Andrew
Classes are not as bad as they are depicted as. In fact, professors are often nice and easier on grading, especially in the literary departments. People participate a lot in class, which is nice. Obviously, academics are taken very seriously and you will often see students studying until late at night. However, you won't have so much work that you cannot do it and still have fun, guaranteed.
Rebecca
The academic experience here probably really does depend on your major. Professors have known my name in every class I have taken thus far, and go out of their way to be available to students for extra help. Classes are hard...this is definitely a place to be if you get some kind of sick joy out of writing papers. Class participation is not only common but oftentimes a required part of your grade (again depends on the subject area though, clearly philosophy classes require more discussion than statistics.)
Students most certainly have intellectual conversations out of class...it is really nicely woven in with more casual conversation. You do get the odd kid every once in a while who is super competitive (we like to refer to them as "that kid"), but people are far more supportive of one another than you may expect.
None of the talk about the work load is meant to scare anyone away. I came to school quaking in my boots for fear of the piles of coursework I had been assured I would receive here, but overall I find it to be pretty easy to manage. Once you find your own "academic rhythm" so to speak (i.e. whether you are a crammer or need more organized study time) it's easy to feel like you have things under control.
Lucy
We're renowned for being difficult. It's true. Don't come to Uchicago unless you're willing to put in serious library time. Grade deflation is a fact of like though it's widely said that grad schools know this and consider our gpas seperatley.
I came to U ofC unsure how I felt about the Core, but I now love it. My classes have been great foundations for anything else I do academically. Core classes are kept small, which is nice. The best change from high school has been that everyone here is engaged in the material and in learning. Everyone's a geek.
Intellectual discussions outside of class are prevalent. The whole "Life of the Mind" campaign the admissions office has been putting out is true-- we don't just discuss Occupy Wall Street here, we discuss it as relating to Marxist revolutionary theory. Academics are everywhere here
Lucy
We're renowned for being difficult. It's true. Don't come to Uchicago unless you're willing to put in serious library time. Grade deflation is a fact of like though it's widely said that grad schools know this and consider our gpas seperatley.
I came to U ofC unsure how I felt about the Core, but I now love it. My classes have been great foundations for anything else I do academically. Core classes are kept small, which is nice. The best change from high school has been that everyone here is engaged in the material and in learning. Everyone's a geek.
Intellectual discussions outside of class are prevalent. The whole "Life of the Mind" campaign the admissions office has been putting out is true-- we don't just discuss Occupy Wall Street here, we discuss it as relating to Marxist revolutionary theory. Academics are everywhere here
Hewon
Humanities and social science classes (that everyone will eventually take to fulfill the Core) are generally small enough that you could tell if somebody was absent. The professors make an effort to remember and call you by your name by the second week of classes. They are discussion based classes so you not only develop a relationship with your teacher, but your fellow students as well, as you debate and discuss ideas and texts. What I loved about my humanities and social science classes was the teacher's dedication to meeting your needs. They ask us for our opinions on texts, what works? what doesn't work? and their office hours are flexible and most teachers are very willing and excited to meet with you and go over your paper.
In larger lecture classes like Intro to Micro/Macro, the student and teacher relationship is inevitably different. The first few lecture classes which was capped at 150 somehow ended up upwards 170, as 20 extra students magically trickled in. Such classes require a lot more dedication on the student end to speak up and ask questions or seek out teachers or T.As. on their own free time.
The workload is completely dependent on the courses you choose to take. Some people argue that certain majors are harder than others but logically, more popular majors have more students and therefore, more competition. 3 classes is a full course-load and 4 classes is the maximum number of courses a student can register for (unless he/she decides to petition this in which he/she meets with the Dean of students in the college). 3 classes for one person can be a completely different commitment for another person. While I had only 3 classes and 8 hours of classes a week (Social sciences, humanities, and intro to micro), my friend who took 3 different classes (humanities, core bio, and spanish) had ~11 hours of classes plus 50 minutes of Spanish recitation/ conversation a week.
I feel that the University of Chicago uses its core curriculum to help students bridge the gap between the comforts of high school and the spirited academic inquiry of college. Its core curriculum is specially designed to generate great thinking minds for all students regardless of their future field of study.
Julianne
Class participation usually comes down to 3-5 students in each class with some people participating once in a while. Each class will have a "That kid" which is a person who talks for the sake of talking and our classes usually bond because of that person. I think that that is a good example of how important academics is to U.Chicago. People here study a lot, with many people living in the library during Finals Week. The students are very competitive, but it is more competition against the class then with other students. Anywhere, you will find people willing to help and and the school provides free tutors.
As an Economics Major, I am a student who has problem sets each week and takes some of he most challenging classes in the school. Some interesting classes I have gotten to take though, have been outside my major for the Core. The COre is a set of classes each students has to take such as humanities, civilizations, math and science. I got to take "The History of Natural Deserts" which was really fun and I even got to study abroad to get credits for my major. The school is a liberal arts school, but there is a lot of preparation for people to get jobs afterwards, although many people go to Grad School.
People here just really enjoy learning and will spend time to do so because they study for the purpose to learn more, not for a grade.
Dillon
Academics at University of Chicago are top-notch. Speaking from personal experience, I have had great interactions with my professors. Most of my classes are very small (<20 students) and serves to facilitate a lot of class participation. With great instruction comes high expectations, and students here study a lot. While I have never felt competition from other students, there is still a pressure to do your best.
I am a Political Science major with a minor in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations or NELC. The Poly Sci department is great in that I can take many classes from other departments that count for the major, giving me the chance to explore. The NELC department is wonderful and the teachers are top-notch. The language teachers in the department, in my case my Arabic professor, are really passionate about teaching and put in time in and outside of class to make learning fun.
The best class that I have taken would be "Power, Identity, and Resistance." It was to complete part of the core requirement of classes and really set up a foundation of great political intellectuals that I draw upon for almost every class. My least favorite class was "Chemistry in the Atmosphere," but that was probably due to my passion for the social sciences.
On a whole, UChicago gives you a liberal arts education. You really learn how to think. This does not mean that you are in some bubble outside of the current economic conditions. The college has a extensive program from helping students chart their path to internships, grad school, and jobs after college. They really do care about the prestige factor for the university and the success of its students is a great part of that.
Claire
It's also no secret that the academics are anything but lax; but as an environment that encourages intellectual growth, it's intent on making sure the students actually get what they're learning. If you have a problem set for your homework, there will be hours to ask your professor or TA for help; if you have a paper, there are writing tutors available just about all the time; if you just don't get the reading, the housing system ensures that an upperclassman is around to talk it over with. Grades are high-pressure, but the students aren't competitive with each other. And while the school has a rep for focusing a bit too much on the theoretical, students always have internships and professional opportunities on their minds.
Claire
It's also no secret that the academics are anything but lax; but as an environment that encourages intellectual growth, it's intent on making sure the students actually get what they're learning. If you have a problem set for your homework, there will be hours to ask your professor or TA for help; if you have a paper, there are writing tutors available just about all the time; if you just don't get the reading, the housing system ensures that an upperclassman is around to talk it over with. Grades are high-pressure, but the students aren't competitive with each other. And while the school has a rep for focusing a bit too much on the theoretical, students always have internships and professional opportunities on their minds.
Claire
It's also no secret that the academics are anything but lax; but as an environment that encourages intellectual growth, it's intent on making sure the students actually get what they're learning. If you have a problem set for your homework, there will be hours to ask your professor or TA for help; if you have a paper, there are writing tutors available just about all the time; if you just don't get the reading, the housing system ensures that an upperclassman is around to talk it over with. Grades are high-pressure, but the students aren't competitive with each other. And while the school has a rep for focusing a bit too much on the theoretical, students always have internships and professional opportunities on their minds.