uchig vs other colleges?

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
21

<p>Smirkus, I couldn’t agree with you more.</p>

<p>As for JHS, I’m not so naive to think that there isn’t compromise in the real world, or that people do no criticize, discuss or reach consensus. The key difference is that at U of C, the discussion never ends. No matter whether you are discussing things in your academic or personal life, people never reach the point where they step out of theory and into practice. As Smirkus said, it’s almost if they are scared of the real world and hide behind their ideas rather than testing them.</p>

<p>As far as Abbot’s aims of education address, it reminded me why I wanted to come here. But, the gap between how it looks on paper and what it’s like to actually live the life of the mind is enormous. A better way to describe U of C’s motto is “the life of the mind, at the expense of everything else” I always knew I would have to find balance in my life, but I assumed the university environment would be apathetic towards those efforts rather than openly hostile. Is that an unreasonable expectation?</p>

<p>If you are fine with living the life of the mind at the expense of everything else, then U of C is the place for you. But if you have any reservations at all, and think you will try to balance your life over the course of your time here, then run as fast as you can away from this school, because it will be extraordinarily difficult to do so.</p>

<p>Any one is capable of graduating from U of C, but you have to ask yourself, is it worth the high personal toll it will cost you? Remember that as you make your decisions. </p>

<p>As far as tk and his arm chair psychology, I don’t need your approval to graduate in June, so I really don’t care if you think I’m a student or not.</p>

22

<p>I know many many graduates of the University across many generations beginning in the 1940s to the present. They are quite accomplished and succesful, and dare I say it, fun people. They are in a range of careers from nuclear chemistry to founders of Wall Street investment firms. To a person, they attribute much of their success to the University. I also think this argument between theory and action is kind of silly. Application is informed by theory as is theory informed by practice, and the boundaries are often blurred. Perhaps once a student has been in the “real world” for awhile, the value of a Chicago education will become evident. After working with a group that included a number of U of C grads, a Stanford val who had a PhD from Oxford said to me, “My only regret is that I did not attend the University of Chicago.”</p>

23

<p>Reading the last portion of the thread on application vs. theory, I almost feel like I am answering a question from a petulant high school student “why do I need to take Algebra? None of my adult relatives and family friends tell me they need anything more than basic addition, subtraction, very rarely multiplication and even more rarely division in their daily life?”</p>

<p>Well, the value of good education does not just lie on immediate, practical things one could do RIGHT NOW based on what s/he is learning. The whole idea of education is to expand one’s mind so that s/he can handle the questions that have not been foreseen or asked yet, and so that s/he is ready to deal with more possibilities than those immediately apparent. Theories hold together a framework from which various applications appropriate for diverse situations can spring. Applications are just that: they apply to particular situations here and now, but cannot provide a framework that can beget more applications when the here-and-now reality changes. </p>

<p>The world is changing so rapidly. Unless universities can teach their students ALL permutations of applicable realities, it’s dangerous and foolish to focus application as a focus of an undergraduate education for long term survival and success.</p>

<p>My son want to join the Wall Street right out of U of Chicago, work for a few years, and then maybe go to B school. All the more reason I am happy to see him go to U of Chicago: this may be the only four years where he can TRULY drill himself in the world of rigorous theories and frameworks. I want his mind to go through this process so that he will be able to deal with all permutations of applications later in life with solid fundamentals as a basis. Once he joins outside life, he will never run short of practical stuff. It’s the theoretical rigor and intellectual precision that may never surround him in abundance. So, glad to see him stock up on this precious commodity. My son was not accepted by Wharton, and secretly I am sort of happy in a way. If he got the acceptance, the location and immediate appeal as the world’s best B school would have made it his choice over Chicago. But… I always had this rather “condescending” attitude toward Wharton as a glorified vocational school - good enough for MBA training, but selling out this early in one’e life to vocational training? Not cool! (Not a sour grape: I am a Wharton MBA).</p>

<p>In my professional experience, I can always spot people who are shooting from their hips: these are usually people without firm grasp of the whole framework and structure, and most of their kakamamie (sp?) ideas and practices are mistakes on a longer term, even if they may appear to work on a very short term basis. By the way, I have a PhD/MBA, and I am not in academia, rather in a cut through business environment. My Wharton MBA may be a prestigious thing, but it’s actually my PhD in a field that seem totally unrelated to what I am doing now that is truly giving me an edge in terms of the way I approach business matters in a very principled manner. Rather than shooting from the hip, I always evaluate all the options I have and analyze the total business problems from a structural point of view. AND I am a very effective business woman. I thank my rigorous PhD training for this. If anything, it’s my Wharton MBA that I could have done without, other than the fact that it looks glamorous. All the practical things you learn even at the best B school, you can EASILY pick up simply doing your job in the business world. B schools are mostly for the prestige and connections, nothing much more.</p>

<p>To IHateUofC: I say this: if you just wanted to learn how to do things on the spot, you should have gone to a vocational school. It’s a shame that you wasted 4 fours of your life and a spot at the University that could have gone to someone better suited with the elite college educational goals.</p>

24

<p>hyeonjlee, you are fundamentally misunderstanding me. I’m not looking for instant gratification or results that work, in your words “RIGHT NOW” I’m simply looking for balance, which U of C does not provide.</p>

<p>This balance is not antithetical to gaining a “firm grasp of the whole framework and structure” as you seem to believe, and it is certainly not “shooting from the hip” or reckless. I’m simply talking about strengthening the ideas of the mind with other components of life. I’m truly sorry you all cannot see the value in this and seek to turn my argument in a strawman, though I’m not surprised given that this happens routinely on campus.</p>

<p>Finally, I think it’s truly laughable how condescending you are towards me. Insulting me by saying I should go to a vocational school? If you can’t see how pretentious that is, I’m truly sorry for you.</p>

25

<p>chicago is a very theoretical kind of place. i know tufts is alot more practical.</p>

<p>it depends what you’re looking for. but don’t trust people who spell out their agendas in their names like that.</p>

<p>and the grad programs at tufts are anything but mediocre.</p>

26

<p>IHateUofC - looking back on it, and perhaps having anecdotal stories from friends, where would you have rather gone? Maybe the Honors program at a large state school - where’d you certainly have more exposure to practical pursuits? I don’t get the sense a strongly pre-professional school like UPenn or Duke would have been up your alley, but maybe a small LAC somewhere with more of a focus on practicality? </p>

<p>I’m sorry that the U of C experience didn’t work out for you. Chicago certainly is not known for balance, and I personally think, in the marketplace of top colleges, it’s fine to have one decidedly theoretical place out there. In a lot of ways, Chicago is the very definition of academia (for better or worse). </p>

<p>It is interesting that you’re feelings on this are quite so intense. At my time at the U of C, a lot of students rolled their eyes at the sheer theoretical nature of the school, but it wasn’t much more than that. Your aversion obviously goes a step beyond this. It’s interesting as well - if anything, I keep hearing how the more recent classes are more practically accomplished, more grounded, and more interested in application than my cohort. Do you get the sense your compatriots are still remarkably head-in-the-clouds types?</p>

27

<p>This post has no bearing on the original crux of this tread nor the “theory versus practice” cluster****, but I think this needs to be said: everybody’s gripe with “IHateUofC” was previously (and correctly) based on the premise that he was a ■■■■■ going around bashing UChicago for no apparent reason. At the point where he has started to substantiate his claims, as adversarial to the university as they are, all ad homs (like the vocational school remark) should be left at the door. To be honest this thread (and much of this forum) has devolved into a contest of who can inflate their egos the most, which isn’t really consistent with the purpose of this site. Argue the merits of X vs. Y all you want, but there is no place for disrespectful discourse on this site in my opinion.</p>

28

<p>hyeonjlee - I think that’s a little harsh. As they say in the Matrix (not the most intellectual of movies, but bear with me here ;-): there’s a difference between knowing the path, and walking the path. The life of the mind sounds great in (no pun intended here) theory, but living it can be an entirely different story. When you start to see kids camping out in the library by the third week of the academic quarter, it can be a bit off-putting. </p>

<p>Also, transferring can be a hard step to take, and, given the fact that many of Chicago’s peer schools have infinitesimal accept rates for transfers, where could IhateUofC have gone? There is probably a drop off in exit opportunities between Chicago and some of the more manageable schools to transfer into, so not transfering makes practical sense. Inertia can also set in, and a student can just feel like, well, let me just gut it out here for a couple more years.</p>

29

<p>You know, at first I thought IHateEtc. was a pure ■■■■■, but his (I think?) last few posts pretty much convince me that he is a Chicago student. There’s a lot of thought behind the critique – there is an actual critique, not just a bunch of cheap shots.</p>

<p>Some people are always going to feel that way about academia. It DOES have its circle-jerk aspects. And some people . . . well, I’d love to talk to you again in 5-10 years, when you have spent some time among the doers of the world, and you have seen how much happens on the basis of stupid slogans and knee-jerk emotion. You may (and you may not) have a bit more appreciation for the few corners of the world where people try to think hard about things, even if they aren’t so great at turning their thought into action.</p>

30

<p>Well, I’m glad we can arrive at some kind of consensus, so I’ll leave it at that. I’ve said my piece about U of C, and others have said theirs. Anyone out there considering coming here, make your decision wisely. I’m going to go out and enjoy the day.</p>

31

<p>haha…you’re not getting off that easily. You have said absolutely nothing to indicate that you are, indeed, a U of C student.</p>

<p>IHateUofC, I knew several people my year who transferred out of Chicago after their first quarter and at the end of their first year. I am truly puzzled why you would stay on if, in fact, you are a 4th year student. Honestly, this is what leads me to label you a ■■■■■; it makes no sense for someone who purportedly hates Chicago as much as you do to remain there for all four years. There is a logical disconnect here that renders your comments absurd.</p>

<p>What is wrong with you?</p>