My chances at Uchicago?

<p>Here is basically me:</p>

<p>Hi, I am applying as a Uchicago TRANSFER student. And I wanted to guage how much of a chance I have.</p>

<p>I have a 3.7 GPA along with a job at NASA Space System in the finance and business department.</p>

<p>My major is economics with a possiblitiy of an art history minor/double major.</p>

<p>I am of Persian decent and I take care of my 5 year old sister along with my mother because my father is in southern california starting a company so I was delegated all the home tasks and as a sort of psuedo father figure. ( I don't know how important this plays to Uchicago)</p>

<p>My community college in california that i attend is apparently rated one of the highest in the country, (again i dont know how that plays to admissions)</p>

<p>I also play the trumpet and am a black belt in karate. I also work with my mom in her small business and I am helping her setup an Iranian Business Owners Association.</p>

<p>Uchicago is really a dream school for me and i wanted to get some feedback on how my chances are prospectively.</p>

<p>Oh and I am in the Phi Theta Kappa 2 year college international honor society.</p>

<p>transfer into elite colleges from community colleges is probably easier than you think. I know of a few people who went to okay community colleges and ended up at Harvard, Columbia, and Yale.</p>

<p>I don't know what Chicago's policies are like, but you certainly sound interesting and that you're in the range of what Chicago is looking for.</p>

<p>Hmmm....looks good.</p>

<p>^
I assume you know exactly what they look for, eh? :p</p>

<p>In terms of numbers, U Chicago received 575 transfer applications last year. Of these, they accepted 125 (21.7%). This is actually a fairly high percentage among elite universities; only Brown and Northwestern have significantly higher rates. </p>

<p>It won't be easy, though. Looking through most of the U Chicago transfer threads, a good portion of them plan to major in economics. Understandable, but it won't set your application apart. A 3.7 is a solid GPA, and if you're applying as an incoming junior, your high school record won't matter as much. HOWEVER, a number of things play a role, just like they do in freshmen admissions. Your essays are important, just as they would be for freshmen. An interview is probably recommended, and strong teacher recs would help your application. Things to keep in mind:</p>

<p>1) U Chicago has the Common Core, and the same requirements apply to transfers. Depending on what courses you have taken, you may or may not graduate on time. I've heard U Chicago can be a bit choosy about what courses they allow you to transfer.</p>

<p>2) U Chicago offers need-based aid to transfers, <em>but</em> they specifically say the number of quarters of financial aid they grant you might not be the same number of quarters it takes to graduate- definitely something to keep in mind.</p>

<p>That said, I think your chances are as good as anyone's and better than many applicants'.</p>

<p>don't take my spot, fella!! :) gl</p>

<p>GL to all transfers, and you seem solid, but everyone I've talked to says that my 3.42 and *<strong><em>ty highschool with stellar essays has a better chance than a 4.0 with *</em></strong>ty essays</p>

<p>My experiences, classes,essays, and extracurricular set me apart. Not my major. I don't think its possible to be "original" in a major.</p>

<p>Eh, actually it is possible. One CC parent has a daughter majoring in Egyptology, which helped her application at Brown and U Chicago. :D</p>

<p>How does he know that? Did the admissions officers tell him?</p>

<p>let's hope i have a 4.0 and stellar essays... i'm worried they aren't going to be original enough though. i was going to use the zen master prompt and start out with the night before i moved to europe, storylike, more or less to show my hook and hopefully set me apart from the other 4.0/32ers. then i planned to move on to never settling and continually progressing and changing to adapt to the environment and world economy/views to keep yourself as competitive as possible. Too humdrum and boring?</p>

<p>and yeah, good shot w/ essays i think</p>

<p>gambadent: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=127465%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=127465&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>so basically, he's just guessing it helped.</p>

<p>I have a 4.0 in hs and 4.0 as a sophomore in college taking premed honors classes and math classes at a decent state school. Incredible recommendations from professors whose classes I ranked #1 in. What ACT or SAT do you think would get me in as a transfer? I am taking it in a few days and don't have any time to study. Thanks.
P.S. How did you do on the standardized tests? UChicago is the only school that wants me to retake them because they were 5 years old. Like the SAT/ACT really matter.</p>

<p>well if you're having to retake them... obviously they do. just do as well as you can. it probably won't matter THAT muchwith the scores, recs, essays, etc. -- but i wouldn't **** it away b/c i didn't feel like really trying and made a 25 act or 1500 new act... just give it a shot. you won't really have to worry though, you should be well-prepped enough for a HS-level college entrance exam</p>

<p>I thought they gave time-waivers for people with ADD....maybe I'm wrong. Are you taking the ACT or SAT? - because timings usually better with the SAT</p>

<p>they do but i didn't learn that until it was to late to do anything. i am taking the ACT. i think that if i do poorly i am just going to send my old sat. after all chicago is making a major effort to appear flexible about things and oh so funny.
then i'll know if our feeling are mutual. the other thing that I can do is take the test and if I score really low, I'll just send it with no explanation. let them wonder how a student with a college rank #1 can appear to be no college material based on the standardized tests. w00t, w00t.</p>

<p>I am taking the ACT this saturday and if I do poorly I'll send in my previous SAT tests. </p>

<p>But yea, I am about #4 ranked at my college.</p>

<p>I am #1 ranked in the economics courses I took as well, out of 250 students and such. I hope I get in. I'm nervous.</p>

<p>Martini-Why did you not go to Uchicago or other schools out of HS?</p>