For many of us who went to University of Chicago (either as undergrad or grad students) from 1970’s to early 1990’s (and we have to count on @marlowe1 to tell us the history before 1970’s) we used U of C as the standard abbreviation. I still prefer to call University of Chicago as U of C. Obviously, there was a branding problem as U of C may mean University of California in west coast (although UC seems to be more commonly used abbreviation there) or University of Connecticut in New England (again UConn seems to be more commonly used). In the last 15 years the University has officially adopted UChicago as the standard abbreviation to distinguish itself from other universities with a C last name. UChicago is on all the t-shirt at University Bookstore as well as official website.
I myself for old time sake still continue to be partial towards the name U of C. I know that may draw a blank look from the younger generations. I have seen people (especially potentially applicants) using UChi or UCh as abbreviation.
When I was a student there, U of C was the nickname at least as far as one grad dept. was concerned (GSB for the other but the professional schools even back then had their own nicknames). I’m from the West and U of C did mean Cal-Berkeley when I was growing up (as did just plain “Cal” being that Berkeley was the original University of California and recognized as such at the time). All that has changed over the years.
Forgot to add: confusion is common. For instance, several years ago a good friend from HS was texting me that her son played football for UW. Well here in the midwest UW at the time meant University of WI; however, she was actually referring to University of Washington. I saved myself from embarrassment at the last minute but googling where the kid actually played.
UChicago seems like a successful branding endeavor. Certainly everyone I know who wants their kid to look into the school calls it that. It’s just the older gen. who refer to it as U of C (I might add that some of those are faculty there, although not necessarily in administration in recent years).
As with most usages, there can be no univocally correct or even favorite one. Context and desired connotation will determine the choice as among the following variants:
U of C - a nickname with a certain intimacy and unpretentious familiarity, best used when you're talking to someone in the U of C family (especially an older someone!). Otherwise carries the possibility of misidentification or simple incomprehension.
The University of Chicago - carries the full weight and gravitas of the place and avoids misunderstanding but uses lots of syllables and can come off as awkward or pompous unless you intend to emphasize the institution in its full plenitude.
The University - for in-house use only. Chops off the extra syllables. Has a slight connotation suggesting that there can be no other place of that description anywhere in the world.
Chicago - sounds a tad ivy-leaguish or Big-10ish in aspiration in that it seems to parallel "Harvard" or "Michigan" as being places so grand or well-known that a single word is sufficient identification. Of course, for that very reason, invites misidentification in this case with the city.
UChicago - sigh. I suppose we must accept it as being free from most of the downsides described above notwithstanding being somewhat technical and characterless. Reduces the place to merely a school among other schools.
When making multiple references in a single block of writing it is sometimes permissible to go back and forth between two or more of these terms so as to capture the different flavors that each has and avoid the banality of sheer repetition. Especially true if #2 is used first, permitting any of #1, #3 or #4 to be used without ambiguity and avoids hateful #5!
Echoing what @JBStillFlying said, the U of C business school in the 1980’s and 1990’s was called Graduate School of Business or GSB to us MBA. I like that name. The name Chicago GSB was unpretentious and not honoring any current rich donor or long dead 19th century benefactor. So I was rather disappointed that GSB “sold out” to David Booth but then $300 million was a huge sum of money. We were in Walker Lab, Rosenwald and Stuart those days. Now of course Charles Harper Center just blows me away with its soaring architecture.
What I do find amusing is that the U of C Divinity School is now looking for some really rich but religious guy to donate $250 million to the school. In return the Divinity School is wiling to name itself after him/her.
Somehow I find it slightly disturbing that a Divinity School is trying to sell its name for money. Oh well, I guess even Divinity School requires a lot of money to operate.
I like the ring of UChicago personally, but frequenting a few of the athletic competitions (football, soccer and volleyball) this year, seems the students like to cheer “UC”
When I was an undergraduate there, U of C was the nickname on campus. That or “Chicago” are the only ones I recall from those days. I adopted “UChicago” only recently, after it became clear to me that it has become the preferred nickname here on College Confidential. “UChicago” definitely is much clearer when you’re anywhere but on the UofC campus or talking to anyone other than UofC alumni.
My spouse graduated from “CU Boulder”. I haven’t quite figured out how “CU” (in that order) came to be derived from “University of Colorado”. Two of my nieces went to “UC Berkeley” (aka Berkeley, or “Cal”, but apparently never “UofC Berkeley” or “UCalifornia Berkeley”).
I grew up hearing it referred to as “Chicago,” and I still use that (with appropriate modifications sometimes to prevent confusion between the university and the city). But my kids and their classmates from the University of Chicago pretty much exclusively use UChicago. I note, too, that there’s more sensitivity about being confused with UIC (University of Illinois - Chicago) than about being confused with the University Formerly Known as Cal (not to mention the University of Cincinnati).
Like others who have posted, we all called it U of C or “Chicago” when I was there in the 80s (a graduate school). But my daughter who’s applying now routinely refers to it as U. Chicago, which I do not care for.
I think UChicago is an improvement. I said U of C in the past, and at various times people thought I mean University of California, University of Cincinnati, University of Colorado and even someplace named Youvesee College (probably a rival of Wassamatta U.)
Graduated 10 years ago. I only ever heard it referred to as “UChicago” “The U of C” or “The University of Chicago” during and since my stint, I believe.