Well, I visited the U of C for two days. I knew 0 students when I arrived, and just met one kid I had e-mailed because he was the VP of an RSO who gave me a tour.
So these are my observations, concerns, and I will try to be unbiased.
1. Every single person I bumped into was ridiculously friendly. I'm sure there are mean people, and not so friendly people, but all these kids were great. I'm very outgoing and social, and I had no problem talking to random people I bumped into.
2. I thought the campus was beautiful, not dreary nor depressing. It was actually very lively. I did not find it dangerous one bit. Most people I spoke said that the only people its dangerous for are "idiots" who are weak looking and don't have the common sense so they walk around alone at 3am and potentially could get mugged.
3. I played basketball at Ratner on a Wednesday night from 10pm till midnight. And the kids I played with were real good. Trust me....
4. I met a bunch of Pre-medders. The kid who gave me a tour had 4 sisters who went to UChicago, and he is following in their footsteps and plans to go to a top med school. Other students had this same goal. Many people apply and get into schools like Yale, Hopkins, UChicago, Northwestern, etc..
5. There were Singaporeans who were there on scholarship. The stipulation was that they had to maintain a 3.8 GPA. So, yes, it is possible. And apparently, its very possible to be a 3.5+. Apparently, if you are intelligent and work hard, a 3.7 is do-able.
6. Kids seemed rather happy with the school. I met a bunch of kids that hated it the first two quarters until they found friends etc. Now they love it, but do complain alot.
7. I met a kid who applied to Northwestern as a transfer and got in. However, as a Pre-Med he decided to stay at UChicago because he felt opportunities were much greater. And also, between the time he applied and the time he got in, he also found his group of friends and seems to really be enjoying it.
8. There are quirky kids. Lots and lots of them. It's very easy to have a serious and intellectual conversation. Actually, even when we were talking about basketball and other things, people had a very critical thought process towards them. It's pretty remarkable.
9. Everyone tries to convince you that the stereotypes aren't true and that the school is great.
10. I know for a fact there are kids who do not enjoy the school, however, I did not meet any of them, therefore I don't know their opinions.
11. I thought the food at Barlett was pretty good. However, desserts are overpriced....
12. Its HUGE.
13. From talking with Math and Econ majors, recruiting is off the hook.
14. The University does not like to turn on the AC
That's it for now. I spent a lot of my time hanging out, at the CO-OP Bookstore, walking around campus etc. I met a lot of interesting kids....I did meet a couple socially awkward kids, who were, nonetheless, nice people.
Overall, it definitely dispelled any doubts I had about the University, and I am very excited to attend in the fall.
I'm glad you enjoyed your visit, Akx. It's a strange time before most exams/papers are due but after most of the major learning in classes is done. Lots of parties this weekend.
Anyway, it's good you enjoyed yourself. I hope you really like it here next year.
5. There were Singaporeans who were there on scholarship. The stipulation was that they had to maintain a 3.8 GPA. So, yes, it is possible. And apparently, its very possible to be a 3.5+. Apparently, if you are intelligent and work hard, a 3.7 is do-able.
That seems really odd. Do you happen to know if it was a scholarship offered by The University?
It's common knowledge around here. The Singaporean students are paid by their country (I believe) to attend. It's one of the factors that makes econ courses so difficult. Many of these students from Singapore major in econ and need to maintain a very high GPA, so they end up working a lot more than other students to get the grades they require. Their high grades affect the curve.
And I got free food (dinner and lunch for the next day) from the admin office.
Also, there were kids who got into other top schools and chose Chicago. And no one I met held animosity with students at NU, Harvard, Yale, etc. No one said anything about those schools being easier, the only thing someone had to say was that MIT has a weird shaped campus. But I think thats an important point to make on this board since there is always this weird comparison between U of C and other elites.
