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<p>You shouldn’t be surprised. Chicago caters towards a very specific type of student (though they’re trying to expand it), while WashU tends to cater towards a broader band. You’re right in calling them apples and oranges: at Chicago, academics overwhelmingly take priority over everything else save for food and sleep, while WashU doesn’t cultivate nearly the same amount of focus on schoolwork.</p>
<p>That isn’t to say we’re not happy here – I certainly don’t regret coming here one bit – but the experience is intense (though completely manageable once you realize that you simply have to sacrifice some things to get others, but such is life), and you have to be at least a little bit masochistic if you want to enjoy your time here.</p>
<p>tk21769 wrote a nice description of UChicago in another thread, which I believe represents the university very accurately. Take a look at Posts #2-3, paying particular attention to the description of the mission focus: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-chicago/1391298-alums-why-chicago.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-chicago/1391298-alums-why-chicago.html</a></p>