Chance me for UChicago?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>So UChicago's my dream school. Number one. Hands down favorite of every single college I've looked into. Problem is, my GPA is not even close. Here's how it breaks down for me:</p>

<p>GPA: 3.35 UW (accompanied by a letter explaining how my mother had cancer, father was never in town, and thus I had to take care of my sister while my mom had chemo. Also, I didn't prioritize right and will NOT be doing 27 extracurriculars in college as I did in high school)</p>

<p>ACT: 31 (dead on average for their admitted students)</p>

<p>Recs: Awesome. My principal offered to write one (I wasn't even going to ask!), so I assume that'll be magnificent. </p>

<p>Essays: Amazing. They're easily the strongest part of my app. I plan on minoring in creative writing and maybe going into it as a career, so these were well loved by everyone who's read them. The Uncommon App essay has been most frequently described as "clever," which fits my scheme quite nicely. (I seriously am outrageously proud of those essays. I've never spent so much time on such a small piece of writing).</p>

<p>Course load: Full IB, taken the hardest classes available to me</p>

<p>ECs: 27, including owning my own successful business in my field of interest (I make my own nail polish from raw materials and sell it) and then a half dozen leadership-specific roles involving extensive community service.</p>

<p>Interview: Went well. I could've done a bit better, but the guy did email me a follow-up saying that he'll tell the college how "energetic" I am and that he wishes me the absolute best and hopes I'll tell him how the admissions process treats me.</p>

<p>Personality: I really think I fit what a UChicago student's supposed to be, and that's without forcing it. I genuinely love learning and would rather read philosophy than attend a party. I made sure it was clear on my app how much I just fit the school.</p>

<p>All in all, the numbers (GPA especially, but that ACT's not doing me any favors) don't look so great, but I think I do well everywhere else. How do my chances look?</p>

2

<p>Here’s more specifics on my ECs:</p>

<p>-President of Jewish Student Union (4 years of involvement)
-Co-President of community service organization for Jewish youth group
-2nd in state for Constitution Team
-President of Iron Chef Club
-Team Officer for Speech and Debate (as well as a few 1st place wins)
-Girl Scout camp counselor (x8 with ten total years of involvement)
-Curate a blog (connects back to my nail polish business, five years of steady involvement)
-Board for Mission:Citizen (a non-profit that works to educate immigrants to help them pass their citizenship exam)
-Board for a club that’s sending a bus to my school’s sister school in the Congo (two years of involvement)
-Intern for a multi-cultural non-profit (200 hours)
-Intense voter-registration work (100 hours)
-Representative for my school on the Superintendent’s committee
-Ski Team</p>

<p>And a few more that I’m not going to detail (too personal)</p>

3

<p>GPA might hurt you and as harsh as it sounds, the whole cancer thing will probably be overlooked. They care more about how you are today because of it if you catch my drift. I think you’re a good candidate but there’s always room for improvement. SAT scores?</p>

4

<p>I’m sure the GPA is going to hurt me, I’m just wondering if it’ll absolutely kill my chances.
The letter’s pretty concise but I totally see why they’d overlook it (who really wants 500 words of excuses, even if they are pretty pathetic?)</p>

<p>I actually only took the ACT once and never took the SAT. With IB classes and my mother’s cancer, I didn’t have the time or energy to study and I wasn’t going to take the test without extensive prep. I wish now that I had done the ACT once more, UChicago’s the only school on my list that it matters for (the rest are extremely safe bets for financial reasons) and they superscore. Ah well, that’s not going to be the most damning part of my app.</p>

<p>I’ll send my app to anyone who’d be willing to take a read (only current students/alums, please!)</p>

5

<p>And by “app,” I mean essay. I’ll send my Waldo essay to whoever wants to read it (if you’re a current student and on Overheard at UChicago, I suspect you’ll get a bit of extra joy out of it!).</p>

6

<p>Dang everything else is awesome except for your GPA. I hate to say but that might kill you for admissions. I know the process is holistic but 3.35 UW is very very low for U of Chicago.</p>

7

<p>What’s your safety? </p>

<p>At U Chicago, even your ECs (and your essays if you’re writing stellar ones) can’t save you.</p>

8

<p>I was sort of in the same situation as you with a mother that had ovarian cancer, father that was not around (divorced), and a little sister that I had to take care of. But I think colleges would appreciate more having risen above it, rather than hoping it would excuse a lack in grades, testing, etc.</p>

<p>Nonetheless, you probably shouldn’t count on them discounting the low UW GPA and not getting a better test score (atleast attempting SAT/retaking ACT) because of your mom’s cancer. I’m saying this because since you had the opportunity for 27 time consuming extracurriculars, it is clear that you prioritized those activities over grades or testing. There is nothing wrong with that, but you may look back and seriously regret not having cut down on ECs, and instead focusing more on your classes. </p>

<p>Low GPA, average test score, and your ECs are sporadic and a little random (rarely is quantity better than passion/focus in a few select ECs). Hopefully your letters of rec and essays are indeed excellent. I don’t know what your weighted GPA or class rank is, but partly based on your UW GPA, it’s unlikely you’ll be getting into UChicago</p>

9

<p>It is rather unlikely, it is good that you have a valid reason, but a 3.35 is very low. You need some matches/safeties.</p>

10

<p>On the ECs: I know they seem sportartic here, but listed out with times of sustained involvement, they’re less random and almost all service oriented. That being said, I do wish I had cut them down (which I note in the letter for the GPA). That’s my biggest high school regret- home was so toxic that I did anything to stay away while I could, but joining two dozen clubs was not the right choice. </p>

<p>That being said, they say the prioritize essays more than grades in the process. Is it possible/remotely likely that my essays will save me? I would say that I successfully found Waldo ;)</p>

<p>(And yes, I do have some safeties, but UChicago’s my number one so it’s clearly the one I’m most excited about!)</p>

11

<p>what’s a 3.35 converted to an 100 point scale?</p>