<p>Is it really that hard to get in here? it seems like many people at my school (competitive private) apply to places like chicago and northwestern with 3.3 gpa's but whenever i see someone on CC say something like "your chances don't look too good" to someone with nearly perfect stats, i get worried. I mean can it be that hard if you have good ec's, teacher recs, test scores, and GREAT essays (by good i mean B+ - A- type grades and other things but not overachiever type material, except for the essays)??????</p>
<p>its def. becoming really hard lately with the increase in hs students graduating every year and what i feel is an overall slight increase in sat scores.</p>
<p>The point is the people you know with 3.3 GPAs are applying, but not necessarily being accepted. Some of them will get in, and some won't, because of the circumstances surrounding their GPA: for instance, are they IB candidates? were there extenuating circumstances? </p>
<p>The same applies for applicants with 4.0s. For one of many reasons, a student with stellar stats might get rejected or deferred. Just look at the EA results thread: the University of Chicago is not an easy school to get into in any sense.</p>
<p>That having been said, one should work very hard on one's essays, and make sure they are high quality and enduring in some way. The aim of the uncommon prompts is to give you an opportunity to write a great essay.</p>
<p>(You should also be very aware that CC is by no means a representative or even legitimate population to take data from, and replies to chances threads are mostly unreliable.)</p>
<p>Yes, it is truly that hard to get into. Take it from someone who was deferred with practically perfect everything.</p>
<p>but then again.....is chicago really looking for perfect everything? I mean I would think (tell me if I'm wrong) that from what I've heard about chicago, that they'd be more likely to choose someone with a good (but not over the top) gpa with an amazing essay (by chicago standards) than someone with an over the top gpa and a mediocre essay</p>
<p>Maybe. There's no way to tell for sure.</p>
<p>Selectivity-wise, I would rank Chicago somewhere among Northwestern, Cornell, and Johns Hopkins, all of which are top schools and all of which have become more competitive admissions-wise in the past few years. (NU and JHU are at all-time highs with ED applications, Cornell switched over to the common app a few years ago and are becoming, in my mind, especially stingy with admitting applicants).</p>
<p>These schools are less unpredictable than, say, Columbia or HYP, which give you the impression that they have so many qualified applicants that they don't know what to do with them. However, all of the schools I've mentioned (including Chicago) have made some VERY surprising admissions decisions in the past few years.</p>
<p>mnsophmore...if you have a mediocre gpa, which it appears you do from your past posts ( a 3.5 to be exact) then dont try to tell yourself that chicago is going to look over that. try to present yourself as unique and as a good fit for chicago. yes, chicago does look at essays way more than any other top school, but it is a top school nevertheless and has maintained this position despite its weird admissions process...you will be competing with more than ten thousand applicants that have high gpas, good sats, and ec's that theyve worked for...so if you feel like chicago is right for you, dont try to console yourself with thinking chicago wont notice the gpa, just try to make up for it with other things.</p>
<p>I know they're not going to look over my gpa........I wouldn't really call a 3.3-3.5 gpa mediocre, it's good but it's not WOW ABSOLUTE GENIUS lol but w/e it seems that everyone on CC thinks anything below a 3.7 is mediocre.....but besides that i have other things that i could get and use to help my chances but i think that if i were to write a great essay then that could possibly make up for some of the holes in my application......but then again it's impossible to know. i<br>
think maybe all the surprising decisions come from the fact that a decision on an app isn't made by the same committee or person every time so decisions can very heavily from person to person depending on who makes them</p>
<p>mnsophmore,</p>
<p>At this point, the important thing for you to do is to make sure you have a rising trend in your GPA, and that you have, appropriate to your interests, a rigorous schedule. </p>
<p>One of the things that Beefs has not mentioned is that class rank is really a more appropriate measure than GPA. School's grade policies vary widely. If you look at Chicago's class profile, you can see that getting in below top 10% is a good bit more problematic than above. If you know going in that you are ranked below top 10% (unless your hs is a competitve private or competitve public magnate), you just need to make sure the rest of your list is solid.</p>
<p>GPA is one measure of one's ability to succeed at Chicago, and be a vibrant member of their community. It is not the only one by any means.</p>
<p>The UC admissions process is impossible to decode. My essay was stellar, as were my test scores and grades, recs, ec's, etc. This year UC was inundated with a 45% increase in EA applications. It's rumored they didn't even have time to completely read applications, and simply deferred applicants in droves.</p>
<p>Another factor can be recommendations--- I think students who truly love inquiry and ideas, who drive class discussion or add a different view can be highlighted by teacher's words. Or at least the rec can make other parts of the app ring true. Any person's application is a whole package, it's hard to pick the bits apart. I agree with ohio mom and je ne sais qoi except that I don't want to believe that applications were deferred for lack of time or effort. They could have delayed release and gained an extra week or at least 5 days.</p>
<p>"My essay was stellar"</p>
<p>The thing is ... even if it is a stellar piece of writing, they are still looking for fit. That makes it very difficult to predict.</p>
<p>glasses -
I think they just worked late a lot. I would also guess that since they had to defer so many because of the sheer numbers, they didn't do quite so much agonizing about whether to admit or defer on a particular application as they have in years past. Its the agonizing that takes time. It's just my impression, but it seems to me that we had many more deferrals on CC than in years past.</p>
<p>It's definitely not easy to get into. My friend with a 3.8 GPA, 2230 SAT, great essay and great recs was deferred. I know nothing is predictable and she might get in RD, but still... Chicago is a great school, and it's getting more popular by the minute. You can't really have any holes in your app.</p>
<p>ohio mom-- I think you have it figured out-- if they were not auto admit or auto reject it was probably wisest and fairest to defer w/o agonizing. The number of easy good fits probably filled their limit of admits for ea quickly this year.</p>
<p>See the thing is, you must consider GPA in two ways. First, your weighted GPA (if it's less than 4.1, it will be VERY hard for you to get into any of these top tier schools... I got deferred from Caltech and MIT with a 4.67W and class rank 1/1018 <--competitive, no?) Next, your UW GPA. Most schools recalculate to deal with inflated grades, but UC will consider work load difficulty as will most schools.</p>
<p>The main issue is that virtually EVERYONE applying will be on the same level as you, so you really need to shine with exemplary essays, good test scores, and oustanding (consistent, as in 4 years, especially sports) ECs... of course, even that may not be enough (as in the case of my deferrals despite nearly 20 ECs). </p>
<p>Either way, with these types of schools, there's really no way to predict. You could end up in UC but not Cornell, or vice versa, because there's simply so many people as good as you on paper applying. (Note the 'on paper' part). </p>
<p>My friend got deferred with a 4.3 GPA, 2250 SAT, so yea, its hard.</p>
<p>A UC alum, present teachers, peers, current Ivy college students, etc., read my essay and loved it. It's what UC usually looks for: avant-garde, creative, unconventional, well-written, etc., a true reflection of me! </p>
<p>Regarding decisions: It also comes down to simple math: the number of pages per application times the number of applications, divided by the number of admission office staff divided by the number of days before decisions had to be released. They would have had to add a lot more than just an extra week or so to fully evaluate and "agonize" over so many applicants. It would not surprise me if the cream was skimmed off the top catching those "easy good fits." I am hopeful that once my application is given its due, I'll be admitted RD. Plus, I am going to submit additional supporting materials.</p>
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It's what UC usually looks for: avant-garde, creative, unconventional, well-written, etc., a true reflection of me!
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<p>A good essay does not have to be any of those things. It should be a reflection of you, but it does not have to be avant-garde, creative, or unconventional. Libby even said so herself:</p>
<p>
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"3) FOR THE UNCOMMON ESSAY, DON'T WORRY IF YOU'RE NOT WRITING DIRECTLY ABOUT YOURSELF. DON'T WORRY IF YOU ARE."</p>
<p>I think this is the best advice unalove has given.</p>
<p>Otherwise, I would say think for yourself. Your essay is not "supposed to be" anything... funny, a particular number of pages, about you, about the cure for cancer, etc. That is what is so great about having new questions every year -- we have no expectations when we begin reading in November. Any preconceived notions we have when we read the questions in the summer usually fly out the door when we read the first ten essays of the year.
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<p>My own essay was neither avant-garde, nor creative, nor unconventional. It was about me. I was able to take one of the more oddball prompts and directly relate it to something that had happened to me over the course of my high school years. Of everything I've ever written, it was probably one of the most direct and least ornate pieces. I did not show it to my parents. I showed it to my guidance counselor, who did not think much of it ("Unalove, why don't you send in that funny piece you wrote about wearing the wrong kind of underwear instead?"). I showed it to somebody whom I trust quite deeply, and he loved it. That was my okay.</p>
<p>I just hope that applicants don't feel like they have to be intellectual and creative superheroes on their application, and that they feel okay being honest and being true to themselves. I've read a lot of good college essays in my time, and some of the best ones have been about ordinary things (death of a grandfather, counselor at a summer camp, going to Weight Watchers).</p>
<p>I didn't write directly about myself, which I thought was a big risk, but did it anyway. My essay was honest and true to myself, I just happen to be rather unconventional and creative! It reflected me, especially since I do not like writing about myself at all. I'm a fiction writer. Unalove: outside of finding a cure for cancer in the next month or two, any suggestions for what I can do now to show UChicago I am right for them? I know I am, in every fiber of my being. Well, at least I know they are right for me!</p>
<p>I will send you a PM about this. (I'm happy to chat with other deferred kids as well).</p>