<p>I called the admissions office and based off what I heard, they most likely won’t be taking people off the waitlist. I was admitted EA and contacted them asking if I could send in a late SIR (long story; essentially I regret my college choice and want to attend UChicago) and they bluntly said that it would be “highly unlikely” given that they are way over-enrolled for 2016.</p>
<p>On the other hand, this is good for the admit rate. They will receive much more applications next year and will accept much fewer applicants. I wouldn’t be surprised at an overall acceptance rate of <10%.</p>
<p>I was just offered the 2017 gap year option. I’m absolutely in love with UChicago, but the combination of financial issues, not having any plans for a potential gap year, and not wanting to start college at the age of 19 will force me to decline. I’ve wanted to go to UChicago for so long, and it’s so hard to close the book like this, but there you have it.</p>
<p>I’ll reiterate my comments from when I first heard about the 13.2% admit rate: There never should have been a 13.2% admit rate in the first place. The initial admit rate should have been in the 10-12% range, using the waitlist to round out the class. That’s what the waitlist is for.</p>
<p>Think about it. This is the first year that Harvard/Princeton reinstated their EA policies, eliminating competition across the board. MIT is reporting a 70% yield, its largest ever. Harvard is expecting over 90% yield for EA admits. Every elite school in the nation should have been looking to at least slightly under-admit because yield is going to rise across the board.</p>
<p>But more: This is the first year that Chicago has been ranked top 5 in US News, jumping 4 spots from last year. It ranked in the top 10 in Forbes and THES this year as well. By all measures, Chicago’s popularity is exploding. Oh, and remember: Chicago already had problems with housing as of last year, and had to stick students in non-dorms.</p>
<p>My CONSERVATIVE estimate was that this year’s yield would be in the 43-44% range. It seems the admissions office stupidly bet that it would be around 40%. Honestly, if Chicago had used its waitlist wisely, I wouldn’t have been surprised to see it in the high 40s or even lower 50s. I just don’t understand how the admissions office made such a huge mistake of over-admitting… it seems obvious from any perspective that this would have occurred.</p>