@marlowe1 - there’s a quote about West Point that can illuminate our dialogue:
“Not a great place to be, but a great place to be from.”
You’re right - I found the Chicago experience to be spartan. What really stuck in my craw, though, was its lack of eminence (outside a small sphere at the time). Also, 20+ years after graduation, I don’t find it to be a particularly good place to be from.
Far removed from the experience, I don’t particularly mind its difficulty. I do lament the lack of recognition (and the practical benefits that come with it).
Call me shallow if you will, but I could’ve gone to my local state u, saved a lot of money, self-designed a great books program (which was a nice facet of the education), and probably had the same outcome. I recall my Chicago experience, on the other hand, as being a kind of grueling, expensive book club.
Had Chicago held its previous reputation, the entire experience would have been more palatable.
Right now, to me, I characterize the old Chicago as:
“Not a great place to be, and not a great place to be from.”
That’s why I’m still grumpy about it.