<p>Sam Lee: I got a D in Chinese Language; would that possibly have been as disastrous as my sucky ECs?
TheDad: Would I ruin their impression of me if I ask them why I was deferred, however tactfully? Thanks anyway for your reply!</p>
<p>Hey! Because I'm a conspiracy theorist (I'm not paranoid, it's just those paranoids who are after me who are paranoid), I didn't join this site until I found out if I was in or not, but I wanted to thank you all for your wonderful, intelligent and hilarious posts thus far. It seems to me that the Chicago board is one of the most interesting and reflective of what a great school this is! </p>
<p>Decision: Accepted!!!</p>
<p>Stats:
SAT: 1440
SAT IIs: Writing (800), Literature (800), French (670)
GPA:3.9 unweighted
Rank:top 5%
Other stats: no APs at my school, but took the French Lang. (5), National Merit Commended Scholar
Subjective:
Essays:why Chicago--I had so much I wanted to say--I risked being cheesy I was so fervent. favorite things--woody allen, the movie "hannah and her sisters," the poem "somewhere i've never travelled, gladly beyond," and bach! essay: martin luther king prompt.
Teacher Recs:didn't read. I'm assuming excellent though
Counselor Rec:Excellent (Counselor is awesome!)
Hook (if any): art portfolio, visited twice, emailed the school A LOT, tons of enthusiasm. an AMAZING interview--I was ready to hug my interviewer goodbye.
Location/Person: NYC
State or Country:NY
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Gender:Female
Other Factors: I'm so relieved and joyful--there is no other school, or institution for that matter, that I love as much as Chicago. To other acceptees, I can't wait to meet you next year, please IM me or introduce yourself! To deferees--I think enthusiasm, love of the school, is key. Email your admissions officer and tell them how much you love the school. Good luck!</p>
<p>Decision: Accepted</p>
<p>Stats:
SAT: 1420
SAT IIs: 800,760,740
GPA:4.0
Rank:2
Other stats: TOEFL - 290
Subjective:
Essays:Different! Good but not great
Teacher Recs:Excellent (I hope!)
Counselor Rec:Excellent (I hope!)
Hook (if any): Entrepreneurship, Social Work
Location/Person:
State or Country:India
School Type:Public
Ethnicity: Indian
Gender:Male</p>
<p>Same story with me bohemianrhapsody. I took their admissions for granted, but still got in. What a relief!</p>
<p>Decision: Accepted</p>
<p>Stats:
SAT: 1490
SAT IIs: 790,750,740
GPA:97.5
Rank:doesn't rank
Other stats: took 4 APs, taking 7 AP classes this year
Subjective:
Essays: unique, but not the best writing-wise
Teacher Recs :great
Counselor Rec: haven't seen it
Hook (if any): moved from Russia, very involved with music
Location/Person:
State or Country:NY
School Type:Public
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Gender:female</p>
<p>Want_1600, as long as you're polite and "professional," asking why you were deferred is fair game. I don't think colleges or even individual admissions officers have a uniform response to questions like that, so you may or may not get an answer. But it can't hurt and my advice is: go for it! The feedback they give you may possibly give you an indication of what, if anything, you could do to strengthen your file for RD. Good luck.</p>
<p>Decision: Accepted
SAT: 750V 800M
SATII: 800 790 760
Rank: ~15%
Two APs taken, two 5's
Essays: The long one was interesting, but a little drab. The short ones were quite personal and intimate, yet surely not tear-provoking.
Recs: One excellent, one very good, Counselor's would've been unremarkable.
Hook: The only thing I can think of is that I conversed with the admissions officer several times, she knew me by name; my on campus interview was great.
Connecticut, white male</p>
<p>Columbia & MIT</p>
<p>this school seems to accept everybody?</p>
<p>I wouldn't call CC an accurate sample. CCers represent probably the top 10% of the applicant pool.</p>
<p>Right. UoC is actually more selective than it looks because there's a fair amount of self-selection in the first place. It's as solidly an "intellectual" school as any around.</p>
<p>As for CC, it's the cream of the obsessed.</p>
<p>Decision: Accepted (Attending)
Stats:
[ul]
[<em>]SAT: 1470 (750M, 720V)
[</em>]SAT IIs: Unavailable
[<em>]GPA: 3.8 Unweighted
[</em>]Rank: Unavailable
[<em>]Other Stats: I only listed five extracurriculars on my application, two of which weren't connected with my school, and the other three of which weren't taken up for more than a year.
[/ul]
Subjective:
[ul]
[</em>]Essays: All were so original that they couldn't possibly be replicated. My third (the main essay) was prodigious. ;)
[<em>]Teacher Recs: I sent in three recs, two of them being well beyond mediocre.
[</em>]Counselor Rec: I'm not best friends with her, but she knows me and my methods of thinking well.
[/ul]
Location/Person:
[ul]
[<em>]State or Country: Pennsylvania
[</em>]School Type: Private
[<em>]Ethnicity: Caucasian
[</em>]Gender: Male
[/ul]
General Comments: I will see you in Chicago next September. :D Meanwhile, I'm thinking of developing a small extra-CC community for those of us who want to attend UChicago and booze our asses off! :P</p>
<p>TheDad
<as for="" cc,="" it's="" the="" cream="" of="" obsessed=""></as></p>
<p>LOL! Too true!</p>
<p>Hey, chicagonobel, have you heard? You're all over these threads and you seem so enthusiastic! I hope all is well!</p>
<p>brinestorm - did some1 mention booze??? dude, i am all for it - lets get our keg going...</p>
<p>Where is ChicagoNobel? I am wondering about that too...I hope he got in, and I hope everything's ok with him.
I got in EA, but will not be attending (ED Penn Huntsman). Chicago's an AWESOME SCHOOL...sucks that I can't go to both of them...:(</p>
<p>Decision: Deferred </p>
<p>Stats:
[ul]
[<em>]SAT: 800V/760M
[</em>]SAT IIs: Biology, 720; Literature, 740; Writing, 800.
[<em>]GPA: 3.2w/2.7uw
[</em>]Rank: Unranked
[<em>]Other stats: ACT, 34; AP English Language & Composition, 5.
[/ul]
Subjective:
[ul]
[</em>]Essays: I thought that my mustard essay was awesome... maybe it wasn't as good as I thought. My other two were kinda poor; I'll probably send the University a few more letters about how much I want to go.
[<em>]Teacher Recs: I know that one (from my English teacher) was freaking amazing, I'm not sure about the other. I sent a third that should have been good as well.
[</em>]Counselor Rec: No idea. He likes me, but we don't know one another too well.
[<em>]Hook (if any): Lots of ECs, with leadership roles in most of them.
[/ul]
Location/Person:
[ul]
[</em>]State or Country: Connecticut
[<em>]School Type: Public
[</em>]Ethnicity: Caucasian
[<em>]Gender: Male
[/ul]
Other Factors:
[ul]
[</em>] I tried to focus on what distinguishes me from lots of 4.0-producing Stepford Students, since my grades are fairly atrocious. I'll have to figure something else out, I suppose.
[/ul]</p>
<p>General Comments:
I was really hoping that I'd be accepted, but it's not too unclear why I wasn't. I just hope that I'll fair better during the regular-decision round. Everyone says that the best thing to do is not give up, so I'll ask for a few more letters of recommendation, send letters to the school, call every once in a while... and maybe I'll see some of you next year.</p>
<p>Congratulations to those who were accepted, and good luck to those who weren't.</p>
<p>Decision: Accepted</p>
<p>Stats:</p>
<pre><code>* SAT: 1330 (570V, 760M)
* SAT IIs: Writing: 630, U.S. History: 720
* GPA: 3.9 (weighted)
* Rank: School doesn't rank
* Other stats: 30 ACT
</code></pre>
<p>Subjective:</p>
<ul>
<li>Essays: I hope the admissions people laughed their heads off with my mustard essay. (Most of my friends and teachers did). The essay on why I wanted to go was a last-minute, rushed job, however.</li>
<li>Teacher Recs: My physics teacher gave me a copy of his, where he said that I was one of his few students who actually wanted to learn, and wasn't there to just pass the class.</li>
<li>Counselor Rec: Don't know. School policy requires counselors to keep recs confidential.</li>
<li>Hook (if any): Well, I'm the school rep to the major county student advisory council.</li>
</ul>
<p>Location/Person:</p>
<pre><code>* State or Country: Virginia
* School Type: Public
* Ethnicity: Asian
* Gender: Male
</code></pre>
<p>Other Factors: I was surprised that they accepted me, regardless of my low SATs! I think it may have been the essays. As I said, the mustard one should have kept them laughing for awhile.</p>
<p>hey brinestorm congratulations on your acceptance hopefully i will hear monday and will be able to booze my ass off with you. :)</p>
<p>DanielSH, I'll be blunt: I think your GPA killed you and I don't think it's recoverable for you and Chicago. You really can't spin it that high GPA's are Stepford Students; what adcoms will see with your combo of high test scores and low GPA is "talented slacker."
Schools a couple of notches down will be willing to take a chance on you because you'll help raise their stats but schools in the top tier--of which Chicago is one--are going to pass. Where else are you applying?</p>