Chicago EA

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I've posted numerous times on here and received mixed responses. Hopefully this will be my last chances post for a while. Thanks to everyone who's offered advice before.</p>

<p>And to clear up any possible confusion. No, I do not inflate or exaggerate anything I put here. As you will see, there's a clear reason I'm asking about my chances.</p>

<p>-Weighted:4.41, UW:3.56(after first semester), 3.39 for EA purposes
-Rank: Top 15% of 780
-9 AP classes taken by end of Junior year; 17 by end of Senior year
-14 AP tests taken(USH-5, WHS-5, Music Theory-5)-will be Nat'l AP Scholar
^Self studied:Govt, Geog, EnvSci, EuroHist, Lit, Psych</p>

<p>SAT:1600
SATII:Bio-800, Wri-800, Lit-800, US-800, WHS-800, Chem-790
PSAT: 236-National Merit SemiFinalist//Probably Finalist</p>

<p>Status: Indian American Male</p>

<p>Top ECs:
Piano: Performed in Carnegie Hall(thru winning National Association Competition), solo performances at Rice University and with the Univ. of Houston's Symphony Orchestra: Invited for guild performances in California, Tampa and Columbia University</p>

<p>Research: Published twice in medical journals and received limited grant from Texas Heart for studying heart disease vs. ethno-genetic identity. Was admitted to RSI at MIT this summer. I'm also continuing my research this summer with a noted statistician in the hospital. Freshman year summer I was working alongside a group trying to assemble a new HIV drug combination.</p>

<p>Student Government: Elected as Vice President and work(as will be noted in all my recommendation forms) extensively with the administration, students and teachers in school reform processes.</p>

<p>Volunteering/Foundation: While in India my freshman year, I founded a program-Chennai Children Literacy-in which I taught students who weren't allowed into public schools basic language skills. Now, the amount of children we help is over 70-80, and I regularly send books over to India, every 2-3 months. This is also an activity my teachers and GC will note, as they help me with my book collecting. Additionally, I have been honored at my temple, and been mentioned in the city newspaper for this.</p>

<p>Website development: I worked with an international team(5 ppl including), and we won the Oracle sponsored Thinkquest design competition. This entails a free trip to San Fran, and scholarship money, empirically ranging in the $25k /person range.</p>

<p>So those are the stats. I'll be taking 7 AP classes senior year, and have vowed to commit all my time to ensuring those grades are perfect. I think that colleges will see my intellectual capacity and aptitude through my SATs and AP scores, but how can I explain my Junior year slump better than [I got into two top schools and thought I was going to attend, before my parents told me I was going to finish up school and didn't understand that I had stopped caring]. I know the GPA/SAT thing is weird. Would a strong senior year prove to them that I'm legit?</p>

<p>What do my chances at Chicago EA look like? Any information is really appreciated, but please don't comment on Penn/Caltech on this thread-PM me. Thanks, so much for reading this. Truly appreciate it.</p>

2

<p>If you leave your essays blank, they <em>might</em> reject you.</p>

3

<p>Any more responses? Evaluate with/without RSI if you could? Also, if you know of any other top school that would be probable, please note. Thanks.</p>

4

<p>Your scores alone will earn you admission.</p>

<p>HOWEVER, your GPA is QUITE LOW for a school that prides itself on the best academics in the country. You're going to have to atone for that somehow or show an outrageously hard schedule. </p>

<p>Barring terrible EC's or illiterate essays, you're in. </p>

<p>Make sure to show you're highly interested in Chitown--they really like that. Also try to look as intellectual as possible when doing the application, especially with the long essay question. A good place to show off what you know is in the short answer essay where they basically ask for what pretentious books you've read.</p>

5

<p>Freshman year:
Geography PAP, Algebra II PAP, English PAP, Latin I, Music Theory AP, Integrated Physics and Chemistry PAP, Biology PAP, Honors Debate</p>

<p>Summer:
World History AP</p>

<p>Sophomore year:
English PAP, Chemistry PAP, USHist AP, Latin II PAP, Debate Honors, Phys. ED, Pre Calculus PAP</p>

<p>Junior year:
English AP, MicroAP/MacroAP, Latin III AP, Calculus BC AP, Physics AP(Not good scores), Biology AP, Yearbook, Debate Honors</p>

<p>Yeah, it's pretty challenging. And, I was the "only" in my school for many things. Only one in class to have more than 10 APs taken. Only one to be in real contention for National AP Scholar with room to spare.</p>

6

<p>By the end of senior year though, the GPA will be up to par with where it should be. Extenuating circumstances along with apathy due to my thinking I was leaving for college caused that drop in GPA. I know what you mean, though.</p>

7

<p>I have no doubt that you'll get in. I know people with much worse stats than you that have gotten in.</p>

8

<p>For shame, zephyr. Scores alone will not get you in at any top school, especially quirky ones like Chicago.</p>

<p>Like everyone else, though, I think you're probably in. You have awesome stats, and only your GPA/rank are lacking (which are still good). Look at the RD results thread on the Chicago board- many people got in with very mediocre GPAs and test scores. Write good essays and it's almost a definite. Just look at your application:</p>

<p>-many APs
-perfect test scores
-played at Carnegie Hall
-published research
-committed to community service (innovative, too!)
-RSI</p>

<p>I'd say you're probably in!!!</p>

9

<p>I cna't say the same warblersrule we had several kids from my school get into u chig i think 4; however only one got in with a "low" gpa whiich was 93, and trust me the others had VERY fine essays and were probably very clever in their interviews as well; one of the rejected was a black student who was accepted into UPenn. It's a toss up, it always is</p>

10

<p>Toss up? But with the high EA rates, what do you think?</p>

11

<p>Yeah, when I applied this year, I was rejected by UChicago, but got into Penn and Caltech. I think though, it was because they only received my transcript in Mid March, along with my FRICKIN' Counselor recommendation. <em>Trying to remain calm</em> Yeah, I was going to graduate early, but my parents are making me stay back another year. So I committed to Penn, but I'm going to apply to some more schools to see.</p>

12

<p>zetsui's right about Chicago's admission being a toss up. However, Chicago does look beyond grades (although they are very important). Here's a link to the Acceptees</a> with average to bad stats thread on the Chicago board. </p>

<p>For an inside look at Chicago admissions, see [url=<a href="http://members.cox.net/scfun/sceduc-cl-newsweek.pdf%5Dthis%5B/url"&gt;http://members.cox.net/scfun/sceduc-cl-newsweek.pdf]this[/url&lt;/a&gt;].&lt;/p>

<p>Quote from the article-

[quote]
So what if Rebecca will get only C's in math-she, and
not some higher-scoring robot, is the provocateur we want sitting
in class.

[/quote]
</p>

13

<p>Thanks a bunch! Really appreciate it.</p>

14

<p>Man, so do you think my ECs might swing the vote my way? If I stay resolved to focusing fully on school next year. Should I send in my report card, along with my application, as the school does not ask for half way grades.</p>

15

<p>My friend got in Uchicago EA with a similar gpa to yours, lower SATs, and far fewer EC accomplishments. he thinks they let him in b/c he's in three death metal bands, which made him look interesting to eclectic chicago. He also took every langugae the school offers, that prolly helped. anyway I think you're in, but of course you can never tell.</p>

16

<p>Thanks, hopefully I'm in. I'm banking on my Standardized Scores(SATs//APs) and ECs to pull me in.</p>

17

<p>Final comments?</p>

18

<p>Did you interview at UChicago the first time?</p>

19

<p>Nope, I didnt' interview there. My friend from Houston though, had an interview scheduled here in town. However, even though I live about 1 mile from him, I wasn't given such an option. Weird?</p>

20

<p>If you can manage it, try to fly in for an overnight and an interview this fall. I think it would be worth it. Even if money is tight, one round-trip from Houston to Midway isn't that bad.</p>