College admissions is competitive,

I think that the stereotype of uchicago students is that we're too busy slaving away at our mammoth course-load to ever have any fun. After all, the unofficial slogan is that this the place "where fun comes to die." There is, unfortunately, some validity to this claim. Uchicago is hard, probably as hard as it gets. We do a lot of work, and have only limited free time. However, we make the most of what we get. Parties most certainly do happen here, and when I compare my notes with friends at other schools, it seems that if anything, ours are more intense, if more infrequent. The city of Chicago provides a number of exciting options, from world-class museums to excellent theatrical productions to fantastic food. When you get down to it, most uchicago students have a positive outlook, despite all the work.

Academics at the University of Chicago are known for their intensity, and they really deserve it. Classes are difficult, and many students spend the majority of their time coping with coursework. However, its not just busy work--virtually all assignments are actually beneficial. Problem sets, while long, usually can really enhance your math skills and the readings, while equally long, are most often quite interesting. The University makes a big deal of learning for its own sake--hence the famous core system--and most students really embrace it. While it may be frustrating at first to take a class that holds no appeal for you, many students seem to eventually come around and appreciate what they're learning, no matter how far outside their eventual major it may be. Students in most majors do not compete with each other, excepting pre-meds and chemists.

There is no such thing as a typical University of Chicago student. While in terms of race the school remains dominated by caucasians and asians, in terms of perspective it's to image a place more diverse. While occasionally it can seem as if some are in a vigorous competition to outdo each other in terms of strangeness, often the oddities of my fellow students strike me as fascinating, or at least entertaining. Everyone here is smart, and everyone here is far, far, better than you at something, and this is important to keep in mind. While success for some has bred an undue sense of entitlement and arrogance, and sometimes you'll run across someone so pretentious you want to smack them, but on the whole uchicago students are incredibly friendly. Their straight up kindness and general concern for everyone's well being is perhaps their most enduring quality.