<p>What do you all consider to be the most important/least important aspects of the application at U of Chicago?</p>
<p>Essays!</p>
<p>Transcript!</p>
<p>So, how much lower on the list are ECs and test scores/which is considered more?</p>
<p><em>imagines a big list in the admissions office</em> Now remember, ECs are number five and test scores are number seven, so don't go counting those impressive test scores!</p>
<p>dont worry jeffz, diocletian patronizes everyone.</p>
<p>Yes, and if he's anything like me, he gets a morbid sense of satisfaction out of it.</p>
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dont worry jeffz, diocletian patronizes everyone.
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<p>Only people on CC, really. Until I came here I never realized that people could get so obsessed about the minutiae of college admissions. That, and the fact that this question has been asked about 1,345,642 times. Search, people! You can look and see how many times I've answered this question or some variation on it -- my answers have become more sarcastic over time. Nobody believed me when I said essays and the difficulty of your class schedule were the most important parts of the application, and gave the same spiel I'm about to give.</p>
<p>Do you really think there is a big tablet ranking the various aspects of an application and their relative importance? Or that there's some Admissions Finite State Machine into which you plop an application and out comes a number?</p>
<p>Admissions wants to know if you're the kind of person who would do well at Chicago and be happy here, which is why essays and transcripts are the most important. Tests and ECs say something too, but they're always going to be refracted through the lens of your essays, which hopefully makes admissions understand why your ECs are what they are, your transcript, and, to a lesser extent, your recommendations.</p>
<p>Finally, what does it matter what the relative rankings are of a given admissions department? If you really want to go to the school you're going to put your best foot forward. Since presumably your ECs, test scores, and transcript are more-or-less solidified, the only things you have any control over are your essays and your recommendations. Anything beyond that is in the hands of the admissions folk and is not worth fretting over.</p>
<p>People usually respond with some nonsense about how worrying is cathartic. Yadda yadda. The college application process is only stressful if you focus on the wrong stuff. In my opinion, things like "Does Chicago rank ECs higher than test scores when considering an application?" is the wrong stuff.</p>
<p>Libby, you listed essays before transcript, which implies that essays are at least equal to transcript. I thought that transcript was by far the most important factor.</p>
<p>not in uchicago i guess.</p>
<p>Thanks motpasm, and thanks to everyone for the helpful responses. Diocletian, you certainly made your point, but why waste 300+ words to try to make me regret asking a question that many nice people are willing to answer?</p>
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but why waste 300+ words to try to make me regret asking a question that many nice people are willing to answer?
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<p>The post was 327 words and about three minutes of my time. Alas. The answer to your question is in that worthless post of mine. If you're asking a genuine question and not just playing rhetorical games, feel free to re-read; otherwise, disregard. </p>
<p>Also, nobody actually answered your second question about the relative rank of ECs versus test scores. I doubt that there is a concrete answer, though Libby could certainly prove me wrong.</p>
<p>If there's a concrete answer regarding the importance of the essays and transcript, then i don't see why there wouldn't be a concrete answer in regard to ECs and test scores; i'm sure someone can give me a response.</p>
<p>We actually make all of our decisions by abacus, so these minute details are very important.</p>
<p>There is never a concrete answer as to how much each portion is "weighted." If there's some telling detail in the teacher recommendation, then suddenly that becomes the most important document, and weighs 55 pounds. If there is a beautiful argument in the essay, then suddenly that becomes the most important document, and weighs 61 pounds. Reading an application is like reading a short story. Page 7 does not mean more than Page 3. I think I've said that before...</p>
<p>thanks....</p>
<p>I thought this article was worth a read when I was stressing about my Chicago application ('09 applicants weren't cool enough to have a CC admissions officer). It's from 6-7 years ago.</p>
<p>warblersrule, that was EXTREMELY helpful. This was the kind of information i was seeking. Thanks a lot!</p>