Does UChicago live up to its "extremely hard" reputation?

marlowe1
Wed, 18 Mar 2015 14:56:35 +0000

I’m speaking as a somewhat superannuated alumnus… I do remember well the unrelenting pressures of the quarter system as it existed in my time and doubtless does still today. Not to mention the self-imposed pressures referred to by phuriku and the general sturm und drang of life in a big city at a very serious university. Those pressures are real and they’re not for a young person who isn’t also a serious student interested in making discoveries about self and world. For me and my friends that intensity was the essential appeal of the university. The academic requirements in themselves shouldn’t prevent you from pursuing any of the many other activities available on campus or off. During my time at the university I worked part-time jobs, participated in politics, played on the baseball team, and (my own special mania) attended as many lectures and readings by distinguished visiting scholars and writers as I could. Probably most important of all was the making of friendships, romantic and otherwise, and hanging out with those friends, some of whom I still keep up with many years later. But the academic part at a place like Chicago is the crucial part. And it’s not just a matter of swatting things up for grades. Study should be something inherently satisfying to you in itself. If it is, Chicago’s wonderful teachers and the stimulation of other students will take it all to a different level. There’s no denying that at a place like Chicago the business of study and thought will always be front and center. But the odd thing about this (and it’s something we should keep secret from unbelievers!) is just how stimulating and even erotic the experience can be. I promise you, you will feel bracingly alive during your years at the university, and you will remember that feeling as long as you live.