<p>As a first year, S1 received a C on a calc test. A couple of days later he received a call from his advisor to make sure everything was okay. I know this may be uncommon, but it certainly perked him up. He also liked the ice cream socials held at his House for the Sunday night (I believe) House-wide study breaks. He has never felt his fellow students have been cut throat, and even those interested in other disciplines than what is being studied often offer to help and discuss ideas.</p>
<p>Thanks glasses, idad, meow. This makes me feel better. BTW my D wasnt nervous about UChic, it is the parents! We will be there this Thursday and Friday for the prospie gig. Would any of you around then for a chat over coffee? Thanks.</p>
<p>Do you know any transfer students? Did they integrate well into the community, or were they outsiders?</p>
<p>PersonGuy- transfer students are just like regular students here; in my opinion, the level of integration depends a lot on how much you are willing to put in to meeting other people through activities, class, etc. Transfers all live in one dorm (extra space in this dorm is filled up with upperclassmen), which is nice in the sense that you’re with other people in your same situation with an RA and resident heads who know and are used to the problems of transfer students and interested in helping you get involved on campus. Most times you don’t even know who is a transfer and who started as a normal first year- it rarely comes up in conversation with people, but in general, I’d say people are really welcoming and basically just interested as to why the first school you chose wasn’t right for you, and how you/they can make your second work out better.
The RA of my house transferred here, and integrated well enough to feel enough a part of house life and campus in general to want to become a resident assistant; this is just one example, but really, there’s no stigma in being a transfer at all, and you’ll be able to make plenty of friends and do many activities if you seek out opportunities in which to do so.</p>
<p>I took ap bio and got a 5 last year. however, i barely remember any of it, and i would rather start from the beginning. would it be a bad idea to take the “not AP 5” track if i were to be a bio major?</p>
<p>If you don’t want to do AP5 Bio, you definitely don’t have to. Some people take the first couple classes of AP5, realize it’s not for them and take the 180s or 190s sequence, and some do what you’re suggesting. The downside, however, is that your Bio sequence will be 2 quarters longer (5 vs. 3), but if you’re fine with that, go for it!</p>
<p>Hi,</p>
<p>1) are the books in the library accessible? For example, if a prof assigns a certain books to read for a class, is it hard to obtain the book from the school library, esp when everyone else is trying to get the same book?</p>
<p>2) are career placement programs accessible? is there a lot of competition for slots in internships and the like?</p>
<p>3) what DON’T you like about uchicago? ;)</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>1) Absolutely yes. Most texts are made available online by professors or you will be asked to purchase various books. However, on the off-chance one of your required books cannot be bought and cannot be put online, the professor will put that book on reserve in the library and can only be taken out of the library for 2 hours at a time so that everyone will have (essentially) equal access to it. </p>
<p>2) There is a career placement center on campus where you can have your resume, cover letters, etc. reviewed. Internships are extremely competitive. You will be able to get advice on applying through CAPS though, which will help you. </p>
<p>3) I like almost everything about UChicago. Sometimes there’s a too much work and it feels overwhelming, but usually everything is terrific! I’m being honest here, too :)</p>
<p>cosmo: how hard/easy is it to make friends at UChicago? what if you’re living in a single, is that much harder to meet anyone? how’d you do it? thanks!</p>
<p>do you have to dorm your first year?? can you get out of it someway if u really wanted to?</p>
<p>Deeptalk- all first year students are required to live on campus, no exceptions. The last incoming class that allowed commuter students was the class of '11. Theoretically, you could have a space in housing and then elect to live at home or in an apartment off campus, but you’d basically be paying for a room you aren’t using (plus the cost of your apartment or travel to-from home), and might as well live on campus anyway.</p>
<p>I’m an antiscience guy so, how hard are the core bio classes? Also, read on uchicago website that a 4 on Chem AP will place you out of the 2 trimester physical science requirement, right? </p>
<p>Finally, I’ve asked a few friends and they all say the workload varies between 10-20hours per week and that the difficulty of a class is all over the place, is this accurate?</p>
<p>Being an international student, am I exempt from taking the language requirement? Say that I have been taking German as a third language for the last couple of years now, could I take the language placement test (offered during o-week) in Spanish and then continue to take German as an elective throughout?</p>
<p>You can take as many language placement tests as you like; if you are already fluent or a native speaker of a language other than English, you can still take the placement test in that language (and, obviously, pass out of your language requirement). You can also schedule to take more than one language placement test- in this case, you’d be welcome to test in both Spanish and German; others who may have studied two languages in high school but may not be fluent in either are welcome to do this as well.</p>
<p>How fast-paced is the quarter system? What happens if you fall behind a bit on the material? Cna you catch up or do you simply have trouble with the rest of the course?</p>
<p>How many tests are there per course per quarter?</p>
<p>For those of you who are relatively far from home: is this a problem in any way? Were your parents hesitant?</p>
<p>The quarter system is fast (I attended a college on the quarter system, too). It is very tough, but not impossible to catch up. Bring your study skills and be prepared to do a couple of hours of studying outside of class every day rather than waiting til something is due to cram it in all at once.</p>
<p>The number of tests will vary with the course and the prof. S’s HUM class has three papers per quarter, with the last one due the day of the final. His comp sci classes had problem sets due weekly, quizzes every couple of weeks, and 2-3 big tests. The math sequence he’s in does mainly problem sets/proofs – the only tests have been the finals. Core Bio had a midterm and final, with some other small stuff thrown in – but that probably varies by prof, too, since there are several different flavors of Core Bio, depending on the prof’s particular field of interest. The philosophy class he’s taking this quarter has two papers.</p>
<p>We did not have a problem with S being far (a 10.5 hour drive) from home. Going to school in a major metro area means there are decent (cheap, non-stop) flight options for coming home over breaks. DH is in Chicago for business several times a year. We expected our kids to leap out of the nest, and the distance is part of that scenario. </p>
<p>I have significant medical issues and I was amazed at how many people who asked if I was going to “keep” my S from going away to school. Not a chance.</p>
<p>Which banks offer services on campus? I remember someone telling me about Citi and a few others but I’m not too sure.</p>
<p>Citi atms are located at the brain/surgery/research pavilion of the hospital on Ellis across from the administration building, and in the basement of the reynolds club.
I bank with Chase - there’s an atm (that takes checks!!!) in the second floor lobby of the Mitchell building on the hospital campus.<br>
I don’t know about any others…</p>
<p>UChicagoPSAC: Is there a sample placement test for French available (at the Uchicago.edu site)? My D is planning to brush up her French (she has taken 3 years of French in HS) and try getting a waiver. Thanks.</p>
<p>CountingDown: Your son is taking 5 classes (HUM, Comp Sci, Math, Bio, Philosophy)? Is that a managable load?! :)</p>
<p>Andreeab: I went to Paris in 2007 for the Civ study abroad program. I loved it and would really encourage anyone to try to do it. It is possible to take the Civ courses prior to going and then go on the program as an elective, however, there are two problems with that:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The Civ sequence (outside of study abroad) is either a two or three quarter sequence. It’s a lot of extra work to put yourself through (and two or three slots that could be used to take elective classes or fulfill major requirements) if you’re going to take it abroad anyway.</p></li>
<li><p>Entry into the study abroad programs is somewhat competitive. When I went, my first choice was actually to go to Athens, and I didn’t get into that program. I was then waitlisted for the Paris program and got in a few weeks later. Certain programs are easier to get into than others - Paris being one of the easiest because of the number of programs that go on in Paris and the availability of the U of C Paris Center (the U of C has a specific area in Paris in the 14th arrondissement that contains classroom space as well as professor offices and research areas for grad students). The presence of the Paris center allows the University to host more students at one point in time in Paris than in the other programs. If memory serves, the most competitive programs to get into when I was applying were the one in Cape Town and the one in Beijing. That could have changed recently, though.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I bring up the competitiveness issue because if you take the Civ sequence in Chicago and then try to apply to study abroad Civ programs, you may get passed up in favor of people who have not already taken the required classes. That doesn’t mean you won’t be able to get into a program, just that it will be more difficult. The actual process of applying to programs isn’t too bad - you basically complete a short application, write a very short essay, and get one recommendation letter from a professor or someone who knows you well (I got mine from the swim coach because at the time I was applying I was a member of the swim team)… Compared to what you have to do to get in to the college in the first place - or for law school apps for that matter - it’s a piece of cake.</p>