<p>More than anything else, I'm curious as to how you and your friends learned about the U of C and what in particular struck you to consider applying or apply. It seems like we're becoming a more and more popular school and I'm wondering what it is that has made us more popular.</p>
<p>This article, from last year's Maroon, is a good read-- it discusses how students came to learn about Chicago and choose the school, and what sorts of benefits and drawbacks could be associated with the university's receiving more applications each year:</p>
<p>I'm also applying to Reed College in Portland, OR, and someone mentioned that her son had a tough time choosing between Reed and Chicago--he chose Chicago. So, I started learning about Chicago and loved it and responsibly submitted my EA app on the 29th. :)</p>
<p>The first thing that caught my attention was the letter they sent after the PSAT that basically said, "Yo, we bought your name from the College Board because you have Good Scores(tm). However, we don't really care that you have Good Scores(tm). But since you do, you might maybe possibly be interested in our college." Basically, the attitude conveyed by that form letter was in stark contrast to that of other schools.</p>
<p>And then I got Life of the Mind. That is one of the most brilliant pieces of PR ever produced.</p>
<p>I was reading an Elizabeth Peters novel, and I noticed that she received her degree from the University of Chicago. I had never heard of it before, so I checked it out in the CollegeBoard book I always had handy as a junior. It looked interesting, so I investigated further.</p>
<p>Both my grandparents were alumni of Chicago. Also, my sister (2 years older than me) applied there EA, and eventually had a tough time choosing between Northwestern and UChicago (she ended up deciding on NU.)</p>
<p>The postcard series after sophomore PSAT intrigued me, and the Life of the Mind and the campus visit hooked me, because they were all so different than the stuff other colleges were sending.</p>
<p>Some of the propoganda material intrigued me (didn't get any of the really clever stuff till later), so I Wikipedia'd it and made some connections in my mind with the Manhattan Project and other ways I had heard of the university and didn't realize it before. Then I got on College Confidential, read some of Libby's posts, looked at Scav Hunt pictures, and was totally hooked.</p>
<p>I started getting the mailings sophomore year. They were always a bit relieving to receive just because they were so much more creative/funny/intelligent than any other ones I'd been getting. I didn't actually consider the school (or any other private, for that matter) until the August of this year, and am SO glad I did.</p>
<p>They don't send mail overseas, so I never got anything after the PSAT. I found the names of U(C) students on the list of runners-up in the William Lowell Putnam competition.</p>
<p>physicsphun1 -- that's not an eagle, it's a phoenix...</p>
<p>in my junior year, while preparing for the SAT, i was randomly looking for universities to apply to. I didn't really know much about top american universities outside the Ivy League as I'm from India. But from wat I hear, a ot of hs seniors from the states had to look for UChicago themselves. Anyhow, I just linked to the webpage and read all about it and was quite captivated. When I linked to the admissions page and saw the uncommon app, it rocketed to the top of my list.</p>
<p>As for me, my first boyfriend's dad was an alum, and the dad and I got along splendidly. (The relationship between boyfriend and I dissipated in about two months-- oh eighth grade!) but I still see his dad around a bit and we always talk to each other.</p>
<p>I went to a summer program that changed my life, and the camp counselors all seemed to come from Yale, Pomona, and Chicago. I didn't know what a Pomona was, but I did research on it, too-- unfortunately west coast schools were a no-no for me. Oddly, one of the Chicago students who was a camp counselor is now a resident head, and I see him all the time. I need to tell him how I know him and how he was influential in my decision to come here.</p>
<p>Annnnnnd the only girl in my high school class whose combined intelligence/love of learning downright intimidated me is the daughter of two big alumni.</p>
<p>My mom's family is all in Chicago, so I remember passing by the school as a kid. I think my interest in it was re-sparked (is that a word? Firefox says no) by all the post-testing propaganda and it's been on my list since.</p>