Why To Attend UofC Part I

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
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<p>Taken from another thread, reposted on it's own here: </p>

<p>Why to Pick UofC Part I </p>

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<p>This thread has been interesting and as a former student from the UofC I would like to weigh in on several of the issues raised. (As a rather tangential aside, the constant reference to the University of Chicago as UChi simply grates on my ears, I have no idea why you made up that nickname but the students and alumni refer to it as the UofC).</p>

<p>Unfortunately, several of the posters here have already set an aggressive tone that puts those who want to discuss UofC into an apologetic position (the non-Ivy – shame! Shame!) I’m going to try and escape that debate and negative framework by restarting this conversation on what are my own grounds and I believe UofC’s. </p>

<p>I’ll start with a joke. </p>

<p>A Harvard student walks into an interview and acts as if he owns the entire room. </p>

<p>A Dartmouth student walks into an interview and acts as if he someday will own the entire room. </p>

<p>A University of Chicago student walks into an interview and re-arranges the furniture. </p>

<p>The joke has to make one smile and as our professor of logic and philosophy and part time stand up comedian Ted Cohen points out, a joke is only funny if it reflects a socially unacceptable truth. </p>

<p>Do University of Chicago students see themselves as the best? Damn straight. And with good reason too. </p>

<p>Two very interesting articles that everyone on this thread should read have recently appeared. One is a New Yorker article discussing Harvard and The Ivy League’s rather repulsive past (and present) system of admissions. The article can be found here: <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/critics/co...010crat_atlarge%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.newyorker.com/critics/co...010crat_atlarge&lt;/a> (Be forewarned, the first few paragraphs of the article are pretty terrible, skip them or push through it.)</p>

<p>In short (for those who inevitably will not read the article) it is an historical examination of the Ivy League’s current admission policy, how it was framed and begun by Harvard in the 1920’s in order to prevent so many of those ‘damned Jews’ and Catholics and (in the future) Blacks and Asians, from attending and ruining their precious (and pretentious) atmosphere of the elite WASP supermen. (This issue has come up again and again for those who think it is ‘ancient history’ most recently when Harvard was sued, and lost, in the 1980’s.) When Harvard opened up its doors to an objective academic framework for admission at the turn of the 20th century, the result was a very diversified student pool, with an exceptionally large Jewish student body. Well, they couldn’t have that, and so began the process we have all come to know of interviews, athletics, essays, pictures, checking off of ones ethnic background, and so on. A way to have quotas but not let anyone know you have quotas. Smart but ugly women would come to find that Harvard’s doors were closed, no joke, check out the article. (The article also references UofC in contrast to Harvard, with its open admission policy based on brains – backing up O’Neill’s claim that he has no idea of the make up of the class till he sees it. A concept, that BNB is unable to believe, which is more an indication of his prejudice than UofC’s.) </p>

<p>Another interesting article from a Harvard undergrad in the Harvard Crimson can be found here <a href="http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=509107%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=509107&lt;/a>. Check out the misuse of the word disinterested. Pretty funny, I thought that’s what editors are for. But that isn’t the point. The point is that the student points out the major reason that we at the UofC think we are far ahead of just about any and every other school out there. </p>

<p>So what makes UofC so great? I’ll address that in my next post tomorrow. You’ll just have to wait till then…</p>

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<p>Why To Attend the UofC Part II </p>

<p>First, let me start by saying that nothing that I nor any other student, alumnus, or self proclaimed ‘expert’ on this or any other site can replace the nature of first hand experience. </p>

<p>I understand that many students are perhaps at an economic disadvantage and can’t afford to go visit the schools they are interested in, but I would encourage your, implore you, to find a way to visit the schools you’ve been accepted to before you make your decision. Yes, it costs money, but you are about to make a four year (or more) investment, an enormous amount of time, energy, and money. Nothing replaces the experience of walking around the campus, speaking with other students, professors, and sitting in on classes. </p>

<p>I nearly stayed at an Ivy on the East Coast without visiting UofC. Then my principal found out I handed visited and sat down and talked with me for 15 minutes during lunch (at a school of 2,500 students) and, as he was also an alumnus from UofC, begged me to go visit before deciding. I did, and am o so glad that I listened to him. I nearly made a horrible decision. </p>

<p>That being said, I am also not posting this to argue or engage parents, or the ‘experts’ on the site. This is exclusively for the benefit of prospective students. After this post, I believe I will not post anymore, as these forums always turn into shouting matches and ad hominum attacks. This thread has been no exception. To the prospective students at UofC, here is what I as a former student have to offer you in advice…</p>

<p>It is ironic the comparisons that have been forced on those supporting UofC as a FIRST CHOICE. I have only once in my entire stay at UofC met a student who was a whiner, who wanted to have been somewhere else. And he didn’t want to be in an ivy, he wanted to be in Stanford, and after working his butt off for a year, he easily made the transfer. I have never, not once, met a student who wanted to be at an ivy and was at UofC as a backup. Quite the opposite, I have met many a Harvard and Columbia student who have transferred to UofC. </p>

<p>The idea that UofC is a backup is simply absurd. Anyone who is going to a top 10 school better think the school they are going to is the best. For the amount of time and money they are about to invest, they’d be nuts to make such an investment if they thought otherwise. Notice that in the Harvard article I linked to earlier, the student there also claims in the first sentence, “we are the best”. He has good reason to say so, as does UofC, and frankly, it’s lame to go to one of the top 10 schools as a back up. They are all unique and tend to fit different types of students and people and have different programs and focuses. </p>

<p>There are several strengths that are unique about UofC. They have boasted 73 Nobel Prize winners, more than I believe all other NATIONS excluding the United States (you’ll have to double check me on that fact, but either way, it’s a lot). What makes this statistic unique from say, Harvard, which also boasts an amazing staff, is that one actually has ACCESS to the staff at UofC. The Crimson article points out emphatically how this is NOT true at Harvard, and this is a common complaint at most of the Ivy’s. UofC has the second lowest professor to student ratio (only CalTech has a better one), and you don’t just have access to ‘second rate’ professors, and the new grad students etc. You have access, from your very first class, to world class teachers. In all my classes at UofC I only had two classes that even used teaching assistants, one being calculus (with minimal TA exposure) and one of the five bio classes I took (and the TA was great, and the professor was always readily available as well). </p>

<p>The idea that UofC doesn’t stack up, it’s ludicrous. Look at the grad school programs. UofC has the number one to number five programs in nearly every department, just look at the lists. Law school, theology, philosophy, English, political science, economics, etc. Why does this impact you ad an undergraduate? Because UofC is one of the only schools where you have immediate access to grad school classes. By your second year you can be nearly exclusively in graduate school courses. It is an amazing experience. </p>

<p>The focus of UofC is also different than that of most of the Ivy’s (with the notable exception of Columbia). Why are you attending college? This needs to be an important question. Is it so you can get ahead? Then go to an Ivy. Is it so you can push your limits in the sciences, math, or other such disciplines? Then go to CalTech or MIT. Is it because you value a general education in the humanities – a truly liberal education – the basis for a proper democracy and free thinking society? Then go to UofC, Columbia, or St. John’s College. They are the only three schools that still have a “core” that is not a joke, that has a truly great books program at the center of their studies, and that foster cooperative learning efforts, not competitive ones. </p>

<p>John Dewey, one of the founding educators at the UofC (and no surprise, also involved at Columbia), gave some excellent lectures on what is the aim of education at a liberal university. These books are available today and are rather short, and worth reading for students considering UofC or Columbia. To take but one quote to serve as an example of the focus of the UofC, “What the best and wisest person wants for his own child, that must the community want for all of its children. Any other ideal for our schools is narrow and unlovely; acted upon, it destroys our democracy.” (The School and Society). Dewey was interested in developing the entire human being, not just the mind qua mind. He wanted to apply psychological development to education. And this has been the UofC tradition ever since. The UofC is about molding you into a good human being and citizen. </p>

<p>They don’t have specific molds, whether you come out thinking “A” or “B” is not important. What is important is that you THINK, and do so critically, in CHOOSING “A” or “B”. It is the process that is key at UofC. And the “life of the mind” is not simply an academic ivory tower, but rather a way of life, a community of peers and I believe lovers, and is expected to impact the way you live. </p>

<p>The atmosphere there is unique. Many of my friends who chose to go to Ivy’s and spent a quarter with me at UofC regretted THEIR decision, because the UofC was so amazing in creating this intellectual and moral atmosphere. </p>

<p>And despite what some of the parents here have said in defense of their children, UofC students ARE dorks. That doesn’t mean they aren’t ‘cool’ in their own way, or that they are socially awkward. Perhaps mine, and Kermit’s definition of dorks needs to be clarified. It is more about the way they do things then what they do. Sure, we have parties, and sure we go to bars, go bowling, sex, drugs, etc. But by and large, all the social activities are centered around seriously heavy discussions. These aren’t students who are schizophrenic, and talk about the merits of Nietzsche versus Kierkegaard in the classroom but not when going out. The life of the mind is a way of living, and it carries over to all activities. I fondly remember watching Iron Chef on the TV in the lounge in my dorm of 150 students, and discussing various political or philosophical issues while we watched. That’s just the type of school it is. </p>

<p>Amy Kass, one of the best educators around, at UofC or elsewhere, was so excited and happy when they ranked UofC dead last for party schools three years ago. Some of the administrators were upset, worried, how will this effect our student body. She replied, “Are you nuts!? This guarantees that we get the kind of students we want. This will help our future.” Or as one of the famous UofC T-shirts says, “Where fun comes to die”. We have fun, don’t get me wrong, but, well, hopefully you know get the point. </p>

<p>Is everyone like that? Of course not, but just about. I think all of 5% of the students are involved in the Greek system, and even there, as someone who helped start one of the fraternities on campus, these aren’t your typical frats. </p>

<p>What else can I say? Because it is such a school, the life of the mind, the level of racism, anti-Semitism, and other such hateful outlooks by the student body and professors is nearly non-existent (also worth noting Columbia, as the other famous school with a core and life of the mind, clearly does not have quotas given the enormous percentage of their students with Asians, Jews, and Blacks - the most diversified Ivy school). The student body is awesome. No other word for it. Many of the students are religious, from a large variety of backgrounds, but even those who aren’t ‘religious’ they are old school liberals. They have a commitment to a moral outlook that is also ‘religious’ in its own sense. The number of honest, rigorous, serious liberals and secular moralists and humanists that I have met at UofC, it’s inspiring. If any prospective students want to contact me personally I’ll be happy to respond.</p>