<p>Okay, so I'm totally prepared for any bashing from the community, but I've sort of realized that I'll probably get deferred by Tufts ED and was wondering if I'd have more luck with Chicago. </p>
<p>Stats:
ACT- 29
GPA- 3.8 (4.27 weighted)
AP Biology- 5
AP Macroecon- 4
AP US Gov- 4
SAT II: Biology- 700</p>
<p>Extras
- Editor of school newspaper
- President of Middle Eastern Political Awareness club
- 4 years marching, concert, jazz band (lead trumpet)
- Pestigious internship at Cleveland Clinic </p>
<p>I'm not going to list my entire resume, because I understand stats are the only thing people really care about. </p>
<p>Well, no one can say anything definitely, but it seems that you are pretty far from being a competitive applicant at Chicago, which is a much more difficult school to get into than Tufts. (Chicago’s EA acceptance rate is lower than Harvard’s EA acceptance rate.)</p>
<p>Your stats are pretty close to making you a competitive applicant at Tufts. I would stick an ED app there over EA Chicago any day if I were in your shoes.</p>
<p>Stats are not the only things people care about. There will be thousands of people with the same numbers as you. There will even be hundreds of 2400/36’s, 4.00s, etc. The non-numbers are the most important part!</p>
<p>That being said, your stats are low for Chicago. And not trying to put Tufts down or anything, but Chicago is going to be much much more difficult to get into, expecially next year. Your numbers don’t quite match up with Chicago’s number ranges. If you can improve these, you can have a better shot though!</p>
<p>Consider the SATs. Your ACT score is in the 93th percentile, but your chances would improve if you increase it to a 30+. what is your rank, ethnicity? Unfortunately, the latter has a pretty big impact on admission decisions.</p>
<p>Just to clarify, there will not be hundreds of 2400s and 36s applying to Tufts. My guess is that u have a pretty good chance for Tufts, but UChicago is more selective in their admissions decisions. Take another SAT Subject Test early in your senior year, and that should help you considerably for admission into both schools.</p>
<p>Leo-When I said “Stats are not the only things people care about. There will be thousands of people with the same numbers as you. There will even be hundreds of 2400/36’s, 4.00s, etc. The non-numbers are the most important part!”</p>
<p>I meant it in a general sense for college admissions in general that the numbers aren’t the part of the application that makes you different from everyone else. Sorry for the confusion</p>
<p>I’m no expert on the admissions world, the following is all based on personal observations and first hand experience as a recent high school grad.*</p>
<p>Re-take the ACT or/and try taking the SAT, that 29 won’t necessarily kill you but it def will not look impressive. Also, try to take at least another SAT-ii, preferably in a language, math or social science (to show that you’re well rounded academically, you already have the science down). Are those the only AP’s that have been available to you? I’ve seen people get into Chicago, HYP, etc. without 10+ AP’s, but Chicago likes to see that students have challenged themselves, so depending on when you took those AP’s and the ones available to you, the low quantity might hurt you too.*</p>
<p>Your stats may not shout top candidate, but that should not discourage you from applying if Chicago is truly one of your top choices. We at CC can only give you general advice, but ultimately, it’s up to a committee that will consider other factors like essays, teacher recs, the opportunities in your school, etc. There’s no way to tell whether you will come off as a compelling applicant or not based on what you’ve posted. At first glance, you’re no shoo-in, but that can change. Best of luck to you. * *</p>
–University of Chicago Office of College Admissions re First-Year Applicants</p>
<p>
– “UChicago” admissions rep in CC thread stickied at the top of the page. In another answer I couldn’t find, she says that SAT II scores submitted will be placed in students’ files, but are not taken into account in any important way. The SAT I writing score is actually kept out of the file – none of the admissions officers know what you got.</p>
<p>Another thing re: SAT IIs (anecdotal story of exactly one applicant): admin rep said SAT IIs would be looked at, but really not to bother sending any results under a 700…</p>