Would I Fit In?

hyeonjlee
Sun, 05 Dec 2010 12:10:32 +0000

First of all, it sounds like, in your case, the fit issue is NOT the cultural fit issue: you are the kind of kid who will fit in culturally. I think you should consider some other issues.

Let me first point out that I think this whole reputation of U Chicago being a meat grinder is totally exaggerated: with the following caveat.

The course work might seem very difficult if you did not prepare yourself well in a HS with grade inflation and generally sub par performing student body. The course work might also seem difficult if your GPA and scores that are good enough by U Chicago admission standard (but not at a tippy top range within U Chicago) are a result of you stretching yourself 200 % beyond your natural capabilities plus hard work within a normal range.

If you are going to a competitive public highschool, and you have to stay up till 3 AM routines to maintain your top standing in that school… ummmmmm I don’t know how to give you a sense for a good fit. First, understand that the general level of students at U CHicago will be much higher no matter how competitive your high school is.

My S (second year) graduated from a magnet school rated within top 5-10 in the country, where 25-30% of the kids ended up attending top 20 schools, and 2 kids out of my son’s class of 60 got the perfect 2400 SAT (I heard this year there are 4!!!). Every course was honor or college level. Yet, my son reported that the average level of the students at U Chicago is cut above, way above the students at this high school.

My general sense is, if your “college application resume” (including GPA, SAT, ECs, etc) is a result of working 300% above normal compared with your peers and you got into a top school as an average student in that population, and IF that top school has a grade inflation and relaxed environment, you will be still fine since your diligence and discipline will carry you very far, you may still have enough time left over to enjoy social life.

On the other hand, if you end up going to a school where the general student body is known to be “studious” and the curriculum is rigorous and there is a tendency for grade deflation, then you may have to sacrifice a lot of so called “free time” to maintain your academic standing at a reasonable level “YOU” will find acceptable.

Too often people think of “fit” as only “social” and “cultural” fit. I think there is such a thing as an “academic” fit. In the past, I heard of a few cases where some students stretched themselves way, way, way beyond their natural range and managed to create a “college resume” good enough for a tippy top school, but floundered once they got there because they realized that they can no longer be at the top of the class or even keep up with the average by studying till 3 AM everyday.

Of course, if you are staying up till 3 PM because you have a compulsion to get A+ in every single course with an extremely wide margin and to graduate as a Val, that’s a different story. In that case, all you need is a bit of attitude adjustment: you don’t need to gradate as a Val in U Chicago to have a terrific professional and personal life.

With all this having been said, I am NOT saying you are under qualified for Chicago. I am just providing my input for you to think about. Only you can assess where you stand. In all likelihood, this does not apply to you, and you will be happy at U Chicago. In my S2 case, he would be so called a marginal case for Chicago academically (SAT, etc). No way I will recommend U Chicago for him even if they accept him due to some very interesting and high profile ECs and national awards. Not only it’s not a good fit for him culturally/socially (I consider this less of an issue because he is very adaptable), but it will be a bruising experience academically - and I don’t think this is the best way to get a college degree (his forte is elsewhere)

Regarding the dearth of social life, etc: by his own admission, my son spent every weekend partying during his freshmen year (no studying in the weekend), and by his own admission, did not read EVERYTHING that was assigned. To be honest (and to my dismay), he did not really study much for the courses (though he did a lot of things, spent a lot of time talking with the faculty members not about the courses, but about life and philosophy, and read a lot of things on his own). And, based on what I hear, his close friends did not study much either. They partied A LOT. Yet, his GPA is, say, closer to 4.0 then 3.5, so I bit my tongue - I figured if he has to go through some wild stage, better that it’s the college freshmen year at U Chicago rather than at the age of 30 in some wild city. This year (his second year), he told me “I experimented with a lot stuff. That’s not for me. I am not really interested in wild parties and what not any more”. And, now, he is turning into a stereotypical “life of the mind” acolyte and feeling very very comfortable and supported in this environment.

On the other hand, his best friend from HS is at another top 10 school with outstanding academic reputation. Yet, this friend is reportedly feeling lonely at times because he has yet to find a group of friends with whom he can delve into thoughtful intellectual discussions. Not that he is a social misfit: he has a plenty of friends, but he has not found a group that satisfies his intellectual yearning. My son has no problem in this area. If anything, he says some of his friends have become role models for deeper intellectual pursuits (by the way, some of THESE friends are also the ones he partied a lot with).

the thing is, in U Chicago, if you choose, you can party as much as you want, but you can also choose not to do that but instead live like a monk and that’s OK too. Of course, you can choose a wide variety of “shades of grey” in between, where I think my son falls now. I think that’s what makes Chicago special.