this is exactly how I’m feeling right now, except I don’t know if I will be accepted.
Basically I was deferred EA then switched to ED2 now I’m losing sleep over whether or not I should stay committed or send an email and say I want to switch back to RD.
Don’t get me wrong, I would be extremely happy if I magically got in and would LOVE to go, I’m just so so scared of the school’s terrifyingly rigorous reputation and don’t want to put myself through that suffering.
It also upsets me that I won’t be able to find out if I got into the 11 other schools I applied to. Not that I would go, I just want to know if my efforts paid off.
I applied ED2 because I’m pretty sure it’s my only chance of getting in, considering the defer to RD acceptance rate is only 2%. and I’m kind of banking on this school right now, as I feel like it’s the only reach school that I might actually have a chance of getting into (my other reaches are Stanford, Penn, and Brown and I would love to go to those too not going to lie).
So I’m afraid if I back out of ED, I won’t get in and probably won’t get into my other dream schools either (considering my lower stats) and end up going to a state school. I feel like going the ED2 route is my highest chance of actually getting in.
I know I’m rambling and this may be confusing and irrational but please give me some advice or some words to calm my thinking. I love UChicago and it has always been one of my top choices; I’m just suddenly feeling as if I’m not the typical Life of the Mind student and will ultimately sink to the bottom if I somehow get in.
stockphotohumor - Based on the experiences of my own son (who just graduated from UChicago) and postings on this board, your feelings are very normal in the situation. The standard answer to your concern, which I believe is valid, is that if you are admitted to UChicago, it very likely that you can succeed there.
Looking back on the experiences of my own son, the final decision to attend UChicago was collaborative, and while we parents did have a veto power, ultimately my son wanted to go and we agreed. My belief at the time, which I still hold, was that this was a life experience, that venturing into the deep waters (or hot house or which ever metaphor you pick) of UChicago for my son would bring the most out of his intellectual potential. He (and I) started experiencing this environment the first day of O-week while sitting at lunch with a bunch of entering first years listening to them talk fairly expertly about some serious books and ideas.
If you get admitted, you can do the work. But I do feel that UChicago is best for those who aren’t just looking for a credential, but who are truly looking to be developed and honed intellectually.
It is hard to guide you on this as it is hard to decipher what you really want for yourself. I think you chose ED2 because it seemed to give you the best odds at a top school. That is not the best reason to choose UChicago. My child is a first year who applied ED1 and was fortunate enough to be accepted. He was certain that UChicago was his first choice. He has been working VERY hard. The rigor is not to be trivialized. Students at UChicago spend A LOT of time working. There are Saturday night problem set study sessions. There are hours spent in the library every day. The work is hard. That being said, one could find a less challenging path but from what I hear, this is somewhat frowned upon. My son was very surprised to compare notes with friends at home over the winter break…very few kids seemed to have the kind of work load that is going on at Chicago. While it gave him a feeling of pride, there was also a bit of jealousy. The “life of the mind”is very real. Just to be clear though, he also has a great social scene with time for friends, parties, meals in the city, etc.
I would also add that if you change to Regular Decision you can almost guarantee a rejection or deferral…it will seem (and rightly so) that UChicago is not your first choice.
There are very few people here that aren’t “smart” (whatever that means) enough for UChicago
Nobody finds, say, proof based math or Marx easy the first time they go through it. But you keep at it, you go to office hours and ask for help when necessary, you talk to your housemates and your classmates and you very, very slowly get better and better at it.
The limiting factor isn’t your intelligence, it’s your capacity to learn. And frankly I don’t believe there’s no one that is incapable of learning, especially here where the professors care so much and you’ll be surrounded by people who are really good in whatever you’re struggling with (usually solely by virtue of being an upperclassmen, which should tell you something about what this education does to you) who you can ask for help.
I hope you don’t decide to back out of ED2 because you don’t think you’re good enough. That would really be a shame. UChicago is an amazing place and I don’t think the education and experience I have obtained here can be compared to anything else I (or any of my friends at other schools) have received.
Im in basically the same position as you, I had an application that was great in many ways but probably average for UChicago, got deferred, switched to EDII. I also have other schools I wouldn’t necessarily want to pull my application from. Ive been thinking of it this way: the commitment basically doesn’t end up mattering if we’re not accepted and if you are, sounds like you’d love it there. Any college is going to be a tough adjustment and rigorous (at least from the type of schools I’m guessing you applied to), might as well deal with that somewhere you love. It seems worth the risk to me. Now to just be patient enough to get to mid February
Giving up knowing whether you would have gotten into other schools is hardly a sacrifice. Time to put on your grownup pants and decide whether you want UChicago as your Alma Mater - or not. A bit later on you might have to make even bigger decisions in your life, like whether you need to give up dating others once you’ve proposed (or accepted a marriage proposal), whether accepting one job means you have to stop negotiating a higher salary with other potential employers, etc. Let your “Yes” be “Yes”. Life Skills 101.
OP: Your two threads have convinced me that the University of Chicago may not be the right environment for you academically.
Did you apply to any match or safety schools ? An ACT score of 31 indicates that you are very intelligent, but you wrote in your other thread that your GPA was not impressive & that you have concerns about the “life of the mind” culture at Chicago.
I’m sorry but when I read situations like this I tend to question why students like this are applying in the first place. Think very critically about the reason why you took the time to write the essays and submit an application. If you are having second thoughts then I suggest pulling from ED2 if you are worried to the extremes. I was deferred EA and submitted ED2 because I know to the fullest that UChicago is my first choice, but couldn’t do ED1 because of external circumstances in my school. I am not trying to judge, but the power students give to the institution by choosing ED2 is so strong that it is intended for those who are completely willing to drop everything for that school. The worse they can say is no, but be aware that they are comparing applicants to each other. If you are letting yourself be compared to another ED2 applicant but you are second guessing your application it won’t be fair to those other applicants who WANT to get admitted. I know other students who are applying just because it is an elite school in the top ranking. They are not applying because they SEEK the learning that happens on campus. A few of them have pulled from ED2 because I told them what I stated earlier. It is all about willing to drop other institutions for that school IF and WHEN admitted. If you are having second thoughts when I say (from what I am inferring) you do not really want to be at that school to be at the school in terms of learning. If you really wanted it, then there would be no second-guessing the application chosen. I hate to break it like I currently am, but I am getting some impression that this is not your DREAM school so there really wasn’t a point for you to apply ED2. That is what I think about the situation you have presented.
I’d say @dgibarra has a point. Using ED as a means to get into a top school rather than a specific school can lead to disaster. If you want a college experience that is not UChicago rigorous, then UChicago isn’t for you. Although most people would say you can adjust to the rigor and you can tone down the rigor through easier classes and 3 classes per quarter.
If you withdraw from ed2 basically it means giving up on uchicago. There’s no clearer way to let them know they’re not you’re first choice.
Also, have you run the NPC and have your parents agreed to pay whatever uchicago costs?
If your act is 31 your odds are very low even ED2 and it sounds like a poor fit for you, so I’m guessing you shouldn’t worry too much. Do you have affordable matches (you’re near the top 25% threshold) and safeties (40%+ acceptance rate)?
“Although most people would say you can adjust to the rigor and you can tone down the rigor through easier classes and 3 classes per quarter.”
Not necessarily. You need 42 courses to graduate, and 3 courses per quarter means a total of 36. You are limited on the number of AP’s you can bring in AND you’ll want to finish up at least most of the Core w/in your first two years. There’s no getting around the need to take four courses for a good number of quarters and you’ll be surrounded by other students who are excited to be doing the same because that’s the culture. You can certainly “ease in” with three for the fall quarter but by winter most first years are taking four. There’s no getting out of the workload - although, yes, you do adjust to it.
Thanks guys. I decided to stay ED2 because I already invested so much time and thought into Chicago and would probably really regret backing out because that’s basically an automatic rejection. I’m going to trust the admissions team that if they do accept me, they believe I can handle the coursework. I mean, I handled 10 APs at my really academically challenging high school so I think I can adjust. But I’m getting too far ahead of myself, there’s still a really slim chance I can get in considering my stats. My greatest concern has been not being able to handle the coursework, everything else about UChicago seems pretty great. So yeah, I’m going to trust the decision of the admissions team and hope that whatever happens is meant to happen! Thanks for the input everyone
Definitely don’t back out of ED II. I’m a first-year here, and I was also terrified of UChicago’s reputation for rigorous classes. While the workload isn’t easy, it definitely won’t kill you. Besides taking 4 classes this quarter, I’m also really involved in finance RSO’s and I still have time to have fun. And honestly if I was more productive in the Reg I would probably have a lot more time for friends. Good luck!
@dgibarra Just commenting to say you should take a chill pill. Prestige and odds of admission are perfectly fine reasons to choose a college, and it sounds like you have a romanticized view of UChicago (current senior here).
It’s all reflections from discussions with AOs and counselors from my own HS and other secondary schools in the city. It continues to be a game, I like to call it gambling in a way. One can try to raise their odds in whatever they present to the institutions because the initial projection in most cases is the only thing being counted. Just like many applicants, there is much influence on how to apply, when to apply, what to present going into out submissions. I just shared with others my own ideas, as well as those from others that I have debated within those types of discussion. It is amazing to see the reflections people have based on how much power the individual believes they have in the decision. I have coworkers, friends, classmates, and my twin brother to share our ideas of the application process and we indeed argue about certain application types. Everyone holds a bias, mine was based on my experience taking part of their Summer Bridge Program for CPS students. Every kid in that program who got in was given free classes, and we had to meet with each other to talk about our experiences. We spoke with AOs and other staff. Everyone expressed that they applied to show interest for application season and experience the type of learning on campus that they been wanting to have.
Just a general observation: chances are that a person who fits into Stanford, Penn or Brown will most likely not fit into UChicago. Totally different academic philosophies and vibes. It is very important to look beyond rankings and understand what a school is really like. All elite schools are not the same.
I’ve known all sorts of people who went to Stanford, Penn, or Brown, and who would have “fit” at Chicago just fine. It’s possible to be a Chicago kind of person and to have a perfectly satisfactory academic experience at any of those schools. The big difference is that you won’t necessarily feel like you are in the mainstream – but you won’t feel like you are the Only Living Boy in Palo Alto/Philadelphia/Providence either.
Stanford, remember, has its own, voluntary Core-equivalent Structured Liberal Education that about 100 kids do every year. A close friend of one of my kids went to Stanford, was an English major there, and was the only person in his cohort accepted directly out of college into the Chicago English PhD program. He fit in fine at Stanford for four years, and he spent the eight years after that fitting in fine at Chicago (and providing the Chicago experience to lots of undergraduates).
Penn has a ton of students, and there are lots of different intellectual communities. Not to mention that some sizable proportion of every cohort at Chicago wishes Chicago were more like Wharton anyway.
