Cornell or UChicago chances?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I am a high school senior with a 4.01 weighted GPA and a 31 on the ACT (I did take it again and expect I improved in some categories (though I can’t be sure, of course), and I know UChi superscores but Cornell does not). UChicago is my absolute dream school, and Cornell is a close second. I know both are far reaches, but I was wondering which I should use my early decision on.

I feel like I have a better chance of admission into Cornell because they have a higher acceptance rate and focus intently on essays (I feel confident in my essays). However, it is my dream to attend UChicago. Which school do you think I should use my early decision on? I know I have a much better chance of getting into Cornell if I apply ed (though it’s still a reach), and if I use my ed on Chicago I might lose my chance of getting into either. Any advice?

I also have lengthy volunteer hours at several organizations, participated in summer programs at Rice University, and have founded two nonprofits; one of which has sent me to Sierra Leone and Ethiopia to speak to health professionals there and tour hospitals. I participated in marching band for three years and academic decathlon/world scholars cup 10-12; and scored the first perfect score at an adec competition at my school.

Disclaimer: I also have my schools I am ready to attend and am applying to, which I know I will get into. This is just to decide how to best go about trying to get into a major reach university. Thanks!

2

It is impossible to opine without your final ACT score. I believe UChicago is test optional so unless you show improvement with your next ACT that may be the better bet. Of course both schools are reaches for any unhooked applicant.

3

Most schools look at the unweighted GPA and a 4.01 weighted seems low.

4

Is it unreasonably snarky or unkind to ask about who is benefiting from a non-profit started by a HS student which then uses its funds to ‘send’ that HS student to ‘talk to’* health professionals and tour hospitals in poor countries? I can see the benefit to the student, of course, but who else is benefiting?

Separately, “much better odds” can be a false friend. Making up numbers, if you have a 1% chance of getting into UChicago and a 2% chance of getting into Cornell, you are twice as likely to get into Cornell as UChicago!! but with those odds irl you are almost certainly not getting in to either. That stays true even though the headline numbers appear bigger (for example Cornell’s much higher ED rate includes recruited athletes, which Chicago doesn’t have, as well as the usual suspects). 3x a tiny number is still a very very small number.

IMO, the one variable that has any real (teeny tiny but real) chance of making an admission difference for you is if there is something in your application / essays that makes the AdComm reader say ‘ah, @tmpcad fits here’.

So, putting your ‘dream’** aside, if University of Arkansas suddenly bought UChicago, and left everything the same except renaming it UArk Chicago (ie, taking the famous name element out)- are you a good fit? Do your essays connect the dots between your schoolwork, your ECs, your self, *showing/i how living the life of the mind is innate to you? Ditto Cornell.

You say that you have good, affordable options lined up, so the reach is a wild card. Almost always in life, it is best to go with the true thing. You might as well use your wild card on what you truly want.

*also, does ‘talk to’ mean give a speech or presentation to them (and what sort of expertise do you have that they would benefit from listening to?); or does it mean ‘talk with’, as in share expertise (again, what expertise would you be sharing?): or does it mean ask questions of the professionals (to the benefit of whom?)

btw, be aware of how much your ‘dream’ has been shaped by advertising. In 2005 UChicago’s admit rate was 40%, now it’s 8% (by comparison, in 2005, Harvard’s admission rate was 9%). UChicago has always been in the top tier academically, but it made a conscious decision to market itself more actively. So, it started accepting the common app, and started a **huge, expensive, multi-year advertising/marketing campaign. And students bought the advertising. UChicago has not fundamentally changed in the last 15 years- just the idea that it is cool / special / exclusive has changed. I doubt that you think advertising/marketing has influenced UChicago becoming your dream school- but how many of us ever really think that we are influenced by advertising/marketing?

5

Need more info:

Which college within Cornell are you considering?
What major?
Whats your unweighted GPA?
Class rank? (even approximate is fine)
How many AP/IB courses did you take? How many offered at your school?
Are you URM or ORM?

Agree with the poster above about “founding” a nonprofit while in HS. This has grown into a cliche within the college admissions world.