Questions about UChicago

zonked_out · 05-10-2008, 10:26 PM

Hey guys, I'm a prospective applicant and would really appreciate it if any of you could take some time off to answer these questions I have about UChicago:

1) Is it possible to double major? Prohibitively difficult, given the high standard of academics? I'm looking to take a double degree in Economics and Urban Planning, any info on that? In the first place, do you guys know if UChicago offers Urban Planning/any other similar courses? Tried finding out about that on the school website but it didn't really offer much info.

2) How hard is it to enter honors class or graduate with honors in Econ?

3) What's the typical class size for a module in Econ?

4) What do UChicago students do for fun on weekends? Do they go out to the city a lot? For me, one of the greatest draws of the school is that its situated right in the middle of America's largest metropolises, and I'm the kind who would love to explore the city and have fun whenever I'm free. Are there many people like me as well?

5) Are UChicago students so interested in their coursework that they actually lose out in terms of experiencing the many varied experiences college has to offer?

Thanks so much!

DonnaL · 05-10-2008, 10:41 PM

Well, I'm a parent, not a student, so I can't answer any of your specific questions (except that you should definitely be able to find the current course catalog on the U of C website. Because it's there.) But one thing you might want to try is to look through the past threads on this forum. I suspect you'll find quite a few that address your concerns.

unalove · 05-11-2008, 11:22 AM

I like answering questions anew anyway. Let's take these one at a time:

1) Is it possible to double major? Prohibitively difficult, given the high standard of academics?

Nope, it's very possible to double major, and with a few exceptions of majors that one applies to (Law Letters, fundamentals), you can call yourself whatever major you want.

I'm looking to take a double degree in Economics and Urban Planning, any info on that? In the first place, do you guys know if UChicago offers Urban Planning/any other similar courses? Tried finding out about that on the school website but it didn't really offer much info.

--Don't think we have an Urban Planning program, but you can always cobble together courses about cities. I was once interested in only schools with Urban Studies, but given that the field is frightfully small, I decided I was better with history/sociology/econ/anthro classes about cities than a program called Urban Planning or Urban Studies. Because we are in a city, the city often serves as a place of academic focus and is often a theme in courses.

2) How hard is it to enter honors class or graduate with honors in Econ?

Hard enough that not everybody does it. Hard is one of these relative words, like "spicy," so it's hard (ha) for me to know what's hard for you.

3) What's the typical class size for a module in Econ?

I checked timeschedules, which has class size info. Intro has 240 kids, but from there the classes take a sharp turn down and most have a cap at 40 students.

4) What do UChicago students do for fun on weekends? Do they go out to the city a lot? For me, one of the greatest draws of the school is that its situated right in the middle of America's largest metropolises, and I'm the kind who would love to explore the city and have fun whenever I'm free. Are there many people like me as well?

A clarification is that we are NOT in the middle of Chicago, but in our own neighborhood called Hyde Park. You're not going to be able to walk to the Sears Tower in between classes, but you will be able to venture downtown in your free time. Having a city is a big draw for many, and considering that most every neighborhood is accessible from Hyde Park, it's not that difficult to get around. There are days when I go downtown twice in a day.

Students do a variety of things for fun, some use the city more than others. You can attend student events like cultural shows, concerts, etc. or you might find yourself at a frat party, an apartment party, or just "hanging out." If you don't like the idea of drinking/drugs, you can stay sober and still enjoy yourself socially, and if you do, you'll find what you're looking for.

5) Are UChicago students so interested in their coursework that they actually lose out in terms of experiencing the many varied experiences college has to offer?

I guess all Chicago students have to figure out a balance regarding what they love to do, and they have to realize that there isn't enough time in the world to do evvverything. When I was in high school, I was much more active in solitary pursuits like reading, watching movies, writing, etc. and in college I switched gears to become much more social. It may take a while to figure our what is worth spending time on for you, but I think you'll also find activities to get passionate about.

cory123 · 05-11-2008, 01:24 PM

lol unalove you give me hope that i'll have enough free time at uchicago next year....seeing as how you always have so much time to time out these elaborate posts =P

CTDreyer · 05-11-2008, 03:24 PM

To expand a bit on Unalove's answer for question number two, the Econ department intentionally tries to make the honors option pretty difficult to pursue. It's a huge major, and they don't want people who aren't seriously considering a future in graduate-level economics taking up resources. In general, getting honors means that you will have to do some independent research involving LOTS of math. Not surprisingly, only a handful of people each year go for it.

unalove · 05-11-2008, 06:56 PM

lol cory....

I have a life too.

CesareBorgia · 05-11-2008, 11:30 PM

Quote:

To expand a bit on Unalove's answer for question number two, the Econ department intentionally tries to make the honors option pretty difficult to pursue. It's a huge major, and they don't want people who aren't seriously considering a future in graduate-level economics taking up resources. In general, getting honors means that you will have to do some independent research involving LOTS of math. Not surprisingly, only a handful of people each year go for it.

IMO, I think it is relatively easy (i.e. if you are a UChicago student, it doesn't require too much intelligence, only motivation) to get honors. The only reason most people don't do it is that writing a B.A. does not interest a lot of undergrads.

Also, a ton of B.A.s don't involve lots of math, but rather a lot of econometrics--which is more computation than theory, unless if you are researching econometrics itself. Econometrics (i.e. regression analysis) being more an art than a science, a B.A. need not be math heavy to be interesting/important/etc.

P.S. Carl Dreyer rocks

CTDreyer · 05-12-2008, 01:28 AM

Yeah, I'm not actually an econ major. I was just parroting what a grad student I know told me about faculty preferences. Thanks for the revision.

cottonwood513 · 05-12-2008, 11:29 AM

Parent here, I am wondering how they have time for that scav hunt.

glasses · 05-12-2008, 11:35 AM

S says there's no time to sleep but it's a blast.

dsultemeier · 05-12-2008, 12:05 PM

Off topic, but since you guys are reading this...

My D and I are visiting Chicago from Texas at the end of May for three days. I found the International House on the website as a possible place for us to stay and it looks like fun and is inexpensive ($70 per night). Have you heard anything really bad about the place (like giant cockroaches)? I would prefer to not rent a car so it looked like it was very close to campus.

My D is looking at studying math and computer science so we would welcome any suggestions as to what to do on campus to learn more about these departments.

Thanks for your help.

JHS · 05-12-2008, 01:27 PM

International House is part of campus, although more on the edge than in the middle of it. It is more spartan than luxurious, but not gross.

It's perfectly possible to get around without a car. If you fly into Midway, you can take the 55 bus right to campus (but four blocks from International House), or there's a much more expensive shuttle or cab ride that will take you right there. At the airport, you can also buy special tourist transit passes for about $5/day, which are a tremendous bargain for gettng around the city.

idad · 05-12-2008, 02:40 PM

Have your D email a professor of a class in which one may be interested and ask if she can sit in. A good way to get a recommendation on which profs one should contact is to ask here: UChicago LiveJournal Community

dsultemeier · 05-12-2008, 06:06 PM

Thanks so much for the great advice. We are flying in on Southwest Airlines so will be going to Midway. We are fortunate in that my D's school gets out relatively early (May 23) so we can visit right after that while the university is still in session. I will check with International House to see if they have rooms available. And I will ask my D to check out the professor listing. Thanks!

unalove · 05-12-2008, 08:31 PM

http://collegecatalog/pdf_09/CMSC.pdf

http://collegecatalog/pdf_09/MATH.pdf

Links to the current course listings for math and comp sci as well as contact info for the director(s) of undergraduate studies. Visit department websites too, and see what you can pull into shape.

I also suggest your daughter write a paragraph or so about her experiences in high school/hopes of what she wants to study as an undergraduate. I don't know how much profs will respond to a blind query from a prospective student, but if she talks about her current coursework, performance on AMC exams, knowledge of programming, etc. I think they're much, much more likely (and enthusiastic) about responding.