Ask away- it's UChicago Prospective Students Advisory Committee

<p>Dear UChicagoPSAC,
I had sent my application to Chicago in December, but haven’t received any mail confirming that my application is complete. Should I be receiving such a confirmation, and if so, when?
Thank you,
sushmita</p>

<p>Thank you! That was very helpful.</p>

<p>Hi UChicagoPSAC,</p>

<p>I recently won our county’s science fair and qualified for the state competition. As an early admit accepted student, would this be a good thing to send as an update to my regional counselor? Or should I simply use the “Update” form on my Chicago account? I’ve already sent one update earlier this year when the same science research paper was accepted for publication. I want my file to be complete for any possible scholarship discussions, but I also don’t want to bother my regional rep with any unnecessary information.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p>Hi UChicagoPSAC,</p>

<p>I was wondering, since I was deferred EA, I wanted to send in additional material. Should I just send it in by mail (an additional Letter of Recommendation and perhaps another Why UChicago essay …), or is there a way to do it electronically?</p>

<p>Also, for FAFSA, my parents could not fill out FAFSA by February 1st because of some finances with a property we own, and it won’t be done until next week. I hope that UChicago will understand my situation, but am I out of the runing for Need-Based scholarships? </p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p>@solar- you can just update this using the update form on your account. Congratulations!</p>

<p>@amaster- you may send in supplemental information via snail mail if you wish to do so (it’s oddly enough easier for us to get directly in to our system than if you e-mail it in). Also, contact the financial aid office with your FAFSA questions- they can be reached at <a href=“mailto:college-aid@uchicago.edu”>college-aid@uchicago.edu</a> .</p>

<p>@sushmita- we’re still going through and sorting mail and other things; check your Chicago account to see the materials we’ve received and sorted so far. If you don’t see everything there, don’t worry! As a general rule you should ONLY worry about missing materials if we contact you about them- we will of course contact you once your application is complete anyway, but if we are missing a required document, rest assured that we’ll let you know we don’t have it in plenty of time for you to resubmit before we make our decision.</p>

<p>Thank you!
I checked the account and got an email saying my transcript is missing.
So, now I can legitimately worry as I resend it!
However, thank you for your help.</p>

<p>Hi, PSAC Person!
Is there a specific “Mid-Year Update” for EA admits, or should S just use the “Contact Your Regional Rep” form? Thanks!</p>

<p>Hi UChicagoPSAC,</p>

<p>Like amaster008, I was deferred EA, and I wanted to send in additional material. Is there a (soft, perhaps) deadline for when additional material should be sent in by for consideration?</p>

<p>What do you look for the most in essays? Do you prefer creative & witty essays? Essays that are straight to the point? A flowered vocabulary?
My essay starts out with a short narrative about something I experienced throughout my childhood and then I go on to explain how I learned from the experience and how it has helped me become the person I am. Would you consider it a bad move starting out an essay that way?</p>

<p>Is it possible for me to submit a new essay after I’ve turned in my app? And for it to be considered as part of my application? Maybe to replace/add-on to my folder?
Thanks :)</p>

<p>I forgot to ask: What is the recommended length for the essay?</p>

<p>@CountingDown- EA admits are also required to send in an official midyear report, where one can also update us with any new accomplishments. An admit may also use the “contact your regional rep” form if new things come up after the report is sent.</p>

<p>@Salinet- there is no soft deadline for sending in additional information… but I’d advise you to do it sooner rather than later, as we’re currently in the heart of application-reading season, which also involves going back and re-evaluating deferred students’ files, and we know you’d probably like to make sure that whatever supplement you choose to send is included with yours :).</p>

<p>UChicagoPSAC</p>

<p>I am just curious, who listens to music supplements has what effect does it have on the admissions process?</p>

<p>@trashcans- sorry, the deadline for submission of information has passed. You are welcome to send it in if you like, but there is really no way I can guarantee that it will be added to/replace your already submitted essay.</p>

<p>and @sandyorozco- we really welcome creativity in our essays, but that creativity can be of whatever sort you choose- if you’d like to be to the point, that’s fine, but you’re also welcome to explore pretty much any of the options you’ve put forth as well. The essay should be a reflection of yourself and your interpretation of the prompt, not what you think we want to see. There is no strict word limit or page limit, although most essays do not exceed 2-3 pages.</p>

<p>@theYank- we make an effort to get music supplements to members of the music department who will be able to evaluate them; they provide an appraisal of the supplement and get back to us with that information. It’s not a huge part of the application, but, if you’re passionate about music (or art, creative writing, etc), it’s always nice for us to know that.</p>

<p>Thanks, just one more question. How is the massive increase in applications effecting this years process to those in years past?</p>

<p>The application process, and how we read and evaluate candidates, is unchanged; however, we simply cannot accept all of the qualified candidates who have applied, and so our final admissions rate will be quite drastically diminished from past years (probably at around 18-19%).</p>

<p>:::::::(((((((</p>