<p>I am aware that many of these chance threads are pointless, but I'd like to know where I stand in terms of admission to this university.</p>
<p>-16 year old Indian male from NJ
-Middle Class family</p>
<p>Stats:</p>
<p>9th Grade:
Geometry: A
CP Latin I: A
World History: A
Phys Ed./Health: A+
Financial Management: B+
Honors English: B
Honors Biology: B</p>
<p>10th grade:
Honors English II: A
CP Latin II: A
Honors Chemistry: B+/A
Honors U.S. History: B
Word Processing: A+
Web Design:A
Algebra II: B
Gym/Health: A</p>
<p>11th grade:
AP Latin Vergil: A
AP Chemistry: A
AP U.S. History: B
AP Statistics: B
Pre Calc: B
Honors English: B/B+
Gym/Health: A</p>
<p>GPA as of now: around 4.1 (weighted)</p>
<p>tentative 12th grade schedule:
AP Psychology
AP English Literature
AP Calculus AB
AP Biology
AP Latin Literature or AP Microecon.
Honors Physics
Peer Leadership</p>
<p>ACT w/ writing: 27 (plan to retake in oct., hoping for a 31)</p>
<p>ECS:
FBLA
Latin Club-Treasurer
Robotics (Ranked 2nd in the nation)
SMA (former medical club..disbanded in 10th grade)
Tutoring students in Chemistry and Geometry (30 hours)
Helping out a friend with an Eagle Scout project (7 hours)
Working at a hospital (110 hours)
Guitar: been playing for about 5 years, planning on teaching soon.
About to start working at a 4 star hotel in NY as a tech. assistant.</p>
<p>Awards:
Honor Roll since 9th grade
Member of the Junior Classics League since 9th grade
Member of the Latin Honors Society
Member of the National Honors Society
Placed 2nd on a National Latin Exam.</p>
<p>Thank you guys so much! Any input is greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>Yeah I know man, but I'm doing a hell of a lot better on the ACTs so I'd figure that I should use em instead...and is U Chicago really all about the essays?
Btw hows the fin. aid?</p>
<p>That is not true, and I'm not going into one of my full blown essays once again. It's a myth, and you shouldn't rely on your essay.</p>
<p>It's hard to tell with your grades. I think if u gave an UW gpa instead of a weighted GPA, i could get a better sense. consider taking the SAT and SAT IIs. Good luck</p>
<p>What Chicago is looking for is a picture of a student who can handle ideas well, likes academic challenge, and will be a good fit with Chicago's life of the mind philosophy. This needs to be reflected in GPA, courses attempted, recommendations, test scores, essays, and to a somewhat lessor extent than elsewhere, EC's. Chicago looks beyond simple GPA and to the type of curriculum offered and what was taken. One is best served by taking the most challenging curriculum offered at one's school. A 3.8 can be given less weight than a 3.5 from the same school if the 3.8 is earned in a less challenging sequence. A great essay can make up for problems in one or two areas, but it won't alone be sufficient. A poor essay can knock an otherwise stellar applicant down a few notches. A good essay (not necessarily great) may be enough for students outstanding in the other domains considered. This is why the applications are read in full twice before being sorted into the various decision categories for further action.</p>
<p>Everyone agrees that essays are important. </p>
<p>But you have to keep things in perspective. Test score and GPA are both more important than the essays. </p>
<p>I think people with SAT scores and GPAs that match UChicago's profile tend to take for granted the importance of these stats and exaggerate the significance of essays. When one's stats are good enough to be compettitive but not extraordinary, then it is easy to make the claim that essays are really, really important. </p>
<p>I would take a 2200 on the SAT with below average essays over a 2000 on the SAT with great essays.</p>
<p>This, of course, is my opinion. Other posters know more about UChicago admissions than me. But common sense and personal experience have led me to believe that the importance of essays is exaggerated in this forum. No matter what, you shouldn't feel good about your chances if your stats are below the 25% and you don't have special status, regardless if you spent 100 hours writing an awesome essay.</p>
<p>neverborn: congrats, and i hope to see you on campus.</p>
<p>i agree wholeheartedly to what blaze991 just said. Essays do have weight, and especially in chicago, will get someone in. But im saying that you have a better chance getting into chicago with stellar numbers and a mediocre essay than with a stellar essay and bad numbers (not to say it doesnt happen). all i msaying is that chicago is not all about the essays, nothing less and nothing more.</p>
<p>My S had a less than stellar GPA, but very good ACT score. I was told when speaking with an admissions official that it was his essays and recommendations that tipped the scale in his favor. A friend had the same test score, and near perfect GPA (3.9) and nearly the same curriculum was wait listed (Chicago was his first choice and would have attended). S read the friend's essays and commented that he thought they were disappointing. Perhaps his recs were not as strong as well, but they were good enough to get him accepted at a USNWR top 10 school. It is true as I mentioned above, essays aren't the whole picture, but grades and test scores won't do the trick on their own either, and a poor essay may be detrimental, just as a great one may help.</p>
<p>An EC would be something in which you have great interest - and have devoted many hours. Then again, an acquaintance of mine volunteered at her school's art fair for five hours and put that down on her list of volunteering. She didn't apply to Chicago, though . . .</p>