The University of Chicago

Date: Aug 17 2004
Major: Computer Science (This Major's Salary over time)
As you must know, the U of C is not for everyone. It's self selective, and even so, many people do not complete their degree. I knew many people who transferred, dropped out, or just disappeared. The lanscape is bleak, you freeze your ass off 6 of 9 months, and Hyde Park is arguably the worst locale out of any top notch school in the nation. That said, it is a world class academic institution. If you choose to pursue knowledge with vigor at the U of C, you will get a better education than Harvard, Yale, Princeton, or any of the other snobby places that most of us didn't get into.

You learn very quickly that most U of C students were rejects from the Ivies or Stanford. I wanted to go to Harvard after taking summer classes there between Junior and Senior years of high school. Such was not to be, for merely having exceptions boards is not good enough for them.

You also learn very quickly that the U of C is an extremely demanding school. Everyone's favorite pastime is bitching about how much work they're not doing at the moment. The workload is heavy, Hyde Park sucks as far as entertainment and fun in general are concerned, and downtown Chicago is a dream unless you have a car. Ditto the North Side, which is where you actually go if you do have a car. Parties are scarce and tend to suck. If you ever want to get really depressed, try going to a U of C frat party sober. I first tried this my 3rd year, and never went back to one of those awful events.

But here's the good part: The students are brilliant, the courses are engaging, the professors are supremely knowledgeable(you'll probably have a class with a nobel laureate at some point), and being surrounded by such intelligence inspires one to do something with one's mental capacities. You come to revel in spending 10 straight hours in the library. Finals week becomes sweatpants week(maybe that was just me…).

One interesting quirk to the school is that it seems to promote, or tolerate at the very least, drugs and alcohol. Actually, mostly alcohol. There's very little to do for recreation in Hyde Park other than drink. We were specifically told by the Resident Heads of our floor during orientation week: "On the topic of underage drinking and illegal drug usage: It is not University responsibility or policy to enforce state or federal law. Keep it to yourself and out of sight, and we won't have any trouble. Walk down the hall with an open bottle of tequila and we'll have trouble." This is not one of those schools that hires rent-a-pigs to harass students on the way to/from parties, and there are no room searches. If you're found puking your guts out in the lobby of the dorm, you will be helped to bed by the staff, and will not be in trouble the next day.

You drink mostly in small groups, with close friends. Someone on the floor buys you booze if you're not 21, and you pick someone's dorm room and you call get smashed. This is a successful Friday night. I remember my first year: Our favorite way to drink was to sit around a table with several handles of vodka. We would take shots every 10 minutes or so until people passed out one by one. I was usually among the first, so I couldn't say what the winner won.

I majored in Computer Science, and was a few courses away from a major in Math as well. I was much better prepared for the 'real world' as a result of choosing a quantitative major. I have so many friends who majored in psychology(the ultimate copout major) or anthropology(second place) who have trouble parlaying these majors into jobs. However, the great thing about the U of C is that you receive such a firm grounding in all areas due to the expansive common core that you can enter any almost field with almost any major.

The U of C is not a 'Politically Correct' university. The vast majority of students are well informed and sensitive. However, official policy goes something like this:

It is not University policy to sacrifice the pursuit of knowledge in the name of not hurting people's feelings.

I'm going to stop rambling now. Despite all the negative things about the U of C, I love the place, and am a much better person for having gone there. That which does not kill me makes me stronger, and the U of C damn near killed me, so I'm quite a bit stronger. And smarter. That said, please forgive any spelling/grammatical errors. I'm not going to proofread this. Take it or leave it.