Columbia and Uchicago

1190
Sun, 27 May 2007 03:48:19 +0000

Columbia/UC:

Similarities: Overall academic quality, breadth of offerings, depth of core requirements, research opportunities, extended city opportunities, prof/grad school and job placement, total disinterest in campus collegiate sports.

Major differences:

Quirkier students at Chicago, more likely to wear their intellectualism on their sleeves.

Hyde Park is not Morningside Heights/Upper West Side - more isolated
physically, fewer peri-campus offerings.

Chicago offers a closer to LAC-type interaction with faculty, especially as underclassman, with generally better advising.

Chicago more PhD prone, relatively less pre-prof (PhD rankings 1991-2000 of colleges, Chicago 8th vs Columbia 49th, weighted).

Overall vibe very different, generally more NY/east coast “hip” at Columbia. Less campus-centric than at Chicago.

Ideally need to see for yourself.