The University of Chicago is well known for the strength of its intellectual traditions, with a faculty of 89 Nobel Prize winners, over 260 Guggenheim Fellows, 32 MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellows, and 24 Pulitzer Prize winners.
Undergraduates at the University of Chicago have unparalleled resources. On the university’s 217-acre, tree-lined campus, there are six libraries with over 11 million print volumes; over 150 research centers and institutes, including the new Institute for Molecular Engineering and the Institute of Politics; world-class theaters, museums, and art centers; and three of the nation’s top professional schools in law, business, and medicine. Their new molecular engineering major is the university’s first-ever undergraduate degree in engineering.
About half of the University of Chicago students take advantage of study abroad programs, which include 45 faculty-led study abroad programs in over 20 countries, including centers in Beijing, Hong Kong, Delhi, and Paris.
The Office of Career Advancement helps students translate what they are studying in their classrooms to their future careers. Through the Office of Career Advancement students specifically, have access to over access to more than 1,700 fully-funded Jeff Metcalf internships that are offered exclusively to the University of Chicago students.
Academics at the University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is known for its established Common Core system, which requires students, regardless of major, to take courses in the sciences and math, humanities, social sciences, a writing tutorial, and a sequence of study in a specific civilization. These requirements, coupled with the quarter system they pioneered, make for academically intensive 10-week periods. Senior students are also encouraged to do final-year projects.
Classes are relatively small, with 78 percent enrolling fewer than 20 students, and led by brilliant and distinguished faculty members who’ve won Nobel Prizes, Guggenheims, and other prestigious awards.
Additional quick facts about the University of Chicago
Freshman acceptance rate: 8%
Freshman retention: 99%
Freshmen out of state: 82%
4-year Graduation rate: 89%
Most popular majors: economics, biological sciences, political science
Social scene at the University of Chicago
The University of Chicago social scene is varied in that students have a range of options on campus and can easily explore the city of Chicago. Students can enjoy on-campus events year-round, including a spring, campus-wide scavenger hunt, and carnival. The university provides students with free, unlimited access to all parts of the city via public transportation, and Arts Pass offers free or discounted student admission to city art, theater, and cultural events. Greek life has only a small presence on campus, with 8 percent fraternity and 12 percent sorority participation.
UChicago’s Maroons compete in Division III, with consistently solid programs in men’s and women’s tennis; women’s basketball, cross-country, and volleyball; and men’s soccer and wrestling. About 70 percent of undergraduates compete in intramural sports ranging from the traditional (soccer and volleyball) to the offbeat (archery, broomball, and inner-tube water polo).
Housing 
UChicago guarantees on-campus housing for four years, and over half of all undergrads live in the dorms. Each dorm is different—some house fewer than 100 people in traditional, shared double rooms without kitchens, while another has 700 beds organized into colorful suites. Safety-wise, UChicago employs its own police force and stations security guards around the neighborhood.
Similar colleges to consider:
Columbia, Harvard, Northwestern, University of Pennsylvania, Yale
Financial aid and Scholarships
The University of Chicago is need-blind, and offers many scholarships to students that demonstrate financial need. 100% of the need is met. Although the tuition and fees are $73,000 a year, the average financial package is $53,000, with 73% receiving need-based scholarships or grants. Additional scholarship awards worth checking out: National Merit Scholarship, Promise Award, The Odyssey Scholarship, and No Barriers program.
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