Chances of getting into UChicago after deferral? (unusual circumstances)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I am a high school senior at a fairly tough, well-known private all-girls school. My ninth grade weighted GPA was 3.28, my tenth grade weighted GPA was 3.26, and my eleventh grade GPA was 3.14. I've taken the equivalent of eight honors/AP courses, about two per year.</p>

<p>SAT -<br>
Reading: 800 Math: 680 Writing: 800 (2280/1480)</p>

<p>SAT II -
Biology M: 730</p>

<p>AP -
English Lang: 5
US History: 5
European History: 4
Psychology: (currently taking - expecting a 5)
Biology: (currently taking - expecting a 4 or 5)</p>

<p>My grades unfortunately do not reflect my ability. This is because I am a transgendered student, identifying as male at an all-girls school. This augmented my then untreated depression and anxiety. However -</p>

<p>I started seeing a therapist to deal with issues of gender and depression during the summer of last year. Since then, my grades have skyrocketed, allowing me to showcase my true potential. My twelfth grade GPA at the moment is 4.13. I have an A or A+ in every class save for AP Biology (a notoriously hard course at my school). This is my current course load:</p>

<p>AP Biology
Molecular and Microbiology
Forensics
AP Psychology
Calculus
English 12</p>

<p>My struggles with gender led me to become very involved with LGBTQ+ education. In one semester, I single-handedly turned the Gay-Straight Alliance from a five member obscurity to an enthusiastically active 45+ member force of nature. I've taught freshmen health classes about the difference between gender and sexuality, and helped organize my school's first ever diversity conference. The guidance counselor at my school has asked me to consider teaching LGBTQ+ topics to the faculty and staff, after the success I had with the freshmen.</p>

<p>EC's:
GSA (Vice President 11th grade, President 12th grade)
Asia Club (9-12)
Literary Society (10-12)
Creative Writing (writing blog with 5000+ readers)
Black Belt (Tang Soo Do)
Art (Drawing and Painting 9-10, Animation 11, Graphic Design 11, Figure and Portrait Drawing 12)
100+ hours of volunteer work at local hospital</p>

<p>Recs: Excellent, reflect the impact I've had on my school and my intelligence.
Essays: Excellent - pretty inventive, well written.</p>

<p>I'm a race minority, and an extreme gender minority. I have an amazing talent for writing - a UChicago alum who has read some of my work wrote a extra rec for me stating that he hadn't seen anything that impressive in "50 years of his work with young people." I hope to major in "History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Science and Medicine" and Gender Studies at UChicago.</p>

<p>I've been keeping my grades up, but I know my GPA is my weakness. I plan to send my counselor an email demonstrating my continued interest. I love UChicago so much and I'm anxious - what are my chances this second time around?</p>

<p>(Thanks for your time if you even read this!)</p>

2

<p>U Chicago: Reach (at least your essays make it reachable)</p>

<p>What are your matches/safeties?</p>

3

<p>I would not admit you due to the rigor of UC and the weakness of not just your grades, but your senior year schedule. Unless they are building up their English/ Writing programs and are giving a quarter to lopsided candidates like you, it would be a no go. What are your other schools? Hopefully you have some schools that are matches at your weakest academic points.</p>

4

<p>My other schools are Loyola University Chicago, University of Maryland, Georgetown University, Oberlin College, Sarah Lawrence College, and Northeastern University! All are safeties except for Georgetown and LUC, and I’ve just been accepted to LUC with a 56k merit scholarship.</p>

<p>I guess I can only hope that they are building up their writing programs - I sent in a creative writing supplement after my deferral.</p>

<p>Also - I hope this isn’t too much information: my grades on my transcript were mostly high B’s, but a low Chinese grade every year brought down my GPA. I dropped Chinese in my senior year to take two more sciences, to compliment AP Bio. Chinese is the hardest language course my school offers and it was taught like an honors course - does that increase the rigor of my high school work in the eyes of admissions officers?</p>

5

<p>Do you need money to go? Are you eligible for enough financial aid to make it a go from those schools that will give financial aid? That is a very nice package from LUC, and will be hard to match. Congratulations. GT does not give merit money, and getting any from UC is not likely after having been deferred, so without need, it’s going to be tough to get money from those schools.</p>

6

<p>I have some financial need, but not enough to make any of those schools an impossibility without aid. However, the money from LUC is very attractive and ideally I’d like to be in the Chicago area; my parents’ interest in Georgetown ever so slightly surpasses my own. The only situation where I’d pass up LUC at this point is most probably an acceptance to UChicago.</p>

7

<p>…I’m confused. Do you identify as a boy? If so, why are you at an all girls school?</p>

8

<p>I don’t think your “unusual circumstances” are going to be well received at Chicago. Your grades are not acceptable. Plus, you’re Asian? Very liberal LAC’s are your best hope.</p>

9

<p>you need a school that recognizes your excellent verbal and writing skills. Oberlin might be a good match if you don’t mind being in a rural area. We are talking corn fields! But great school at which you might feel comfortable. Wesleyan might have been a good fit. what did you think about Sarah Lawrence, if you visited. Congratulations on the award from Loyola–that is fantastic. Were you up front about your gender on their application? i hope you visit there before you accept n offer and make sure they make you feel comfortable. Best of luck and congrats again. You are obviously a talented student!</p>

10

<p>^^^ although people have a physical gender, some emotionally/spiritually identify with the other.</p>

<p>Although the OP’s grades seem to reduce chances, I wouldn’t give up all hope. If the bad first three hs years were a factor that would break the application, wouldn’t the OP be denied not deferred? The applications committee may want to see strong 1st semester grades, or consider some other aspect an anonymous internet forum can’t name.
While you are running a race with a broken foot, stranger things have happened.</p>

11

<p>@agreatperhaps</p>

<p>My school is a college prep/private school that enrolls girls at a very early age (after IQ testing, etc) and takes them all the way through elementary, middle, and high school. My parents sent me to this school before I was able to express that I am psychologically male. Gender would not have been as much of an issue if I was at a co-ed school, but seeing how I attended this school for many years there was no option to switch out simply because I don’t identify with my biological sex.</p>

<p>@rhg3rd</p>

<p>A UChicago admissions officer visited my school early in the fall, and I had a private conversation with her about applying as a transgendered student. She was the only admissions officer that said that my circumstances would be totally fine with the college - even said that it was a cool thing to be, and that applying was definitely worth a shot. My college counselor at school only let me apply to this school because I loved it so much, and because she believed that the hardship I faced would not be ignored by UChicago. She said that it would definitely make them pause, since I’m “an interesting case” and would do well at the college if accepted.</p>

<p>@vvsitalia</p>

<p>I applied to all of my schools with my legal gender (female) and kept my gender identity to the “unusual circumstances” part of my resume. I like Oberlin and Sarah Lawrence a lot, but UChicago is still very much my dream school. Also, thank you! </p>

<p>@hminot</p>

<p>This semester I’ve got all A’s except for one B, and the B is in the hardest course I take. I had my senior year Calculus teacher write an extra rec for me after my deferral - senior year teachers at my school only write recs if you’ve performed better than with flying colors in the short time that they’ve known you. I’ve overcome a considerable amount of adversity, held important leadership roles (and possibly changed my esteemed private school and many of the students there forever), tested very well, have great recs, and demonstrated my intense interest - the first couple of years are the only weaknesses of my app. I hope they’re not enough to shut the door for me forever.</p>

12

<p>I think people are giving you a bit too hard of judgement on your chances. Your grades weren’t great first couple years but they weren’t terrible either, and with your circumstances I think you still did remarkably well. There’s never any guarantees with the University of Chicago, but I think that even after a deferral you definitely have a shot. :)</p>

13

<p>UC is a tough school. They put a lot of focus on the courses taken. One problem I see here is that the course load is not a tough one. And the grades were not good in the past.</p>

14

<p>@mdprepkid- Okay… I just don’t see how you feel comfortable in a school meant for another gender. Anyways, U of Chicago is really tough- even if you have a valid excuse for your low GPA and have brought it up senior year, I wouldn’t place my bets of you getting in.</p>

15

<p>UMD: Match
Georgetown: Reach
Oberlin: High match
Sarah Lawrence: High match (a high SAT will not help you there)
NEU: Match</p>

16

<p>@agreatperhaps - I don’t. It’s been pretty isolating. The teachers here are top notch though, and in the long run I guess that’s made the discomfort worth it.</p>

<p>@cptofthehouse - Everything you’ve said makes a lot of sense, and I really appreciate your insight. Did they only defer me to soften an inevitable rejection?</p>

<p>In 9th grade I took the maximum number of honors courses allowed, in 10th grade I took one honors class, in 11th grade I took a class that was AP US and AP Euro History combined (the hardest course offered by the school - mixing it with other honors was discouraged) along with a sixth major online course offered by my school (taking more than five majors requires dean permission, as does taking an online course), and in 12th grade I’m taking AP Bio and AP Psych. My school does not offer AP/Honors English, but you have the option to self study and take the English APs, which I did for Language and Composition. I took Chinese for five years, starting in middle school and ending after 11th grade, because I wanted to challenge myself. However, I struggled more than I anticipated and dropped it after fulfilling the credit requirement in favor of taking more sciences. In the context of my school, my course load wouldn’t be considered the absolute toughest possible, but it would be on the upper half of the difficulty spectrum.</p>

<p>If there was anything at all I could do to get accepted at this point, do you know what it might be? Other than curing cancer or something. If there isn’t anything, any clue as to why they didn’t just do it like a band-aid and make it painful but quick?</p>

17

<p>not sure, but I want to go to Chicago as well
I think were it 10 years ago and Chicago wasn’t on the radar of so many people, they would’ve taken a risk with you
but they might be too tempted by the swamp of numerically perfect applicants of late.</p>

18

<p>^Exactly, it is not like it was even five years ago. Further, the U. of C. does not use the SAT writing score. So OP is a 1480 out of 1600 with a major GPA problem. Of any university I’ve attended Chicago is the most conservative of the lot. The interviewer likely was interested in getting OP to apply. OP would have much better chances at “hipster” LAC’s like Vassar, Reed and Wesleyan. Apply late to one late if they’ll consider a late application?</p>

19

<p>What is an “an extreme gender minority?”</p>

<p>Looks as if your gpa is low for UC. Keep your hopes up, but you should ensure that you have some safeties. Best of luck?</p>

20

<p>^Someone who does not fit into the gender binary. Essentially a person who is not cisgendered (biologically a certain sex and identifies as that sex).</p>