<p>I’ll admit straight away that the title is semi-bait and I’ll also admit that I know this post may come off as slightly arrogant and snobbish but I’m going to go ahead anyway. This is a thought that always pops into my head whenever I read a post where a student wants to know how UChicago compares to Wharton / Ross / Stern, whenever I read a post where a student wants to know if the top companies recruit at UChicago, whenever I read a post where a student wants to know if UChicago offers a Business Major, etc. etc. (you get the point). To put it simply, I would like to know what is the best response to offer?</p>
<p>Is it a good idea to go on about how a UChicago education offers something that transcends technical job-training and broadens your horizons, about how the Core will forever change the way you think, about how reading Plato is essential because his work is so foundational to Western Civilization as a whole…
Or maybe just tell the student that they would be better of at Wharton (this is the part where I begin to sound arrogant / snobbish but bear with me) because in all probability the student is not very likely to be the kind of person who values what a UChicago education (or any other Liberal Arts education) stands for. I find it quite improbable that he/she would even be truly interested in doing the Core. Maybe he/she should just go to Wharton and get an IBanking job at a top company upon graduation since that IS what the student wants…</p>
<p>My most likely plan is to go into business of some sort. I am a Fundamentals major, and I applied to Chicago because of the core.</p>
<p>I think that you are incorrect. Why should intellectual pursuits and non-academic ambitions be mutually exclusive? Of course it’s true that devotion to an Aristotelean philosophy (which you will study, so don’t fret) and a career such as business would likely be incompatible, with exceptions made if the career was solely to provide a necessary livelihood. But there is no reason why intellectualism, the thirst and respect for knowledge, and the desire to study in the way the core allows can’t coincide with another sort of life that isn’t by definition devoted to those same pursuits. </p>
<p>Now, if the person wanted to study business as an undergraduate and did not like the idea of a core, then Chicago would obviously be a poor choice. </p>
<p>There is no reason, though, why the thoughtfulness of a Chicago education cannot survive with and alongside a life in business, or medicine, or law, or physics. </p>
<p>I will add that I know a number of men, all at or around retirement age, who studied in a four year great books program as undergraduates. One was extremely successful in the financial world of investment; another was one of the most influential and important people in the world in PR/marketing/advertisement; one is a lawyer who has argued many times in front of the Supreme Court of the United States; one is a successful and specialized physician; a couple are professors.</p>
<p>You’re missing my point (or perhaps I failed to make my point clear in the first instance). I have no problem with people who want to go on and pursue a career in business or for that matter a career in any field whatsoever. People with a thirst and respect for knowledge can definitely break away from the Aristotelian notion of the good life to pursue lucrative careers and that’s perfectly alright.</p>
<p>I am referring to people with no thirst or respect for knowledge at all. I am referring to people who view college as a mere stepping stone towards attaining their dream of a lucrative career. It’s these kind of people I don’t know what to say to. Should they be informed of how UChicago is so much more than the mere stepping stone they’re looking for? Or should they just find a more appropriate stepping stone?</p>
<p>Ah, sorry. I’ve had some wine tonight. ;)</p>
<p>That person obviously wouldn’t be a good fit for Chicago. Just tell him about the core and the academic atmosphere. The kid will probably figure out pretty quickly that it’s not a good match. No need to critique his desires.</p>
<p>I feel like these kinds of people are turned off by Chicago almost automatically. Though my older brother is brilliant (and nerdy on occasion), he wanted his undergraduate education to be as little of a nuisance to him as possible. He found Chicago absolutely revolting when he toured.</p>
<p>When I come across posters here whom I feel are not fits for the school, I usually post a link to the core curriculum… this usually does the trick:</p>
<p><a href=“http://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/level2.asp?id=7[/url]”>http://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/level2.asp?id=7</a></p>