<p>It’s going down, but I believe it’s still above 30%[??]. Chicago is a different U than most colleges[ Reed, Columbia and Swarthmore have a similar academic “feel”. It is HIGHLY academic and is known as one of the toughest colleges in the US,[ it has the “core”, which takes up essentially your first 2 years of college, so you will get a broad based liberal arts education whether you want it or not!] and is it’s grade deflation is well known in academic circles. You will not have the typical “Big U” college experiences there, so it is NOT the right college for most students. But you WILL graduate from Chicago knowing how to THINK!Chicago graduates are highly thought of in the business world and by graduate schools.
Applicants have a tendancy to “self select”. It doesn’t have the huge #'s of students applying there, or as low an acceptance rate as colleges that are considered in the academic world to be Chicago’s equals[ HYPS, ]. Students tend to not apply to Chicago unless they are passionate about learning, ABOVE ALL ELSE. It ends to attract a large # of smart, passionate and somewhat “quirky” students.</p>
<p>The KEY to acceptance there [ given your grades/ starts are in range] is your essays! Even though Chicago has “caved” and will accept the Common app starting this year, they still have supplemental essays that are reminiscent of their “quirky” Uncommon App essay prompts of years past. Most students who apply loved the application- it did help to pre sort out those that would appreciate the “quirky” intellectual bend of Chicago.
Here’s a link to the admissions website. Have fun! I suggest you also wander over to the Chicago forum for more questions you may have. Most posters there are very helpful.
[University</a> of Chicago College Admissions | Facts and Figures](<a href=“http://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/facts/]University”>http://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/facts/)</p>