The U of C is focused on academic rigor and, as they frequently talk about, the life of the mind. It's an incredibly intellectual school in a fun neighborhood in an amazing city. At UChicago, you will be encouraged to learn a lot, but you will also experience one of the most important cities in America.
Do you have any tips for prospective students?
Be creative and explore your interests. UChicago is famous (notorious?) for their quirky essay prompts, and be sure to have fun with these. You don't necessarily have to be off-the-wall for the prompts either, though -- my essay was just a very sincere account of an experience I had. Just take advantage of the opportunity to elaborate on your personal story. Also, try checking out the UChicago Admissions Tumblr page -- it'll give you a lot of great information and a great taste of what life on campus is like. And of course, the school is selective, so take challenging classes, get good grades, blah blah blah. Just remember -- they like curiousity and personality.
Do you find there’s enough academic rigor at your school?
UChicago has a variety of t-shirts with slogans poking fun at their notorious academic rigor. One says If we wanted A's, we'd go to Harvard. You'll probably hear a lot about grade deflation, but as it turns it out UC just doesn't have grade INFLATION. Everyone is required to complete the core curriculum (this is UC's signature), which consists of several classes in basically all subjects. UChicago requires you to be knowledgable across a broad range of subjects.
Describe the dorm life at your college.
There are brand new dorms on campus in crazy modern styles (one dorm, known as Max P, is remiscent of an orange Lego) while other dorms are in a gorgeous neo-gothic style, so essentially everyone is bound to find a dorm they like. Some dorms have less than 100 people in them, some have several hundred. Some are off-campus, some are right on the quads. Additionally, UC has the house system (like in Harry Potter!) -- each student is assigned to a house. You meet with your housemates for meetings and a variety of activities, and you even have a house table in one of the dining halls. Plus, you can compete as a house in intramural sports teams.
Describe the food and dining at your college.
There are four or so dining halls on campus, all with a variety of options, including vegan, vegetarian, Kosher, Hallal, etc. The food is really quite good, and there's a wide variety. I believe one dining hall even has its own Mongolian Grill? Your meal plan also includes maroon dollars which can be used of buy things from some convenience shops on campus. There are also many cafes around campus, with names like Hallowed Grounds, and one shop sells milkshakes for $1 on Wednesdays! Dining halls close on Saturday evenings so that you're encouraged to go check out places in Chicago. I don't even need to elaborate on how amazing food is in the city -- it's Chicago! If you don't want to go far, there are some incredibly cool restaurants in Hyde Park, just a few minute walk from campus.
What’s there to do for fun at your college?
Join one of the hundreds of RSOs (what UC calls their clubs), explore Chicago (your UChicago ID doubles as an arts pass that will get you discounts and even get you in to places like the Art Institute for free!), chill in Hyde Park, ride your bike or take a run along Lake Michigan, play on an intramural or club sports team...if there's something you want to do, it's pretty much guaranteed that you'll find it, unless you're into white-water rafting or something -- there isn't really a lot of super wild area anywhere near the school.
Do you feel you’re getting value for the money you’re spending on college?
Their financial aid is pretty much unsurpassable -- they're rivaled by the famously generous Ivies, but otherwise they're quite good. The Odyssey Scholarship ensures that most students whose family incomes are below $90,000 will not have to pay any loans. They also are one of few prestigious schools that offer merit scholarships, and they give National Merit Finalists $2,000 a year, or $1,000 a year for students not on financial aid.
Share any unusual traditions or locations on campus
I believe the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction or something of a similar sort was created on campus. Fermi stayed in a dorm in Snell-Hitchcock residence hall. $1 milkshakes on Wednesdays are a pretty darn good tradition if you ask me. Burton-Judson residence hall is essentially Hogwarts. Many of the residence halls are historic. Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House is on campus (if you're not an art history buff, that's arguably the most famous house by arguably the most famous American architect). The Rockefeller chapel is absolutely gorgeous. There are multiple museums on campus, like the Oriental Institute (about Near Eastern culture) and the Smart Museum of Art. The Logan Center for the Arts is an absolutely amazing building opening this fall that has incredible facilities. Oh, SCAVENGER HUNT -- every year, almost everyone campus participates in a massive, insanely ridiculous scavenger hunt. Items on the list have included things like assembling a nuclear reactor (and people actually did it). It's pretty intense. Also, if you're admitted, you get a nice maroon scarf in the mail!
Which types of students will excel at your college?
Curious, intellectual, desiring a broad education, desiring an education that is more focused on knowledge for knowledge sake than preparing for a very specific career path (although Chicago Careers In... program provides tons of help setting students up in strong careers). If you're curious and quirky, this is the perfect school. If you consider yourself pretty indie (or, hipster, to not mince words) you'll also probably love it, in all honesty.
Are you involved in any clubs or activities?
There's practically everything on campus. There is a gigantic array of clubs and activities (several hundred, ranging from the conventional to the absolutely absurd), and people are always starting new clubs (anyone is free to). A note to music students: while there is no music performance degree offered by the college, there are still plenty of opportunities. There is a music degree, which is basically an academic degree (theory, history, etc.). There is also a number of very strong music groups, like the University Symphony Orchestra. There's an audition at the beginning of the year that matches you to the ensembles you would be good for, as well as to a private teacher -- the University will pay 10-60% of the cost of your private lessons, and some students even get to take lessons from Chicago Symphony Orchestra members! I found pursuing music at UChicago to be preferable (at least for me) to following a traditional music performance program at other schools.
Are you involved in any clubs or activities?
About 10% of students are part of Greek Life, so people who aren't a part DEFINITLEY don't feel left out. Pretty much everyone is invited to most of the parties, as well. Some of the fraternities are co-ed community service fraternities, which I thought was pretty cool. Greek Life at UC is not at all like it would be at your typical state school.
How would you describe campus safety? Do you feel safe on campus?
Although Hyde Park isn't known to be absolutely the safest, the campus has many security measures set in place. You can call up a van that will drive you from wherever you are to wherever you need to be at any time (SafeRide, I think it's called), the campus shuttle runs at night, and you can even call a campus police car to follow behind you as you're walking home, if you're feeling a bit nervous.
The U of C is focused on academic rigor and, as they frequently talk about, the life of the mind. It's an incredibly intellectual school in a fun neighborhood in an amazing city. At UChicago, you will be encouraged to learn a lot, but you will also experience one of the most important cities in America.
Be creative and explore your interests. UChicago is famous (notorious?) for their quirky essay prompts, and be sure to have fun with these. You don't necessarily have to be off-the-wall for the prompts either, though -- my essay was just a very sincere account of an experience I had. Just take advantage of the opportunity to elaborate on your personal story. Also, try checking out the UChicago Admissions Tumblr page -- it'll give you a lot of great information and a great taste of what life on campus is like. And of course, the school is selective, so take challenging classes, get good grades, blah blah blah. Just remember -- they like curiousity and personality.
UChicago has a variety of t-shirts with slogans poking fun at their notorious academic rigor. One says If we wanted A's, we'd go to Harvard. You'll probably hear a lot about grade deflation, but as it turns it out UC just doesn't have grade INFLATION. Everyone is required to complete the core curriculum (this is UC's signature), which consists of several classes in basically all subjects. UChicago requires you to be knowledgable across a broad range of subjects.
There are brand new dorms on campus in crazy modern styles (one dorm, known as Max P, is remiscent of an orange Lego) while other dorms are in a gorgeous neo-gothic style, so essentially everyone is bound to find a dorm they like. Some dorms have less than 100 people in them, some have several hundred. Some are off-campus, some are right on the quads. Additionally, UC has the house system (like in Harry Potter!) -- each student is assigned to a house. You meet with your housemates for meetings and a variety of activities, and you even have a house table in one of the dining halls. Plus, you can compete as a house in intramural sports teams.
There are four or so dining halls on campus, all with a variety of options, including vegan, vegetarian, Kosher, Hallal, etc. The food is really quite good, and there's a wide variety. I believe one dining hall even has its own Mongolian Grill? Your meal plan also includes maroon dollars which can be used of buy things from some convenience shops on campus. There are also many cafes around campus, with names like Hallowed Grounds, and one shop sells milkshakes for $1 on Wednesdays! Dining halls close on Saturday evenings so that you're encouraged to go check out places in Chicago. I don't even need to elaborate on how amazing food is in the city -- it's Chicago! If you don't want to go far, there are some incredibly cool restaurants in Hyde Park, just a few minute walk from campus.
Join one of the hundreds of RSOs (what UC calls their clubs), explore Chicago (your UChicago ID doubles as an arts pass that will get you discounts and even get you in to places like the Art Institute for free!), chill in Hyde Park, ride your bike or take a run along Lake Michigan, play on an intramural or club sports team...if there's something you want to do, it's pretty much guaranteed that you'll find it, unless you're into white-water rafting or something -- there isn't really a lot of super wild area anywhere near the school.
Their financial aid is pretty much unsurpassable -- they're rivaled by the famously generous Ivies, but otherwise they're quite good. The Odyssey Scholarship ensures that most students whose family incomes are below $90,000 will not have to pay any loans. They also are one of few prestigious schools that offer merit scholarships, and they give National Merit Finalists $2,000 a year, or $1,000 a year for students not on financial aid.
I believe the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction or something of a similar sort was created on campus. Fermi stayed in a dorm in Snell-Hitchcock residence hall. $1 milkshakes on Wednesdays are a pretty darn good tradition if you ask me. Burton-Judson residence hall is essentially Hogwarts. Many of the residence halls are historic. Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House is on campus (if you're not an art history buff, that's arguably the most famous house by arguably the most famous American architect). The Rockefeller chapel is absolutely gorgeous. There are multiple museums on campus, like the Oriental Institute (about Near Eastern culture) and the Smart Museum of Art. The Logan Center for the Arts is an absolutely amazing building opening this fall that has incredible facilities. Oh, SCAVENGER HUNT -- every year, almost everyone campus participates in a massive, insanely ridiculous scavenger hunt. Items on the list have included things like assembling a nuclear reactor (and people actually did it). It's pretty intense. Also, if you're admitted, you get a nice maroon scarf in the mail!
Curious, intellectual, desiring a broad education, desiring an education that is more focused on knowledge for knowledge sake than preparing for a very specific career path (although Chicago Careers In... program provides tons of help setting students up in strong careers). If you're curious and quirky, this is the perfect school. If you consider yourself pretty indie (or, hipster, to not mince words) you'll also probably love it, in all honesty.
There's practically everything on campus. There is a gigantic array of clubs and activities (several hundred, ranging from the conventional to the absolutely absurd), and people are always starting new clubs (anyone is free to). A note to music students: while there is no music performance degree offered by the college, there are still plenty of opportunities. There is a music degree, which is basically an academic degree (theory, history, etc.). There is also a number of very strong music groups, like the University Symphony Orchestra. There's an audition at the beginning of the year that matches you to the ensembles you would be good for, as well as to a private teacher -- the University will pay 10-60% of the cost of your private lessons, and some students even get to take lessons from Chicago Symphony Orchestra members! I found pursuing music at UChicago to be preferable (at least for me) to following a traditional music performance program at other schools.
About 10% of students are part of Greek Life, so people who aren't a part DEFINITLEY don't feel left out. Pretty much everyone is invited to most of the parties, as well. Some of the fraternities are co-ed community service fraternities, which I thought was pretty cool. Greek Life at UC is not at all like it would be at your typical state school.
Although Hyde Park isn't known to be absolutely the safest, the campus has many security measures set in place. You can call up a van that will drive you from wherever you are to wherever you need to be at any time (SafeRide, I think it's called), the campus shuttle runs at night, and you can even call a campus police car to follow behind you as you're walking home, if you're feeling a bit nervous.