^ Sounds like you’ve done some deep thinking which is good. UPenn and Columbia do not give merit based aid. So unless you qualify for need based aid then it was unrealistic that you would get anything from UPenn or Columbia to lure you away from UChicago. But you could only find that out if you waited to compare packages. My understanding is that UChicago has really worked hard to give good need based financial aid and merit based aid.
So I’m actually wondering if it may work the other way, UChicago giving merit to entice students away from other schools.
Please don’t take on a lot of debt. That can be soul crushing. I know people in their 40’s still paying off student loans. Not worth it. Especially if graduate school is in the horizon.
Yeah, your dad was not giving you sound advise there. Schools of this caliber don’t “negotiate” with a family when their son or daughter gets into multiple prestigious universities trying to give the family a bargain basement price after the results are in. I just don’t see that ever happening. What I did see happen was one student who was accepted to multiple full rides at prestigious universities. Then being courted to attend once the offers were on the table.
@woodrowwilson1 We may be strangers, but we’re obviously in this same crazy process together. We’ve probably even applied to some of the same schools (I saw your post in the Princeton thread). As long as you’re 2050+ SAT and 31+ ACT stats won’t break you if your application is really strong in one particular area (sport, research, music, volunteering, unique talent, awesome writing etc.) or if you’ve proven in your essays and recommendations that you’re really well-rounded. Presentation matter a lot (and I dare say more than stats) when it comes down to it. Good luck to you, and I hope we both get in!
Did any international who got a likely get a physical copy of the letter? I just got the email but a few people on this thread reported that they’re sending out physical copies too. When should internationals expect to get theirs?
@woodrowwilson1
It’s given out to select candidates a few weeks before admissions, and basically it says, "We fully plan to accept you so you can breathe a sigh of relief, but don’t screw up between now and when you get your official acceptance because this one isn’t quite official.”
^Obviously less colloquial, but still. Basically it’s an early acceptance as long as you don’t screw up. People get in all the time without them though, so don’t worry about it if you didn’t!
@woodrowwilson1@Homsar It’s the biggest hinthintnudgenudge* Ivies can give you since they aren’t allowed to send acceptances before the official decision release deadline. The way my guidance counselor put it, they’re for the URMs, athletes, or best of the best candidates that the college wants above all the rest. They want to put their school in your mind before you can receive other offers.
The reasons they would reject an applicant after sending a LL are the same reasons they would rescind an acceptance. Don’t get arrested, don’t fail out of any classes, and you’re in for sure
Are u sure likely = acceptance? this may be just a rumor, but i heard of WashU sending likelies but waitlisting people after (I applied to WashU and never got a likely from them)
Still, can’t believe it!
Btw I got my letter in the mail!!! Just a letter, nothing else. Quite the surprise tbh
It would be really silly for a school to issue a likely only to waitlist them.
It is an acceptance with a caveat not to have messed up on your grades. In all likelihood the decisions were made without the first semester grades. So first semester grades can have an impact.
@asiankid88 nope i got email and mail! i meant i only got a letter in the mail with nothing else included (brochure)
i think i’m fine for first semester grades, although i did get a B+ in AP Calc (my calculus class is so hard, C is the average grade)
for kids with likely letters, want to PM me? i only vaguely know a couple of kids at columbia right now from science fairs/summer camps and it would be nice to know some more people on class visit days.
@GrapePocky A likely letter is the school’s bona fide word. The LL is the college’s commitment to the student. Only tremendous student foul ups (grades drop off a cliff, criminal activity, fraudulent application materials, etc.) would cause a reversal. But then again, these would cause a college to rescind a regular admissions offer, too.
They have to be because recruited athletes rely on this promise and turn down other schools because of this.
also no interview
