Be honest please! :)

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
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<p>I am applying RD no matter what, I am just wondering what you think my chances of acceptance are: (I want to become a journalist, however since there is no journalism major at U of C, I am planning on majoring in Economics.</p>

<p>Year: Applying to become part of the freshman class of 2015</p>

<p>State: MA</p>

<p>Race: African-American</p>

<p>School Type: Public (basically all-white suburban. I am one of the only African-Americans at my school)</p>

<p>GPA weighted: 3.66 (117 students out of 360 in my grade have GPA's over a 4.0. There is major grade inflation at my school, and I feel like teachers just hand out A's to undeserving students. Sometimes, I have felt academically descriminated by my peers and teachers because of my race)</p>

<p>GPA unweighted: 3.08 (I had all A's and B's my freshman and sophmore years, however due to extenuating circumstances last year, my GPA dropped significantly)</p>

<p>SAT: 1720 altogether. However, I am retaking the SAT in October to acheive an near-perfect score</p>

<p>Courses:</p>

<p>Freshman Year: Honors Freshman English, Honors Orchestra, Honors US History 2, Honors Conceptual Physics, CP (stands for college preparatory) Algebra 1, CP Spanish 2, Physical Education CP, Computers CP</p>

<p>Sophmore Year: CP Literary Studies, CP Spanish 3, CP Geometry, Honors Biology, Honors Orchestra, Health CP, CP US History 2, Physical Education CP</p>

<p>Junior Year: Honors American Literature, Honors British Literature, Honors Chemistry, AP World History, Honors Orchestra, CP Spanish 4, Honors Economics, Honors Journalism</p>

<p>Senior Year: Honors Physics, Honors Orchestra, Honors Russian Literature, Senior Study, Honors Sociology, Honors Spanish 5 for the 21st Century, CP Pre-Calculus (trying to switch into Honors Calculus)</p>

<p>Extra-Curriculars:</p>

<p>Violinist in the orchestra since 3rd grade and counting. In high school I have been part of the string orchestra, full orchestra, and the pit orchestra which is for the spring musicals</p>

<p>Copy editor for school newspaper: 10th grade</p>

<p>Contributing writer for the school newspaper (ever article I have submitted has been published last year): 11th grade and 12th grade</p>

<p>President/Creator of my high school STAND (A student anti-genocide coalition) chapter: 11th and 12th grade (I am EXTREMELY involved with this. I have had my chapter contact the White-House to campaign for Darfur, and I am in collaboration with many other STAND chapters throughout the state. I may apply for a National position soon with STAND. Also U of C has a STAND chapter, which is great! I would definitely be a part of it, if I went to U o f C)</p>

<p>Member of Tri-M music honor society: 11th grade</p>

<p>Volunteer work:</p>

<p>Volunteer at after-school program at an elementary school in my town: 11th grade (16 hours approximately)</p>

<p>Registration Coordinator for First Book: 11th grade, and 12th grade</p>

<p>First Book is a non-profit based in Washington D.C. that gives programs that serve low-income children such as Title 1 schools, Boys and Girls Clubs, ect, access to free or reduced-priced books. So far, I have single-handedly helped 25 schools, Boys and Girls Clubs, and YMCA programs throughout the country gain access to free or reduced priced books. I especially enjoyed helping schools and programs in inner-city Boston, because I knew I was helping to increase literacy throughout my community. Last year, I had won the First Book Nationwide Registration Coordinator challange, which was for Registration coordinators to help the most programs in need gain access to free books. During November 2009, I had helped 16 programs nationwide recieve free or reduced-priced books. As a result, I had won a $250 Border's Gift Card to give to a program or school of my choice that I had helped. I had chosen a Boys and Girls Club in inner-city Boston to recieve the gift card aroung the holidays. As a result of my efforts, the director of that particular Boys and Girls Club was able to achieve her dream of starting a book club with the kids. I am not entirely sure how many hours I have volunteered for First Book. It has definitely been over 200 hours, however, I love volunteering for First Book so much, that I have stopped counting the hours long ago. I really do not care about how many hours I have volunteered, just as long as I have made a difference in people's lives. Volunteering for First Book has definitely inspired me to become a journalist, because the literacy rate and graduation rates for some areas of this country are simply shocking and I have not seen any major change so far. I believe that there still is segregation the still exists today (which is a major cause of the broken Public School Systems of America), however not literally enforced, it is figurative. i.e. Wealthy white suburbs, lower-income ethnic inner-cities. I have seen both sides of the spectrum, since my father and the rest of his entire family have grown up in inner city Boston, and have been through the awful public schools there. My father had attended an all black segregated school until he was 12 years old, and my family has exerienced an intense amount of racism throughout their lives. Many people think that racism does not exist today, however I want to tell stories as a journalist that will question society, and open people's eyes to the certain topics most do not want to hear about. I want my stories to convey a sense of "This is what is happening now. If we as a society do not pressure our lawmakers to make significant changes, then what will society be like 20, maybe 30 years from now?"</p>

<p>First Generation College Student: I am not entirely sure about this, because my mother graduated college, however my father did not graduate. So, does this mean that I am a first generation college student or half?</p>

<p>Please let me know what you think my chances of admission are. Thank you!</p>

2

<p>Yeah, so most people on this site seem to think that a listing of credentials will somehow illuminate one’s chances of getting into a school. This is rather irrelevant in most college admissions, but it is absolutely pointless to do when thinking about applying to the University of Chicago. Now, I won’t say that having something like low test scores or bad grades doesn’t make a difference. Chicago is one of the top schools in the world, so there is indeed a cut off. </p>

<p>However, NO ONE can actually tell you or any other posters on this site whether or not you will be able to get in. The uchciago essays are very, very important to the admissions process, so posting a bunch of creds and asking for input from other high schools students, who often have no idea what they’re talking about, is a waste of time. So, unless you plan on (a) posting your essays and (b) obtaining legitimate input on them from admissions officers (no, they will not tell you your chances of getting in either), you’re out of luck.</p>

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<p>You entitled this thread, ‘Be Honest Please’. Are you sure that’s what you really want?</p>

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<p>This is an old article but it is a must-read for applicants to any elite school:</p>

<p><a href=“University of Chicago News”>University of Chicago News;

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<p>Thank you for all the input. Believe me, I KNOW how low my GPA and SAT are compared to most applicants. I am sure however, that I will get an extremely better score in October for the SAT, because the last time, I did not even finnish the test, and I got barely any sleep on the test day. I really think I stressed out WAY to much the night before and on test day. I did prepare for the SAT, but being stressed too much definitely thew me off, so I’ve learned from my mistakes. Regarding my GPA, my guidance counselor and my teachers who recommend me are going to explain my circumstances further that effected my GPA. If I get a close to perfect score on the SAT, what do you think my chances are for RD?</p>

<p>-Also, my parents think that I should improve my grades dramatically this year obviously. I cannot get anything less than a 4.0 this year. They think that I should wait until after I graduate high school to apply to college, and that I should apply over the summer or next fall for college, to show colleges the improvement I’ve made. Do you think this is a good idea?</p>

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<p>Unless you are expecting to take a year off after high school or go to Community College, the time to apply for 2011 is between now and Jan. 1 (give or take a few days).</p>

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<p>^ And doesn’t going to community college make you a transfer student, which makes admissions even more selective? Also, thanks for the link to the article; I read it two years ago, but it was interesting to read it again, especially since I noticed some parallels between the admissions atmosphere of '99 and '10, such as 44% more EA applicants.</p>

<p>@OP: What’s your SAT score breakdown? Chicago doesn’t look at writing. How are you doing on SAT practice tests/ what makes you so sure that you’ll do so much better this time on the SAT? What were you getting on practice tests before you scored your 1720? How likely are you to get a 4.0 senior semester?</p>

<p>What were the extenuating circumstances that led to the drop in GPA junior year? Why were you able to continue spending so much time on STAND if you were getting such bad grades?</p>

<p>As you said, your grades and SAT scores are very low compared to other applicants. Your SAT scores put you well under the 25%tile for SAT, and your class rank puts you well below 5%tile. This means that you need to present a strong case that despite these facts, you should be accepted. Now, I don’t know you, and you could be an absolutely amazing person; the problem is that you need to express this to the admissions office, and IMHO, I haven’t seen anything jump out at me and make me say, “This person needs to be admitted, regardless of their GPA/SAT”!</p>

<p>I hope you take these comments in stride; I’m asking the tough questions now to help you out later. ;)</p>

<p>Miscellaneous Comments:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Have you considered sociology or something like that instead of Econ? Econ at Chicago is supposedly really heavy on math, and I’d imagine as a future journalist you’d want more writing-heavy courses. Furthermore, econ at Chicago is particularly competitive because many Econ students are more preprofessional than students in other majors.</p></li>
<li><p>I don’t know you, so I don’t know about the circumstances of the racism you feel like you encountered, but I’d just like to point out that w/o any concrete evidence, it will come across as an admissions ploy. I myself encountered clear-cut racism, but I chose not to include it in any of my essays b/c I felt like there was more important things to highlight about myself in my essays than just my race. What exactly makes you say, “Sometimes, I have felt academically descriminated by my peers and teachers because of my race”.</p></li>
<li><p>Applying RD, if what happened last year happens again, is going to be tough. I don’t know if they’re going to favor EA so heavily again, but they might.</p></li>
<li><p>A gap year could be a great way to show improvement, but you should still apply this year; you can always apply next year if you get rejected.</p></li>
</ol>

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<p>Seriously though, you need to put a significant amount of time and effort into the 3 uchicago essays. If you write incredibly well, you might have a chance of getting in, however I think it is clear that you need to raise your SAT score and your GPA. If you get the SAT to around 2000, make strait A’s in your fall semester courses, and write excellent essays you’ll significantly better your chances.</p>