<p>Hello, this is my first post on these forums. I'm currently a junior in high school who has began the college research process. I have my sights a bit higher than I should, but everything I have read about the University of Chicago seems like it would be absolutely perfect for me. One problem I have, however, is that by the numbers I'm definitely inferior to most if not all other applicants, so I was wondering if I should even bother trying to apply. I know it will be a longshot no matter what, but I would love to go to an intellectual college.</p>
<p>This is what I have thus far...</p>
<ul>
<li>- Explanation below.</li>
</ul>
<p>Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Income: ~$50,000 (single parent household)
Location: Massachusetts
High School: Algonquin Regional High School (public, 11th best high school in the state)
Major: Political Science, Economics, or Philosophy (law school preparation)
Hooks: My grades get progressively better each year, and I always speak up about my opinion in every class.</p>
<p>GPA: 3.790 (weighted)*
Rank: 166/358*
SAT Reasoning: Taking in May
SAT Subjects: Taking in May
ACT: Taking in June</p>
<p>Course Load: 1 AP this year, 4 AP's senior year, standard college preparatory math courses, everything else honors</p>
<p>Extra-Curriculars: Football (2 years), Track and Field (1 year), Mock Trial (1 year so far), YMCA Youth and Government (1 year so far), Philosophy Club (1 year so far)</p>
<p>Volunteer Work: Will do internship over summer</p>
<p>Work Experience: Will get job over summer.</p>
<p>Recommendations: None so far, but I know some teachers whom have commented that I am very talented, highly intellectual, and always bring class discussion to higher level and I'm sure they will have great things to say about me.</p>
<p>Essays: I am a very strong writer, so I'm confident that my essay will be excellent.</p>
<ul>
<li>- This GPA/class rank includes only freshman and sophomore year. My freshman year was terrible and my sophomore year was mediocre, but my junior year has been very good (all A's) and my senior year should be the same. Hence, my GPA and class rank will definitely go up. Also, required courses such as physical education and health, which are automatically weighted at 4.0, are included.</li>
</ul>
<p>My numbers look absolutely awful for applying to school with a caliber as high as the University of Chicago, but it was not until late into my sophomore year that I discovered who I was. During my freshman and early sophomore years, I was struggling to find out what I wanted to do with myself and who I was, which led to me getting into sports. But sports was not an endeavor for me, and in fact hindered my academic performance for a while. I eventually gained an interest in politics during my sophomore year, and this flipped a switch in my brain that led me to constantly think outside the box in every humanities class and often stand up without hesitation to voice my opinion and back it up.</p>
<p>One thing that made me look at the University of Chicago is how they weigh the essay and course rigor above GPA and standardized test scores, but at the same time most of the people on this forum seem to have high scores and high GPAs. I think I have the necessary intellectual and self-motivating student mindset that UChicago wants, but I'm afraid that my statistical performance will make it extremely difficult to be accepted.</p>
<p>Thus I reiterate my first question. Do I even have a chance at being accepted?</p>