Hello, this is chaerui. I am writing this post concerning GPA, work ethic, and effort/hard work at UChicago.
I know many have seen this kind of question/post many times, but I thought I would like to get answers personally at THIS time. Even though some things may not have changed, I would like some answers anyhow.
- How would you describe the grade inflation in UChicago? (Biochemistry; Chemistry; Biology; if you do not major in any of these three, please do talk about the Core!)
- Is it typically very difficult to land at least a 3.5 GPA? Or even the "impossible" 3.6-3.7? (I would love to read some personal experiences, including your friends', or even tell me an account of somebody whom you have heard of got this "GPA")
- I'm a junior in high school, so obviously I am not really "aware" of the true work ethic and the work/endurance/concentration that I must invest in (in universities in general). How many hours do you guys typically study each day? What kind of work ethic should I try to develop? (For UChicago, or college in general) Etc..
- What kind of student should attend this school? What qualities makes a student and breaks the student? How do I make most of my time [management] to make this a great experience? Which traits should I abandon now as a junior so that I don't mess up in college (any advice works; maybe even briefly explain why it'll kill me in the future)?
You don’t have to answer all, unless you feel like it.
Please do answer any question you want; additional explainations are definitely encouraged.
Disclaimer: I’m not saying I will be accepted and definitely attend UChicago because obviously they are the ones who possess the authority to accept ME. I just really love UChicago and hope to attend there one day… I
just love getting information about the whole study/grade stuff though… I am planning to apply there, though it’s a fat chance that I’ll ever be accepted… Although my GPA is probably rock bottom, I’ll need to make the most out of my essays, EC, and scores.
Thank you so much for your time.
I am not a student at UChicago so definitely cannot offer that type of insight. I will offer what my D who is a first year there has told me. She does not post on CC and is too busy anyway.
She works hard but does not seem too stressed out. The key is to keep up because the quarter system goes really fast. She took 4 classes and came out with a 3.5 GPA which was great because the first quarter is very demanding on a student- there are so many transitions going on. She is very much a homebody type but went out with her friends into Chicago for shopping and dinner and other social outings. She is currently in the social sciences as a major (economics) and definitely sees that the physics, math and pre med hard sciences have a tougher time.
I really think that finding a solid support friend group is key. People really underestimate how essential connectivity to others is to our mental health and how this can buffer stressors and offer resiliency.
My impression is that she works at something related to school everyday. She will take time off on weekends to decompress with her squad. She does not currently have a job but some of her friends have work study jobs and they find those very manageable.
Review some of the older threads- they provide a lot of insider information.
Good luck!
Another mom with a first year daughter who doesn’t post here and whose 1st Q GPA is above your benchmarks (4 courses). Future bio major. She goes downtown maybe 3 weeks out of 4 (for dinner/fun on Saturday night). Does house stuff (e.g. Movie Night, field trips) and gym stuff occasionally. Typically has meals with friends but when her workload or theirs gets especially demanding, all bets are off. Still procrastinates by watching sitcoms on Netflix.
Two outsider observations of her experience:
(1) course selection can make or break you, especially in the sciences. Sciences involve a lot of classroom time (lectures, lab, section) in addition to homework. Don’t take two killer courses at once, especially if you want to do four courses at a time. This may fall in the category of traits you have to abandon. My kid went to a HS where the ethos seemed to be that the mark of a smart person was that s/he was taking the maximum number of courses allowed and the hardest courses possible at all times and as early/young as possible. In college, that’s the mark of a foolish person.
(2) college is a big transition academically. In most HS courses, everything you need to know is something the teacher has told/shown you in the weeks before the test/paper/evaluation. Not so at U of C. OTOH, that’s because exams get used to see if you can put what you’ve used to work and go beyond what you’ve been told. OTOH, it also reflects the fact that the people teaching you haven’t been hired because of their teaching ability. They’ve been hired because of their potential to do important research. Two very different skill sets — and a different focus. So, as a student, you need to take charge of your own education. Read the textbook, even if it’s not required. Listen to lectures critically, making a note whenever you don’t understand what just got said or why. Then go back and try to figure it out (look it up, ask a friend, ask the TA, work through a practice problem, go to Harper tutors, ask the Prof). Start to synthesize/organize the course materials a week or more before an exam. Have a big picture and know where the parts fit into the whole and/or how you decide which tool is appropriate for which job. And while the burden is one you wrt making sure you learn the material, don’t be shy about reaching out for help. There are lots of resources available and my kid’s experience has been that both TAs and profs are very accessible.
I have a daughter who’s a first year at UofC and a son who’s a junior in HS, so this answer is targeted at you as a Junior.
- There’s a little inflation going on from what I can see but not much. The average GPA is reportedly below 3.5
- You can achieve >3.7. In part it depends on who you are and what you bring, and in part it depends on the classes you choose.
- You definitely need a solid work ethic. Schoolwork has to be on your mind the whole time, even when you plan your weekends. Everyone around you will have a similar outlook and that helps
- Give up procrastinating. That’s the habit you need to break the most.
If you are worried that you have a low GPA now then that is a concern going forward for sure. You should work on that a lot. (My son’s GPA is teetering a bit in Junior year but he has no intention of going to a school like that). But be assured that if you do get admitted to UofC you’ll be able to handle it. They are pretty good at picking students who can do the UofC thing.
1, 2. Umm, so far grade inflation hasn’t been that bad. If you choose your courses wisely it certainly shouldn’t be hard to get a 3.5. However, the type of student that goes here typically wants to make the most of their schooling and so takes harder courses. This is, at least, in the majors that aren’t grad school dpenedent or med school, etc. However, harder courses are normally curved higher. For example, Honors Calculus was curved to a B+/A- if I recall corretly.
- Just get interested in your work. It won't feel like work if you love what you're doing. I'd say that you're gonna spend on average 5-8 hours a day working when you're here. However, it really depends on the day, as some days you'll work 12 hours straight and others you might work 4.
- The kind of student that very much enjoys learning a variety of things. What makes or breaks a student is his ability to do work and learn from mistakes. Making the most of your time depends on what you want to get out of college. To figure out which traits to "abandon", just figure our what works for you. Procrastition probably doesn't work for you, but it might, and not doing your work certainly shouldn't work for you.