Chances in Chemistry or Creative Writing

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
1

<p>Asian Female looking for some feedback. Not sure where my numbers/ECs/etc. put me...</p>

<p>Small, very competitive high school. Typically places students at top colleges.</p>

<p>GPA (UW) - 3.90/4.0 unweighted
GPA (W) - 4.4/4.0 weighted.</p>

<p>Class Rank - Top 15%. (One B and you're out of the top 10%)</p>

<p>SAT
Critical Reading - 770
Math - 710
Writing - 770 (12/12 on the essay)</p>

<p>SAT II
Chemistry - 750
Math I - 670</p>

<p>ACT - 31</p>

<p>Extracurricular Activities
Newspaper - News editor (11th), Co-Managing editor (12th)
Literary Magazine - Editor (12th), Staff and Contributor (9th, 10th, 11th)
Tae Kwon Do (high blue belt)
National Honor Society (9th, 10th, 11th, 12th) (does this even matter?)
State Science Fair (12th) (Got 4th place in 8th grade and Won States in 5th grade - should I even mention those? They were great wins but irrelevant to high school. But the were great wins! Sad...)
Latin Forum (9th, 10th, 11th)
Journalism Conference (11th and 12th)</p>

<p>Community Service - 100 hours
- Library - Conducted children's summer reading program
- Thrift Store - Organized merchandise, cashier
- Church - Ran booths at carnivals for church fund raisers</p>

<p>Talents and Awards
- National Merit Scholarship Qualifier (Anticipated Finalist based on last year's scores)
- Journalism awards (several 1st place awards for team and individual layout and writing)
- National Latin Exam - Cum Laude
- Latin awards - Several 1st and 2nd place awards at Latin Forums
- Writing - Won countywide Short Story competition
- Art - Won 1st place nationally in DAR stamp design contest</p>

<p>Other
- Duke TIP Program (I figure a lot of people have this)
- Attended the Duke Young Writers Camp</p>

<p>AP Coursework
- US History (3 on AP exam)
- Chemistry and Lab (4 on AP exam)
- English Composition (5 on AP exam)
- Psychology (12th)
- English Literature (12th)
(Our school doesn't offer a lot of AP courses.)</p>

<p>Essay - Writing in my strength. It's shaping up nicely.</p>

<p>References - I expect very strong references from my chemistry and journalism teachers.</p>

<p>ECs - I couldn't care less about spreading myself across every activity in the school, but I have great depth in Journalism and Lit Mag that I can put on the application.</p>

<p>So here's my question...</p>

<p>My strength is writing. Would I have a better change getting into UC pursuing writing?</p>

2

<p>You have a good shot.</p>

<p>Since U of C students often go undeclared for their first two years due to the Core, and the College functions like a liberal arts school, there is no reason to believe that you have any better chance applying as a certain major.</p>

<p>However, it’s good that your strength is writing, since UChicago values that highly. Your essays will be the dealmaker for your application.</p>

3

<p>Thanks JB! I appreciate the feedback.</p>

<p>Anybody else want to throw me a chance?</p>

<p>(Regarding ranking, our school is really small - 110-115 kids - so 1 B and you’re out of the top 10%)</p>

4

<p>You’re interested in writing and chemistry? That sounds pretty Chicago to me.</p>

5

<p>There’s something else I forgot to mention that I probably should have.</p>

<p>You may or may not be aware of this, but at UChicago, there is a core curriculum. Much of this core is based on reading and writing. These core courses will occupy most of your first two years in the college, so you will get plenty of opportunity to showcase your writing, even if you only major in chemistry. You also don’t really have to pick up a major until after you’re done with the core, so you have some time to decide what you want to do.</p>

<p>Some students like this, and others don’t. If you have a wide array of interests, it will be great for you, as you will be able to explore many different subject areas before committing to just chemistry or just writing.</p>

6

<p>OMG this is soo me when I applied. I wanted to be a CHem major and a creative writing minor! Go for it your stats are better than mine and I got in!</p>

7

<p>Ok, I’m convinced! I’m going to apply to University of Chicago.</p>

<p>Wish me luck!</p>

8

<p>One thing to note: There is no writing major at Chicago, and compared to some other colleges the creative writing courses are relatively few and not high-level. “Writing” is terribly important at Chicago, and many alumni are writers, but “creative writing courses” are not a bit deal there. If you really want the ability to have a sophisticated writing major (with or without the Chemistry), there are lots of other places with more commitment to teaching creative writing.</p>

9

<p>Good luck with your application! Yay for writing! \o/</p>

<p>That being said, I’m not a big fan of creative writing classes in general, as I think they have the potential to be detrimental to your writing. (In fact, I think taking theatre/acting classes may be of more benefit for writers, but that’s a discussion for another time.)</p>

<p>Also, ditto what JHS said.</p>

10

<p>You may be interested in seeing this: [Creative</a> Writing at The University of Chicago](<a href=“http://creativewriting.uchicago.edu/]Creative”>http://creativewriting.uchicago.edu/)</p>