From fellow poster
@Chrchill …your numbers completely sync with those from our local Admitted Student rendezvous yesterday, and yes, application number was slightly down from last year (28k from 30k).
This poses an interesting problem for Chicago. The word will be out that to get in you must apply ED or else your chances are worse than at HYPSM and all other schools. This will force the ED apps up till the admit rate regresses to the median of around 25% For top schools. But the number of EA and RD apps could drop further which would mean Chicago’s admit rate could start an upward trend. Who in their right mind would spend the money to apply to a school with a 2% rate for RD or 4% rate for EA?
Chicago is not a Div I school, has no weather advantage, does not have the “Ivy brand catchet” and is located in a city which is having a terrible time with it’s crime reputation.
So how do they convince more kids to apply in the RD round knowing that they are going to be sacrificial lambs at the altar of the admit rate demon?
Very interesting marketing problem.
I expect to see a huge push in marketing to build awareness among international, first generation and lower SES students.
They will make it free or easy to apply. No application fees. No official scores needed till admitted. Choice of what scores to send. No subject test needed etc. They have already started doing All of this. Expect more along these lines
They will bury the dismal RD rate in the overall admit rate in all official releases. I don’t expect them to release any admit rate stats officially that shows the ED rate.
They will insist that there is no appreciable difference in the chances during RD round for the right applicant, which would technically be accurate.
They will make a huge push internationally. I would not be surprised if they declare that they are need blind for international applicants as well
Will be interesting to see how they bring the total number of apps back up.
RD Rate is same has HYPS and similar to Columbia and MIT. IVY Cachet is a non issue. Stanford, MIT and Caltech also don’t have ivy Cachet. Neither do Hopkins and NU.
There is a bid difference between top Ivy’s and the other rest.
Another way of saying that we admitted full pay Asian and White kids by the bus load, since these kids usually have the best stats.
But, denydenzig, why do we care about those consequences? And why would the University take all those misleading and evasive actions? Is it merely to produce acceptable selectivity stats? I understand the importance of those stats in the rankings game. Is that it?
@marlowe1 It’s a beauty pageant and the # of apps received is the swimsuit competition
Anyway it seems that the old school alums are getting what they wanted, a self selecting rate for kids that is near 30%, just like in the old days. 
CU123. Not quite the same. This time around the early pools consists of very high achievers with top stats who will graduate.
@chrchill ouch your really harsh on those old timers
The truth has a certain bite 
@CU123
30% is fine (and it probably won’t stay at 30%) as long as they continue to offer EA AND as long as no prospective student or parent has learned anything from this year’s admissions drama.
BTW, my husband was able to meet up with a friend who works in the college (not in admissions, however) and this person confirmed what we are hearing. Numbers down, quality up, they are happy. Knowing this person well myself, I don’t believe this is some sort of spin around bad news but a genuine transmittal of good news.
Whether they changed the demographic mix or not will be seen in the numbers eventually. My hunch is that they didn’t, and that EA and RD admits were heavily oriented toward demographic and other hooks that they will be able to sway with mega-bucks.
@JBStillFlying Agree with everything, I just wonder how many ED apps they have next year with these numbers.
@CU123 I am predicting a healthy rise in the number of ED apps as applicants sense a short window of opportunity. I am thinking a 25% rise in ED1 plus ED2 apps combined.
@denydenzig I’ll go even further with a 50% rise in ED2 apps as then applicants can take there chances with an EA to another school before committing. ED2 will replace the old EA that had so many applicants in past years that looked at UChicago as a backup. That will surely bring more changes in the UChicago admission process in the coming years.
@CU123 it’s a good question. If you are unhooked you will need to apply ED in order to maximize your chances for admission. Most likely there will be increased self-selection into a pool (i.e. the EA pool will probably be lower and ED higher, all else equal). Alternatively, some who believe they absolutely need merit aid and are turned off by ED will continue to be discouraged from applying altogether as it’s a lot of work for a minimal shot. This year a lot of those kids were EA and then RD. Next year they might well be skipping UChicago. AO needs to deal with this. While yield is crucial because there are long-term benefits associated with good stats there, perceived selectivity is crucial as well. They’ll probably need to keep their admit rate stable in order not to damage that perception. They accomplished that this year. Will they do so next year, hopefully w/o resorting to cynical marketing tactics?
In any case, it’s pretty clear that AO has turned applying to UChicago into a strategic game. Why go simple ED or SCEA when you can throw a couple more options in there and let everyone figure out what to do.
Reminds me of yet another of those old legends about the place. If two profs. are at an impasse on a particularly challenging theoretical problem, they put it on the 1st year or prelim exams and let the students figure it out. :-B
Eliminating EA next year has been discussed frequently… But as a thought experiment, why not think about eliminating EDI next year? Keep EA and EDII. By keeping EA, you draw in large numbers of applications from those wanting to shop a variety EA schools without binding themselves to any single school. So number of applications goes up again for the '22 cycle. Applications may have decreased due to the dilemma created by needing to chose between EA and EDI. By eliminating EDI, applicants feel less pressure to commit early. In the '21 cycle, my kid had to pick between EA and EDI at UChicago, and it created an uncomfortable choice that may not be needed. With ED1 eliminated admissions still picks the cream of the crop out of the EA class, helps meet its URM needs, denies those that are clearly unqualified and defers the bulk to RD. Then in the EDII round (which would need to be renamed in the absence of EDI) Chicago picks up applications from those that were denied or deferred from their non-Chicago EDI choice. Admissions even appears to be taking the high road by reducing pressure to commit until later in the applications process when students are presumably better informed. Students and the school both prosper with the generally better matching process that then occurs! :-j
EA Still on for next year. That’s been confirmed.
That’s all good for the kids but what about the school! :-w