I am a high school senior, and am a first generation college student. I have an ACT of 26, and a GPA of 3.7. I’m very involved in school, and am applying independent on FAFSA.
Sounds like it might be tough… your essays and extracurriculars will be important!
I’d say you need at least a 31 ACT to be competitive at U Chicago unless you have an amazing EC. Your GPA isn’t as revealing as your class rank. If your class rank is at least 10%, and you get your ACT to 32, then you roughly reach the academic bar. But keep in mind that your ECs, essays, and other components will be extremely important when competing in the EA pool.
First gen. will help. EA was enormously competitive last year and, anecdotally at least, it seemed that those kids had something notable about their application which distinguished them from the “typical” applicant (who is better served applying ED/EDII). While the ACT of 26 is very low, UChicago has admitted that test score in the past. Nowhere near an assurance, of course, but if OP presents as clearly able to handle the tough curriculum and is an unusual applicant in one or more respects, that might help with an EA admission. Good luck and let us know what happens!