@kaukauna : That sort of confused me too (and then there was the grade deflation claim again…killing me with that for either school). It reminds me of how people on CC like to attack JHU because it “isn’t as fun” and is “hard”. Often people make claims like: “It wouldn’t be relevant if it were not for the sciences” which is false. It was actually built off a similar model as Chicago and much more than STEM is extremely strong there. However I would say that:
“I think the posters above who explained how UChicago undergraduates integrate their academic lives into their “leisure” lives came closer to the truth. And after all, isn’t that what we all seek with our lives: to make an integrated existence where your work is your passion?”
That last sentence is unfortunately not true for many college students. It is perhaps because HS trained most of us to view academics as a chore or an obstacle that we needed to get through seamlessly and maybe have a class or two we enjoy from an intellectual standpoint every now and then. The idea of “integration” seems unfeasible or not worthwhile to many. And I don’t know if the naysayers are correct because I’ve heard such arguments against Chicagoesque like schools such as “we tend to stick to things that are relevant to the real world”. You know as if the students at a place like Chicago, Harvard, etc aren’t interested in that (as demonstrated by job placement choices and post-grad. opps). Their success indicates that not only their choices were not for the critics, but that they were wrong lol. Those attacks get so old that it is completely unfair.
While I recommend Vanderbilt based on OP’s clear preference, I cannot recommend it based upon the grounds laid out by VandyDone.
*Notice how I did not need to be an expert to hold the same opinion as you did.