<p>As for undergraduate school, NU is preferred by many students and parents that I know. I spent eleven years in Hyde Park in Chicago, while my spouse was pursuing Ph.D in political science at UChicago. I too studied in there for two years. Back in those years, FYI, NU was higher ranked than UChicago. This recent rise in the U of Chicago ranking is owed a lot to Obama, I suppose, and also to its EA program. (NU should just switch its ED to EA to get into top 10) Anyhow, most of my and my spouse’s acquaintances who experienced UChicago tend not to encourage our/their kids to the UChicago despite its rigor and fame in academics. Quite a few kids, even though they got accepted to both, have chosen NU. My S, after touring the UChicago for an hour, had decided not to apply. He checked out the school including the lying-in hospital where he was born, the totlots, the neighborhood, etc, and said it was very grim… </p>
<p>We feel that UChicago is too dreary and offers not many traditional fun college experiences, while NU offers just as good academics plus the whole other package; the UChicago is rather a graduate focused school and can be thoroughly enjoyed, at undergrad level, when you are wililng to go “totally into” academics and little else…</p>