<p>Re: grade deflation. In recent years, about 60% of each graduating class has received general honors, which requires a GPA of 3.3 (really 3.25, because they round up). That does not indicate a general climate of grade deflation. Cue7 recently posted some data indicating that the average GPA of law school applicants from Chicago was 3.44, which was basically on a par with all but the most grade-inflated colleges (read: Brown, Yale), and only about .1 below them. </p>
<p>In other words, Chicago is not grade-inflated or grade-deflated; it’s squarely in the middle of the pack of comparable universities. Almost everyone complains about grade deflation almost everywhere.</p>
<p>Re: Transportation. There is a University of Chicago shuttle to/from the South Loop on Friday and Saturday nights. [Department</a> of Safety and Security | The University of Chicago](<a href=“http://safety-security.uchicago.edu/transportation/transportation/southloop.shtml]Department”>http://safety-security.uchicago.edu/transportation/transportation/southloop.shtml) Which is useful for avoiding late-night transfers between the Red Line and the 55 bus at Garfield. But in general the CTA works really well. Why would there be a University of Chicago shuttle from Midway, when the 55 bus runs every 10-20 minutes? And there’s also a 59 bus that can take you to South Campus?</p>
<p>The “city” of Chicago is very accessible; you just have to make up your mind to access it. A few years ago, I was talking with a relative who lives in Chicago, and told her the restaurants my daughter had taken us to over the past couple academic years. My cousin said, “That’s every hot, new, inexpensive restaurant in the city! She sure gets around for a college kid.” That was true. And it was all on the CTA.</p>