The University of Chicago

Here are some of the nicknames the school has acquired:

"Where fun comes to die"
"Where the only thing that goes down on you is your gpa"
"Where the squirrels are cuter than the guys/girls"
"Where Hell freezes over"If these scare you even a little, don't go. As for the tradeoff - i.e. that UChicago provides the best educational experience - simply not true. Yes, it's better than your average state school, but there's at least fifty schools across the country that will offer virtually the same educational rigor. Your educational experience depends on how much you put in, which depends on how happy you are, etc. etc. Anyway, the majority of the benefits of UChicago are simply not accessible/relevant to an undergraduate.

1st Year Female -- Class 2015

I realize now that I misjudged this school based on how it describes itself. I've met a lot of other students who made the same mistake. Some were smart enough to realize quickly and transfer. Others were unfortunate and tried hard to enjoy the school though they were never going to succeed. After transferring and seeing another school, I feel compelled to share my thoughts. I'm going to try and be as fair and impartial as possible.

First, I am so much happier at my new school. I think you should know within the first few days whether you like your school or not. If you don't ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT you should transfer. This love should be involuntary. It should be impossible for you not to like it even if you tried. Happiness should jump to you. I made the mistake for two whole years of trying really hard to like UChicago (I studied more, I studied less, participated in class more, participated less, I joined different clubs, less clubs, I partied, didn't party, I tried everything). You shouldn't have to try; it should just be awesome.

Also, I didnt transfer because I couldn't handle the academics. My grades were excellent my first year (3.7+) but I started to get many more B's my second year because I was very frustrated/a social misfit. (Note: I take pride at being a misfit at UChicago).

In general, I thought a majority of UChicago students thought school was something that wasn't supposed to be any fun at all. But the people who were right for the school really liked it, so I don't know. I'm still very confused about the school. I was so happy when I was admitted, I thought it was the perfect school. And I ended up transferring...

Second, I also agree that UChicago is primarily a graduate institution. This is something that would take me too long to describe, but an undergraduate student will almost invariably be better off elsewhere - even if he or she has a good experience. If you have any thought of entering graduate school in the future, you should just go to UChicago at that point.

I think the reason why UChicago wasn't right for me was that I misjudged the school. I thought it was a school similar to Vassar, Berkeley, Bard. This sounds stupid to admit, but I thought the UChicago student body would be closer to what you expect at one of those schools. It isn't at all. If you applied to one or all of these schools and think UChicago is another similar school, please don't go to UChicago.

The school is more similar to Stanford, MIT, etc. If you're interested in attending a school like those, you might really like UChicago. I hope this helps! Again, some people are happy at UChicago. A LOT of people are not. Way more than at practically any other school (in my opinion).

3rd Year Female -- Class 2015

Campus Aesthetics: A, Collaboration/Competitive: D