#UChicago vs Swarthmore vs Rice ED2

25 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

full aspen
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Intended major: Some stereotypical prelaw major, prob polisci or philosophy
Similarities: Intellectualism (hand in hand with quirky which I'm neutral on), grad school placement

UChicago
School 1 Pros:
WL last year so ED2 would be very likely
Chicago law scholars program, basically ED0 for their own undergrads with guaranteed $150k if you get in and circumvents their deflation
Most solidly intellectual out of the three to my knowledge
Chicago
Best aid of the three (marginally)

School 1 Cons:
Fun goes to die (idk how accurate it is)
Might be cooked for schools outside CLS if I decide I want a different learning environment b/c GPA, might not be a problem though bc I can split (my June 2007 practice was mid 170s)
Quarter system pacing could cause mental/social issues
Chicago winters

Swarthmore
School 2 Pros:
Strongest undergraduate focus
Not smack in the middle of a city but still in close range of Philly
Spent 2 weeks on campus and I could see my self being at the very least fine living there
Cross registration with Penn means I could maybe possibly take classes from Carey b/c Penn's open university policy (might be tough though)
I have a LOT of friends at or aiming for Penn

School 2 Cons:
Heard the social scene is very stratified between athletes and everyone else in a toxic-ish way
Possibly less diversity of thought than the other two, an issue when genuine intellectualism is a primary criterion
Being small could come back and bite me if I realize I don't like it (non issue for the others bc rescol)

Rice
School 2 Pros:
Least neurotic of the three (on avg)
Rescol system (chicago has it too, ive heard rice leans into it more though)
Smallest cultural shift (south to south as opposed to chicago or philly)
From what I've seen best QoL/social scene/lack of toxicity

School 2 Cons:
Most expensive by +3-4k
Possibly more med focused? Maybe non issue?
Outside the Rice bubble, Houston is kinda mid imo
Houston weather

winter jetty
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I don't know much about Rice and Swarthmore, but I will tell you from personal experience that a WL from Chicago doesn't make it likely to get in ED2

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they take the majority of their students in their ED1 round and perhaps that new summer program thing which im not sure how it works exactly

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that said, if you really like what UChicago offers then you may like it. The part about it being extremely academically rigorous where you basically are being squeezed is largely true from what i've heard from people studying there

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it can also get cold and depressing there compared to someother schools

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i've not got a bias against Chicago, it was my dream school for a solid amount of time as well. I do think, however, that people don't consider the factors outside of academics which can sometimes be much more of a downside to them than they think. But this is not to discourage you from applying, it's just something to keep in mind because you are locking yourself through the ED!

full aspen
winter jetty
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it hurt like hell initially but i'm very happy here and personally im not sure Chicago was necessarily even better than Georgetown for what I wanted to study, which was more focused on International Politics and Trade

full aspen
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Fair

full aspen
winter jetty
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the benefit of it is that ofc you can compare to see what you get

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from observing other people's situations, it's a mixed bag. some people get very good aid, others not as much. in general they're not as generous as other prestigious universities but i don't think it should necessarily be a hindrance for a US citizen

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and if you're prelaw with the aforementioned majors, you really should give GU a try

full aspen
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I'll shoot my shot if I've got time then sure

frank scaffold
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i considered it between swarthmore and carleton because of the similar academic rigor and if ur open to being in the midwest (uchicago) carleton can be a good option to look at

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they have a free application and great financial aid

full aspen
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finaid is not great for me :/

frank scaffold
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based on their net price calculator?

full aspen
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yeah

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i want to say it might be possible to afford but its def on the worse end

frank scaffold
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i see. if u have time i would suggest applying rd since it has a free application and seems to fit a lot of your concerns