UChicago v. Reed

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Two problems:</p>

<p>1) I REALLY like both Reed and UChicago, for some reasons that are the same and some that are different.</p>

<p>2) I think I have a pretty decent shot at getting into both of them, meaning I may have to choose... Not trying to sound conceited. Just trying to prepare myself for the best.</p>

<p>If I DO get into both, I definitely plan on visiting UChicago (already visited Reed), which will probably help me decide. But I'd like to get a bit of a head start, so...</p>

<p>REED: I visited, and it was AWESOME. I love the campus. I love the students. I love Portland, but that's just an added bonus. It definitely seems like a learn-for-the-sake-of-learning type place, given the number of students who go on to get their PhDs and its reputation for being academically challenging. At the same time, it isn't one of those ultra-competitive schools. It also has small, seminar style classes, which I really like, and seems sort of like a learning community, which is cool. The students do know how to have fun, though-- I saw fire spinning, an improv show, a freaking couch see-saw and a bunch of other stuff that was really cool. I sat in on a class and the students seemed involved (and interested). My interview with Reed was a REALLY good experience. But I am kind of worried about the limited course offerings. It's a smaller school, so obviously there aren't going to be as many options. But I'm interested in anthropology, and there are ZERO classes in South American or Eastern European anthropology-- the two areas I'm most interested in. It also may be a bit too small and a bit too far from home (east coast).</p>

<p>UCHICAGO: Haven't visited, but some of the reasons are the same. I THINK it's a learning-for-the-sake-of-learning type place, but I could be wrong. I KNOW it's academically challenging, but the core doesn't scare me. And the course guide is AMAZING. Really, really amazing. I love the idea of the quarter system. With such an awesome selection, who wouldn't want to take as many courses as possible? I read through it and highlighted all the courses I thought looked good (I know-- I need a life), and I don't think I'd even be able to take all of them on the quarter system. The anthropology department is also great, and there are opportunities for undergrads to get field experience, which is pretty cool. Apparently UChicago also has small discussion-based classes, which is close to the top of my priority list, so I hope it's true. My concern: not having visited the campus, I really have no idea what the atmosphere is like. I don't mind working hard and I don't mind stress, but I'm not at all a competitive person. I'm also not someone who is easily overpowered by stress, and people have given me the impression that UChicago is kind of a fun-free zone. I doubt this is completely true, but I thought the atmosphere at Reed was awesome-- intellectual and quirky all at once. I don't know if I'd get that from UChicago. Do lives exist outside of work? Would it be conceivable for something as awesome as a couch see-saw to exist at UChicago?</p>

<p>I don't know. Maybe the choice seems obvious to some of you, but I seriously have no idea. They're both good for similar but different reasons... Any insights (especially on UChicago's atmosphere)? Any other school suggestions? I'm also applying to Brown and Wesleyan... any opinions about them?</p>

2

<p>You should post in the UChicago forum. By the way, I like your screen name.</p>

3

<p>I was in almost exactly your position three years ago, and I ended up choosing Chicago. For some, the differences between the two are very significant, but to me, Chicago was a college in a university (I thought that was cool) and Reed was just a college.</p>

<p>You'll find a healthy non-schoolwork-related life here at the U of C, but for some people that kind of life is scary and intimidating. For example, my friends and I tend to use big words and foreign languages in normal conversation, not to be showy but because we know we're in an environment where the nerd is celebrated (whereas we would have gotten shot down had we tried to have those kinds of conversations in high school). There are some "Let's get as smashed as we possibly can!" and "Let's not talk about anything remotely smart!" parties and social gatherings here, but nowhere near as many as Down the Street U.</p>

<p>And the couch see saw sounds straight like an item from a scav hunt list... hmmmm....</p>

4

<p>I don't think you need to worry about competition among undergraduate students at the University of Chicago, except in maybe Organic Chemistry or some such.
I would say that Chicago students find ways to entertain themselves, including earnest or lighthearted conversations until dawn over issues that don't interest 99% of the world, sometimes lubricated. Fun won't die for most people at the University of Chicago. But Chicago students aren't like most people.
Stepping into the parental generation (of which I am a member), I worry about the low completion rate at Reed for such smart students. My son has friends who go to Reed and my nephew is a sophomore. I still can't figure out why more don't graduate. Too little fun? Too much substance abuse? I can't believe the place is any tougher than The University of Chicago academically.
I also have a niece and nephew at Wesleyan. For some reason or other, in spite of similar students as Reed's, Wesleyan students stay for four years. I don't think Brown has a pressurized environment at all. Similar students IMO to those at Chicago, only wealthier. Not the Marine Corps of higher ed that Chicago is.
Stereotypes all, of course.</p>

5

<p>My sense is that Wesleyan emphasizes community service and involvement outside the classroom to a much greater extent. It may create a tie that binds some students closer to the college for all four years. The thing I hear more and more, especially around the holidays is how much Wesleyan students simply miss being around other students when they go home. If it were simply a matter of staying it touch by e-mail, it wouldn't be the same. It obviously has something to do with the dorms, the parties, the meal time conversations. Maybe even the streets of Middletown. Whatever it is, it has less to do with academics than perhaps we give credit for.</p>

6

<p>University of Chicago seems like a better fit to me, based on your course interests. My guess is you're going to find Reed limiting.</p>

7

<p>U Chicago is very popular with Reed graduates. Attending both is a way of getting the best of both worlds.</p>

8

<p>OP, S1 felt the same way about Reed. Loved the place, found not enough of what he wanted to study. Is now a VERY happy first-year at Chicago. His largest class this quarter has 22 people. Seriously. </p>

<p>My son reports that last Friday after class, he and a group of folks took an industrial fan, drilled holes into it, built a chute and fed various fruits through it, then evaluated the "after" status of fruits in terms of kinematics. Saturday he went on a field trip with a couple bus loads of students to an apple orchard in Indiana. Got fruit and housemates made pies for a a fellow house member celebrating a birthday. Saturday night (and it gets fuzzy here) people were discussing The Iliad and then had Greco wrestling. Spent Sunday doing HW and starting on a paper due next week.</p>

<p>So far, he is doing very well academically and is not having trouble managing schoolwork and life (and he has always been terribly disorganized). He went to a very tough HS where the reputation is "college is easier." He has no complaints. I keep asking.</p>

<p>If that sounds like fun to you, head to Chicago and see for yourself.</p>

9

<p>Apply Chicago EA, and if you get in visit before you do your Reed app. If you can tell that you'd pick Chicago over Reed, you won't even have to do the extra app. And then you can decide whether or not to still apply to your other schools.</p>

10

<p>unalove: Yeah... I don't really buy that whole "where the fun comes to die" thing. My idea of fun has always been somewhat misunderstood, and the end result is often my being told to just give it up, already... And seriously, they have opportunities for undergraduates to go on archaelogical digs. Fun? Yes. We had an adcom come to our school a few days ago, and he was one of the few admissions guys (one of two, actually, the other being the Reed admissions guy) that I actually liked. He talked about scav hunt, and it sounded pretty cool.</p>

<p>danas: That's another concern I have about Reed, and I agree that there's no way it's more academically challenging than UChicago. It IS academically challenging, however, and it's a very small, very self-selecting environment, I think. When I was there, a lot of the students were a CERTAIN TYPE of student. That doesn't bother me now, but I do think the lack of diversity might get to me eventually (especially given the diverse area I live in now). Maybe UChicago is just more up-front about the rigor of its core, the quarter system, etc., so students know what they're getting into and are ready for it. Reed, I think, attracts a lot of counter-cultural, hipster types, some of whom maybe DON'T know what they're getting into and as a result, eventually want to get OUT. Just my thoughts...</p>

<p>johnwesley: All four of these schools have been at the top of my list at one point or another. I'm kind of interested in ethnographic film, and Wesleyan has an amazing film program and a cool anthro/film double major. Of the four of these, Middletown is my least favorite location and I REALLY dislike the Wesleyan campus. But I saw it during the summer. I really do like the idea of having that sense of community, and so if I get in I'll definitely visit in the spring...</p>

<p>kenf1234: That's my main concern... I was seriously salivating over the UChicago course catalog-- especially after seeing Reed's much more limited one.</p>

<p>vossron: There's an idea... I'm worried I WOULD find Reed a bit stifling, though...</p>

<p>CountingDown: That's encouraging. My high school (or, at least, the program I'm in) has the same reputation. I'm also VERY, VERY disorganized. Drives my parents crazy, but I see it more as being entropically correct... And that DOES sound like fun. I've never been the get-smashed and get-stupid type. Well, sometimes I do stuff which probably sounds stupid to other people, but I imagine they would react the same if I told them I was shoving fruit down a chute.</p>

<p>teenage_cliche: Already gave my recommendation requests to teachers, so I'm pretty much set in the schools I'm applying to (unfortunately, I'm also stuck applying to Lewis and Clark). I AM applying to Chicago EA, and I'll hopefully get to visit soon after I hopefully get accepted. I'm just worried because I REALLY fell in love with Reed's campus and atmosphere... Fingers crossed that Chicago is just as awesome.</p>