UChicago V. Amherst

er222
Fri, 14 Apr 2006 11:10:29 +0000

Amherst is not necessarily “better” than UChicago. They’re two great schools, and you should visit them both, and decide what factors are important to you in making your choice of colleges, including what area of study you want to concentrate in. (Having said that, both schools are highly respected by the top graduate schools and professional schools.) Amherst is considered to be one of the great liberal arts colleges in America; UChicago is considered to be one of the great research universities in America. What many do not realize about UChicago, however, is that its undergraduate school has only 4500 students – which is about 3 times the size of Amherst, but about half the size of schools like Penn, and even smaller than Brown. Class sizes at UChicago are usually under 20 students, and the vast majority are taught by full professors. In fact, of the great research universities, UChicago comes closest to giving students something akin to the academic experience at liberal arts colleges. That being said, UChicago certainly will not give you the feel of a small New England liberal arts college. It is located in an urban area – itself a pleasant, multi-racial, well-functioning neighborhood, but with its share of safety concerns that one would expect in any large urban area. UChicago has a core curriculum – approximately one-third of the classes a student takes must be chosen from a group of courses withiin 6 areas. Amherst has an open curriculum. Some students like (and, indeed, prefer) a core, because it forces them to learn the basics in areas that they might not otherwise choose; others prefer the freedom of an open curriculum. As a larger research university, UChicago probably offers its students a broader array of courses from which to choose; althought the 5 school consortium to which Amherst belongs certainly expands the choices an Amherst student would have beyond those typically available at a small liberal arts college. I don’t know much about the social life at Amherst, or the nature of the student body, but do know something about UChicago’s as my daughter is a student there. UChicago has a reputation for not having a strong social scene, and certainly it does not provide a vigorous, traditional frat party sort of social scene. But the students do party there – regularly and to all hours of the night. And there is plenty of the usual substances that students like to partake in, for those who are into that. And UChicago has Chicago – one of the greatest cities in the world – a healthy club scene, theater, movies, concerts, huge parks, a magnificent lake and the best comedy clubs in America. Both UChicago and Amherst are in much colder climates than LA – so be warned. Visit both. Talk to as many students as possible. Get a feel for what’s important to you and what’s not. And, most of all, don’t decide on the basis of rumor, unsubstantiated hearsay, or stereotypes. You have two great choices, and you really can’t go wrong in either direction. Good luck.