<p>So I was talking to my guidance counselor today and he told me that a couple years back he had a student apply to the University of Chicago and was wait listed. He called the admissions office because he and the student were pretty sure he would be accepted and their reasoning for not accepting him was because he didn't take APUSH junior year, and instead got a 99 in a regular class. Very interesting.., if true.</p>
<p>I don't believe this. While the reason fits Chicago's philosophy (rigor over grades), I don't believe that anybody on the admissions committee would tell a student why they didn't accept him/her. It wouldn't benefit anybody.</p>
<p>I also do not believe this. Libby Pearson (a former admission officer) stated many times in the Uncommon Blog that they do not discuss WHY they made their decisions.</p>
<p>Like the poster above, I believe it fits Chicago's philosophy; however, I doubt they would have outright said such a thing.</p>
<p>Well I'm not lying, that is exactly what my GC told me. Lol it did seem very strange but idk.</p>
<p>don't believe that either. I think that student or your GC made that up because of sour grapes. I'm not trying to be rude or anything.</p>
<p>yeah, I'm not saying you're lying, Ny0rker. I've heard GCs say things like this before.</p>
<p>Not to mention, you're encouraged to take a rigorous schedule but that does not mean that you have to take every AP offered at your school.</p>
<p>I'll be the oddball...I think this may have some truth to it. It's quite possible. I know for a fact that UChicago knows my school pretty well, even Ted O'Neil personally comes to our college fairs (and we're on the east coast...) If the college knows the high school well enough, they may be able to see that you've been purposely taking courses with easy teachers to get high grades. Anything's possible. However, if this is in any way true, I don't believe it would be the only reason he was denied admission.</p>
<p>Out of all the criteria colleges use to decide whether to accept or reject, i doubt that not taking a single class was the only deciding factor.</p>
<p>so they value the rigor of your course load more than your grades? are yall serious?</p>
<p>To letigre, any top school does. ABSOLUTELY!</p>
<p>I think there is some truth in it. Of all the schools out there, I could really see UChicago doing this</p>
<p>Chicago clearly states in their literature and the admissions counselor who posted last year said it as well, rigor of curriculum is given more consideration than simply GPA. S1 was admitted with a 3.46 GPA, but took a very rigorous curriculum (completed Calc BC as a sophomore and was not all that interested in math) that included coursework from UC Berkeley, and intensive language study outside of HS both locally and abroad.</p>
<p>Letigre, what idad said. They want to see that you know how to work hard and have maximized your academic opportunities. S1 had a decent, but not stellar UW GPA, but had 9 APs and 13 post-AP courses in comp sci, math and physics. It was the gut classes that always nailed him; the challenging ones set him on fire.</p>
<p>O ok I always thought that was like an urban myth or something.
But I really wanted to take AP social studies classes so that's what I did.
and at the end of Junior year, I'll have 8 APs and I'm one in about 3-10 kids at my school who's doing that.
what about if you're really amazing in certain classes but you suck at other?
like i suck at advanced math and foreign language but I'm freakin amazing at history</p>