Questions from an applicant.

<p>Hi, I was wondering if anyone could answer a couple questions about UChicago.</p>

<p>If UChicago is a student's top choice, would it be a prudent decision to apply under Early action even though their application could be stronger both GPA, Class Rank, and activities under the RD decision?</p>

<p>What's the required amount of foreign language levels before applying to UChicago?</p>

<p>If I want to take Japanese, but I took Spanish at my school, can I switch to Japanese?</p>

<p>Does UChicago really consider the essay to be the most important part of one's application?</p>

<ol>
<li><p>If you're ready to apply by then, why not? If you get in, you'll get first pick for housing, and you'll know where you're going to college (assuming it stays your first choice). If you think your application would be strengthened by senior year grades, recs, activities, or awards, then feel free to wait.</p></li>
<li><p>There is no requirement. As with most top colleges, Chicago would like to see 3-4 years of study in the same language. </p></li>
<li><p>Do you mean switch to Japanese once you're in college? If so, a lot of people begin study of a new language in college, particularly for languages not commonly offered in high school. If you're speaking about switching during high school, it's probably best to stick with a single language. From a strictly educational persepective, 2 years of high school Spanish followed by 2 years of high school Japanese will leave you with almost no useful language knowledge. It also wouldn't allow you to pass out of Chicago's language competency for students (which is equal to about one year of study at the college level--or about 3 years at the high school level). </p></li>
</ol>

<p>Nope. They consider the academic transcript (grades, course choices) to be the most important factor. Essays are very important, though.</p>

<p>actually it's better to apply early app since you're gonna def have a much better shot of getting in...but if u think for sure ur gonna get in no matter what, then apply early haha...here u can take almost any language u want...(almost )</p>

<p>But Admit rates for EA and RD are the same percentage. Would it really be in my favor to apply early when I have the opportunity to extend the time thereby increasing GPA/Rank/Awards/Test Scores (although I don't think I can really increase those, heh..)</p>