25% EA admit rate

<p>as given by usnews 2012. Assuming half of the 30,000 or more applicants are under qualified, (SAT scores below 2100, low(er) GPA, etc.), that gives me a 50% early action chance, right? I'm hoping that my being the only applicant from South Dakota negates my ORM status. Wishful thinking, no?</p>

<p>People get into every school with SATs below 2100. I don’t think the amount of applications they throw out right away is 50%, especially given UChicago’s reputation of being fairly self-selective. From what I remember of the admissions process, only around 10% of applications are probably thrown out in the first screening at most places. </p>

<p>That being said, I think you have a decent shot at UChicago based on the combined factors of your SAT, GPA, ECs, and location. If UChicago is indeed a great fit for you and you have solid recs and essays, then yes, you do have at better chance than 1 in 4. As high as 50%? I have no idea, and that’s probably the best anyone will be able to tell you.</p>

<p>The 28% figure in US News is old (class of 2014 data). Last year, EA rate was 22%. Nobody really knows what it’ll be this year, but expect it to drop, maybe significantly.</p>

<p>The truth is, though, that the EA pool is probably more competitive than the RD pool. There will be fewer under-qualified applicants, as most EA applicants are coming from prep schools where such things as applying EA are heavily encouraged.</p>

<p>Also, it’s important to note that the early admissions rates at lower Ivies (Dartmouth, Cornell, Penn) and Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, etc. are considerably higher than those at Chicago, around 30-35% usually. Yet getting in to these places ED is rather difficult as well, so… yeah.</p>

<p>In any case, I don’t really think you can statistically derive that you have a 50% chance of getting in. With your same logic, any 2200-SAT student with a decent GPA would have a 50% chance of getting in, and we all know that that isn’t true.</p>

<p>I know that that doesn’t help you overcome the stress of the admissions process. But I think it’s best to have lower expectations than have higher expectations. Chicago is very difficult to enter, EA or RD, regardless of stats.</p>

<p>Assuming half the Chicago applicants are unqualified is seriously off base. </p>

<p>At Tufts, the adcomm told us they only rejected about 7% of applicants because their objective criteria did not indicate they would be able to graduate in four years.</p>

<p>Many top schools lament that nearly everyone who applies is capable of succeeding at their institutions.</p>

<p>At Chicago, it is more than stats; it is the critical thinking and writing skills you bring to the admissions table.</p>