The University of Chicago

Date: Apr 19 2002
Major: Physics (This Major's Salary over time)
The University of Chicago is a great University, it is not for everyone however. It is true that the university only lags the University of Cambridge in England in Nobel Laureates (73), and has some of the best and brightest faculty in the world teaching classes, but the stress level is unparralleled as far as what I have seen. Studying here is a way of life. The libraries are open till 1am in the morning despite the objections of the majority of the student body who have been lobbying for years for 24 hour access. It is seen as the Universities attempt at pushing a social life(or at least sleep) on us. The student body are, in general very bright, friendly and when given time and the opportunity do enjoy life. The work here is very difficult, and there is minimal grade inflation. All nighters are not the occasional thing to brag about, they can tend to be the norm. Added to all of this is the fact that Chicago winters are COLD forcing the pulse of social life to sometimes be declared clinically dead. This is not a school for any bright overachiever. To enjoy your time here (not regret it either) and to do well, you have to be dedicated to the all to often flouted "life of the mind". One must enjoy learning for nothing other than the sake of learning, for the University is not known as the teacher of teachers for nothing (90% of students go on to graduate school and many become professors). Many classes are combined in with Graduate classes (due to the small class size) making the work that much more difficult. In summary, There may be many schools that require you to be intelligent to be accepted, but how many are like the UofC which offers an implicite guarantee that by the time you leave, you will have learned and achieved more than many others can hope to in a lifetime.