I know my chances are slim, but I have to try....

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
1

<p>Chance me? I am an economics/mathematics major ( I know shoot me) </p>

<p>GPA- 4.4 (W) 3.5/3.4 (UW)
Rank- Top 10% Weighted
SAT II's- US History- 750 Mathematics IIC- 780 Spanish w/ Listening- 750
ACT- 32 (10 Writing)
AP- US-4 Psychology-4 English-4, taking 6 AP's as a senior</p>

<p>Most Significant EC's:</p>

<p>1) Medical Club President ( 9,10,11,12)
2) Student Government VP ( 9,10,11,12)
3) Co-founded Students for Improving Healthcare (SIHC) (9,10,11,12)
4) Gay-Straight Alliance member (11,12)
5) Hospital Volunteering, Hospice volunteering, and local Mosque volunteering ( 500+ hours)
6) Citibank "Internship" under my cousin's supervisor, a hook according to my supervisor. </p>

<p>Sports:</p>

<p>1) Varsity Wrestling, Journeymen (9,10,11,12) ( This takes up an immeasurable amount of time)
2) Travel Soccer (Summers, 9,10,11)
3) Track and Field ( 9,10,11,12)
4) Jui-Jitsu ( 10 years) Go to tournaments, and I have a beautiful trophy collection my father brags about :P</p>

<p>Recs: Very good, teachers knew me very well. Counselor Rec: Above average
School type: Public (450 kids)
Ethnicity: Pakistani
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Need FA, but put as secondary</p>

<p>Note: I am not applying EA because I am hoping my first quarter senior grades will be excellent since I am <em>finally</em> taking classes I want to take! ( No history lol) Number 6 on my EC's is the best thing on my application.</p>

2

<p>As a pakistani econ major (and possibly math minor) who just was recently accepted in UChicago, I think I might have something relevant to add. (I applied EA, but was then deferred from which I was then waitlisted. I just got off the waitlist.) I want you to know that I’m less qualified to attend UChicago then you are, so I think you should be fine. Just remember, one of the most important thing that U of C takes into consideration is your essay. This is a chance for you to be creative and show the admissions office what makes your style of thinking standout. (notice I said “your style of thinking” and not “you”.) The only thing I would be wary of is your GPA. Most admitted students have around a 3.8. If you could get your GPA to at least 3.6/3.7, then you should be good.</p>

3

<p>Looking back at the results from this year, I’m going to conclude that your chances are extremely low. With all due respect, expect the thin envelop.</p>

<p>Almost everyone(there are exceptions!) I know who got in had a 2300+ on their SATs and at minimum a 34/35 on the ACT. Your GPA is going to kill you. Dude, a 3.5 will NOT get you in, not even close.</p>

<p>They don’t care about SAT IIs :confused:
You want to major in Math/Econ yet not one of your ECs show that. Chicago takes kids who are passionate about what they do, excel in those areas, and those that have an intellectual vitality. There are very few places where you can get an unrivaled education in both math an econ, aside from Chicago; the adcoms will see right through your app and realize that you want to go only because of their math/econ departments. There must be some inherent feeling within you that compels you to become a student at UChicago. This is where the essays come into play…they are everything.</p>

<p>Take everything I’ve said with a grain of salt, I’m obviously bitter; I was rejected.
But still, most of what I said, in my opinion, is true.</p>

4

<p>I love the feeling of reality hitting you in the face. It actually wants me to hit reality back even harder. </p>

<p>It is back to the drawing board for moi…</p>

5

<p>I never had an extracurricular involving economics, and I got in as an econ major. I’ve called the admissions office and my regional counselor specifically told me that UChicago does NOT take your intended major into account (unless you were to craft your essay around your major, in which case U of C would be forced to). </p>

<p>Furthermore, I know people with 4.0s and SATs above 2300 who have gotten rejected. I also know someone who had a GPA below 3.5 and an ACT around 30 and was admitted. It all comes down to how well you present yourself.</p>

6

<p>haha, of course you have to try NuclearPakistan1.</p>

<p>I had 1980 on the SAT1 and one sat subject test (math2: 790)…Oh, did I mention I’m an international student? :p</p>

<p>get your hopes up and apply!</p>

7

<p>Why is UofC such an enigma? There is not telling who they will accept and reject. I bet they pick it out of a hat, because a dumb blond from our school was accepted, and it was complete ludicrous( not the rapper lol) </p>

<p>Who knows…</p>

8

<p>Yeah, I got a 2030. There is hope!
UChicago definitely emphasizes essays and extracurriculars, so just let your passions be shown through your essays, and if you really want to be at UChicago, it might happen. Don’t let silly people on the internet discourage you!</p>

9

<p>your chances are very good, in my opinion. I had similar stats, and was accepted RD. just make sure your essays are very good, because they count for a lot. they really do.</p>

10

<p>You should always try. I got a 3.3 gpa and was still accepted.</p>

11

<p>*** “with all due respect, expect the thin envelop(e)” ?
That’s messed up man, you don’t even know this guy.</p>

<p>Don’t expect anything, because Chicago weighs the essays a lot because it tells much about you, so you should concentrate on that. That doesn’t mean that they won’t take everything else into equal consideration. I think your stats are more than fine, I got in with a 3.6 UW, I had half the EC’s you did, and I didn’t do any sports. Good luck presenting who you are to the University of Chicago!</p>

12

<p>Yeah I see. You never know what they want, so I am going to apply RD after getting better Senior grades.</p>

13

<p>Since we’re getting a new director of admissions this year, you really don’t know what’s going to happen or how they’re going to weight parts of incoming applications. For all we know (and especially given how the school’s been going since Zimmer took over), SATs could become the most weighted part of the application. Unlikely, but still.</p>

14

<p>your stats are better than mine and I got in. it’s all in the essays. </p>

<p>don’t listen to the d bags who say you can’t do it - prove them wrong. why the heck is Sesquipedalian still lurking the UChicago boards when s/he didn’t get in? hmm. sounds like a budding IHateUChicago.</p>

15

<p>you should apply anyway! I have a 3.56 and I got in!
And btw they will still see your first quarter grades if you apply EA>>if you send them as soon as the quarter is over, the admissions office will get them before they have made a decision…i had the same dilemma and my regional admissions rep assured me that this was the case</p>

16

<p>I think you have a chance… Not a high chance, but still a chance. I agree with many that what Chicago really really cares about are the essays (which is one of the reason why I love Chicago). Take time in thinking about them, and do several drafts of them. Good luck to you!</p>

17

<p>When you say your counseler rec is above average … how do you know that? Are you allowed to see them?</p>

18

<p>The new admission director was formerly from Yale and RPI. Admission will be different going forward. How different, I venture to guess it will be very competitive. I am sure the essay will remained as key criteria for admission as in all other top schools. UChicago is a premier school and with a new admission director, I expect that he will play the Ivy game and make the application process easy so that a flood of application will come into the door. Application will be up and rate of admission will be down.</p>

19

<p>DMOC- No you’re not allowed to see them, but you can infer based on how much of a friendship you have. I go to my counselor almost every advisory.</p>

20

<p>i’d say definitely apply. i got in with a 2070 SAT, a 3.8 weighted GPA, no APs (not offered at my school), and MUCH worse extracurriculars (emphasis on the MUCH. i tutored students in math at a junior high school for maybe 30 hours over the last 3 years, i was involved in the crew of my school drama group, and i was part of the international club). </p>

<p>i guess my only advice would be the much the same as everyone else’s - ESSAYS ESSAYS ESSAYS. again, its a crapshoot, but i don’t see any reason why you shouldn’t apply, and don’t agonize too much over it - sometimes, that just makes matters worse.</p>