<p>???????????please rreply</p>
<p>My recollection is that most everyone gets deferred - except for those with top stats. We are in-state (northern Chicago suburbs) and that occurred with most of my older son’s friends. I don’t recall hearing too many (if any) rejections for EA.</p>
<p>^ what do you mean? top stats are rejected?</p>
<p>I mean those with only top stats are admitted EA. Most everyone my son knew, like him, was deferred (decision in February).</p>
<p>I’d like someone like Drusba to comment on the percentage of priority applicants that get deferred. “Most” and anecdotal evidence just doesn’t cut it. Nor does a vague description of “top applicants”.</p>
<p>My older son asked the college counselor how many deferrals there were at our high school for priority applicants - she said 71%.</p>
<p>Again, I am sure there are schools in different areas of the state where that statistic varies.</p>
<p>I’m no expert on UIUC admissions…just was a bystander in the process with my son and his friends a few years ago. Out of his 10 closest friends who applied EA-priority, only 3 were admitted EA. The rest were deferred to February.</p>
<p>And a note to Balthezar - there is no definitive rhyme or reason to UIUC admissions. I know 4 very strong students - 3 engineering, 1 business, with 32+ ACTs and rigorous courseloads - all rejected. Engineering and Business tend to be the most competitive - and the most unpredictable…again…only from being a bystander.</p>
<p>its funny that 71% is the statistic, i know close to 20 people from my high school last year that got in to U of I and half of them applied priority and all of them were accepted in december. Then again, maybe it has something to do with our location: we live close to the wisconsin border, about an hour away from any of the chicago suburbs.</p>
<p>Rsquare, I’m sure the stats your son obtained from the counselor at his school were accurate for his school. And I’m aware that both Business and Engineering are very competitive programs at the University of Illinois. My point is that using the stats from a single school is likely not representative of the overall group of priority applicants. And, as you can see, theyoungboi had quite different results among his friends.</p>
<p>I’m simply asking for clarification from Drusba, if he would care to comment. He seems to have a lot of knowledge regarding the admissions process at UIUC, and might be able to provide more accurate ballpark stats for percentage of priority applicants accepted overall, and by college.</p>
<p>And Drusba, if you do decide to weigh in here, I realize that a given year’s statistics may not be applicable to this year’s class of applicants because competition varies from year-to-year in given programs within the colleges. I just hadn’t seen any statistics regarding priority applicants before. I fully realize that many, maybe most, priority applicants to engineering and business will get deferred.</p>
<p>By the way, at my son’s school this year, 34 seniors are applying to UIUC, and that’s out of a senior class of 55, so I’m thinking their total applications are going to go up this year…but that’s just my son’s school.</p>
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<p>He/she actually works in admissions at UIUC… that is how he/she knows so much about it. =)</p>
<p>I was thinking that, but I didn’t want to blow his/her cover.</p>
<p>Out of all of my friends last year, roughly 12 applied to business EA, and 4 were admitted (including myself) and the rest were deferred. One of them was actually straight up rejected from the university. It was a little surprising because she had a 35 ACT. However, she had a GPA in the low 3’s so I guess they really didn’t like her work ethic. All 6 of my friends who applied EA for engineering got in except for one, and she got deferred. I’d say that asking for the percentage of students that get deferred probably isn’t as important as breaking down the potential students stats. I really don’t think U of I is too unpredictable with the students they defer for EA. I saw a student or two who I didn’t think would get deferred, but that’s about it. Those students ended up getting in eventually anyways. So to answer the original question, yes, every once and a while UIUC does reject EA applicants.</p>
<p>So is EA more competitive for U of I? Is it better apply as RD?</p>
<p>No, it is to your advantage to apply priority. All of the U of I counselors even recommend you do. If you get rejected early, you were going to get rejected anyway. But if you are borderline, they’ll defer you and make a later decision. This is where the main advantage kicks in: if the later decision comes down to your priority application vs some other applicant’s regular application, you are going to win, since obviously you care more about getting in than the other person.</p>
<p>Priority application gives you some advantage, more so for A&S than other college. You can get four different decisons: admit, reject, admitted to a different major/college as long as you checked the box in the application for being considered for a different major (mainly you usually get admitted to Division of General Studies which means that for whatever other major you applied you were rejected), or deferred (to Feb). Many do get rejected in December, many get admitted to a different major. Percent deferred can vary widely each year but generally A&S defers less than 25% in December except for some majors (e.g., physics and chemical engineering follow the engineering college). Business defers 70% or more (and many of the others receive a rejection or admit to DGS). Business more than any other college just likes to make most decisions in Feb after all apps are in and it sees the entire pool, which is somewhat driven by the fact that it ends up admitting less than 40%. Engineering often defers close to 50% (and most of those actually end up getting admitted since it has one of the highest admit rates, usually greater than 70%).</p>
<p>When filling out the application, my son says he doesn’t recall seeing this checkbox Drusba. So, I guess I’ll just have to call in to make sure that they note that he’s open to them putting him whereever they see fit, if it will get him admitted.</p>
<p>Sorry I forgot that they changed the app this year. You no longer even have to check a box, consideration for another major is now automatic with one exception: if you are applying for bioengineering you have to tell them whether you want to be considered for another engineering major.</p>