Crisis decision!! NEED ADVICE

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I am an athlete. I applied EA to UChicago, and was deferred (possibly because I didn't request an interview or submit SAT 2's, so I got both of those now). Then the coach offered me admittance if I commit to them. I would be giving up the opportunity to go to HYPS, which I like better than UC. But I would get a bird in the hand. So should I commit, or do you think I would be able to get into a HYPS or UC on my own. If i got rejected to all those, I would still have UPenn and Dartmouth and Duke probably. </p>

<p>Here are my stats. </p>

<p>ACT: 34 composite (36 English, 35 reading, 33math, 31 science, 6 writing)</p>

<p>Gpa: 4.0 UW, 4.58 W(taking every weighted class available)</p>

<p>Sat2's: a 740 in lit, and 770 bio </p>

<p>Essays: my essays are strong. </p>

<p>Recs: these are pretty good too. </p>

<p>Extra-curricular: varsity track 4 years, varsity cross country, founder and president 4-h club, surfrider president, best buddies, peer leader, mock trial club Vice President, started a successful sport uniform drive, to raise money and collect used soccer jerseys and send to Mozambique, Haiti, and Korea. </p>

<p>Work: internship with a solar energy company, and with a federal judge. Tutor. </p>

<p>Community service: multiple mission trips to the Navajo reservation, painting houses and organizing a bible camp. Also, doing my Mozambique uniform project listed above. </p>

<p>More: white, female, middle class, non-legacy (except for penn). </p>

<p>Career interest and major: going into environmental biology, planning to be a college professor. </p>

<p>Hooks: will be walking on the track teams. </p>

<p>Faults: sat2s, act writing</p>

2

<p>Please I need advice!! Should I commit to UChicago?</p>

3

<p>UPenn, Duke and Dartmouth are just about as reachy as U Chicago, if not more. But they are reachable.</p>

<p>U Chicago is a Division III school; I wonder how a track and field coach can have enough admissions clout to force the adcoms’ hands in a Div III school… Are you recruitable at Div I schools like Dartmouth, UPenn and Duke?</p>

4

<p>I think even at a DIII school, the coaches get a limited number of students they can ask the admissions office to accept IF the student meets the general other criteria for admission to the school. </p>

<p>Walking onto the track team is not a hook at any of the other schools. </p>

<p>Have you visited Chicago? Met the coach? </p>

<p>I assume you put in your RD application at these other schools and are waiting for responses. Because here is the thing… you have no absolute requirement to attend Chicago even if they accept you because the coach asked them to. One of my kids ended up not attending a school where a coach had asked for her, because in the spring of her senior year she made the decision not to pursue her sport in college (partly due to some nagging injuries). It does screw the coach, so it isn’t very ethical. You might go to the recruited athlete’s forum out here to see if there is more discussion on this.</p>

<p>Also… your stats and ECs are good, but not THAT spectacular. You might not get into any of the schools on the list. I’d suggest you add a couple slightly lower ranked schools just in case if I were you (although your deadlines are pretty much past).</p>

<p>Honestly, if I were you… I would tell the Chicago coach that you are not sure if you are going to attend U of C because you have this HYPS dream, too. So you would not feel right about taking one of his few “admissions” slots because of that dream. But that if you are accepted at U of C and decide to attend, that you would love to run for the team there. That would be the ethical thing to do, IMHO.</p>

5

<p>The “unhooked white female” is somewhat of a trope for having difficulties in gaining admission to HYPS. </p>

<p>I personally think you will be admitted to one Ivy, not necessarily a top Ivy. </p>

<p>20% of Valedictorians are admitted to a top Ivy or S. I would say that in terms of most stats, you are around the median for a valedictorian. This means that there is around a 40% chance you will not admitted to HYPS. You still have Chicago on the list, and they might admit you anyways. </p>

<p>So I would follow intparent’s advice.</p>

6

<p>Okay… coaches at DIII schools DO get to ask for a specific number of slots in admissions. I know this because a coach “wasted” one on my kid a few years ago, as described above. The number is not large (like, a volleyball coach at at DIII school might get to recommend 3 students to admissions). There is no scholarship money for the students beyond whatever else they might get, and they have to fall within the school’s general parameters for admissions. But they do this in pretty much all varsity sports at all DIII colleges.</p>

7

<p>Ya the coach at Chicago said I could have one of his spots, if I commit. So I can either take a spot there and withdraw all other apps, or roll the dice going un-recruited to all other schools.</p>