@nrtlax33, I really don’t think that walk is a big deal. Weather has been known to be cold in Chicago at times :)) and sometimes windy. Does the phrase “colder by the lake” sound familiar to anyone else out there?
But seriously, kids have the energy to walk and it is good for them. UChicago kids can eat at any dinning hall but usually eat at the closest from what I understand. The quality of the food is OK. 
@nrtlax33
What is the point of the distance some Chicago kids have to walk to the nearest dining hall? Are you suggesting USNWR ranking (the topic of this thread) or any other ranking should include this as a metric? CC is full of threads with upset parents and students about dorms, food etc. at this or that school. Many of them are great schools like Chicago.
Seriously, if your point is to warn people against applying to Chicago based on what you have learned from your own research (stress, mental illness issues, distance of dorms to the dining hall, etc.) please start a thread and everyone else can share their views about this subject on a more appropriate platform. It is not fair to people who come here to read about US News Ranking.
US News has never disclosed how they calculate their rankings. Read the whole thread. From day one, this ranking is about nothing, just like the show Seinfeld. A lot of people talk about their school’s ranking is going up or down but do they understand the methodology? It is important to be more intellectual and know how the rankings are done behind the scene. Nobody knows. If you know, please share your findings.
Ok. If this ranking is about nothing, that has nothing to do with Chicago. Why keep bashing Chicago in a USNews ranking thread? If Chicago wasn’t ranked where it is ranked would its shortcomings go away? Where should it be ranked?
Many small things can be important to different people. Based on my experience, some people consider weather to be important and some don’t. Also, some really good colleges don’t have as good dorms and cafeteria food, and some consider it important that surrounding area be “exciting”. Therefore, you should feel comfortable living at a particular place for 4 years; it’s not a short duration.
For us, weather and distance from home WAS pretty important, among other things. Didn’t want too close or too far. Some people want to experience a different culture, but having lived in many states and other countries, I don’t consider it all that important for my CA kid to experience the Eastern state culture or weather (he traveled a lot and has lived in different countries). I mean, in this day and age, even a college in CA has students from all over the US. My kid was talking to one of his high school friends who is attending a private college in Southern CA – both Asian Americans – and at this particular college his friend attends, there are kids from other parts of USA who never been to CA and who have not mingled with Asian or Asian-American students at all and out of ignorance or innocence told her “there are so many “Oriental” students here!” My point is you don’t have to go to another place to meet people from different parts of the world and to experience different viewpoints, especially if the college you attend has students from all over USA and the world. Now, if you like surfing a lot, I can understand you going to UCSD or U of Hawaii, in addition to getting great education from great universities. lol
Regarding University of Chicago, I told my kid that he’s not enough of an intellectual to go there, and he agreed. lol
“Why keep bashing Chicago in a USNews ranking thread?”
Oh, are you new here? nrtlax has some sort of obsession with this subject. There was a thread about UChicago derangement syndrome and I thought people were joking or exaggerating their examples of UCDS before I started reading various posts by nrtlax sprinkled through all sorts of random threads on the cc forums. At one point, nrtlax labeled UChicago the “North Korea of higher education”. S/he convinced me that UCDS is real.
No idea why nrtlax is so offended by the very existence of UChicago - child rejected maybe? - but s/he has made it her sole mission in life to spread the word that UChicago is the Devil and must be destroyed.
Maybe we can just stipulate that UChicago is a very, very difficult educational environment and not a good fit for everybody. It doesn’t cut pre-meds any slack or provide many GPA boosting opportunities. It’s cold. It doesn’t feel the need to justify its admission practices and isn’t very sympathetic to people who can’t decide and want to compare other offers. It was the first college to push back against the SJWs that are taking down statues at some of the other colleges. Some people enjoy it, some do not. If you are a pre-med that isn’t sure you can get As in competitive classes, aren’t sure it’s your first choice, don’t want to work your butt off and potentially get less-than-As in a cold environment, or need trigger warnings it’s probably not for you so don’t apply. If you want a world class education, enjoy competition, don’t mind the cold and think you can tango with the best minds out there - it is worth looking into.
Here’s a link to their methodology page:
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/how-us-news-calculated-the-rankings
They’ve been publishing similar descriptions for years.
Much of the supporting data comes from the Common Data Sets.
There may be college-to-college variations in how some of that data is compiled
(for example, how entering GPAs or student:faculty ratios are calculated, whether SAT results are super-scored, and so forth). So at that level of detail, there may not be 100% disclosure of the calculation methods.
@milee30 : I must applaud @85bears46 's new thread http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/university-chicago/2099293-2019-usnwr-ranking-p1.html
@85bears46 said
UChicago is one of leading gamers of US News rankings. By using its ranking, it attracts a lot more wrong students than before. A lot of people are really uninitiated. I can see folks associated with UChicago are doing their own efforts to attract the right students to UChicago to avoid more tragedies. If you go to any school based on rankings, you are more likely to be miserable. I maintain UChicago is a top research institution which is best for graduate students. No bashing intended, just knowledge sharing.
Your child is not a fit. Fair enough. That’s true of most applicants. Your single minded obsession with the subject and bashing of the college - which is a fit for many others - makes you appear a victim of UCDS, though.
The idea that colleges aren’t a fit for every student and nobody should choose based on USNWR rankings are true for every applicant and every college.
@nrtlax33
If this is your genuine concern, ie Chicago’s ranking attracts “wrong” students, by all means go ahead and start a thread rather than randomly bringing up the issue at unrelated venues. Provide your evidence and let people decide? What should Chicago do? Stop accepting undergrad applicants, close down the College? Stop providing data to US News? If USnews ranks Chicago below some arbitrary rank would that make you a happier individual? I am also curious as to who you think is the right student? It is a little disrespectful to Chicago parents and students to suggest one should subject one’s kid to certain stress tests before applying to Chicago
In thinking about colleges for my kid, I highly value the average level of intelligence of the student body that my kid is likely to encounter. I think that Chicago might have one of the highest outside of MIT and CalTech. In terms of the median student, perhaps even higher than HYP (actually, probably higher).
I can accept that there appears to be some gamesmanship going on with rankings that do seem a little distasteful, but I can see the appeal of the institution for many.
“UChicago is one of leading gamers of US News rankings.”
In 1983, the first time USNWR ranked colleges, UChicago was ranked #6. The latest ranking is #3. So if you’d like to categorize moving up 3 places in the rankings as “gaming”…
Does UChicago make decisions with maintaining or increasing USNWR rankings in mind? Surely they do, just as most colleges do. It was a cold, difficult, hard nosed place where fun went to die but you could receive one of the best educations in the world if you could hack the competition back in 1983. In 2019, it’s a cold, difficult, hard nosed but slightly more comfy place where you can receive one of the best educations in the world if you can hack the competition. Stop the presses - we need to alert the population of this nefarious campaign!!!
UChicago’s quality of education hasn’t changed; the only changes have been to make it a more enjoyable place for undergrads and to ensure that top students from around the country were aware of what it offers since previously it was a bit of a secret only known to the academic elite. All this resulted in it moving up three whole points in the USNWR rankings. The big change between 1983 and 2019 is not in UChicago, it has been in the US applicant pool. The applicant pool has changed in the new demand for special snowflake handling of students and the perception that any college that isn’t prepared for said special handling should be avoided. Applicants who believe they are up to the challenge are applying in droves. Only you know what your kid needs and can choose accordingly.
Usnews is based on some rigid numbers and methods. An university can know how to manipulate this method and gain improvement in Usnews.
As a man graduated from USC, I feel No.22 is misleading although USC is a good school. If you search Northeastern University history, you can find a previous president from USC went to Northeastern University and gamed ranking there, then Northeastern University boosted its rank much! This president also boosted USC rank when he worked in USC.
Please google them to know the truth.
Check this out
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp_YVt7CfJI
Well, as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde would say, "exercise gives you endorphins; endorphins make you happy…” I think the point is that walking is exercise and UChicago students are happy. :))
^A point lost on some parents apparently
@tk21769 re #477
You need to close that post. I’ll do it for you.
[Drops Mic]
one can see who went to UChicago in this debate and who didn’t.
"UChicago is one of leading gamers of US News rankings. By using its ranking, it attracts a lot more wrong students than before. "
In 2016, UChicago’s rate of returning freshmen was the highest in the nation (tied with Columbia.) Judging by how many students stay at the college after their first year, most of them believe the college is an acceptably “right” fit for them. The rate of returning freshmen is now at 99%, so yes, I guess there are a few people being admitted that aren’t a fit. That 1% who find out they aren’t a fit should have taken your warnings to heart and gone elsewhere.
Me too! I’d love to see the NSSE stats, honestly. But there doesn’t seem to be a way to do so, by school, because the mission is not ranking.
Sheesh…going to have to get the popcorn on UChicago here!
@silivon…was way overdue getting rid of the USC President that swept so much under the rug for a very very long time.
@websensation…agree with your above post about weather (not snowy freezing), distance (far but not too far), experiencing diversity/different cultures and solid academics at a good price…good things for me at UC Riverside. As a surfer and competitive tennis player, I had to avoid the beach which would have been too much of a temptation for me as an 18 year old kid. Fit is important although nothing will be ideal. Being comfortable for 4 years is good as long as you are not too comfortable which can lead to complacency and apathy for some.