low ranking...chances? :)

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
1

<p>any ideas on chances?? im doing EA to chicago
asian female, nj
SAT I (may 05) 720m, 680cr, 660writing
SATI (oct 05) 740 m, 660 cr, 720 writing
highest compositie: 2140
SAT II's: 680 math iic, 660 physics (yea...not that high)</p>

<p>really really competitive high school, top 50 in nation i think, so i think im only top 30%, i know that everyone else's like top 10 people...so im kinda worried here, we have no rank tho, gpa is 3.9ish
5 ap's by graduation: stat, econ (micro and macro), psych, lang, and calc
(not that many cuz my school has like qualifying tests for ap's, so its kinda hard to get in in the first place) but all other classes are accelerated/honors</p>

<p>EC's:
black belt karate
karate teacher to kids ages 3 to 10, teacher to special needs (physical/mentally ill), karate camp counselor
2004 nationals: 1st place
2003 nationals: 3rd place</p>

<p>clarinet for 5 or so years, 1st section in school band</p>

<p>internship at hospital, Neonatal intensive care unit, veryy cool experience</p>

<p>piano for like 12 years
played in charnegie hall, steinway hall
won competitions multiple times in diff years: young pianist competition of nj, music educators association of nj, young peoples music program, and 2 others whos name escapes me now...o and 2 consecutive years 1st place talent show in my school. im sending in a cd of my playing
accompanist for everything imaginable: school musical, chorale (elite singing group of my high school), and im like the conductor/teacher too, fundraising activities for AIDS (broadway cares/equity fights AIDS), preseidnet of musiCares (we go to diff nursing homes and play music), played with church choirs for sunday services
school activities include key club, modern issues, red cross, ummm sorta french lit mag</p>

<p>o i came to america when i was 10, dunno if that makes a difference, and i got supp recs from piano and karate teacher.</p>

<p>chances??
thanx for any thoughts!</p>

2

<p>As you know, your weak points are your rank (if reported) in conjunction with your SAT II's. If you think you could do better, you might consider a December retake, especially on the math iic. If you are accepted EA it would be a waste of time - but if you are deferred it would give you additional credentials for the regular round at Chicago and the other schools to which you are applying.</p>

3

<p>this one could go either way. it is almost cliched, but a strong essay will really help here. too bad you are an orm not an urm. an urm and you're a lock. the other problem is your school. you claim it's in the top 50 in the nation, but i'm not sure that the colleges either know, believe or care whether that is true. they don't have time. all they see is that in comparison with your peers, you didn't get the job done. also if the school is really that great, it would stand to reason that some of your peers with a higher ranking would also apply to uchi and that they may get accepted first. if so, uchi can only accept so many from one school, so it may be tough. you need to make that essay sing so that the reader will go to the mat for you.</p>

4

<p>ORM vs. URM. Sorry, but what is that?</p>

5

<p>over and under represented minority</p>

6

<p>isnt secondary school report the thing that tells the colleges how good ur high school is, and its rankings in the country and stuff?
good thing is that i dont think anyone else's applying EA to uchi except for me =)
thanx tho</p>

7

<p>the secondary school report describes the school and it may go into how good the school is, but that begs the question, how good compared to what? there are so many hs's in the country and there is no objective way to rank hs's. that's where sat's may come in. everyone takes the same sat's and that score gives an unobjective score as to what a student is compared to a student in another part of the country. a valedictorian with an 1800 sat or less, tells one something about the quality of the school. now i am not saying this applies in each and every case, but the sat's do give the schools and idea of how a student ranks with others regardless of which hs, they went to.</p>

8

<p>I found it hard to believe myself, but when my S was visiting the campus one of the adcoms asked what HS he attended. When I told him, he said, yes we know it well, and went on to describe it to me, and it is not one of the top 50. I asked if they really know most HS's that well and the reply was, of course, that is our business. So there is probably a good chance your school is known to them. As for rank, at my S's school, if one had a 3.8 uw GPA one was about 100/400. Lot's of straight A's in an AP filled curriculum. 190 students went to very good Universities most in the top 20.</p>

9

<p>idad, I recall your son having a gpa around 3.45 if I'm correct - what was the approximate class rank for that? My class rank isn't as high as where normal Chicago students would be, so I'm concerned whether my class rank will just put me out of the game. Thanks.</p>

10

<p>It was 185/405.</p>

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<p>idad: someone from adcom at uchi actually told you that they were familiar with your son's hs and then said that it wasn't in the top 50? what kind of people work at uchi. that's like saying to someone, that they know all about your honda, then commenting that it's not a mercedes. even if it were true, who says something like that? it's like someone saying they know all about uchi, goes on to describe the school in detail, then say that uchi is not in the top 10. it may all be true, but for an adcom to say that is just poor taste.</p>

12

<p>No, I said it was not in the top 50 to point out that even less publicized schools are well known by the adcoms. But, I guess that is the U of C way, do your homework. It seems you really have a bad case of Chicago envy.</p>

13

<p>i sure do have chicago envy, they just won the world series. uchi, on the other hand, i'm fairly blase about. it has good points and bad. at least i can see the schools shortcomings. also, why would i be envious of a school that accepts kids with a 3.45 gpa and a class ranking barely in the top 50% in a high school that isn't even in the top 50? speaking of envy, who in their right mind would consider ted oneill one of the most respected "ivy" deans? seems someone has ivy envy and it shows real bad.</p>

14

<p>This isn't my opinion it is theirs. As for accepting my S, his essays were outstanding, which is why he was accepted, and he is doing very well this year so they seem to know what they are doing.</p>

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<p>i am happy that your s is doing well, but do you think you may be a tad biased about uchi? everybody wants to think that their s or d is the greatest and that is a wonderful thing, but in this forum, can we deal with this dimension and not an alternate universe? in this world, uchi will never ever be an ivy. i don't even know if they have a football team. beyond the football issue, it doesn't matter what anyone says, noone with a 3.45, 185/405 and great essays is going to get into an ivy unless they are considered urm's or is extremely talented musically or athletically. that is why uchi is a large notch below stanford, mit, ivy or aws. one doesn't need to cite to all the articles about how good an education one recieves at uchi. that is indisputable, but can we just agree that when most people discuss the super selective and elite schools, uchi rarely is included in that conversation?</p>

16

<p>I was biased before my S decided on U of C, that is perhaps one reason he chose it. I have worked many years with students from many of the top Ivy's as well as U of C. My experience has been that few compare to Chicago students.</p>

<p>And no, you are incorrect, most articles and discussions about the so-called elite schools include U of C as a matter of course. Even the recent WSJ article about Harvard's prestige cited U of C. The article went so far as to suggest that Chicago not Harvard has had more impact in the last 25 years or so and ran through the reasons why (in Economics for example, U of C had 22 Nobel winners in that time period, Harvard 4).</p>

<p>And yes, UChicago is different in its admissions policy, putting more emphasis on essays for example (as noted earlier, friends with better numbers, but not as good essays were turned down), it carefully selects from an already self-selected pool. This, combined with its very rigorous curriculum, and commitment to intellectualism is what sets it apart, academically a notch higher than the rest.</p>

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<p>Christ, I'm so sick of both of you. I still don't know why BlacknBlue even comes on the Chicago board, if not to trash it, and idad and others think that any student who chooses an ivy over Chicago is a prestige whore unfit for the rigours of U of C.</p>

<p>You both really need help.</p>

18

<p>I rather find idad's defenses justified having read some of his posts. He doesn't go on to attack the other person's credentials (as seems the case with blacknblue), and reasonably states all his opinions in a respectable fashion. While Blacknblue has a lot to offer to the Chicago forums, he sometimes makes me wonder where he really comes from. But yes, the constant bickering is getting a little annoying.</p>

19

<p>idad, I'm interested in your son's admission since my credentials are similiar; would you mind telling me what his SAT/ACT scores were? Did he apply EA/RD?</p>

<p>Personally I love UChicago's admissions policy because it allows room for mistakes. I was not a born and bred ivy candidate. I didn't even really enjoy school all that much until last year when I took my first AP course and my entire academic approach changed. My first two years are not a reflection of my ability and I think UChicago will realize that. The Ivy's will admit someone who formulaicly slides through school with no goal or desire to learn. They will except someone who doesn't care about the school at all, can't write a decent essay, but can take a standardized test. UChicago reviews character and potential and passion. I think that says a lot about the school.</p>

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<p>makeyourselfxo, I too believe UChicago is a special place. However, I think it diminishes your credibility when you needlessly bash the Ivies with no support or foundation for your opinions. That's really not reflective of a thoughtful approach to discussion.</p>