SAT II: Might take Math 2 and Chemistry and send in later
GPA:
UW: 3.73
W: 4.05
My UW GPA has been on a downward trend since 9th grade and my W GPA has been on an upward trend.
I’m at an IB school, and I take 6 IB courses. I’m on track for the diploma at the end of the year.
EC:
Soccer from 4th grade until 11th grade
10th grade student government
NHS member 11th and 12th grades
Spanish honor society member 11th grade and co-leader 12th grade
School badminton club co-president
Member of Science Olympiad 11th and 12th grades
Played piano since 1st grade, not so much in recent years.
Played saxophone since 5th grade, wind ensemble 9-12th grades.
Volunteering:
Random volunteering positions, helping at a fair, food bank, nothing constant
Consistent library volunteer, reading to a struggling 2nd grader for 30 min. a week from Nov. until June
Won a school district + county award for volunteering service, including awards from the local police and letters from my state representative
Nominated and won an award in my school for being an exemplary student in 10th grade, appeared in a local newspaper.
State: Michigan
I plan to pursue computer science.
I’m planning to apply to UChicago early action just to try my luck, I don’t really think I’m that strong a candidate at all.
The unweighted GPA is going to be an issue for you. However, Chicago is a quirky place and they have quirky essays. Chicago is a reach, but you might get in range if you write the totally unique type of essay they like that tells them you have something to add to their community.
Here’s something you may (or may not; probably not) want to think about:
I can’t tell much of anything from your resume, but one of the things your test scores seem to show is that you are weaker in math than in other subjects. I will hazard a guess that your transcript tells the same story. Your overall scores are certainly in range for Chicago, but your math scores will be near the bottom: The 25th percentile level for math is 715 SAT, 31 ACT.
Computer science at many places, including the University of Chicago, is really something of an offshoot of math, and is taught in a very math-intensive way, especially past the introductory level. And, in general, the University of Chicago is sort of a math-y place. Math, Applied Math, Statistics, Physics, and Economics majors represent over 25% of the undergraduate student body, a percentage that will be matched at few (if any) liberal arts institutions. And that doesn’t even count Computer Science majors. I believe there is a lot of double-majoring between Computer Science and Math (or Applied Math) there.
If you are really up for studying Computer Science, you should probably try to look carefully at the Computer Science curriculum at various colleges you are considering. Ask yourself whether any of them look more attractive to you than the others, and also whether how you want to spend your time is learning what Computer Science departments teach, especially highly theoretical ones like Chicago’s. Talk to your math teachers, and try to figure out whether you are up for the challenge of doing a lot of math in a context where most other students will have an easier time of it than you.
I don’t mean to tell you not to apply to Chicago, or not to try to study Computer Science. I’m just asking you to recognize that it would mean devoting a lot of attention and effort to exactly what you haven’t had as much success at in the past, and what you probably have enjoyed less than other ways of learning. People who succeed are usually doing something they love and are good at.
^ Good info! BTW, how much of a math whiz does one need to be to major in EC at UChicago? My D is very interested in re school but not really a math whiz. She has taken AB/BC Calculus as a junior and scored a 5 on BC and 5 on AB subset. Her SAT from June was 800Cr 760 M ( missed one question, weird test that date). Taking AP Stats as a senior as Cal was highest math at her school. CC math class not an option for her. Thanks!
Yeah, my math scores are usually weaker, but they are better when I study for it. On my first SAT I had 720 on math, but I didn’t study for it at all on my second SAT and got 670. On that SAT I raised my writing grade from 670 to 770, and Reading from 690 to 710 because I only studied those. On this ACT I didn’t actually study at all, and I’m pretty sure I would’ve had a higher math score if I did study. I’m usually pretty good at math, but the scores lag behind the others when I don’t study. I don’t think math will be an issue for me in college but for standardized testing…probably.
