The University of Chicago Rankings
“Chicago is the greatest university in this or any neighboring galaxy.” -Don Randel
Totally shameless plug for my alma mater. For the last four years, I attended The University of Chicago, always known as a great school by those in the know, but without the mainstream reputation of other schools such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, etc.
When I applied, we were ranked #9 in the nation by USNews & World Report. During my time on campus, we slowly dropped in the rankings, ultimately to #15. Last week, we were named #9 again. Not only are we now tied with two great schools (Dartmouth and Columbia), but we're also in front of a few Ivys, as well as our academic rivals to the north, Northwestern.
The only thing I could think about when I saw this was how clearly and drastic an effect my admittance had on the rankings. The moment I attend, we consistently drop until the moment I leave when we jump straight back up. Hmm...
Then, a couple days ago (just a few days after USNews released its rankings), we were named #1 for best school academically. That's totally awesome, and it's a great excuse for my lousy GPA!
But even more awesome than the ranking itself is watching Diane Sawyer ask for a drumroll to announce UChicago as "the single best school academically in this country."
If you're looking at schools, I seriously, seriously recommend giving Chicago a second look. There's simply no better school to really learn. If you want, at all, a culture where education is paramount, Chicago is the place for you. And don't believe the hype about "Where Fun Comes To Die" -- it's the third largest city in the country; if you can't figure out how to have fun, it's your fault.
Unfortunately, the entire college admissions process is totally screwed up. Students focus too much on rankings and schools focus too much on scores (UChicago does a great job at focusing on the collective, btw). Nonetheless, it's important to be ranked well (for better or worse) and I'm glad to see Chicago receiving the recognition it deserves.
Totally shameless plug for my alma mater. For the last four years, I attended The University of Chicago, always known as a great school by those in the know, but without the mainstream reputation of other schools such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, etc.
When I applied, we were ranked #9 in the nation by USNews & World Report. During my time on campus, we slowly dropped in the rankings, ultimately to #15. Last week, we were named #9 again. Not only are we now tied with two great schools (Dartmouth and Columbia), but we're also in front of a few Ivys, as well as our academic rivals to the north, Northwestern.
The only thing I could think about when I saw this was how clearly and drastic an effect my admittance had on the rankings. The moment I attend, we consistently drop until the moment I leave when we jump straight back up. Hmm...
Then, a couple days ago (just a few days after USNews released its rankings), we were named #1 for best school academically. That's totally awesome, and it's a great excuse for my lousy GPA!
But even more awesome than the ranking itself is watching Diane Sawyer ask for a drumroll to announce UChicago as "the single best school academically in this country."
If you're looking at schools, I seriously, seriously recommend giving Chicago a second look. There's simply no better school to really learn. If you want, at all, a culture where education is paramount, Chicago is the place for you. And don't believe the hype about "Where Fun Comes To Die" -- it's the third largest city in the country; if you can't figure out how to have fun, it's your fault.
Unfortunately, the entire college admissions process is totally screwed up. Students focus too much on rankings and schools focus too much on scores (UChicago does a great job at focusing on the collective, btw). Nonetheless, it's important to be ranked well (for better or worse) and I'm glad to see Chicago receiving the recognition it deserves.
3 Comments:
Ian, when I think about it, which isn't all that often, I thank my lucky stars that the U of Chicago Law School turned me down. I visited in January and it never got above 17 F. And it was windy.
It is a great school. And it is great that they turned me down.
Yeah, it's true, it gets extremely cold. The weather is most definitely NOT the reason you attend the school. :)
But, growing up in Michigan, I was used to it already. I guess it's all relative, huh? ;)
Ian
Not that other higher ranked universities would treat you better weather-wise, save for Caltech and Stanford, that is. University of Florida was never an option for me..
Trust me, Univ of Chicago is an amazing experience, from acads as well as fun point of view. The city has so much to do, I had great two years here, still miss it.
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