University of Chicago Top Questions

What do you consider the worst thing about your school? Why?

Ian

Winter quarter

Drew

Lack of tolerance for others with different economic backgrounds. Even the dorm-planned events are expensive.

Mahjeed

I do not consider any of my school to be labeled as being bad.

Lyndsey

Aramark's dining services are all less than satisfactory.

Rebecca

There is sometimes an attitude that people don't seem to want to be going to this school, especially in the winter when it's really cold.

Steffi

The worst things are things we cannot help: it being located on the South Side of Chicago and its winters.

Casie

The worst thing about my school is the feeling that sometimes we are not as diverse as we could be. I say this because sometimes it feels like people of different races seem uncomfortable around each other. It is really hard for me also because I am African American, and sometimes I feel the tension.

Otto

negative attitude and reputation relating to the social life and study habits of students

Caroline

The way students feed off of each other's stress. There is absolutely a culture of stress caused by the overwhelming number of students who are perfectionists. If you are not stressed by your workload, you stress because you are not stressed and feel like you should be stressed otherwise you are doing something wrong (really, people have said that). Fighting against that tide is frustrating and not a healthy way to approach life.

Stacy

The weather and the lack of breaks during the academic year.

Tova

Sometimes the stress gets to the students. I don't think that the professors teach too much, but they demand a lot and at times it's overwhelming.

Kyle

The lack of support for sports. It should be better than it is.

Sarah

This school may make you depressed, because you will realize (if you don't know this already) that you cannot possibly do and see and learn everything you want to. But I think that's a good thing, within reason. Honestly, for me, the worst thing about the U of C was having to leave it.

Chen-Yuan

My school does really well at teaching professional students, but it does less well at maintaining an alumni network and preparing the students for the real professional world. Thus, people that don't want to go to grad school are not discouraged, per se, but they are certainly regarded by their friends as "selling out," and despite the career preparation office, they find themselves generally alone in looking at post-graduation plans.

Angelica

People can isolate themselves due to school work. I do think it's true that we don't have as great a social life as those at similarly ranked institutions, although that seems to be rapidly changing.

Michael

Financial cost is becoming more difficult to work with. Often deadlines for financial submission s become a struggle in order to not incur late fees. Late fees are too high. Individuals to be contacted are really not made obvisous on the web-site as well as any other information given to students. Communications from the school seems to be more of a "buyer beware" philosophy. You as the student need to know who to contact and when but are not given this information. Several phone calls and pieces of information in each succeeding conversation help pull the pieces together eventually.

Banke

Financial aid is probably the worst thing about my school. They are unwilling to assist students going through tough financial situations and will make students borrow all of their tuition and go into debt (they expect students to borrow a considerable amount of money in order to pay tuition even though they have an endowment in the billion of dollars). Night life and the social scene on campus is kind of poor too; frat parties are only source of fun. The lack of majors is really frustrating. There isn't a fine arts major or any communication/advertising/marketing majors.

John

The amount of work.

Alex

The stupid T-shirts about it being the place where fun comes to die.