<p>Here are a few more things to think about. (Chicago undergrad who knows a handful of Swatties and Carls doing grad at Chicago.)</p>
<p>Agreed that the schools are remarkably similar in the dimensions you’re looking for (intellectual, somewhat offbeat, a lot of overlap.) However, what makes Chicago very different is a) student body size, b) environment, and c) overall function/University mission.</p>
<p>A few notes on each–</p>
<p>Student body size: There are about 5,000 undergrads at Chicago and while I meet new people all the time, I still feel that there’s a sense that everybody knows everybody and that some people are known by their first name. (Like, for example, there’s only one “Suzie” or “Suzie the AOII sister” or whatever). So I think the student body size is about the smallest I could sanely handle. I would go NUTS at a smaller school, particularly after the grad students are taken out.</p>
<p>Environment: As mentioned before, Chicago is in a city, Swat and Carleton are near cities. I can’t speak for other students, but being in the city of Chicago has definitely been a benefit to the way I conduct my daily life and the opportunities I have. Having spent a few summers on college campuses that, like Swat and Carleton, were somewhat removed and insular, I realized I needed a campus that was more open to the real world, where I could just as easily find non-university people as university people. And for many of my peers, that ability to wander from campus has translated into internships at the Chicago History Museum, work for politicians, etc. So another question is how much you would enjoy the “bubble.”</p>
<p>Overall function: Because the U of C has so many arms of students doing all sorts of different things, the College at the University of Chicago is just one component. In my mind, I get the best of both worlds-- tiny classes with professors like an LAC, opportunities to tag along with the law, business, med school, and hospitals, which are all alongside the main campus.</p>