Chance me UChicago EA 2023

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
1

SAT: 1470
SAT 2: Math 1 (730)
GPA: 4.21 Weighted

School Information:

My school is a very difficult private school. We are not allowed to take any AP’s until 10th grade, and we are only allowed to take one AP in 10th grade. However, all of our classes, right from 9th grade, are all honors classes.

Advanced Classes List:
10th: AP World History (5), Advanced Honors Chemistry, Advanced Honors Algebra 2
11th: AP Chem, AP Lang (5), APUSH (5), Advanced Honors Pre Calculus
12th: Advanced Honors Calculus, AP Stats, AP Lit, AP Environmental Science, AP Physics 1 (I had an A in all of my classes 12th grade except for APES)

Extracurriculars

Vice President of city’s Youth leadership council (very selective)
o organized a community panel on human trafficking with several prominent speakers (state attorney of Florida)
o facilitated and created several monthly leadership workshop for teens in the junior youth council
o selected as a speaker for the March for Our lives (13,000 people present)
o garnered over 150 community service hours

President of school service club
o organize multiple service events, such as a prom dress donation drive for a local homeless shelter

President of Students for Seniors
o visit a local retirement home every Monday to assist the residents with any problems
o started a weekly concert program for them

Student writer for the activist express
o writer for national digital student led newspaper

Member/ secretary of key club
o organized a donation drive for victims of Hurricane Matthew

Member of the mayor’s youth corps
o precursor to youth leadership council (highly selective)
o garnered 100 community service hours
o volunteered at multiple city events
o selected to represent Tampa at Florida league of cities and National League of Cities conference

Member of nhs

Member of National Arts Honor society

Vice President of Chemistry club
o started a school tutoring service for chemistry students

Member of National French Honor Society

Awards/ Honors
o AP Scholar with Honor
o Excellence in 11th Grade English (only 1 student receives this at my school)
o AP + PLTW Student Achievement in Engineering
o Lightning Community Heroes of Tomorrow Award
$50,000 award, $25000 of which goes to support a project I started with a local nonprofit that works to support survivors of human trafficking. Now, with the $25,000, they can open a shelter house for the women they support. The other $25,000 is an educational scholarship.

Recs/ Essays
o Letter of rec from my AP land and AP chem teachers (hopefully 9/10)
o Personal Essay (very personal, I think maybe a 8/10)

  •  Why UChicago (7/10) I had a current student look over it

  •  Uncommon Essay (7/10) It might not be super great, but I had a lot of fun writing it

Hooks
o I moved from Australia right before 9th grade after living there for 10 yrs, was born in India

Info
o Income bracket ~$200,000
o School type - Private
o Am in contact with the UChicago rep for Florida, I gave her a tour of my school and had a good conversation with her

Demographics
o Indian, female

Feel free to post your stats as well! Good luck to everyone who applied!

2

Hey, your ECs are great (to say the least). However, your scores are not that high for UChicago, owing to the academically inclined students who apply there. In fact, the average SAT score is 1540, placing your score below the 25th percentile. :frowning:
As for your GPA, it is almost average for UChic.
But since you have some commendable extra-curricular activities, let’s hope for the best!

3

The average SAT score is 1540? According to what source? Class of ‘21 mid-50 is 1460-1550 and that might be superscored for all we know.

A 1470 is right around a 33 ACT so clearly respectable. It’s not a lock on UChicago but if OP isn’t accepted it won’t be due to SAT.

A 1540 is a 35 ACT so a tad high for an average composite.

4

yeah I knew that my GPA and SAT were not as high as other applicants, but I hope that my extracurriculars can compensate for them. Have you heard of any applicants whose extracurriculars were able to compensante for their lower test scores and GPA?

5

Isn’t UC test optional this year? If you really worry your score will hurt you, you could just opt not to send it.

6

I was referring to PrepScholar, but you’re right. The university’s official site says it was 1460-1550 for the class of '21.

7

Yes; in fact, one person with a 1020 SAT got in. Your extra-curriculars might help.

8

I submitted my SAT score because its in the middle 50, so hopefully my EC’s will help. Its my understanding that UChicago really cares about the fit of the school, so i reallllly hope Im a decent fit. Should I be worried about my GPA?

9

Doubt it - what’s the uw equivalent?

10

My school only submits weighted, so I’m not sure i have to worry about uw

11

Well, your school might have a very different weighting system than other schools, either disguising poor grades or emphasizing excellent ones. It’s not clear either way. Not sure that UChicago recalculates your GPA, of course, but it’s impossible for someone on CC to answer your earlier question about it w/o having an idea of the uw equivalent. You can easily make this calculation yourself if your school uses a 4-point scale. A=4.0; A-=3.67; B+=3.33; etc.

12

I believe that my GPA is 3.67, or A-

13

^ A tad worrying, maybe, but it depends on a variety of factors such as how you were doing in the most advanced courses and what the trend is. Clearly your application is very strong overall and you’d be a shoe in for many colleges and uni’s. UChicago looks for students who will thrive in the College, which is something you have pointed out so clearly recognize. If you knocked your essays out of the ballpark that’s really going to help.

Good luck to you!

14

@JBStillFlying does it hurt my chances that I applied EA?

15

@allora55 no idea. It’s not clear at all that the EDs have different stats than EAs. The ED commitment might give someone an edge over a similarly outstanding candidate who applied EA, but it seems that many of their strongest candidates are also ED. It’s for those who are convinced they would attend if admitted. If not convinced you would attend then it’s best not to apply ED.

16

Per Dean Nondorf, the SAT Average score for class of 2022 was 1510. I’m not sure where Prep-Scholar gets their info, but at all official functions I was in this summer for my son’s class it was stated multiple times that it was 1510.

If you are asking “does EA hurt me,” I’d say no. Does it help you as much as ED2, absolutely not. I agree that you could go test optional, but your transcript figures out to an A-, which when combined with your SAT not being submitted might send a message that it isn’t very high either. And 1470 isn’t an awful score.

Here is kind of the public messaging behind test optional, that I’ve interpreted. The reason they went that route is they (UChicago) fear people who might get in are not applying because they (the prospective student) fear their score is too low. So to encourage those students to apply they are giving the option of submitting an application without the scores. I don’t think your GPA (especially if your A- GPA puts you high in your peer group at your high school) or your SAT score would put your application in the auto reject pile. That being said, your Letters of Recommendation and your essays have to be exceptionally clear on why you + UChicago are a great fit together.

Don’t pick teachers that would write “Joe/Jane is a great student and always does exceptional work.” You want a teacher that understands what UChicago is looking for (Love of Learning for learnings sake, wanting to improve the body of knowledge, has a tendancy to be a bit of an odd-ball when it comes to approaching problems, etc.) and give examples of how you’ve done that in the past. You may have to do some coaching. In other posts I relate how my son went about doing this.

Your essays will also have to convey the message “This person belongs here.” There are even samples of Essays on CC, one rather infamous example from a couple years ago really comes to mind.

17

I think that since all of my classes since 9th grade are honors, that would have to count for something right? And i’m in their 50% range for SAT, so hopefully I wont be automatically rejected. Also, I got an additional letter of rec from my advisor from 2 of the clubs that I lead, and he wrote an amazing letter last time I applied for a program, so hopefully that will add to the ‘fit’ portion of UChicago

18

^@BrianBoiler

19

@allora55 To #16, how many of your classmates can say the same (all honors since 9th grade)? If you take the most challenging course schedule at your school, and you finish in the top 10% of your class, your A- UW GPA isn’t a negative. Also, if your school has in the past sent students with your profile to UChicago would be a good indicator.
Either Naviance or your Guidance Counselor should be able to tell you. Realize that the people you are competing with, many have a 4.0 UW GPA from the most rigorous course schedule, and scored 1600 on the SAT. I’m not saying this to discourage you, but to let you know that the “rest of your application” will have to be better than those peoples’ “rest of the application.”

I do not know exactly how admissions works at UChicago. I can only share the assumptions that my son and I worked with when he applied and was accepted last year. Things change from year to year. This will be the first year with test optional and nobody really knows how that will affect things.

My assumptions. Your objectives (SAT scores, GPA, Strength of schedule) get you through what I call gate #1. I think your GPA and test scores pass that gate, I can only trust what you say for strength of schedule.

The second gate has fouled up many “perfect kids.” Those with 1600 SAT, 2 800 Subject matter tests, and the 4.0 UW GPA #1 in their class at their academically respected high school. That is a combination of your ECs, your Essays, your Letters of Recommendation, the “Optional” video, and any hooks you might have. Here is where you can excel if you put the right effort into getting these right. These parts of the application need to convince a couple people in admissions that you belong at the University of Chicago (or any highly selective university).

I advise that these 2nd gate items should tell a story or paint a picture of how you + UChicago make the world a better place. Don’t focus on the quantity of EC’s but strength in a few. Don’t write an essay about something that doesn’t work towards the goal of showing that you + UChicago make wonderful music together. I think the best tool you have is the one that your LOR writers can do for you. see this thread for more help here.

http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/21156923#Comment_21156923

20

@BrianBoiler I have already applied, and I have definitely taken the most rigorous schedule available at my school. I think that everyone is accepted differently, so your son was accepted on his own merits and others are accepted on others. I have made my essays as creative as I can and I have crafted them to the best of my ability. I have also spoken with and have a good relationship with my recommenders. I still HIGHLY doubt that I will get in, but I tried to explain in my additional comments that since I had moved from Australia a month before I started high school in the US, I was not used to the rigor of my school.