I’m sure some posters like @HydeSnark will say that these changes are all at the margins, and that letters about academic freedom and intellectual rigor still make UChicago’s College the same place it’s always been.
But my gosh, high rankings, more emphasis on sports, Early Decision (and Early Decision 2!), more prep school recruiting, brand new dorms and student spaces, grade inflation, the Obama Library right next door…
Maybe it’s not this way now, but pretty soon, we can say Chicago’s College will be truly transformed. I’m quite certain that students that never considered Chicago before (and would NOT have been good fits for Chicago) are now attending enthusiastically.
How much time until the students that come to Chicago and end up miserable (as @HydeSnark notes) reach a critical mass, and push for additional change?
Don’t think of it as a new direction as much as returning to their glory days. The Maroons were the original Monsters of the Midway (a name now more frequently associated with Da Bears). And they were a founding member of the Big 10. Also, the first Heisman Trophy went to a Maroon. They used to be a football powerhouse once upon a time.
The question is whether Chicago is better off with the new changes. If we follow these changes to their logical conclusion will the University of Chicago be stronger or weaker than before? I’m guessing it’ll be stronger but then again I’m part of the new type of student.
Chicago will always have the core and its history. It has always been an institution of thinkers for thinkers and poaching high quality students from the Ivies won’t change that. Nobody can help that the average high achieving teen isn’t as intellectual as Chicago would have previously demanded, but that’s why it has four years to shape them.
UChicago is “poaching” from the Ivies? Good way to look at all the changes! Glad my kid is skipping the middleman! (not interested at all in HYPD). Of course she’s not a football player either. Caught her reading Socrates last night “for fun” so she just might be a good fit at UChicago. But with that ED option I am a tad worried (she’s applying early but not ED).