<p>Hi. I was thinking of PMing someone on here, but decided to just make a public post.
I really want to go to UChicago, and each day I want to go there more and more. I'm starting to doubt myself. Everyone tells me I don't have to worry about getting in, but the thing is, I'm pretty average intelligence-wise except for the fact that I study a lot, take hard classes, and social stuff is not that important to me. My test scores are average as well. And I don't really feel any "smarter" than the other students at my school. I'm not the kid that has her name posted on everything, -in short, I'm not really a big deal at my school. Normally there is one student in each grade who everyone knows because he/she wins everything. But I'm not that student. I'm not obsessed with getting a 4.0, I don't even have straight-As. </p>
<p>So, the more I think about my chances, the more stressed I get. I'm not going to throw a bunch of numbers at you, because I don't think that could even begin to explain me...but did any of you guys ever doubt yourself? That's really what I want to know. Did you ever think to yourself "geez I'm not better than him...or her" ?...</p>
<p>let me give you a great piece of advice: don't do this to yourself. seriosuly. it's not worth it.</p>
<p>apply to the schools you think you might want to spend 4 years of your life. see where you get in and go from there. this is not the only school where you'll be happy/successful. i promise. good luck to you though</p>
<p>Have you visited campus? If not, I would recommend doing so and, if possible, sit in on some classes. Express yourself well in your essays and be clear about why you want to be at U of C.</p>
<p>I understand what the OP is saying. Who among us hasn't had moments when you thought "I'm not one of these people, I'm not smart enough, or fast enough, not good enough" about everything from academics and colleges to sports and everything in between? I think I always kinda have that lingering doubt. Like you are trying to live up to this impossible image you have of yourself. It's been like that for me coming back to school from college visits to selective schools this summer. They might not have the ACT scores and grades and they aren't looking at top-tier colleges, but then in your heart and mind when you interact with them you know that you aren't really anything special, that you don't really deserve a place like Chicago anymore than they do. So then you begin thinking that maybe you aren't Chicago material. It's weird, I know.</p>
<p>I think my own personal experience can say a lot:</p>
<p>Before we applied to college, everyone at my HS was required to meet with their counselors so they could discuss their college lists. My top two choices were Georgetown and the University of Chicago. After 30mins of conversation she had me convinced that I wouldn't get into either schools. As you can imagine, I was pretty bummed out - to the point in which I started feeling a bit depressed 'cause I REALLY wanted to head to either of these places. But, nonetheless, I applied and scored on both. Considering the fact that I post here regularly, I think you can imagine what happened.</p>
<p>What I'm trying to say is that no matter how upset, worried, anxious you get, you need to step back and realize that worrying won't get you anywhere. What I found out was that I got upset for several months for no reason. And, had I not gotten in, I would've realized also that I had gotten upset for several months ALSO for no reason. Further, this being Chicago, you still have a great deal of power in your hands... prob. more than any school, Chicago really uses their application and essays to paint their picture of a student. like Idad has said, visit, talk to people, and communicate your strong desire to attend as best you can to the admissions rep.</p>
<p>Hey, I go to Chicago, and I was definitely stressed about not getting in. I applied Early Action, knowing that admission decisions would mailed to me ON MY BIRTHDAY... talk about risky lol. Anyone, obviously, I got the best present ever! Don't worry too much, just focus a lot on conveying the real you in your application, and spend as much time as possible with that essay because I think it's a big deal to admissions officers. Good luck!</p>
<p>Hey, this is not OhioMom, but instead her son, a current student at the U of C waiting anxiously to get back.
I felt a similar feeling back when i was applying to colleges. I had never done research, i hadn't done a science fair project or anything truly spectacular. I was on CC and heard about all these people who had done a bunch of extra curriculars involving helping feed the poor and so on and so on. All I had ever done was go to science olympiad competitions, where we went to nationals in my 9th grade year with the middle school team. I went to a great high school with excellent teachers and forged a good working relationship with my AP chem teacher my senior year by taking her class and working as her lab assistant. that was the extent of my "hooks" I wrote a couple of damn good essays, if I say so myself, making sure to go back and check them over after a while of looking away, reading a good book in between, put down my mighty gpa of 3.6/4.0 unweighted (with no weights) a pretty good SAT 1490/1600, and some nice SAT II's.
Basically, what i'm saying is that if you make yourself seem like someone who wants to learn and show the ability to do so, you're probably going to get in. You've gotta remember that the chicago mentality is the life of the mind, that's what is important. you have to have the heart and the brain to succeed at chicago.
well, if you've got anything else to ask, just PM my mom and she can pass it on to me.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Everyone tells me I don't have to worry about getting in, but the thing is, I'm pretty average intelligence-wise except for the fact that I study a lot, take hard classes, and social stuff is not that important to me.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>It was the same with me. I'm more stoic about it, though, and accepted the idea that I probably would not get into Chicago. The joke was on me.</p>
<p>My daughter did not enroll at Chicago, but she did get in. She is a strong student but is not a superstar -- she has some B's and her test scores would not impress anybody. She applied EA, was deferred, sent some additional written material in, and was accepted in the spring. One of the cool things about it all is that she didn't try to write some intellectual essay for Chicago to impress them with how smart she was -- she chose to be humorous instead. I wasn't sure whether her application was exactly what Chicago would look for, but I really liked it because her personality showed through -- I think that anyone reading it would see that she is bright, fun-loving and irreverant. I was kind of surprised that she got in, actually.... but this all goes to show two things:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Don't let anyone tell you anything is impossible. You have 0 chance of getting in if you don't apply. So if Chicago is the school you think you want, apply. </p></li>
<li><p>Don't feel you have to make apologies or pretend to be something you are not on your application. I am firmly convinced that my daughter's lack of pretense was part of the formula that got her in. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Why don't you start simply by writing on one of this year's essay topics and see where that takes you? If you can put together an application, then you might as well send it in. ;) I would advise applying EA if you can, because I do think the two stage process helped my daughter -- Chicago really does look seriously again at the EA applicants they defer.</p>
<p>I could not agree more with calmom. My S had a 3.46 GPA, a very good ACT score, but most important, wrote some dazzling essays (where humor also played an important role) and took a challenging curriculum. He was accepted and did enroll. He loves it and is thriving. He cannot wait to return this fall. He made it clear Chicago was his first choice and let them know he knew what he was getting into. Friends with better "numbers" where rejected; at Chicago it is not just a numbers game.</p>
<p>Interesting thought regarding the importance of essays:</p>
<ul>
<li> given how important writing is for making it through the core satisfactorily, I bet you that the essays are important just as a way of picking kids that can survive the hum and soc core. Thoughts from current students?</li>
</ul>
<p>Hmm I probably had by far the worst stats of a non-URM selected this year, maybe the worst overall.</p>
<ol>
<li>I took the messed up SAT and had a crappy score for various reasons (took it about a week or two after living in a foreign non-English country for 6 months)</li>
<li>School sent in a messed up GPA (3.1 weighted.... way way off) and failed to acknowledge it.</li>
<li>Because of the GPA miscalculation (very complicated, but basically, it made all of my A's equivalent to C's and B's D's becaused I missed half a year), my rank was in the bottom half of ~700 kids. Even if they didn't make this mistake, I still wouldn't have been in the top 10% because I had some bad classes in my high school career (1 bad year of latin and a not-so-friendly chem teacher lol).</li>
</ol>
<p>I got in, still. Wrote the truth on my essays. I have "many activities", but I listed the 3-4 that I do with all of my passion and I really enjoy. I could have probably had a brag sheet of 20+ of things where I was some sort of officer of the club or did X number of hours of community service, but I didn't. Be yourself as best you can and the school will see whether or not you are a fit. I think this is one of the few schools that really does look beyond grades and stats used by most. If Chicago means that much, apply EA and hope for the best. If it doesn't workout, try transferring.</p>
<p>I can top you Felipe...
My guidance counselors had jokes about me in the office (I was told later on by the one guidance counselor who I trust, a coach of mine) that I was even applying! They didn't even see where they went wrong themselves, nor could they distinguish between a good essay and an okay essay (they went off saying how some girl's was so amazing and she incidently got rejected from every private school that cares about essays despite most amazing ECs and stats ever, while other's who had supposedly inferior essays got in to HYP UC etc). </p>
<p>Guidance counselors are absolutely worthless in my experience for anything besides changing classes. If you are here, you are better off and more knowledgeable than probably 90% of guidance counselors in public schools around the country with regards to college admissions.</p>