<p>Hey everyone thanks for clicking on this thread and giving it a read. In my list of colleges that I have made after awhile "weeding" out colleges I have come up with a solid list of colleges that I'd enjoy and that I can get into;however, I do plan on applying to UChicago simply because it is my dream school regardless of my chances though I am curious. Do you think I have any chance at all at getting accepted into a school such as The University of Chicago with my stats? </p>
<p>By the way, my name is Rudy and I will be senior at Carl Sandburg High School. I will be a first generation Hispanic student who comes from a well off family (total household income is over 100k) and here is a summary of my High School record.</p>
<p>School Name: Carl Sandburg HS (Public)
Overall Weighted GPA: 3.1*
ACT Composite: 31 (retaking)
SAT: 2050 (retaking)
Number of AP Exams/Classes taken thus far: 5 (Exam scores 4's with two 3's)
Senior Year Schedule:
Academic Math (Trig and College Algebra)
AP Lit
AP Biology
AP World
AP Psychology
Electives (Business/History related) </p>
<p>Extracurricular:**
Speech Team Member/Mentor (10th grade only)
-Earned many 1st and 2nd places in tournaments though was not allowed to partake in Regionals due to limited spots saved for "senior members"</p>
<p>Hobbies:
Have been playing guitar leisurely for about 3 years and I am a passable player.
I enjoy writing, again for leisure, and with the suggestion of my English teacher I am planning to submit some of my short stories to the local literary magazine.</p>
<p>Work Experience:
Private Tutor off and on since 10th grade
Telemarketer, the summer of 2010 (was recently laid-off)</p>
<p>*My GPA is very low overall but if broken down by year it resembles this:
Freshman Year GPA: 2.0
Sophomore Year GPA: 3.5
Junior Year GPA: 3.9
Hope this clears things up </p>
<p>**Due to my low GPA I was prohibited from joining a majority of clubs available at my school since they require a minimum GPA of 3.0; this is my current circumstance. Joining Debate, Student Gov. and Mu Alpha Theta for myself and may or may not submit them in my application.</p>
<p>Will my Application even be considered at a school such as UofC or will it serve as a source of entertainment for an Admissions Officer making a "shot" for the waste basket?</p>
<p>Also, why did you choose to be a telemarketer? That definitely caught my attention, and if you have any funny/interesting stories/insights into telemarketing, that would be good essay material.</p>
<p>I definitely think you should apply since it’s your dream school, ignoring freshman year, you’re right in the ballpark of applicants, especially if you write very well, and have done something outside of class, homework, and debate. It’s obviously a reach, but by no means would you be throwing away an app.</p>
<p>I would recommend applying. If your essays are very good, I’d say you have a decent chance. If you check admissions threads from this spring, you will see a number of admits with SAT/ACT scores in your range. While your overall GPA is low, the trajectory is strongly positive, which will help. It would also help if you could raise your SAT/ACT scores, and it is very important that you maintain the improvement in your GPA, but the essays will be extremely important in any case. UChicago admissions have become more competitive in recent years, but from everything I’ve seen there is still room for unconventional applicant profiles such as those of the OP. Good luck!</p>
<p>I will deviate from the norm and say I don’t think you have a very high chance of getting in at all, especially considering that the admit rate is likely going to drop again this year. Unless your school does weighting very differently, even a W GPA of 3.7 (soph + junior year) is below what would be expected for a typical U of C admit, and I don’t see anything in the rest of your app strong enough to make up for that.</p>
<p>That said, if you have the money and time to expend, it never hurts to try.</p>
<p>I am inclined to agree with haavain. I’m sorry.
But surprising outcomes have happened before, UChicago tends to look past numbers a bit more than other elite institutions, so if you can really prove to them in some way that you truly deserve to be here, then you’ve got a chance.
Good luck.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the feedback guys and @overachiever1992 I LOVE YOU!!! You just gave me a great idea for my essay!! Oh boy!!</p>
<p>Well that aside I’m just applying and hoping, if I get accepted then that’s awesome. If not then oh well.</p>
<p>My school weights GPA by awarding an extra point on the 4.0 scale to AP and honors classes if the grade is a B or higher. To my knowledge anyway.</p>
<p>And yes, unfortunately I hear UofC is getting more competitive this year but hey, if I even have a 1% chance I’ll try…if I have less than that well…I’ll keep my App fee</p>
<p>I’m no admissions person but I wouldn’t include that “private tutor” stuff in your app. I mean, from what I’m getting here, you must have taken atleast 3 APs junior year (seeing from your senior year academics). Then you should have made more than a 4.0 (right?). This will be something that the committee will note, so just don’t include this. Improve your study habits for senior year, and show it to yourself that you can get A’s in most of your classes. The admissions does not want to ruin your career if you can’t handle their curriculum, so it is best to strengthen yourself, and, uchicago or no uchicago, you should improve on that gpa. B/c you’ll have the chance to transfer anytime to uchicago if you don’t get in but first you need to be fit for the school and ready for its study environment.
But your trend is promising, and your application is pretty interesting to read. I would say you have a good chance if your story impresses the committee and your progress in school has an upward pattern.</p>