Caltech in...Chi-Town?
PHEW!! Let me just start off by saying how EXHAUSTED I am! I just got back from a whirlwind 24-hour visit to Chicago! It was my first time outside of the airport in Illinois, so I was excited to see what it was like! Fortunately, in case you were worried about my packing skills, I did succeed in getting everything into my carry-on! My trek began, as many do, on the corner of San Pasqual and Holliston, where the Super Shuttle picks us up to go to the airport. Many Techers use this pretty convenient method to get to LAX or BUR.
I eventually did make it to the airport without any incident and flew the 3.5 hours to Chicago, Midway. I eventually figured out how to make it out of the airport (thanks to the help of those nice Midwesterners!) and took the bus through the South Side to meet my host. Fortunately, he asked if I had eaten yet, so we went out to grab a bite to eat and introduce ourselves. Needless to say I hadn’t eaten much all day so the chicken curry I had was VERY welcome! So after resting up on my host’s air mattress, I put on my interview suit and headed over to the admissions office for an introduction and to receive my schedule for the day! And what a packed schedule it was! 8:30 - 9:30: Orientation 9:45 - 10:15: Faculty Interview 10:30 - 11: Admissions Officer Interview 11:30 - 12: Student Interview 12 - 2: Lunch/Campus Tour/Multicultural Affairs Info Session 2:15 - 2:45: MSTP Director Interview 3: CHANGE INTO NORMAL CLOTHES!
I was fortunate that I could walk around the campus for a bit before heading back to the airport and take some pictures to show you how beautiful it was! But before the pretty pictures, let me tell you what I thought of the school! In short: I LOVED IT!! In many ways it reminded me of Caltech. Small class size (88), tight-knit community, pass/fail to eliminate the competitive edge. Those were the key reasons I chose Caltech in the first place, and UChicago seemed to have the same kind of environment! By the end of the day, seeing so many excited students and administrators really made me hope they accept me! Well…they said before Thanksgiving I’ll have a decision for the MD portion of my application. If it’s good, then I head out again to meet faculty to hopefully get into the MSTP!
OK, enough about the school, time for PICTURES!
Well later this week I’ll be heading out to the Midwest AGAIN - this time to Saint Louis for Washington University in Saint Louis! I hear it’ll be raining then, though, so I can’t forget my umbrella!
