What do you dislike about UChicago?

<p>aww, c’mon, guys, it’s not that bad. Look on the bright side; we still have fewer applicants than Northwestern. Woo self-selection!</p>

<p>I dislike the slow-ass elevators in Max Palevsky. I don’t like the construction next to the Regenstein.
If I think of anything else I’ll post it but so far I loveeeee UofC.</p>

<p>Yeah, does anyone know when Mansueto (the new library by the Reg) is supposed to be finished?</p>

<p>Spring 2011</p>

<p>Going back to the first page of the thread, I object to the idea that the College doesn’t offer you opportunities to learn real-life skills. No, it’s not as blatant as it is at other schools. But the University funds many programs (and funds them very well) through which students can gain practical skills. The students just have to show initiation. </p>

<p>I think the worst thing about the College is that students get sucked in to the whole “life of the mind” mantra. I’m totally fine if that’s what you’re looking for. But some students simply assume that that’s all there is at the University and simply does not look around. Chicago as a city can be a fascinating place and an ideal place for many students who want to study the social sciences, but kids simply do not take the steps to grab the opportunities. Granted, the administration fails at advertising these opportunities. But I feel very strongly that many students gets sucked into the whole “life of the mind” attitude.</p>

<p>Personally, I could do without the stigma against professional graduate schools. There’s a sizable group of elitists in the College who scoff at the idea of attending business or law school, which leads to this weird dynamic. I’m considering an MBA down the road, but I usually leave that out of discussions of my future plans, wishing to avoid a lecture about how horrible it is to go to school just to make money. Sometimes I’d appreciate if people would respect others’ plans to get jobs in the private sector. This is a pretty minor gripe, but it’s definitely something that irks me on a regular basis.</p>

<p>the core is not so great. </p>

<p>and the student body is pretty heterogeneous in terms of academic ability, which can help or hurt , depending on how you look at it. </p>

<p>I feel like many professors are still skeptical of the intelligence of the general student population, so you have to put in a concerted effort to make an impression. Moreover, your classes will vary a lot in difficulty depending on the instructor and section.</p>

<p>This makes applying to graduate school somewhat trickier…</p>

<p>Isn’t learning to navigate through this part of your education? Life is full of choices. You were all accepted to the school because they had confidence in that, as a group, you would choose wisely.</p>

<p>^I’m sure Uchicago has toughened me up and that it happened to work out in my favor. </p>

<p>But a lot of smart and motivated students (in, say, the top 5-10% of their departments) are getting shafted because of this, especially when compared to students of the same calibre at other schools.</p>

<p>I dislike the stunted pre-professional services…caps tries but is so one-dimensional (econ majors).</p>

Ha ha… My Korean friends thought it was a state school, and were not at all interested in sending their kids there.

They should change their name to Ivy University of Chicago.

It’s not an Ivy

Exactly. And it’s too bad that there’s a Rockefeller U already, because that would be the most preftigious name.

Although, tbh, one of my life goals is to remain the U of C “[My Last Name]: The University of Chicago.” The price tag on that has to be only a few billion dollars.

For the lack of prestige issue, it’s very true. I live in South Dakota and I couldn’t find any decent colleges nearby with some prestige obviously. I have always seen the University of Chicago but always figured it was a city college. Now it’s an option along with Michigan!

Why does University of Pennsylvania do ok with the name?

For undergrad other than the Engineering and Business School, UMichigan is not in the same category as UChicago.

High school students interested in going to Penn complain about the name all the time. They all want it to be called Wharton University. Tough cookies.

With Penn, there’s actually a lot more ground for confusion, because of the existence of Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), which has a pretty big national reputation with anyone who follows almost any college sport, and also because there are about a dozen third-tier public universities in the state called “[_____________] University of Pennsylvania” (including West Chester, East Stroudsburg, Millersville, Kutztown, etc., along with the hilariously confusing Indiana University of Pennsylvania and California University of Pennsylvania).

Chicago only has to contend with the University of Illinois - Chicago (UIC), of which hardly anyone who lives outside Illinois and more than two hours from Chicago is aware. And the assumption that if its name includes a geographical place name it’s either a public university or a regional Catholic school. (Somehow this doesn’t seem to matter at Princeton or USC . . . but each of them has done a lot more than Chicago to buff their brands.

If you spend any time in the real world of educated, professional people, you will realize that the University of Chicago is a name that carries plenty of heft.

Being an ivy does help UPenn’s name recognition a lot.