Chances at UChicago for Bio/English

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
1

I plan on double majoring in English and Bio and being pre-med. I am super passionate about writing and being able to combine two distinctly different though processes into one (hence the double major), but am aware of the core at Uchicago, so perhaps only bio since i will be exposed to english classes anyways. I am also a white male in western PA and have a single parent, low income.

Test Scores:
-ACT: 34C
-PSAT: 1470, my index was 220, hopefully am NMS semi-finalist

Course Load:
-Freshman Year: Honors Civics, H Algebra 2, H English, H Bio (no AP classes are offered at my school until 11th grade), Spanish 2, H Psychology, H Child Psychology
-Sophomore: H World Cultures, H English, H Precalc, H Chem, H Mythology, Media, Spanish 3, Excel/Computer Science
-Junior: AP Chem, AP Calc AB, AP Language & Comp, H Spanish 4, H American Cultures, H Human Anatomy & Physiology (college level course w/out AP test), plus Online Finance
-Plans for Senior Year: AP Bio, Honors Physics, AP Lit, AP Calc BC, AP Psych, AP Economics
-Class rank: 1 of 205
-GPA 4.5 W, 4.0 UW

Extracurriculars Thus Far:
-Varsity Track (since 7th grade)
-Varsity Cross Country (2 years)
-NHS Treasurer
-Co-founder of Interact Club (district wide volunteer organization) (3 years)
-Chair of Charity Run (2 years)- raised 30,000 last year for the Free Care Fund of Children’s Hospital, I am in charge of social media, contacting sponsors, etc, next year I will be head leader (i have also volunteering for this event since freshman year, became chair junior year)
-UPCI Summer Research Internship (this coming summer)- I will be researching Tumor Immunology and hope to get published/submit to Siemens!
-Science Olympiad & PRSEF Science Fair (since 9th grade)
-Head Barista at local coffee shop (I love this, I can make latte art!)
-Writing: trying to get published, entering a few competitions/submissions soon, but it’s definitely something I am passionate about
-Second Job as a tutor for Chem, Algebra, and Spanish
-Also have raised over 2,000 dollars for a charity event known as Mini-THON (overall, the event has raised over 250,000 dollars in the last three years and I have been a part in the event/setting up/raising money since it began)
-Teen Institute (kind of like mentoring younger kids and helping them through family issues, I love this!)

Of course, I do realize that at this level, admissions are quite unpredictable and cannot truly be determined, but I just wanted to know if it is worth applying or what more you think I could do to set myself apart and/or raise my chances. I plan on writing essays that are more about who I am as a person rather than what I have done for ECs (lmk if you think this is a good idea). Thanks!!

2

Very strong. Rigorous curriculum, great grades and good scores. Nothing to improve there. The extracurriculars are fine. I personally like the fact that apart from all that checking-the-boxes stuff you also have the barista job. You could write about the latte art! If you can, apply ED. And check your essays, then re-check them, then have someone else check them. You can make little errors (see your own post) and they are easy to correct.

3

@MindLife Thank you so much! I have been outlining an essay about coffee/latte art so I am happy that you said that. I will definitely be starting all of my essays super early and hope to finish a lot of them over the summer to have ample time for proofreading. Thanks again I really appreciate your input!

4

Its solid and would most likely earn an admit ED with good essays, however I’ve seen stronger applicants denied RD>

5

@CU123 thank you! I will consider ED

6

@vegucated26 - ED will definitely give you an advantage (at least that’s how it went this year, the first year of the new admission plans). They are also pretty good about giving need-based financial aid. As a low-income candidate, you might qualify for federal aid; however, UChicago has also committed to doling out a good amount of institutional dollars to meet need as part of their “no-barriers” program.

Good luck to you!

7

Vegucated: I think you would be a very strong candidate. Best of luck to you.

8

My local Interact leader with a slight better ACT got admitted to UofC but did not attend, she choose Harvey Mudd for Engineering. I think you have a good chance for UofC with a good Essay. I wish you well and hoping you continuously servicing Rotary related activities.

One thing I have to warn you, you must work hard to get over those pre-med requirements in the first year of your college, no matter where you go.

9

@JBStillFlying Thank you! I will be visiting near the end of summer, so that way I can decide for sure about ED. Yes, financial aid is very important. I will make sure I do use the npc a few times to ensure that I could afford it.

@kaukauna Thank you! You too!

@artloversplus Thank you! I love Interact-it is a lot of fun. Yes, I know I will have to work extremely hard as a premed–thanks for the advice!

10

“I will make sure I do use the npc a few times to ensure that I could afford it.”

  • Be sure to use accurate financial information (preferably current tax returns), and it's best do run this before talking to FA. We found that our NPC estimate was a bit stingy compared to what they ballparked for me when I spoke to them and, ultimately, what D3 actually got. Colleges have to make the NPC available in order to disburse federal funds (the feature is required by the DOE, I believe); however, that doesn't mean it's accurate. And from what I've heard, the bias is usually on the high side.
11

@JBStillFlying I will definitely keep those things in mind. I will be sure to prepare before I talk to FA so that I can compare and talk with my mother. This is really useful advice! Thank you!