First Day at UChicago

Around 1 AM, Kayla told me to call her to make sure that she wakes up, promptly, at 8 AM, after she set an alarm, so we could meet up at the lobby a little over 9:15. Little did I know that she was going to be the one having to call me. Ironically, she did not oversleep even if the previous day featured a 10 mile walk. Long story short - I was super tired and I overslept by a good 30 minutes until Max and Issac attempted wake me up, even after the alarm clock rang. 

Donuts!

We could have slept in but none of us packed the previous night after getting home around 9, being as tired as we were and having to blog. I woke up until 1 AM, sending pictures through WeTransfer to Don and reviewing the blog from the same night. Being at the Omni, my sleep, indeed, was soundly and luxurious! I slept as soon as I lied on the bed.

 

The day started off with donuts and Tostitos chips. John rushed out to buy donuts from Do-Rite, rated 4.5 stars on Yelp, and had it ready by 9:15. I never seen a donut with a bacon on top in the Bay Area. Being a vegetarian, I grabbed the one with the whip cream in the middle, particularly because of the perfectly oval shape. 

I discussed weight loss tips with John the prior day and he recommended consuming food slowly because our body takes 20 minutes to signal our brain that we are full. I applied his logic and surprisingly enough he was correct. 1 donut made me completely full - normally 2 or 3 does the trick. 

We drove out to the University of Chicago, which would be our home for the next 3 weeks. The admissions officer, Zack Evans, briefly, spoke about the admissions process, academics, and financial aid. Personally, I found the topic of financial aid most interesting. 

College can be very expensive. Altogether, the price for 1 year at UChicago, exceeds 75,000 dollars. Though the admissions officer did not mention the price, due to marketing purposes, he did, however, mention about how University of Chicago helps need-based students with limited financial resources through scholarships and grants. After being enrolled in University of Chicago, they cover some percentage of costs for first-generation college students, and low-income students. These grants include: Federal Pell Grant and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant. The University of Chicago's merit scholarships identifies high-performing students, with great community commitment. Zack Evans noted that these scholarships are very competitive as Chicago is highly selective and consists of intellectual individuals, who are very community-driven.

Liam was a brilliant tour guide! The temperature was slightly higher, relative to yesterday, but it still felt like Bay Area in Chicago. Though the temperature adds to the entertainment of the tour, I felt that this tour was also well-structured and Liam's energy was notably high - just like mine. 

Liam

Quantum Computing Building

With my initial goal being to major in Computer Science, I realized through the tour that UChicago’s Quantum Computing major will allow me to have a narrower focus to my major that would more accurately address the discipline I’d like to study.

Architecture-wise, UChicago looks like Northwestern University. The biggest highlight, in my opinion, was passing by the Rockefeller Chapel. Even though the architecture was innovative, I was more amazed by the building's historical significance. I learned that the building was named after Rockefeller, the richest person in modern history, whom had donated 35 million dollars (equivalent to 980 million modern USD).

Furthermore, robots work in the underground library - not humans. Being known for the economics program, the University of Chicago, realized the opportunity cost early on of having a human worker as compared to robots. One time investment saves more money in the long run!

We moved in as well! First day, residing at Chicago, was amazing but nervous in the beginning! Jonathan, my room mate, seems like a very organized and disciplined young fellow! He came from Netherlands. We shared interest in soccer and briefly talked about the World Cup. To both of our disappointments, Netherlands failed to qualify for the World Cup but we were delighted as Croatia grabbed a victory against Russia. As the night progressed, we grabbed cookies from Insomnia as we made a couple of friends along the way - Nil, and Kat. 

It feels surreal to study Economics at such a prestigious university. Today was the first day in a three week long journey, and as it's coming to a close I can't help but imagine all the memories I'll make.