Could you chance my son, please??

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
1

<p>I have asked on a few threads about schools my son is interested in. He is very interested in U of Chicago, along with Wesleyan (these are the toughest schools he is interested in, along with Bates, Colby, Conn College and Holy Cross) and after reading the application questions, he just loves this school. Here is his history:
My son is going to be a senior,will do senior year in a medical intro program, and take AP Bio, AP Calculus and AP English Lit and Language in his home school. His averages were 94 in 9th grade, 92 in 10th grade, and 89 in 11th grade, with an 81 in Honors Pre-Calc. (None of those grades were weighted, even though he has been in advanced or honor's subjects every year - we don't weight the advanced classes.) He has gone above and beyond what the school offers, skipping a year of history, taking the AP US History in 10th (he got a 5 on the test.)</p>

<p>His SATs were not great: 640 Language, 650 Math, 550 Writing, PSATs were mcuh better, I think the prep class got him thinking strategy instead of just taking the test (he is a good test taker.) SAT II in US History 770, Math I 690, Math II 610.</p>

<p>He took the ACT totally cold, got a 32 composite, English 30, Math 31, Science 34, Reading 33, Combined English/Writing 28. He may retake in September.</p>

<p>He wants to be a Chem major, possibly pre-med with another major in Govt/Political Science. He is very outgoing, loves history, loves to talk to adults and other bright people.</p>

<p>Extra-curriculars:
-10th to 12th Skiing, will be Captain 12
-9th to 12th Soccer, will be Captain 12, may want to play in college
-9th to 12th baseball
-Academic Quiz Bowl, 10th, 11th, and will do it next year: qualified for Nationals 10th and 11th from his very small school, against prep schools and some powerhouse schools with 4000 plus students
-Effective Schools 11th, 12th
-School Play 11th, will be in it 12th grade as well
-Band 9th, 10th, 11th, will do it 12th
-National Honor Society
-Spanish National Honor Society
-AV Media Club 9, 10, 11
-Area Ski Team 9, 10,12 (this is every Sat and Sunday from Nov to April, 8AM to 4PM)
-Volunteer 130 hours area ski team, 11th grade
-Volunteer math tutor 30 hours
- President Rotary Club, for 12th Grade
- Odyssey of the Mind, 9th, 10th
I know there are some more activities, but I cannot remember them right now.
Financial aid is definitely part of the decision but we could meet the family expected contribution as defined by the online calculators.
Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks so much,
Adigal</p>

2

<p>Well, in the past couple of days, I've noticed that the admissions processes are quite random and unpredictable.<br>
The UChicago seems to focus a lot on the character and passion of the student. I think if your son is really passionate about the UoC then he has a good chance of getting in. But if he just lists a bunch of random ecs along with his good stats then he has a smaller chance of getting in because the UoC knows that they will get a lot of applicants who are going to turn down their acceptance to UoC for another school. So they look for passion.
How do you know so much about your son? My mom can't list any of my clubs... :(
So once again, passion!</p>

3

<p>U Chicago is a lot different from the other schools on his list, so he had better visit to make sure it's what he wants. It's only for those who want an intense academic experience. Several of those others will feel lightweight by comparison.</p>

4

<ol>
<li>Don't send the SAT. The ACT score looks much better.</li>
<li>In order to do well on the Chicago application and while at the University, he will need to be a very good writer. His scores reflect some struggle with writing, so that's something that he should work on.</li>
<li>The club list looks very random. He's in a ton of clubs, many of which could be quite time consuming. The thing is, with so many student organizations there's no way to tell what his true interests are or whether he's made true commitments to any of these groups (and if so, which).</li>
<li>Number grading never translates all that well into a GPA, so it's hard for me to judge. His grades strike me on first glace as somewhat low, especially given the fact that they've gone down every year. They may look much better in context with grades in individual classes and the school report, but we can't judge that on here.</li>
<li>His recs and essays will be very important.</li>
</ol>

<p>In all, encourage him to discover what he's truly interested in and find a way to communicate that interest. Encourage him to become a great writer in essay, creative, and academic styles. He'll need to get great grades this year. Think about whether it would be best for him to apply regular action instead of early, which would give him a chance to get great grades this year on his application. We're missing too much information to be able to judge, but there are some things that he can and should control, namely his essays (all three) and the way he portrays himself on the application.</p>

5

<p>I know so much about my son because I am a teacher, and I pay attention to this stuff. Do you want me to memorize your extracurriculars, too? I do it for many of my 12th grade students!</p>

6

<p>He is a good writer, but he needs time to write. It seems as though when he is under the gun in a tightly timed situation, he has a hard time cutting down what he wants to say, as he likes to say a lot. :) He did get a 5 on the US History AP Test, though, and his English Regents essays were high, so I think it is the timed situation on these tests.</p>

<p>His grades have gone down. That is one of the reasons he is looking at Chicago and Wesleyan. He has been underchallenged for most of his schooling - we have lived in rural areas with no gifted classes, and we have had to be creative in ways to challenge him. I think he just had it with being bored in school. I tell him it is no excuse, but I can understand being bored for 9 or 10 years, and just having had it. Some of the other schools he has visited seem not as challenging, with kids who are not really as serious at learning (such as some unnamed safeties I did not mention here.) Hence, the U of Chicage, which would definitely challenge him and have smart, hard-working students with him.</p>

<p>His ECs - he is passionate about the Academic Quiz Bowl, his sports and anything history. He is obsessed with WWII, loves to study it and learn about it since he was a little boy. He will need to convey that.</p>

<p>Thanks so much for the time and interest you showed!</p>

7

<p>
[quote]
His ECs - he is passionate about the Academic Quiz Bowl, his sports and anything history. He is obsessed with WWII, loves to study it and learn about it since he was a little boy. He will need to convey that.

[/quote]
Definitely. Chicago wants to see a person, student, and scholar in the applications. If they don't see that, the chance of getting in goes way, way down.</p>

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<p>Thanks - he liked the table question, because he could convey his love of all things history.</p>

9

<p>I have to say, I think the admissions officers get a much broader sense of who a person is when they read applications than we do when we see tidbits. If your son can let himself shine through on his applications, then I think he'll be a strong candidate for all the schools he listed.</p>

<p>I applaud you for being interested and involved in your son's college process, but I caution too much parent-child tinkering. It's really, really obvious when an essay was written and a resume was drafted with too much oversight from parents, guidance counselors, and the like. My mom is a high school teacher, too, but I didn't bother to show her my application (nor did she request to see it) until well after I handed it in. Of course, she went crazy because she pointed out that I had accidentally omitted a significant honor.</p>

10

<p>I appreciate your suggestion - my only participation was to tell him I wanted him to have his first drafts done by the start of the school year, because he has so much on his plate during the year. I read it, and he is going to have his teacher at the medical program which he is enrolled in this year edit it.</p>

<p>I am resisting. It is killiing me too!</p>

11

<p>"he is going to have his teacher at the medical program which he is enrolled in this year edit it."</p>

<p>Adifal, the ONLY person who should edit his essays is your son! As unalove stated above-
"It's really, really obvious when an essay was written and a resume was drafted with too much oversight from parents, guidance counselors, and the like" </p>

<p>From one former helicopter mom to another: You need to back off and let you son write his essays without any one looking over his shoulder or editing them before they are submitted. It should be his voice, and his voice alone, that the admissions officers hear when reading his essays.</p>

12

<p>Heh... I don't have anything relevant to say, just want to state my bemusement at how intense some people's parents are about making it their business to get their kids into college, while my mother's shocked simply because I "already" have a list of schools I'm applying to...</p>

<p>Which is, I suppose, where the relevance comes in after all - as a <em>student</em> applying, it's hardly fair to me to see somebody's parents (or anybody else in their life) taking the brunt of the admission for them! It's the student who's trying to get in, not the parent or the teacher or the counselor. Even if the adcom didn't see through it (and thank goodness they do, for my sake), it's ethically...perhaps not <em>wrong</em>, but twisted at the very least. Obviously you think rather highly of your son...so have enough faith in him to believe that he has the ability to write a decent essay on his own.</p>

13

<p>I have faith in my son, thanks for your concern. I am not filling out his applications, writing his essays, or doing anything else other than helping him find appropriate schools and his father and I are taking him to visit them. You are making way too many assumptions from what I have said. Don't worry, you have nothing to worry about from me. :)</p>

14

<p>Hi Menloparkmom,
I am not writing his essay. In fact, he doesn't even want me to read his essay. He has someone editing it, which I insist upon. I would never let any student send an essay out without an objective pair of eyes reading it. Whether they are my relatives or not! Too many silly errors can get by the writer.</p>

15

<p>Why are you "INSISTING" on having someone else edit his essay? He is not your student, and you are still way too involved in the writing, editing, overview etc. of HIS essays. If HE wants to have someone else look at his essay, then great, many students do, but HE is the one applying to college, not you. He needs to take the controls from your hands and manage his own applicaton, essays and all.</p>

16

<p>whoa, whoa, everybody has to figure this process out on their own terms.</p>

<p>Most kids applying to a school like Chicago will "stiff-arm" essay manipulation by adults and send in what they want.<br>
Also, admissions people are quite good reading for a 17/18 yo voice.</p>

<p>At least that's what I see and that's my fantasy.</p>

17

<p>Kind of what I was trying to say, without sounding obnoxious and defensive...sorry I came off as that, I can be a bit rankling at times.</p>

18

<p>No apologies needed---in this written forum emotion is hard to read as intended. This college apps can be a time to take some students to take some personal risk and that can be refreshing, exciting and nerve-racking.</p>

19

<p>My "stiff arm" was more like a tree trunk when I was applying to college. The Chicago application was my baby and I didn't let anybody else touch it. I even sent my GC a curveball... wrote a fake common application essay that I didn't intend to use, just so he could say that he read something from me. The only person who read my application was my English teacher, because my uncommon essay was based on an assignment for class.</p>

20

<p>"I even sent my GC a curveball... wrote a fake common application essay that I didn't intend to use, just so he could say that he read something from me."</p>

<p>Good for you, unalove.</p>