<p>Cory, can I ask what you want from a school? In another post on another thread you listed a bunch of schools that while prestigious had not a lot in common as a group. You seem to favor Columbia. Which would seem to me to make Chicago a like choice. But you also mention Penn and MIT as possibilities. So maybe Northwestern. Are you after preprofessional or academic? Do you see yourself as smart or intellectual? What exactly are your dreams for yourself?</p>
<p>Oh yes, I should have said in my post--I have just heard that Evanston is a con. I've actually never been there, despite the fact that I am about 45 minutes away. I suspect that some people just don't like suburbs (not that UChicago is in the ritziest part of town, at any rate). The point of my pro/con list was just that you could take one set of characteristics and make a totally different pro/con list depending on the person. For me, big time sports is a con, and Northwestern level sports are at least a neutral, take it or leave it consideration. (I actually am a professional sports fan...just not into the college sports culture). For some, if there aren't at least decent sports, it's not a school. </p>
<p>Anyway, I'm just not a fan of the splitting hairs that often goes on when people compare top 20 schools, especially when you get beyond the top 6 (HYPMS+C). Even when people hate it--and my father HATES UChicago--those in the know understand that UChicago is a top-notch school. Northwestern's midwest reputation is absolutely fabulous as well (maybe a tad overrated, actually...some people talk about Northwestern like it's Harvard, and that's not quite the case). Especially if you want to stay in the Midwest, either one of these schools commands great respect. It's a question of fit, as it always is--it's just magnified because of the vast differences in personality between the two schools.</p>
<p>The schools may be equals in terms of quantative criteria, but are almost opposites with regard to atmosphere. However, you won't need to take anyone's word on cc for it -- a tour of both will clear things up. I think it would be extremely rare for someone not to have a strong preference after visiting.</p>
<p>biztogo,</p>
<p>You should be aware that NU has large population of students that study performing arts, communications, journalism, and music (performance)...and are less inclined to go to prof schools. So if you take that into the account, the difference in prof school placement is really insignificant. I bet the placement number for NU's college of arts and sciences is pretty comparable to UChicago's. According to the website of NU's college of arts and sciences, out of those planning for further study, 90% were admitted to one or more schools and 63% were admitted to their first choice; 41% sought a medical degree and 22% a law degree. So let's not try to make it look like a big difference.</p>
<p>yeah, its funny how quantitatively similar the schools are, but how polar the atmospheres are. I doubt you'd find many people who would want to attend both after visiting; Chicago attracts some sorts, and Northwestern attracts other.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I don't know the answer. But fyi, 5 out of the Standard and Poor's 500 CEOs went to NU for undergrad, behind only HYPS on per capita basis.</p>
<p>In terms of academics, both are awesome (top 10 universities). But they have very different atmospheres. I personally prefer Chicago (I like the intellectual feel), but NU appeals to more tastes than Chicago.</p>
<p>Biztogo, Chicago's WSJ placement rate is great, but you must keep in mind that Northwestern has large Engineering, Journalism and Education schools (together, they make up over 35% of NU's total student body) and those do not generally produce many MBA/MD/JD candidates. In contrast, all Chicago students major in traditional disciplines, which tend to produce a great deal more JDs and MDs. </p>
<p>I agree that Chicago having two of its programs included in the survey doesn't help that much. There are as many NU alums enrolled in Chicago's Law School as there are Chicago alums. However, it does help a little bit.</p>
<p>Alexandre, </p>
<p>Add music and communication schools too. Together, the 5 schools make up half the total student body. Actually, quite a few engineers do end up in business schools, but not law or med schools. ;)</p>
<p>I agree that Engineering does produce a few MBAs, but many Engineers who pursue graduate studies will typically go for Engineering rather than Business.</p>
<p>Colleges of Art, Architecture, Nursing, Agriculture, Hote Management, Music, Journalism, Communications, Kinesiology and Education tend to produce very few JDs, MDs or MBAs. Which explains why schools like Cornell, Michigan and Northwestern do not perform as well on the WSJ survey as many of their peers that offer purely traditional majors, Engineering and Business to their undergrads (like Chicago, Dartmouth, Duke and several top LACs).</p>
<p>
[quote]
Big deal. Who cares? So the consulting firm recruitment is a little bit better--doesn't mean much about the overall academics.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>uh, i didn't draw an academic conclusion from the fact that recruitment is better at northwestern, i made the recruitment statement and then made a separate academic statement in which i made no assertion as to one's advantage over the other except in graduate school placement, where i had data.</p>
<p>Oh my god
This thread - AGAIN</p>
<p>
[quote]
the reason that uchicago's acceptance rate is so high is because it has a low yield
[/quote]
I don't see why posters think Chicago has a low yield. I can't find the latest figures, but in Fiske 2004, the yield is listed at 57% to Northwestern's 41%. Cornell comes in at 49%. I call that pretty good yield.</p>
<p>You are so wrong. The latest yield (2010) of UChicago is 34%. </p>
<p>The figures are EASILY found in Yahoo Education, collegeboard.com, UChicago's website:</p>
<pre><code> 2008 2009 2010
</code></pre>
<p>Number of Applicants 8,757 9,039 9,542
Number Accepted 3,507 3,642 3,673
Number Enrolled 1,220 1,231 1,260</p>
<p>Either way, I don't think those numbers say much more about the school that hasn't already been explained. Chicago's appeal is narrower than Northwestern's, and students have to know they want Chicago, many of them are turned off by the perceived lack of opportunities: career, social, or otherwise. The only unhappy people I know here are those who came here only because it was the "best" school that accepted them.</p>
<p>OP, care to chime in on why you're looking at each and what attracts you to each?</p>
<p>thanks for all the great info guys.</p>
<p>I'm leaning towards Uchic and the "intellectual" atmosphere.</p>
<p>Ramses: yes columbia is my first choice. Wherever I go to college, I want it to be in or near a city, so chicago seems like a good choice. I know my choices seem a bit random at times, but I still have a lot of research to do. I chose MIT because it's in boston, which i might prefer to NY. Penn because I'm interested in business. I still have more to learn about these colleges, so I've only come up with a list of possibilities so far. Now, i'm starting to narrow down.</p>
<p>Alexandre,</p>
<p>What's ironic is WSJ's comment about NU: "Feeding itself: New option gives incoming freshmen in the undergrad engineering program a slot in at business grad school, too." So it's like they are acknowledging Kellogg is a top-5 school without actually including it as such for their survey.</p>
<p>^^ yeah i noticed that too, haha</p>
<p>Applying to UChicago AND NU is like when people apply to all of the Ivy League. They are MILES apart in terms of "fit".</p>
<p>Keep in mind that UChicago is ranked as #1 for academic experience for Undergrads, and NU isn't even on the list. I think if you like Columbia, Chicago is a good fit (core, urban location, self-contained campuses, ect)</p>
<p>NU is more like a SUPER CHARGED state U with lots of spirit, good professional opportunities and suburban location. </p>
<p>Yeah, I basically adore University of Chicago.</p>
<p>davnasca,</p>
<p>I wouldn't get to carried away by that ranking. I believe that's PR, right? Well, PR ranked NU the first back in 2002 too. Now it's "not even on the list".</p>
<p>How is Chicago ranked #1 for academic experience...</p>
<p>It doesn't have the best academic students, and there's no way to prove that its departments teach academics any better. It doesn't send more kids to the best professional schools at the highest rates either (thats academic too).</p>
<p>Ranking any school for academic experience is garbage - much like many of PR's rankings. </p>
<p>Also, yield is not a useful measure - it doesn't matter who turns Chicago down, because all those kids might have chosen Harvard. What just matters is the quality of the kids who Enrolled.</p>