything I could have imagined. Hope this helps and good luck with the process.</p>
<p>Just returned from our recruiting trip- amazing & beautiful campus, kudos UChicago!</p>
<p>My son is sold, he fit-in great with the football team though he admitted the anti-social/nerdy/intellectual sterotype is in full force. He’s decided that the immense opportunities associated with a UChicago degree are more than worth giving up the college football experience he had envisioned.</p>
<p>Fyi, the UChicago football players told us they are definately snubbed, but they don’t care. A player just received an internship because per the Rep “you were the highlight of my day since you are social, outgoing and the only student who actually held a conversation with me.”</p>
<p>Again, thanks everyone for your input, it’s all been insightful and much appreciated!</p>
<p>Glad you had a good experience, thanks for the update. I am going in 3 weeks. Wish me luck !</p>
<p>3rd year (and friends with football players and nerds alike) here. I’d say that UChicago students don’t really look down at football players, but it’s more that unlike many other schools, football (and competitive sports more generally) just aren’t a big part of campus life/culture; I’d bet that most students would not be able to name (or even recognize!) our quarterback. In other words, football players don’t get the same amount of attention as Tebow got at UF. But lack of attention = disdain. Just be aware that being a football player won’t make you big man on campus any more than being part of the chess team (maybe a slight exaggeration, but still…).</p>
<p>I would say that there is a substantial segment of the student population that don’t like football culture. For example, on three or four separate occasions, other students mentioned that one of the reasons why they chose UChicago was the lack of a strong sports culture. But I didn’t get the sense that they didn’t like football <em>players</em>, and in any case, everyone understands that if a football player chose to come here, they’re not dumb, one-dimensional meatheads.</p>