Have I got a chance for EA?

I’m really getting anxious! I applied Early Action (I wanted to apply early decision, but my dad convinced me otherwise) and am really unsure of just how much harder it is to get in EA than ED. I feel like I’d have an okay chance of gaining admission if I applied ED and I strongly regret never changing my admission plan over to ED. Anyway, here are my stats:

Objective:
ACT (breakdown): 36 composite (35 english, 36 math, 36 reading, 35 science)

SAT II: 800 Math 2, 770 chemistry

Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.975

Weighted GPA (out of 6.0): 5.75

Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):7 out of 442

AP: AP Calc BC (5), AP Calc AB subscore (5), AP Chem (3), AP English Language (5), AP French (N/A), AP Computer Science (N/A), AP World History (N/A), AP Physics (N/A)

Sem 1 course load: Calc 3 at local university, AP Physics, AP Comp Sci, Honors English, Honors Gov
Sem 2 course load: Complex Analysis at local uni, Diff eq’s at local uni, AP Physics, AP Comp Sci, Honors English, Honors Psychology, gym class

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): none really…AP scholar if that counts. Also a few state-wide music awards for playing the piano at solo/ensemble competitions

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (from most time to least time): I am an intern/McQuown Scholar at UChicago’s Observatory (I take images with their telescopes and assist faculty with research. I counsel at camps and stuff like that too), President of my class for the last 2 years, Founder/Captain/President of my school’s math team/math club, 2 varsity sports (soccer and golf), general member in a few other clubs (Astronomical Society, Model UN, student gov)

Job/Work Experience: Part-time job doing construction for my dad’s business, summer job of selling pies at farmers’ markets for a local bakery

Volunteer/Community service: math tutoring at my local Literacy Center for adult non-English learners

Essays: I thought they were really good! They aren’t really…as quirky as I know a lot of UChicago essays can be but they were certainly injected with a bit of coyness and dry wit. I mainly just tried to make them fairly personal and well-informed so admissions could know a lot about me. My Why Uchicago essay was excellent and my uncommon essay question was about their observatory so hopefully that will resonate/appeal to them…?

Teacher Recommendation: Very good. One from my calc teacher who loved me and was a great friend and the other from my English teacher who thought I was like…a certified genius I guess.

Counselor Rec: Also very good. My counselor was also my soccer coach so he saw me every day for 2 years and knows a lot about me

Additional Rec: My calc professor from this semester offered to write me one, but unfortunately he offered after I submitted my Uchicago app. Just for future applications though, is it good to send 3 letters?

Interview: none, it couldn’t be scheduled on time

Supplementary Material: none

Other
Intended Major: Mathematics

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes

State (if domestic applicant): Wisconsin

School Type: medium-large public

Ethnicity: 25% Laotian, 25% Thai, 50% white

Gender: male

Income Bracket: 75-100k

Hooks: URM, first gen college student, I work for uchicago already

**General Comments: **
My application just seems exceedingly average to me. I know a lot of kids who go to UChicago who I have better stats than but…I don’t want to rely on that to console me. Would I fare a significantly better chance had I applied ED rather than EA? Also, how competitive would I be for other selective schools (MIT, Cornell, Harvey Mudd, CMU, Princeton, Caltech, etc…)?

Thanks so much!

You have a great profile and I like your chances to get into any highly selective school! I’m a dad and I also convinced both of my students not to play the ED game. It find that the ED scheme disproportionally advantages the schools, not the students.
I’m sure you will end up with great options from more than a few good schools. Best of luck!

You stats are good, ECs are mediocre, nothing catches my eyes. Class president, club president and a internship in lab with no paper published are just normal for highly selective colleges. Nothing bad, just there are too many people like you. And for EA, it’s a crap shot.

If you don’t get in EA, perhaps you can convince your dad to let you switch to EDII (assuming UChicago is, indeed, your first choice). Assuming this is one of the roadblocks, you or he can easily contact FA to discuss the net cost and get a sense of how much you would be committing to financially. They can’t tell you an amount but they can give you a sense. This is the exact scenario we went through last year - only in reverse (I was the one trying to convince my D17 to apply EDI instead of EA).

If Chicago is your first choice, and deferrred, switch to EDII and you have a solid chance. Stats, URM(Lao) and first gen will help you substantially.

Good luck.

was accepted EA at both UChicago and MIT. thanks :^)

@sache001 welldone - and nice choice to have! Which will it be, do you think?