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/sci/ - Science & Math

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2634006 No.2634006 [Reply] [Original]

/sci/, What. The. Fuck.

I'm a High School Senior (I'm 18, so inb4 trolls). I'm sorry if this isn't the right place, but /adv/ is just focused on relationship trouble and you are more college savvy, and overall smarter than the rest of 4chan.

I wish I was trolling:
I got accepted in the University of Chicago.
What should I do?

You see (prepare for the TL;DR):
My stats were mostly unimpressing (3.4 GPA, 1800 SAT), so my plan was just to apply to State schools(I'm from Illinois).

Anyways, my mom saw my school list and said "Why don't you apply to more prestigious schools?" and I said that I had mediocre scores, and that I wanted to save money for graduation, so she insisted that I should search for 2 prestigious schools I could like and that she would pay for it.
So I did choose 2 schools with Early Action (UChicago and Georgetown) just to be done with it.
Predictably, I got outright rejected by Georgetown. But I almost fainted when I received my letter by Chicago: I got accepted.
Now I don't know if I should go. I hear that it is "The Place where fun comes to die" and "The only thing that goes down is your GPA". I dunno if I could take that kind of rigor. I'm not a great student, and that place is filled with some of the smartest people on the Country, and probably the world.

My mom is very happy and said I should go. But I'm not sure. I don't want to drop out after my first year, beaten by that school and as a failure.

>> No.2634023

Do you have an actual passion for math/science? If so you should go. If you're more interested in having fun and making friends in college, don't go.

>> No.2634028

UChicago is a fairly mediocre university. If you can't make it there, your prospects are truly low and you needn't attend college at all.

>> No.2634033

Some bastards have a lot luck. Damn.

>> No.2634038
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2634038

>>2634028
>UChicago
>mediocre

>> No.2634040

If you really don't think you can handle it, be honest with your mom and tell her. If she's a reasonable woman she'll understand.

Alternately, give it a shot and genuinely try to make it work. If it doesn't work out, transfer to a different school.

>> No.2634041

Where else have you been accepted? What do you plan to study?

Don't go just because it's prestigious. You need to go someplace you'll be happy.

>> No.2634042

>>2634028
it has one of the top math and physics programs in the country, like on par with harvard and princeton.

>> No.2634058

Go.

>> No.2634062

You should definitely go OP.The insanely smart people will bring your marks up. If you fail there you can just drop out and go to a state school where you will tear it up after competing with the uChicagoers. In my first year I went to the #1 uni in Australia, (herpity derpity.) I was really out of depth in physics, however I put the work in, didn't procrastinate and turned out fine. Study groups are great even if all your study buddies are pretentious douchebags like mine.

>> No.2634085

>>2634006

The fuck are you doing turning it down!!

You do know that higher ranking colleges tend to have higher GPA inflation.

Have you seen the correlation between college rank and future income? Its pretty high. 10 years in the future, you will be making twice as much as you would from a state school, even with your gpa.

Just find an easy social science thing there to buffer your gpa.


If you really think you will reject it, then perhaps you ARE too stupid to go there

>> No.2634091

>>2634023
I wanted to study Economics or International Relations. I'm not that bad at math, but I'm no genius.

>>2634028
lolwut

>>2634033
Indeed

>>2634040
Well, I could try this. I could try making it work, but I would feel bad if I got beaten by the rigor of that school.

>>2634041
I got accepted by U.Illinois Chicago, Northeastern Illinois University, and Northeastern University in Boston, plus others but they were just safeties that I won't go to.
They're ok schools, and I like Chicago.
And I like Boston but I've only been there 2 times.

>> No.2634094

>>2634041

LOL

Every college has a similar experience,except perhaps those by the snow or the beach.

Where would he go to be happy? Some stupid art and drama college that will ensure poverty?

You sound like an idiot. Get the fuck out of any science related place

>> No.2634099

>>2634006
Listen for serious. All your friends will go state schools and dick around and party and you will cry yourself to sleep every night because of how much studying you are going to have to do. Trust me, I studied zero in high school and I bust my ass (Chem major, math minor). If you are seriously ready to do more work than you have in all high school every semester, go for it. It's a great school academically. But if you like hanging out with "normal" people that don't like talking about Nietzche and thermodynamics during lunch, you might reconsider. Just my thoughts.

>> No.2634100

>>2634091

Economics is basically math on easy mode. Dude, you are guaranteed to get a 3.5 plus gpa if you do a normal studying amount.

>> No.2634101

OP, you should definitely do it. That kind of atmosphere isn't intimidating, it's motivating. You'll have a whole network of new friends and teachers processing information together, and you get the benefits of their efforts merely by participating. Even if you personally aren't the smartest one there, you'll be learning from everyone else and undoubtedly contributing in your own ways.

>> No.2634102
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2634102

>>2634085
>Just find an easy social science thing there to buffer your gpa.

>> No.2634103

>>2634094
>implying those in science aren't allowed to have fun

if you were in academia, you'd recognize this is what's killing the natural sciences

>> No.2634110

OP if you plan on going to grad school your undergrad institution doesn't really matter that much

>> No.2634129

Go. Why should you be ignorant for your whole life just because you are now?

>> No.2634128

>>2634006
I am at UChicago undergrad for Math and Physics; my first year math sequence was the one my twin brother took his second year at Stanford.

UChicago math is focused much more on academic rigor than most schools (places like MIT and Stanford are more application-based, since they focus on engineering).

Our undergrad physics department may be smaller than those of other Ivy+ schools, but the curriculum is top notch, unless you want to study a very specific subject, and even then there is the graduate department which does everything.

I was in almost the exact same situation as you; never applied myself in high school, but I loved physics and math and it was always easy for me.

tl;dr COME TO UCHICAGO WE KICK ASS

You forgot "If I wanted an A, I would have gone to Harvard" (We have the pretty much the lowest grades of any Ivy school and high grade inflation, but when you apply for grad school other schools know it's because our curriculum is top notch)

>> No.2634132

is money an issue? Chicago tuition plus room and board will run you 50k a year, and their financial aid is worse than the ivies so you'll still be paying a lot even with need based aid.

>> No.2634149

>>2634062
>The insanely smart people will bring your marks up
Isn't it the other way? People get graded on percentiles, and I probably would be on the bottom...
Plus, from what I've heard, Chicago is not your typical college.

>>2634085
Things like this make me confused and ambivalent.

>>2634099
That's the problem. I could study and work a lot, I guess, but I'm not sure if I would fit in with all those geniuses.

>>2634110
Is this true? How so? Even if you go to MiddleofNowhere State University? Please Elaborate.

>>2634128
Hmm, I'll consider this. Thanks a lot.

>>2634132
Well, I'll be paying next to nothing at State school, Northeastern (the one in Boston) gives co-op nad everyone goes mostly debt-free. Going to Chicago would give me a 30-35k debt over 4 years.

>> No.2634158

OP, if you don't do it you will regret it for the rest of your life. You have two options: back down from the challenge, or get motivated. Being scared is no excuse. People on this board would kill for the opportunity you have.

>> No.2634176

>>2634158
Actually, no. But I would kill for the Opportunity to go to MIT or Caltech.

>> No.2634185

>>2634110

No, this is not true. Humans are products of their environment. You don't want to be around students with meager enthusiasm and attend an institution with low standards. Others in this thread have said this, but I'll repeat: being around "smart" people makes you "smart". I use the word carefully, because it's loaded to the point where it has no meaning.

>> No.2634187

doesn't matter where you get your undergrad.

>> No.2634204

UofC is more of an economics school, I believe. The cool thing to do there is Model UN

I go to UofI Urbana Champaign. What's your hometown bro?

>> No.2634205

>>2634187

Stop with this nonsense. The standards a school has, the rigor of its classes, and the academic services and opportunities your school offers makes a world of difference. Most importantly, the people you meet change. The allure of the university is not the content, but the people you're surrounded with; the next, and current, great thinkers.

>> No.2634219

Headcount of people who are actually in a post-secondary institution and for how long when they give their worldly advice plz...

>> No.2634229

>>2634128
this guy

>>2634149
If it helps, I turned down a 2/3 ride and a spot in the honors program at Texas A&M for UChicago. I'm probably going to graduate with at least a year of tuition in debt, and more after grad school.

>> No.2634267
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2634267

>>2634229
>he has to pay for grad school

>> No.2634269

>>2634158
I understand. I guess I'll accept. What can I possibly lose other than 8k and a year?

>>2634187
>>2634205
I'm 12 and what is this.
No seriously, could you settle?
I mean, if I study a lot and get great grades at a state school in the middle of nowhere, can I go to a good University for my master's?

>>2634204
Peoira.

>>2634229
Oh... I'll consider that. I wouldn't like to drop out and be filled in debt.

>> No.2634281

>>2634267
Master's degree can be a bitch and PhDs take six friggin years and a part of your soul.

>> No.2634291

>>2634281
you can get a PhD in less than 6 years if you're smart enough. and if you enjoy the subject and plan to have a career in it more time studing wouldn't be a downside

>> No.2634294

>>2634269
> mean, if I study a lot and get great grades at a state school in the middle of nowhere, can I go to a good University for my master's?
You absolutely can. But in the end, it's up to you to decide whether going to a private uni is worth the extra cost. I couldn't justify it myself.

>> No.2634300

>>2634269

>I'm 12 and what is this. No seriously, could you settle? I mean, if I study a lot and get great grades at a state school in the middle of nowhere, can I go to a good University for my master's?

Of course you can. But again, that does not mean you shouldn't take into account your undergraduate education. You spend four years of your life there with the intent to learn, and you should make sure you get the most out of it by surrounding yourself with the best environment possible.

>> No.2634301

>>2634291
>you can get a PhD in less than 6 years if you're lucky enough

>> No.2634311

>>2634294
Of course you CAN. The point is that it will be HARDER. Less opportunity to meet respected people, less prestigious, etc. Anyone who tells you it will be just as easy to get into grad school from a random no-name university as it would to do so from chicago is a liar.