Tell me about UChicago?

kaukauna
Wed, 30 Oct 2013 21:43:50 +0000

mermaidgirl: We are from the South, son is a first year, probably too busy to respond so I’ll give you some thoughts. These thoughts are somewhat random and in bullet form. I’ll try to remember as much as I can. I hope others will join in.

SETTING
–Beautiful campus; old, Gothic parts and newer buildings on the perimeter. Magical old quads and new quads developing. Actual beauty is greater than the pictures.
–Hyde Park enclave. South part of Chicago, but a hidden secluded gem of an area. Just a block or two South or West gets you into some high crime areas, but UChicago itself is really safe.
–Everything well maintained; a sense that the University tries to make the visual experience special and the stay at the University comfortable.
–Building. Lots of building. New North Dorm (somewhat controversial; check out threads on the topic though I am a fan), new Eckardt Center for molecular engineering, new Becker-Friedman center, new Logan Arts Center, new pedestrian walkways.
–Getting there: reasonable to drive from as far South as Atlanta or Birmingham, but maybe impractical after that. Do not bring a car and keep it. Absolutely not. Fly into Midway Airport, most likely.
–Lake Michigan is a few blocks to the East. Lakeshore drive is really nice.

STUDENTS
–Interested in things. They listen to you when you talk. Maybe they are evaluating what you say, but they are universally polite.
–A sense that every single one of them is really, really smart and that they can do many things well.
–Diverse, especially in terms of Geography, but also in terms of race, religion, sex.
–Intellectual. The hype is true. They all seem to be interested in books, music, science, etc. Truly interested and deriving pleasure from it.
–Spirited but not in the sense that they identify with the University football team. (Although the school does have varsity sports, DIII).

DORMS
–Nice, spread out. Kids seem to like the house structure. All well maintained. Until the new North dorm opens, a little filled up. Opened up International House to undergraduates. Great building, but a little walk to class. Still very safe.
–Food is fair to middling.

ADMINISTRATION
–President Zimmer: good leader, brilliant, confident, competent
–Provost Rosenbaum: brilliant academic. Curriculum visionary. Unfortunately leaving to be president of Caltech at the end of the school year.
–Dean Boyer: Born to be dean of the college. Intellectual to the core. Great example for the kids and exudes love of the college.
–Others: Trying to follow the lead of these three.
–Note: Some controversy recently about a couple of decisions which demonstrated to some that the administration is aloof.

ACADEMICS [based on son’s first 5 weeks]
–Figured out in the sense that they have well established principles, including the core, and in the sense that they know how to advise kids and schedule classes.
–Willing to help. Willing to put their money where their mouths are to provide tutoring resources.
–Hard. But mostly stimulating to the high achieving students who go to the school. Did I mention that it’s pretty hard?
–Lots of diverse educational paths to take. Lots of help to figure it out.
–Serious about learning.