***Official University of Chicago 2016 RD Results***

<p>Seahawks, I read your post and can tell you that you are definitely more qualified than you might have thought! Reading your APs and course load made my brain hurt, and I thought I(!) had challenging classes. Plus your sports writing definitely makes you stand out. (I have a similar sports-oriented Twitter account, so that part definitely drew my attention!)</p>

<p>So many brilliant students from my school applied to UChicago, and as far as I know, only three have been accepted. They turned down a girl who lives and breathes politics, a dancer, an aspiring playwright… and accepted a kid who tweets about a crappy (but awesome) soccer team and pays for flying lessons with an inhuman amount of babysitting. </p>

<p>I am so thankful that UChicago was able to look past my grades and see ME!
I can’t wait to see you guys there!</p>

<p>S2 Waitlisted</p>

<p>ACT 36
SAT 2340
4.0/4.45
Rank 1/171
SAT ll: 800 Math 2, BioM 780, USH 780
AP; all 5’s
NMF
White male, Religious private, CA</p>

<p>Great EC’s. Nationally recognized musician. Stellar rec’s. We were very surprised to not get an outright acceptance, and also surprised to see so many other academically talented students get waitlisted. Left us wondering wth? We thought Chicago was great because they admitted the best and brightest- and that peer 'mingling" was what was attractive to him about UC. Guess their definition of best and brighest is different. Congrats to those who got in. So far S2 is in at USC (trustee finalist), UCB, UCLA, Pomona, Boston C., Santa Clara (Presential Scholarship). Now waiting on Harvard, Yale, Holy Cross, Stanford.</p>

<p>Decision: Waitlisted</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 2400
[</em>] ACT:
[<em>] SAT II: 800 USH, 800 WH, 800 Chem
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/218 ish
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): WH (5), USH (5), Chem (4), English Lang (4), Latin Vergil (5)
[<em>] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: Religion classes, AP Politics, AP Physics B, AP English Lit, AP Calc AB, H Bio, H Visual Basic, H Western Civ
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): CT Governor’s Scholar, National Merit Finalist, Comcast Leaders & Achievers, Scholastic Art and Writing Silver Key, National Latin Exam Summa Cum Laude/Gold Medal (3x), a few other local writing awards</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Debate 9th-12th grade (captain), Envirothon 10-12 (captain), school service society 9-12 (VP), NHS 10-12 (VP); The first 3 are the ones I have dedicated myself to in school over the years, it would take a while to describe the things I do in each of them.
[</em>] Job/Work Experience: none, applied for some jobs, didn’t get them >.<
[<em>] Volunteer/Community service: worked with a non-profit in New Orleans rebuilding houses, volunteer at food pantry, tutor at local middle school, volunteer for local state representative, and the school service society could be considered community service (we run monthly schoolwide food drives that go to the aforementioned food pantry)
[</em>] Summer Activities: volunteering at food pantry, camp CIT, etc.
[<em>] Essays: Common App was a little abstract, fairly personal, not sure how admissions officers would’ve responded to it; I thought my UC essays (why UC, UC optional, Play-Doh) were pretty good, they were very lighthearted, I felt like trolling that day :), thought UC would like it, but guess it didn’t go over that well lol
[</em>] Teacher Recommendation: don’t know, didn’t ask for or read, but I have very good relationships with the teachers I asked
[<em>] Counselor Rec: don’t know, didn’t ask for or read
[</em>] Additional Rec: Envirothon coach, it would’ve been very good
[li] Interview: didn’t get one</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): CT
[</em>] Country (if international applicant):
[<em>] School Type: Catholic, all-male
[</em>] Ethnicity: Asian (Chinese-American)
[<em>] Gender: Male
[</em>] Income Bracket: just barely don’t qualify for FA, but still applied for FA anyways lol
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: objective stats, essays (I thought, but maybe not)
[</em>] Weaknesses: none in particular, overall solid app, but I had nothing that really stood out or anything in particular
[<em>] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: couldn’t say, UC had a flood of apps this year, maybe there’s something I missed that did it;
[</em>] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Dartmouth likely letter, Swarthmore early write acceptance, Northwestern accept, thus far</p>

<p>[/ul]General Comments:</p>

<p>I’m fairly disappointed, UChicago was one of the higher choices on my list, but I have several other very solid options at this point, and am waiting to hear from all my other schools within the next 2 weeks. I really like UC, the intellectual culture and student body that it attracts (I’m a prospective philosophy major, or at least minor), and I feel like I fit the archetype of UC undergrad student pretty well and that I expressed that well in my essays, but it’s ultimately not my determination if I get accepted. One of my good friends from my school got into UChicago EA. It seems to me that there were an unusual number of waitlists at Chicago this year, or at least from what I can see on CC. To be honest, I kind of thought that I was “in” at UC - guess it’s always healthy to get periodic reality checks, keeps you grounded. Probably will not be staying on the waitlist. Congrats to those who got in, and good luck with other decisions!</p>

<p>Decision: Accepted
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2390(790 in M)
ACT: 35
SAT II (if submitted): 800 Chemistry, 800 Math II, 800 US History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 4/257
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 World 5 US History 5 Lang 5 Chem 4 Spanish
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP: Lit PhysicsB Bio Gov CalcBC TechSci BCIS
Job/Work Experience: Babysitting, tutoring
Volunteer/Community service: Over 2000 hours
Essays: Fishing in a sea of broken dreams
Teacher Recommendation: I think they were pretty good, but not the best.
Counselor Rec: Don’t think she knows me too well, not sure what to say.
Interview: No
Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Physics/Econ
State (if domestic applicant): TX
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Bhutanese
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Less than 20K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): First gen, Bhutanese
General Comments:
Congratulations to those who got in! Choosing from Columbia, Rice, Pomona, and UChicago will be hard :/</p>

<p>Decision: Waitlisted</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 800 CR, 800 Math, 740 Writing
[</em>] ACT: N/A
[<em>] SAT II: 800 Math II, 800 Physics
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): Somewhere around 3.8/3.9
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 25%
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Euro (4), AP Bio (5), AP US History (5), AP Physics B (5), AP Psychology (5), AP Calculus AB (5)
[<em>] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: AP Chemistry, AP French, AP Calculus BC, AP Literature, AP US Government, AP Economics
[<em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Finalist (Semifinalist when applying)
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Track (Sophomore to Senior), Cross Country (Junior and Senior), Wrestling (just junior), Debate (just freshman)
[<em>] Job/Work Experience: N/A
[</em>] Volunteer/Community service: 90 hours total
[<em>] Summer Activities: Palmetto Boys State
[</em>] Essays: I thought they were good…I thought my UChicago additional was so good, in fact that I used it for my common app generic one as well
[<em>] Teacher Recommendation: AP Bio teacher’s was good, I think my Calc AB teacher’s was good also but not sure
[</em>] Counselor Rec: New counselor so not sure
[<em>] Additional Rec: Didn’t ask for one
[</em>] Interview: Didn’t get one…was I supposed to?</p>

<p>[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): SC
[</em>] Country (if international applicant):
[<em>] School Type: Public Magnet
[</em>] Ethnicity: Bengali (Indian Subcontinent)
[<em>] Gender: M
[</em>] Income Bracket: 80K-100K
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: SAT, courseload
[</em>] Weaknesses: No real compelling extracurruculars
[<em>] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Not sure why I got waitlisted other than weak extracurriculars.
[</em>] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted at Clemson, Georgia Tech, Case Western and UCLA. Rejected from MIT and Caltech, waitlisted at Rice. </p>

<p>[/ul]General Comments: I was surprised and angry at myself, especially since a friend with a weaker SAT score got in. I worked very hard on this application, so I’m not sure what went wrong, exactly.</p>

<p>Decision: Rejected</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): R 740 M 740 W 710 2 sittings
[</em>] ACT:n/a
[<em>] SAT II: physics 740 us history 710
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 91% average… no gpa
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 10% gr 11 with 89 average, but fell to top 13% for gr 12 because other kids started caring I guess
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): Didn’t take AP exams
[<em>] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: AP French, AP Psych, Gifted (Honours) English, Advanced Functions, Calc, physics, economics
[<em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Yearbook (editor) School paper (copy editor), lots of political campaigns, curling team, french exchange, other random stuff
[<em>] Job/Work Experience: Work part-time at Subway
[</em>] Volunteer/Community service: see above
[<em>] Summer Activities: political campaigning
[</em>] Essays: tried to be funny but I guess I missed the mark
[<em>] Teacher Recommendation: all outstanding
[</em>] Counselor Rec: great
[<em>] Additional Rec: from political campaign, great
[</em>] Interview: I thought it went well</p>

<p>[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): Ontario
[</em>] Country (if international applicant): Canada
[<em>] School Type: large public
[</em>] Ethnicity: white
[<em>] Gender: male
[</em>] Income Bracket: well off but nothing crazy
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): white male… guess not :P</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths:
[</em>] Weaknesses: GPA, SAT
[<em>] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: GPA, SAT
[</em>] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Columbia ED rejected</p>

<p>[/ul]General Comments:</p>

<p>Decision: Accepted</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I: M-790, CR-730, W-740, Total-2260
[</em>] SAT II: US History-720, Math II-740
[<em>] GPA (out of 4.2): 4.1
[</em>] Rank: 5/570
[<em>] AP: Calc AB (5), Microeconomics (4), Calc BC (5), English Lang (4), US History (4), Music Theory (4)
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: AP Gov, AP Phyiscs B, AP Lit, Concert Choir, Jazz Lit & Improvisation
[<em>] Major Awards: National Merit Finalist, AP Scholar w/ Distinction, University of Michigan Book Award, AMC-10 School Winner, Top Bass Voice Score for All-State Music Festival (2 years)<br>
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Extracurriculars: Concert Choir (Bass Section Leader), Jazz Choir (Bass Section Leader), Varsity Swimming (Captain), National Honor Society, Math Honor Society, School Musicals (had some leads), Math Team (Varsity Member), Newspaper (Staff Writer), Voice Lessons, Young Democrats<br>
[<em>] Job/Work Experience: Kumon Tutor
[</em>] Volunteer/Community service: 30 hours through NHS
[<em>] Summer Activities: CTY, Westminster Choir College Vocal Institute, St. Paul’s Advance Studies Program (studied Japanese)
[</em>] Essays: Thoughtful, creative, well-edited. I did Plato v Playdoh and talked about Plato’s Theory of Forms.
[<em>] Teacher Recommendations: Calc BC Teacher- said I was one of the best students she ever had. Gov Teacher- said I was passionate about learning and said I was the leader of discussion in class.
[</em>] Counselor Rec: Didn’t read it; she doesn’t really know me but I gave her a copy of my resume so she pobably just took stuff from that.
[<em>] Additional Rec: none
[</em>] Interview: Terrible!!! I hated my interviewer. He spent most of the time talking about himself; I could barely get a word in. </p>

<p>[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] State: NH
[</em>] School Type: Large Public
[<em>] Ethnicity: White
[</em>] Gender: Male
[<em>] Income Bracket: 200,000+
[</em>] Hooks: Not many applicants from NH? </p>

<p>[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: Essays, Geographic Location, Work Experience, Summer Programs, Music
[</em>] Weaknesses: Scores (especially SAT II’s), interview, race
[<em>] Why you think you were accepted: I met my admissions officer at the St. Paul’s program. She was extremely impressed with it and noted that all the NH students she had accepted the previous year were from that program.
[</em>] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: University of Michigan, Lawrence University (safety), Ithaca College (super safety)
Deferred EA: Yale University </p>

<p>[/ul]General Comments: I’m so excited!!!</p>

<p>Decision: Waitlisted</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 2320 (720CR/800M/800W)
[</em>] ACT: 35 (35E/36M/35R/35S)
[<em>] SAT II: 800 Chem, 800 Math II, 800 Chinese, 760 US History, 750 Bio, 730 French
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/605
[</em>] AP (place score in parentheses): Bio (5), French (4), Euro (5), Chinese (5), APUSH (5), Chem (5), Physics C: Mechanics (5), Eng Lang (5)
[<em>] IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: AP Eng Lit, AP Physics B, AP US Gov, AP Calc BC, H Advanced Anatomy, H Wind Ensemble
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit, National AP Scholar</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Wind Ensemble (principal flautist), Symphony Orchestra I (principal flautist), local youth orchestra (principal flautist), California Scholarship Federation (president), American Red Cross (secretary), Amnesty International (treasurer)
[</em>] Job/Work Experience: Private tutor, Flute teacher, Teacher’s aide at Chinese school
[<em>] Volunteer/Community service: Local hospital, Chinese cultural assoc., Senior home, City library, Performing arts center
[</em>] Summer Activities: COSMOS @ UCSD: Bioengineering/Mech E, volunteer, visit China
[<em>] Essays: Why I wanted to be a doctor. Not very eclectic at all.
[</em>] Teacher Recommendation: Chem teacher should be okay, Eng teacher forgot to write until day before lol
[<em>] Counselor Rec: Generic probably
[</em>] Additional Rec: N/A
[li] Interview: Asian dude, a little younger than my dad. SO NERDY. Basically he dissuaded me from going.</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): California baby
[</em>] Country (if international applicant):
[<em>] School Type: Public
[</em>] Ethnicity: Asian
[<em>] Gender: Female
[</em>] Income Bracket: not enough for finaid
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): N/A</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: I’m well-rounded
[</em>] Weaknesses: I’m not quirky enough?
[<em>] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: See weaknesses
[</em>] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: MIT! :), UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD
Waitlisted: Rice lol
Rejected: Stanford EA</p>

<p>[/ul]General Comments:
MIT whatup</p>

<p>Decision: Accepted</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 2320, 800W, 780M, 740CR
[</em>] ACT: 35
[<em>] SAT II: 740 Bio, 750 Spanish, 800 Math II, 780 Chem, 780 US History
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10% (Only deciles, no ranks at school)
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): Bio (5-self study), Spanish (4), Euro (4), Eng Lang&Comp (5), US (5), Physics C Mechanics (5), 5 Chem (5)
[<em>] IB (place score in parenthesis): None
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: Calc BC, Stat, English Lit, Gov, Physics
[<em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nothing. No national merit. Nothing.
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Two summer internship at Emory University - coauthor of research papers, COSMOS, two month internship at a Shanghai Hospital, Varsity Tennis 4 Years and some random state trophies (team captain), Piano 10+ years and regional awards, some other smaller club positions
[<em>] Job/Work Experience: Tutoring, etc
[</em>] Volunteer/Community service: Hospital, Sunrise Assisted Living, Chinese School
[<em>] Summer Activities: In Extracurriculars
[</em>] Essays: One of the only essays I had fun writing and I think the admissions officer rewarded me for it. I wrote my Reverse Psychology essay on Minesweeper and my Common App essays were a tad bit more serious (internship and tennis)
[<em>] Teacher Recommendation: Generic but good, I doubt they were anything out of the ordinary… And to think they were my best friends! Haha, I kid.
[</em>] Counselor Rec: Eh, big public school so I talked to him not often. And we did not hit it off. But probably okay.
[<em>] Additional Rec: Greatest thing since fried rice this side of the Mississippi. Well it actually came from Emory in Atlanta but I read over it and the professor said some things that inflated my ego.
[</em>] Interview: Live near LA but in a bout of forgetfulness, or rather post-college essay grind laziness, I did not schedule one. </p>

<p>[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): SoCal
[</em>] Country (if international applicant): The US of A
[<em>] School Type: Public
[</em>] Ethnicity: Asian
[<em>] Gender: Male (don’t ask about my username…)
[</em>] Income Bracket: Finaid = nada
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Um… I didn’t ruin my chances at Chicago with a bad interview? None. And I think I interview well… I think.</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: Confidence. Sex appeal. Essay. ECs. GPA. Rec letter singular.
[</em>] Weaknesses: Awards. Interview (or lack thereof).
[<em>] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Flip of the coin. Roll of the die. Luckily my coins and dices are rigged, hehe.
[</em>] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: Pomona, Amherst, WashU St. Louis, UCB, UCLA, USC, Emory
Deferred: Harvard EA
Rejected: I’m 100% acceptances since defer doesn’t count… but it actually does so… I just ball hard.
Waiting for: Ivies minus Brown, Stanford</p>

<p>[/ul]**General Comments: **
Eh probably not going. I’d pick Pomona, Berk, and Amherst over Chicago since I’m not getting money. Chicago’s a great school though so congrats to all of you who got in and best of luck to those who were waitlisted or rejected. </p>

<p>And hi karaokemachine.</p>

<p>Just gave up my spot on the wait list. Best of luck to the Class of 2016!</p>

<p>So sorry to post this question here, but the university has my address wrong and so hasn’t sent me the admitted students package yet. When is the admitted students weekend?</p>

<p>Decision: Waitlisted</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown):
[</em>] ACT:29
[<em>] SAT II:
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.6ish?
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 7/321
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): Biology (5), APUSH(5), chem(3), Lang(4), Calc(4)
[<em>] Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP Physics, AP Stats, AP Euro, Spanish V, Marketing, Cell Bio, Genetics, Computer programming, APAH
[</em>] Major Awards: 2nd place Regional Junior Achievement marketing competition? Haha
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Extracurriculars: NHS (sergeant at Arms), National Spanish Honor Society (secretary), National Art Honor Society (president), XCountry (Varsity), Tennis (Varsity, 2 doubles), Research team, Ping pong club, Architecture club
[</em>] Job/Work Experience: Worked at my parent’s restaurant 15hrs/ week , Tutoring Spanish
[<em>] Volunteer/Community service: Neuroscience Lab assistant at community college, Tutoring, Organized community art activities,
[</em>] Summer Activities: Neuroscience Lab assistant at community college, work, summer courses
[<em>] Essays: I think they we’re pretty strong. I put in a lot of heart into my writing, I got a lot of compliments ahah, but I guess it wasn’t enough. I wrote about “between living and dreaming.” It was a spoof on a book report/self reflection on The Fountainhead.
[</em>] Teacher Recommendation: I think they were rather generic. Except maybe one, I spend a lot of time with the NAHS supervisor.
[<em>] Counselor Rec: super generic. I didn’t want to turn it in, but it was all I had.
[</em>] Additional Rec: None
[li] Interview: None</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): Wisconsin
[</em>] School Type: Public
[<em>] Ethnicity: Chinese
[</em>] Gender: Female
[<em>] Income Bracket: 60,000
[</em>] Hooks : First Gen</p>

<p>[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: Writing
[</em>] Weaknesses: Academics, no amazing awards, no interview?
[<em>] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Wailisted through strong writing. Most likely not accepted because my academics are sub par to many here.
[</em>] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: UW-Madison (accepted), WashU(WL)</p>

<p>[/ul]General Comments: I applied solely based on the rumor that Uchicago put a lot of focus on essay writing. I turned in my app on the very last day. I really thought I’d get flat out rejected. But even with my lackluster grades, scores, and lack of awards I have a chance! So anyone thinking about applying next year, give it a shot!</p>

<p>Decision: Accepted</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 2080 (CR 800, M 580, W 700)
[</em>] ACT: 30 (don’t remember specifics but 31+ in everything except math which was 26)
[<em>] SAT II: World History 800, Literature 720
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.72 (prolly lower after this semester, senioritis+4 aps= gpa drop)
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): US (5) World (5) Eng Comp (5) Comp. Gov (5) Euro (this year) Macro (this year) Lit (this year) Psych (this year)<br>
[<em>] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: last 4 listed APs above plus marine bio, christian ethic, apologetics, film, and analysis
[<em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP US Department Award, Phi Beta Kappa Book Award, Hispanic National Merit Scholar
[/ul]Subjective:[ul] I’m a good writer with varied extra-curricular intellectual interests (philosophy, history, post modern literature, film.) I also visited and performed well in the interview
[</em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Debate (Co-Capt) Model UN/Arab League (Capt)
[<em>] Job/Work Experience: LIT at summer camp sophomore year
[</em>] Volunteer/Community service: I’m a volunteer tutor at a local mostly immigrant inner city primary school, and volunteer as a library assistant over the summer
[<em>] Summer Activities: Library volunteer work
[</em>] Essays: I visited and put a great deal of thought and effort into my essays (chose Plato vs. Play Do, and did the optional one as well)
[<em>] Teacher Recommendation: Good I think, from AP US teacher, AP Comp teacher/debate coach, Sophomore Honors English teacher
[</em>] Counselor Rec: Good I guess
[<em>] Additional Rec: N/A
[</em>] Interview: Visited the school with my dad, talked about my extra-curricular interests and had a great convo after the interview with an admissions officer about post modern literature</p>

<p>[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): Georgia
[</em>] Country (if international applicant): not international, but I was born in mexico and hold dual citizenship
[<em>] School Type: Parochial (though I’m a godless heathen haha)
[</em>] Ethnicity: Latino
[<em>] Gender: Male
[</em>] Income Bracket: parents divorced, live with my mom (very poor on paper sub $30,000.) Dad lives in Mexico but makes significantly more ($200,000ish?)
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): I have a nonverbal learning disability which prevented me from learning to read until age 7 (didn’t reach grade level until 5th grade but have since developed a love of reading) and still hinders my abstract thinking in math (evidenced by low scores/straight Bs in high school math.) My dad also received his PHD in economics from the UC and would be considered a prominent alum</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: Good writer, varied intellectual interests, perform well in interviews
[</em>] Weaknesses: Math
[<em>] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I guess they liked my essays, remembered my dad, and found my life story unique
[</em>] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted to Macalester, Tulane, Arizona State (honors college/fullride,) Georgia State honors college, New College of Florida. Still need to hear back from Grinnell and Reed (though they’re paying for my visit in a couple of days which may indicate acceptance)</p>

<p>[/ul]General Comments: Honestly I’m still in shock. I can’t believe I got in, especially after seeing the exemplary stats of others who were waitlisted/denied on this thread. Good luck to those who didn’t get in, and I hope to see those who did this August :)</p>

<p>Decision: Waitlisted </p>

<p>Objective:
• SAT I (breakdown): CR 740 MA 680 WR 770 (2190 superscore)
• ACT: Didn’t send
• SAT II: US History 740 800, Lit 740
• Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.6
• Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 10%
• AP (place score in parenthesis): US History (5) Chem (3)
• IB (place score in parenthesis): none
• Senior Year Course Load: Psych A, Physics A AP Lit, AP Gov, AP Calc, Economics (Summer College Class, Art (Summer College Class)
• Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nothing really important
Subjective:
• Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
o Drama Club (Secretary, Stage Manager, One Act Director)
o Interact Club (President)
o Eco Club (Founder)
o Debate Team
o A ton of School Spirit type stuff
• Job/Work Experience: Camp Counselor two summers ago<br>
• Volunteer/Community 600+ hours through camp and other various things
• Summer Activities: World Affairs, College Classes
• Essays: I basically talked about Play-duh using Plato’s metaphysical thinking. The general idea was to give some background on how I came to be interested in Neuroscience at a very young age.
• Teacher Recommendation: One was incredible with all the greatest student ever stuff, the other was more oriented on me as a person and a traveler
• Counselor Rec: My counselor is practically my best friend.
• Additional Rec: N/A
• Interview: Never contacted for one
Other
• State (if domestic applicant): MA
• Country (if international applicant):
• School Type: tiny 600 student rural/suburban public school that’s about to lose its accreditation
• Ethnicity: Guyanese
• Gender: Female
• Income Bracket: >100k
• Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): strange ethnicity? 1st generation American born?<br>
Reflection
• Strengths: leadership?
• Weaknesses: GPA, SAT, my school in general
• Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: My GPA is really low for Chicago. I blame this on my lack of knowledge about how competitive admissions was my freshman and sophomore years and how that led me to be apathetic about getting good grades v. learning.
• Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted at University of Rochester, BU and Northeastern. Waiting on Tufts, Brown, Columbia and Harvard.
General Comments: looking at all these posts I’m just happy I made it onto the waitlist</p>

<p>Decision: Waitlisted</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 1890 (CR 670, M 640, W 580) (weak because I only took it once without any prep)
[</em>] ACT: 30 (31 superscored)
[<em>] SAT II: Biology E (710), Spanish (710)
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.35
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 27 of 390
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): World History (4), Biology (4), US History (4), Spanish Language (4), English Language (4), Environmental Science (5)
[<em>] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: AP English Lit, AP Calculus, AP Comparative Government & Politics, AP Spanish Lit, AP French Language, Adv. Chinese Language & Culture 1, Adv. Spanish Physics
[<em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Award for 2nd most hours volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House in the KY-TN Key Club district
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Key Club, Gay-Straight Alliance, Drama Club, Spanish Honors Society, Young Democrats, Interfaith Club, Spanish Immersion Program
[<em>] Job/Work Experience: N/A
[</em>] Volunteer/Community service: 40 hours of community service done while speaking Spanish (interpreting for health fairs, etc.), Ronald McDonald House, etc.
[<em>] Summer Activities: N/A
[</em>] Essays: One essay about being a part of a successful Spanish Immersion program within a persistently-low achieving school and what that has taught me. One essay about my involvement in the Occupy movement and overcoming my depression. Optional essay just about my love for UChicago, activism opportunities in Chicago, and love for the Chicago music scene. I didn’t think they were particularly well written, but I’ve never liked my writing.
[<em>] Teacher Recommendation: From my AP US History and AP English Language teachers. My US History teacher is probably the best teacher I’ve ever had, so I’m sure she wrote a good one. And my AP English teacher apparently reviews recommendation letters for scholarships, and says they’re all very generic, so she makes hers very personal. I guess that could be either good or bad, haha.
[</em>] Counselor Rec: Super duper awesome, I’m sure. My counselor is incredible. Probably mostly about the K-12 Spanish Immersion program I’m in.
[<em>] Additional Rec: N/A
[</em>] Interview: N/A</p>

<p>[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): Kentucky
[</em>] Country (if international applicant): N/A
[<em>] School Type: Public Spanish Immersion Program (K-12)
[</em>] Ethnicity: White
[<em>] Gender: Female
[</em>] Income Bracket: ~$60,000
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None that I can think of.</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: Involvement in activism, community service, Spanish Immerison program, three foreign languages (13 yrs Spanish, 4 yrs French, 1 yr Chinese)
[</em>] Weaknesses: GPA, test scores (compared to you guys, at least), maybe essays, leadership
[<em>] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: No idea. I thought I was going to be rejected. My mind was blown.
[</em>] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted at University of Kentucky. Waiting to hear back from Transylvania University. It’s UChicago or the city I’ve grown up in, lol.</p>

<p>[/ul]General Comments: You guys are all way more deserving than me! No idea how I even got waitlisted.</p>

<p>^^ Hola, fellow Kentuckian/ Spanish enthusiast!! Saludos :)</p>

<p>• Decision: Accepted
• ACT: 33
• Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98/ 4.55 w
• Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 6/400
• AP : Bio (5) apush (4) AP Comp (4)
• Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc BC, AP Chem, AP Psych,
AP Enviro,Spanish 5, Gov,
• Major Awards : National Merit Commended
• Extracurriculars): Varsity Swimming 4 years (captain) All State Jr and Sr year,
broke/hold 4 school records, Club swimming year round- 20 hours a week in
the pool- Varsity soccer- starting goalie Freshman year-
• Job/Work Experience: lifeguard sophomore summer
• Volunteer/Community service: not much time for anything but swim –
humane society dog walker, special Olympics
• Summer Activities: Original research during Senior summer – 40 hours
a week with a biology professor mentor
• Essays: common app essay better than u Chicago essay I think
• Teacher Recommendation: didn’t see but probably good
• Counselor Rec: Great
• Additional Rec: coach – great
• Interview: no</p>

<p>Other
• State: MO
• School Type: Suburban Public
• Ethnicity: white
• Gender: Female
• Income Bracket: high
• Hooks : athlete</p>

<p>Reflection
• Strengths: super heavy course load while swimming two hours before school and two hours after school - NO SLEEP!!!
• Weaknesses: swim heavy EC’s, not a lot of overt leadership positions.
• Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
• Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted Wash U and Truman, Waitlisted Rice. Waiting on a few more.</p>

<p>I do not know where I want to go!!!</p>

<p>Decision: Accepted
Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): 2350 (770 M, 800 CR, 780 W)
ACT: N/A
SAT II (if submitted): Math II - 800, World History - 800, Chemistry - 790, US History - 780
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 6 out of 350 weighted
AP (place score in parenthesis): Calculus BC (5), Physics C (5), World History (5), English Language (5), US History (5), Physics B (4), Chemistry (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: Multivariable Calc, AP Lit, AP Physics C TA, AP Economics, Photography + Design, PE, AP US Gov
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Finalist, some of the BS AP stuff</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): MUN (President), Knowledge Bowl (President), Chess Club (President), Chinese Language and Culture Club (President)
Job/Work Experience: 2 year unpaid internship with my state’s department of ecology(there was a paid option, I chose unpaid), Coach for the Lego Robotics club at a local elementary
Volunteer/Community service: 2 year unpaid internship with my state’s department of ecology(there was a paid option, I chose unpaid)
Essays: I like to tell myself that I’m a good a writer
Teacher Recommendation: One solid, one excellent
Counselor Rec: Meh, I’m pretty sure they use a template at my school, and I just got a new counselor this year
Additional Rec: Internship boss, it looked good
Interview: Local alumni</p>

<p>Other</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: International Business @ Olin and International and Area Studies @CAS
State (if domestic applicant): WA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public School (class of 350, 1300 total)
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 250,000+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): I wish</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths: Essays, interview? (see below), maybe recs
Weaknesses: All around average, weak on the EC’s
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I’m a solid writer, I had a pretty good interview.</p>

<p>General Comments: I think I had a really good conversation with my interviewer and showed a multitude of interests. I also wrote what I thought were fairly interesting essays.</p>

<p>Decision: Accepted</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 790 Math 700 CR 650 Writing
[</em>] ACT:
[<em>] SAT II: 760 Math II, 790 Chem, 770 Bio M
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): My school uses a 0 to 10 scale, so around 9.3 or something
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Valedictorian
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): None (Brazilian School)
[<em>] IB (place score in parenthesis): /\ same
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: Prescribed Curriculum - Electricity, Mechanics, Genetics, Physiology, Organic Chemitry, Coordinate Geometry, 3D Geometry, Complex Numbers Algebra, Portuguese Literature and Grammar, English, Geography, Brazilian History, World History, and something else I can’t recall haha
[<em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Some MUN prizes, though nothing exceptional!
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Volunteer Work as an English tutor, MUN (Chief delegate, Secretary General, and some other stuff), science fair and independent research project, some other minor stuff that I really enjoyed haha
[<em>] Job/Work Experience: Worked as a accountant for my parents in their medical office
[</em>] Volunteer/Community service: Said above
[<em>] Summer Activities: English Courses in Toronto and Oxford; Summer IR program at Georgetown
[</em>] Essays: Relatively great! Chose the microwave one and worte about how I discovered to value my creativity and learned how to cook at the same time while preparing a class!
[<em>] Teacher Recommendation:Fantastic I hope so
[</em>] Counselor Rec: Good too!
[<em>] Additional Rec: Research Advisor wrote me the ultimate rec letter!
[</em>] Interview:Perfect! Interviewed by an ex-grad student that was extremely empathetic!</p>

<p>[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant):
[</em>] Country (if international applicant): Brazil
[<em>] School Type: Private
[</em>] Ethnicity: Brazilian? (It’s hard to say I’m latino or caucasian or something very clearly defined…)
[<em>] Gender: Male
[</em>] Income Bracket: High enough to pay the whole four years without fin aid (I’m international, so they kinda don’t give away much fin aid)
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Can’t think of any significant… Maybe being International?</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: GRADES! Definitely my grades!
[</em>] Weaknesses: SATs I would say
[<em>] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: My essays and my recs for sure!
[</em>] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: So far, accepted at University of British Columbia and Northwestern! Waiting for Ivies, Stanford, Georgetown and JHU…</p>

<p>[/ul]General Comments: EXTREMELY HAPPY! CONGRATS CLASS OF 2016 :DD!</p>

<p>Decision – waitlisted
Objective:
-SAT I: CR 800, M 670, W 750
-SAT II: Literature 780, World History 760
-Unweighted GPA: 3.98
-rank: 1st
-AP
-AP World History (5)
-AP U.S. Government and Politics (5)
-AP English Language and Composition (5)
-Senior Year Course Load:
-AP Calculus AB
-AP European History
-AP English Literature and Composition
-Physics
-AP Physics C
Minor award: National Merit Finalist, Presidential Service Award, United Way of Dane County Volunteer of the Year
Subjective:
Extracurriculars
Job/Work Experience:
-minimal
Volunteer/Community Service:
-volunteering for 8+ years at nursing homes/assisted living facilities
-therapy dog training and handling at nursing homes/assisted living facilities for 5 years
-knitting for charity for 2 years
-volunteering for animal rescue agency for 4 years
Essay
-I did my best; I have no idea if they were good enough
Teacher recs:
-good – one said I was one of the best students he had worked with in his 30+ year career
Interview:
off-campus with alumna, think it went well
Other:
State: Wisconsin
School Type: public, not very competitive
Ethnicity: white
Gender: female
Income bracket: less than 75,000
Hooks: none
Reflection:
Strengths: most rigorous course load for my school, did excellent academically despite serious illness for the last several years
Weaknesses: not as much ECs/jobs/etc because of said illness
Why I was deferred – not sure; my math score in the SAT surely played a role and there may have been concerns regarding my health – that I may not be physically strong enough for college yet
General comments: UChicago was (is) my first choice; despite the overwhelming odds, I’m still putting some hope into the waitlist.</p>