How does UChicago compare with Ivy leagues??

lonestardad
Thu, 10 Nov 2005 21:06:42 +0000

The early posts to this thread answer the original question accurately about the University of Chicago versus the Ivies. Among the Ivies Chicago is most akin to Columbia in academics, locale, and enivronment. Hear of any great Columbia football teams lately? “Intellectual passion” is an appropriate phrase for Chicago and its students. Now to the later posts regarding life beyond academics at Chicago. My little tidbit addition to this discussion is the brawling, thriving, exciting city of Chicago itself that the University is so proud to be part of. And many UC students (and I was one once myself) immerse themselves in the City. You are a subway ride from seeing baseball games played by the World Series Champion White Sox (I did a number of times) or stay on the same subway line and see those lovable losers, the Cubs in Wrigley Field. How about the more high brow stuff - the Symphony anyone (Chicago Symphony Orchestra - one of the best in the world which had student tickets for selected dates); the Lyric Opera perhaps… How about laugh-a-second low brow such as the Second City Comedy Troupe (John Belushi and a zillion other comics are alums over the years). Guess where Saturday Night Live got its inspiration? And this not for a lot of money. Want an endless variety of restaurants for cheap eats? Chicago fits the bill - Chinatown, Greektown, and every cuisine in between. Guess where deep dish pizza got its start?

And I did all of these activities as a student and I was far from a hell raiser. One of my friends from college (who is now the lead economist for a Fortune 250 company) would go out once a quarter and seek out the grungiest, liveliest jazz bars throughout Chicago’s South Side. So the University of Chicago and the city of Chicago are symbiotic. You can’t do one without the other. So homebodies stay away, but the adventuresome I encourage to plunge into the University of Chicago and the proud vibrant city it calls home. So much for the phrase “where fun goes to die”.