Not calling you out, just trying to figure it out.
I know somebody who got a hand written letter from a proffesor in a science department at an ivy telling him please come…he will help him get scholarships etc…etc… his final offer from the school…REJECTION. a massive EGO boost followed by major fall back down to earth.
I said reasonable chance.
If your kid gets into UChicago, the parents then get sent a lot of swag. T-shirts, hats, pens. My H and I liked the shirts, but decided not to wear them until kid decided. It felt like we would be marketing to her, however subliminally. We wanted it to be her choice. And indeed, she picked a different school that turned out great for her. Now we wear the UC t-shirts. 
But seriously. It is marketing. It does not mean she will get in. And don’t let it turn her head from the important reasons she should or shouldn’t choose the school.
Parchment, Naviance, etc are actually helpful in determining the chances in general.
I have seen middle school kids wearing Harvard t-shirt. That doesn’t mean that they are recruited. The U of Chicago t-shirt is just part of James Nondorf’s very successful marketing strategy. I am quite sure in a few years many other top 15 schools (other than HYPS who don’t need aggressive marketing) will follow Nondorf’s approach. In the meantime OP just gets a free t-shirt. U of Chicago is not a bad school and there is no harm wearing it unless OP is seriously offended by Nondorf’s sales pitch.
No such thing. I’m sure the parents THOUGHT it was an unconditional offer, but even a Likely Letter is conditional. Only the admissions office can make an offer.
Athletes don’t have to apply ED. The coaches want them to, and the coach may not be able to offer any admissions support in the RD, but many athletes do wait to decide until the spring.
delete
@eyemgh I agree with your underlying statement, that colleges are playing all sorts of games at the expense of high school students. However, I’m pretty sure WashU, at the very least, is nationally recognized, with Vandy and Rice just a couple paces behind.
I grew up in Missouri. Wash U has always been a solid school, but other than the Medical School, wasn’t known outside the Midwest by many until well after USNWR rankings. No one in Missouri considered going to Wash U a big accomplishment back then. In fact, they were one of the very first to figure out how to game the rankings. Others have simply followed suit.
My D2 only received a postcard from the state flagship after submitting the ACT score. LOL.
My D1 did get a t-shirt from the campus visit at the same school a few years ago though.
THIS.
@droppedit Go to the ED and RD UChicago acceptance threads and you will get a sense of those who were admitted.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/20573296#Comment_20573296
I got a t shirt from U Chicago for sending them my Literature 780. However I’m pretty sure I got it before I got my results back, since I selected U Chicago as one of the 4 free sends.