chance a worried Californian

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
1

<p>I am a junior from California, reasonably competative high school; probably top 4%, no rank</p>

<p>GPA: around 4.6 weighted (using only 10th/11th, tell me if they do 9th too), 4.0 or 3.98, unweighted, depending on if 9th is used</p>

<p>APs: 10-AP Euro; 11-AP US, AP Lang, AP Chem; 12-AP Physics, AP Calc AB, AP Comp Gov, AP Music Theory; is all this enough, especially since most of them are senior (due to misinformation by school administration....)?</p>

<p>SAT: 2150, will retake, with hopefully a 200-250 point increase (really stupid mistakes)</p>

<p>SAT IIs: 770 math, 790 chem, 800 us</p>

<p>ECs: -section leader in school band
-coprincipal oboist in major youth orchestra, play English Horn as well
-Part of 2 county honor bands
-jv/varsity track for two years
-3 years of robotics (including FIRST events)
-Cofounder of Dissenters Club, club at school to discuss and extoll virtues of political dissent/debate (3 years in a really convoluted way)
-NASA online community, a selective program where NASA experts teach and lecture online to admitted students (2 years)
-CSF (5 semesters)
-May get a job fall of senior year, though not guarenteed</p>

<p>Leadership: -Founded private charity and website to raise concern for humanitarian and social issues
-As mentioned, bunch of leadership for oboe (instrument)
-Again, cofounder of Dissenters Club
-Probably will start another club begining of senior year</p>

<p>Community Sercive: -400+ hours peer tutoring
-100 hours volunteering at local thrift shop to provide affordable mechandise to the underprivileged (profits </p>

<p>Other- Some other random things such as a few music and academic awards and that I translated a book from my native language into English.</p>

<p>I know compared to all of the people who have internships, intel awards, etc, my stats are nothing too special, but there have been certain familiy obligations that have prevented me from entering too many contests, etc...a summer internship or job would have been impossible....Additionally, my current ECs do in fact take up almost all of my free time. </p>

<p>UC is probably my 2nd/3rd choice, so I was wondering if it would be reasonable to keep it there. Also, will race affect/hurt me?; I am East Indian ethnically.</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>go to bed und get some rest. then your chances will dramatically increase.</p>

3

<p>You really shouldn’t be worried about something you can’t control. People with better stats than you have been rejected while people with lower stats have been accepted. Showing your writing prowess through the essays and having really good letters of rec. will help you. As an aside, I would not advise you to use “family obligations” as some sort of explanation for your perceived inadequacy compared to all of those academic superstars out there. Regardless of that all, your stats are quite good and there’s no reason to feel uncertain about them.</p>

4

<p>UChicago isn’t like Harvard and Princeton, where students seem to have done it all and done it the best. Like was previously mentioned, focus on the essays and demonstrate your passion for learning. I was also very concerned about not being an Intel finalist or having any outstanding awards, and I did fine.</p>

5

<p>Jeepers creepers! Some free advice:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Stop worrying so much about your grades. Do you have any idea how unattractive it makes you look to be obsessing over whether colleges consider 9th grade grades, when it turns out that you had one B in 9th grade.</p></li>
<li><p>Do not predict that you will get a 2400 when you retake the SATs. You should retake them, because an extra 100 points would bolster your application a little, but the score you have is actually fine.</p></li>
<li><p>Do NOT start another club unless it really, truly meets some kind of need, or has something to do with fun (preferably both), and involves a lot of other people. Starting one club is fine, especially if you stick with it and make it work. Starting another one in the fall of your senior year makes you look fake-o. (If the one you already started is not vibrant and functioning, downplay it.)</p></li>
<li><p>Same deal with your charity. I’m almost sorry someone got into college once because of doing this, because it has become completely overplayed. If I were an admissions officer, I would be penalizing kids for starting charities unless they had some kind of focus that was completely off the radar of established charities. I would much rather see him or her working with adults and peers in an existing organization. It’s way too easy to be a “leader” when you work alone. (If the charity is vibrant and functioning, and involves substantial efforts from a number of people who are not your relatives, then I apologize and tip my hat to you. But you had better make that clear, because what you have here smells funny.)</p></li>
<li><p>Don’t apologize for not entering more contests. More people should not enter more contests.</p></li>
<li><p>Don’t point fingers at your school administration because you think you haven’t taken enough AP courses. DO talk to your guidance counselor. The most important thing is that he check the box that says you have taken the most challenging curriculum available. If he won’t check the box, see if you can get HIM (or her) to explain that it wasn’t your fault, you tried. Talk about it yourself as a last resort.</p></li>
<li><p>If you have significant family responsibilities that you care about and that take time, make them part of your story.</p></li>
<li><p>Do not whine about race. Being “East Indian” will neither help you nor hurt you. Lots of people like you will be accepted everywhere you apply. [What’s up with “East Indian”, by the way? I haven’t heard anyone describe himself that way in 20 years.]</p></li>
<li><p>And, for crying out loud, say something that gives a sense of who you are, what you like, who you want to be. What your, like, interests are. Passion. You’ve probably heard the word. The only passion you communicated here was a passion for accumulating credentials, and that’s an application-killer everywhere.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>You are obviously a good student, a decent musician, and a busy, somewhat driven [guy? girl? it doesn’t matter, but I can’t decide what to guess]. You have the goods to be competitive for admission anywhere, certainly including Chicago, but you are not going to be successful anywhere like that unless you start expressing personality.</p>

6

<p>^I was just giving a cursory overview here, haha. I’ll use the essays to convey passion; music is probably the most significant activity I take part in, so I will really delve into that. </p>

<p>Also, the charity thing is actually quite funtional. It is based online, so it is quite unlimited in terms of donation base and quite different than the usual “charities” you are reffering to; take it from me, there are plenty of those people at my school, so I did this knowing I had to be different.</p>

<p>Don’t worry, I realize what I have here is somewhat formulaic and robotic. I’ll convey more verve in my actual application.</p>

7

<p>The thing is, the “cursory overview” doesn’t give meaningful information. And you are deliberately vague about any kind of details that would let some sense of who you are show through. “Humanitarian and social issues”. “I translated a book from my native language”. What issues? What book? Why did you translate it?</p>

<p>It’s not just a question of your essays. If this is your resume, change it immediately, before you use it again. Add color, detail, so it gives a sense of who you are, not just a list of notches on your belt.</p>

<p>A word about music. I’m sure being a good oboist will be a plus at Chicago. But before you write a lot about your passion for music, think a bit. Chicago has lots of opportunities for skilled amateur playing, and good (if small) music theory and music history programs. But there are lots of better choices than Chicago for someone whose life really centers around music, and musicians (and other artists) who go to Chicago go there because they are looking for something beyond music, or in addition to it. (And don’t say, “Yeah, an economics major and a job.” Even if it’s true.) The fact is, if you are applying to Chicago you are relegating your oboe to hobby status. What does that mean to you? How will all the time you have spent on the oboe (and English horn) play into the next phase of your life?</p>

8

<p>Finally an oboist!! I don’t know about the rest of you, but isn’t that the one thing you’re guaranteed to hear at a college info session? (You know: “if the orchestra is in need of someone who plays the oboe…”) I always wondered if that situation actually might come up in real life.</p>

<p>OP, you sound well-qualified for nearly any school, but kudos to JHS for “keepin’ it real”. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist the Borat reference, as my son is off to see Bruno tonight so it’s in my head.)</p>

9

<p>Yes, JHS, I will definitely take what you have shared into sound consideration; I will definitely make the adjustments you have stipulated on my actual application. Thanks for the great advice!</p>

10

<p>JHS has it spot on. My stats were lower than yours but I put myself into the application process as much as I could (I got accepted and will be attending in the fall :D). </p>

<p>Recommendations are crucial, at least from my perspective. They tell about the student (how you are in class, do you seek help when needed, etc.).</p>

<p>Your grades are fine, better than fine, actually. If you look at some stats on the admissions website it shows that 86% of people are in the top 10% of their class. If you are in the top 5% ish then that definitely puts you in the category.</p>

<p>You have a wide variety of stats here from science robotics class, to music, to volunteering. From what I’ve found (no expert), the most important thing is to show passion as JHS said. Make sure to convey why you are interested in the these things.</p>

<p>If you indeed have the passion, it will show. You have a unique essay (plus others), possibly an interview (not required but I would highly suggest it), and recommendations from teachers and councilor. You might also consider asking your track coach if you have a good relationship with him/her. It shows a lot about being a team player and things ^^</p>

11

<p>JHS is absolutely right. To the OP, UChicago is not Harvard or Stanford. </p>

<p>Two of my classmates are heading to these two universities in the fall. They have killer stats and extracurricular activities that they think universities want. Their applications work, because they are the type of ambitious students the upper echelon of higher education is looking for (high SAT, high grades, really “shiny” extracurricular activities regardless of interests). UChicago is different, because it can really tell whether you’re doing it just for college. Not surprisingly, the two individuals heading to the “upper echelon of higher education” were denied by UChicago, while I, an individual with lower SAT, slightly lower grades, got accepted. </p>

<p>Do what you like. Do not do an extracurricular activity because it looks great on paper. That might work for the Ivy League, but your SAT might keep you out of those gates. (Trust me. Everyone keeps saying how little SAT matters. I disagree. I think SAT matters a lot when it comes to Ivy League admissions. Even 2250 isn’t enough.)</p>

<p>Your ethnicity will not keep you out of UChicago. I am a living proof (I am an Asian myself). However, I wouldn’t say the same about other universities (<em>couahgh Stfjainnford couahgh</em> though I have to qualify my statement by saying that I am probably biased since I know a Native Indian with 1700 and a poorly written essay who got accepted, while I got rejected. No offense to the school as a whole though; everything happens for a reason.)</p>

<p>I am willing to take a look at your more detailed description of your EC involvement and make some suggestions.</p>

12

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<p>Off topic, but I actually know someone who had their daughter play oboe in the middle school orchestra for precisely this reason. Urban legends travel far and wide. Waiting to see if it works.</p>