How will the cookie crumble? (last-minute RD freakout)

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
1

<p>Yes, it's a shameless chances thread, but it would be great to know what you guys think.</p>

<p>P.S. I was deferred EA.</p>

<p>General Things
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: East Indian (international)
Country: India (but living in Singapore for 18 years)
Current Grade: Senior Year (in singapore, schools run from Jan-Dec)
Financial Aid: Not applying for any sort of FA</p>

<p>Grades
GPA: 3.8 out of 5.0
(RISING TREND -> Freshman: 2.5/5.0 Sophomore 3.5/5.0 Junior: 4.2/5.0 Senior: 4.88/5.0)
-Very tough international magnet school specializing in Math & Science</p>

<p>SAT Reasoning Test
SAT Critical Reading - 770
SAT Math - 800
SAT Writing – 800
SAT Composite (M+CR) – 1570
SAT Composite (M+CR+W) – 2370</p>

<p>SAT Subject Tests
SAT Math Level 2 - 800
SAT Physics - 790
SAT Chemistry – 780
SAT Biology M - 770</p>

<p>AP Tests
AP Calculus AB – 5
AP Chemistry – 5
AP Physics B – 5
AP Biology – 5
AP Calculus BC – 5
AP Statistics – 5</p>

<p>Extracurricular Activities</p>

<ul>
<li>Captain: Debate Team</li>
<li>President: Creative Writing Circle</li>
<li>Editor: School Yearbook</li>
<li>Editor: School Newsletter (we don't publish too actively tho)</li>
<li>Editor: Official Newsletter of Singapore Int'l Mathematics Competition</li>
<li>Captain: Scrabble Team (placed 3rd nationally in 2007, several individual awards at national level too)</li>
<li>Head Delegate: Model UN</li>
<li>Tennis Team</li>
<li>300ish Community Service Hours</li>
<li>Creative Arts Program (very selective program for writers and poets)</li>
<li>Research on atomic spectroscopy</li>
<li>Research on oxygen's behavior on palladium and applications in fuel cells</li>
<li>Interned at a renowned museum of biodiversity research</li>
<li>2 Commendatory Awards @ Commonwealth Int'l Essay Writing Competition</li>
<li>Gold (Drama) @ Singapore Youth Festival</li>
<li>Best Delegate @ Singapore Model United Nations 2009</li>
<li>Best Delegate @ WE Model United Nations 2009 (International)</li>
<li>Poet, published in various literary magazines</li>
</ul>

2

<p>If I were an Admission Officer, you definitely GET IN!!! But the problem is that I am not.But I think they cannot refuse you, since you have such AMAZING stats! :slight_smile: Congrats beforehand, I won’t believe it if you cannot get in.</p>

3

<p>I can only imagine that they deferred you because they want to see your senior grades (makes sense with your weaker 9/10 years). Which is not rare, so you have a fantastic shot… They’ll be crazy if you don’t get in tomorrow!! :)</p>

4

<p>Your application is extremely impressive. You seem like the kind of quirky, intellectual person that UChicago would love. If you don’t get in, I will be astonished.</p>

5

<p>You are amazing, a god among men. I love the scrabble-ness particularly.</p>

6

<p>^^^^He was deferred so he’s obviously not a “shoo-in.”</p>

<p>You did this same thing before the EA decisions were released and, even though I thought you were reasonably intelligent (from your posts), I was pretty sure that you wouldn’t get admitted. I didn’t want to post that because I didn’t want to get your hopes down (and I wasn’t certain that I was correct) and, so I thought, would be contradictory to the purpose of these threads. Given the data here, there is no reason to think that you would not get admitted and I’m sure that you knew the responses you would get upon posting this thread (why would they be different than those you received in the one you did for EA?) would all be positive. So, essentially, the purpose of this thread is to have others reassure you that you will get admitted and to keep your hopes up until the decisions are released, if I am not mistaken. What other good could it possibly do? That’s why I didn’t respond to your last one, but, this time, I feel the need to reply.</p>

<p>However, most of your accomplishments - while fairly noteworthy - are fairly scattered and the breadth of your interests/activities is so great that I fail to see how you can actually be dedicated to any one of them substantially. To be quite honest, many of your achievements/activities simply scream affluence and connections to me . Of course, I may be completely wrong, but, again, I’m only telling you what I’m thinking after looking at your list of accomplishments (again, I’m only using the data you provided). They may have only deferred you because of your GPA (though I doubt this - otherwise you would have at least gotten deferred by Columbia) or perhaps you didn’t stand out enough in the pool of internationals, but, again, who knows. However, I highly doubt that it was solely academics that got you deferred - your test scores are rather impressive but, given your ‘context’, they don’t impress me much (though, I’ll wholeheartedly admit, they’re certainly better and more impressive than mine). Also, out of curiosity, why do you go to a specialized math/science school if the majority of your EC’s are in the humanities?</p>

<p>So, in conclusion I guess, I think you ought to be admitted but, even though I did not fully expound upon my reasoning why your application may have substantive weaknesses, I have doubts that you will. Nonetheless, I wish you luck my friend.</p>

7

<p>@motion12345: </p>

<ol>
<li><p>I actually just reused the exact same thread from the EA days, so you’re right. </p></li>
<li><p>I chose my math/science school when I was 14. I got into the humanities later. A person doesn’t really get fascinated by economics or politics aged 14; such interests usually develop later with the maturity/knowledge needed to understand them. </p></li>
<li><p>You’re absolutely wrong on affluence and connections - I had neither in any excess.</p></li>
<li><p>You’re probably right on academics alone not getting me deferred. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>Thanks for the luck. Best of luck to you too!</p>

8

<p>did you send additional information (awards, recs, etc) to uchicago after the deferral? i’ve been under the impression that they will make the same decision, unless you add things to your profile…</p>

9

<p>They can’t make the same decision (deferral). I sent in a letter detailing (1) my senior year grades (2) the things I’ve been doing since December (although since I graduated from HS in Nov '09, few school-related things have changed)</p>

10

<p>srrinath, I think you will get in. good luck!</p>

11

<p>thanks maxxwell!</p>

12

<p>you ALREADY graduated HS? I’m soo jealous. What do you do now?</p>

<p>(nice stats, btw. and i think your admission hinges on your essays)</p>

13

<p>You have no reason to be jealous! I miss school. Or more precisely, I miss a fast(er) paced lifestyle - intellectual, social and otherwise. And I’m not even halfway through with the wait.</p>

14

<p>guys… so is it today that we find out or not? ive been hearing different things but i havent gotten anything from them…</p>

15

<p>yes, decisions for RD are released today, see <a href=“https://blogs.uchicago.edu/collegeadmissions/2010/03/decisions_will_be_available_so.html[/url]”>https://blogs.uchicago.edu/collegeadmissions/2010/03/decisions_will_be_available_so.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Good luck all of you! I look forward to seeing all the new admitted students on the chicago site!</p>

16

<p>UChicago only admitted 4 from Sing EA if I remember right. Canada was a mere 2. it’s harder for intls but I think your deferral just says that they want to evaluate the majority of intls in the regular pool.</p>

17

<p>I heard they admitted 11 from SG EA, but I wasn’t accepted so I can’t say for sure.</p>

18

<p>srrinath, i see 29 from Republic of Singapore.</p>

19

<p>I’ve been rejected. Thanks for chancing anyway.</p>

20

<p>Sorry to hear that… I seriously had high hopes for you. :(</p>