Should I even bother? Please give me some advice :)

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
1

<p>I am considering applying to the University of Chicago, I want to get some opinions on if it worth the $60 application fee, or if you think I will get automatically shut down. Any opinions are well appreciated. The reason I am considering the University of Chicago is to put more of a reach school (I am almost done with the online application and their essay) that has both majors I am interested in (Russian and Arabic). Please let me know what you think!</p>

<p>My Stats:</p>

<p>Freshmen year: I took as many honors classes as possible.
Sophomore year: Took AP World History and honors level classes (including Honors Chemistry that was the hardest class I have taken to date and I got a C)
Junior Year: Started the Full IB Program, HL English, HL History, HL Art, SL Math, SL Biology(3), SL Spanish (6) with my lowest grade in SL Bio as a C first semester and it rose to a B second semester
Senior Year: Am continuing IB, HL English, HL History, HL Art, SL math, AP Spanish Lit, French 4 I expect to get about a 30 on the Diploma</p>

<p>My Current GPA is 4.07 and I have a class rank of 24 out of 214, my SAT scores are... 630 Critical Reading,580 Math,
650 Writing. Also... I got a 4 in AP World History and AP Spanish Language.</p>

<p>An excerpt of my resume
AWARDS AND HONORS:
Theater Varsity Letter (grades: 9, 10, 11, and 12)
Academic Varsity Letter (grades: 9, 11, and 12)
Polyglot Award (grade 10)
Forensics interpretive dramatics 2nd Place award (grade 11)
National Honor Society (grades: 11 and 12)</p>

<p>SCHOOL RELATED ACTIVITIES:
Theater (grades 9, 10, 11, and 12) (Props Mistress, 10 and Secretary, 12)
DECA (grade: 11)
Forensics (grade 11)
Recycling Club (grades: 11, 12)
French Club (grades: 9 (Vice-President), 10 (Vice-President), 11, 12)
National Honor Society (grade 12)
Junior Varsity Swim Team (grade 12)</p>

<p>COMMUNITY-RELATED ACTIVITIES:
Friends of the Lafayette Public Library (member since middle school, Vice President in both 11th and 12th grade)
Library Volunteer (started volunteering in 5th grade, have done book sales, story times, special event co ordination and Reading Buddies (a mentoring program for children’s literature))</p>

<p>ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES:
Leader’s Challenge (grade 11)
American History Class at Front Range Community College (summer after junior year)
Summer Spanish and French Camps</p>

<p>WORK EXPERIENCE:
Office Assistant/Receptionist/Language Aid for Doctor David Himel’s Vision Clinic (grades: 9, 10, 11, and 12)
Hostess/Buser at Chip's Cafe (12)</p>

2

<p>Research the school a little bit more -- read some posts here and Life of the Mind. If its ethos appeals to you, apply! The only way it could possibly be a waste would be if you had no passion for U(C) at all.</p>

3

<p>what's your unweighted GPA?</p>

4

<p>If you really want to go to Chicago you should apply. Your grades and extra curricular put you in the running. Your SATs are a little low though. Study up and take them again if time allows. My child, who is now a second year, had 760 v and 580 math and at that time was told at her interview that they wished her scores were a little higher. She took them again and brought the math up to a 640. Her grades were similar or a little lower than yours. So, go for it. You never know, but make sure they know how much you want to go there and why you would fit in. Also, try to do an on campus interview. It really helped my child.</p>

5

<p>I am falling in love with Chicago all over again, so I hope this application works in my favor :)</p>

<p>I did take the SAT again (these are my second scores) I studied a ton, and it only came up about 30 points from the first time I took them.</p>

<p>My unweighted G.P.A is something along the lines of a 3.5.</p>

<p>Thanks all :) I hope the opinions keep coming :)</p>

6

<p>By the way, Chicago will appreciate your IB status. They consider it a quite rigorous curriculum.</p>

7

<p>That is good, as I feel it is a rigorous curriculum, and is the best one for me :)</p>

8

<p>i'm glad there is finally a CC chance poster that is normal. normal as in, not 4.0 UW/ 5.0 W GPA, with less than perfect test scores, and decent but not world changing extracurriculars. </p>

<p>my theory is, we only THINK that there are a lot of people like the above description because theyre the only ones with chances threads on CC, but in the grand scheme of all applicants, chicago gets more normal smart people than geniuses. at least, thats what i hope...</p>

<p>as long as you have great reasons why you want to go there and demonstrate some sort of academic ability (i think youre covered with that) then they should consider you. then it all relies on essays and rex</p>

9

<p>Thanks GoodaySunshine, I do have good reason's for wanting to attend, I love the school and I hope they do consider me. I am glad you are happy to see an average-ly (I wish this word existed :) ) intelligent person on CC, I was a bit nervous approaching the site, but I figured... it can't hurt to see what they say :)</p>

10

<p>If your essays and "why chicago" answer are good, you stand a good chance. UChicago looks first at the rigor of your classes, second at your essays, and GPA and SATs are somewhere near the bottom of the list.</p>

11

<p>Well that is good to hear, as my SAT's are probably the weakest part of my application :) I hope my essays are as good as I believe them to be, I am a bit apprehensive of my choice to do the write your own topic one</p>

12

<p>I think you have a decent shot of admittance-- enough that it would be a shame if you didn't apply. You're already aware that your scores are a bit below the admitted range, and you're teetering on the 10% cutoff.</p>

<p>However, you sound like you have a lot of reasons to like the school and it sounds like you've put your own thoughts into why you want to attend and what you will be able to accomplish here. That certainly counts for something.</p>

<p>My advice to you is to keep doing what you're doing. It sounds like you've found schools that are less stringent admissions-wise but are still good fits for you, and you're going into the application process with the understanding that Chicago is a reach. (It was a reach for me too). So cross your fingers, try your luck, and see what happens!</p>

13

<p>Is the alumni interview a good thing to do?</p>

14

<p>If you have the opportunity to have one, yes!</p>

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<p>Alright :) sounds good, I checked the little box, I figured it was a good idea... are they very serious things if you get one?</p>

16

<p>i am wondering, what is considered "rigorous" nowadays? do i have to take all AP and honors classes my entire high school career in order for it to be considered rigorous? because thats what it seems like, which is very discouraging.</p>

17

<p>1) If you get an alumni interview, it's more or less a commitment. You do not want to waste resources not taking one if you're offered it!</p>

<p>It sounds like alumni interviews vary from alum to alum more than they do school to school. You may either meet up in the alum's home or in a coffee shop or something. Dress nicely, but not too nicely. Be prepared to talk about yourself and the things you enjoy doing. Also be prepared to talk about school.</p>

<p>2) Rigorous is a relative term, as "honors" and "AP" mean different things depending on your high school. I don't think rigorous means you have to take the hardest courseload possible, but rather that you made your courseload challenging for yourself. The University of Chicago is a challenging school, there's no doubt about that-- and to be able to succeed here, you need to have been challenged in high school.</p>

18

<p>As unalove said, it all depends on what your school offers. Not all of us can cross-register at a local university, but if your school gives you the opportunity to take 5 APs, you should probably take a few of them.</p>

19

<p>For me, with my high schools opportunities, rigorous meant... the one AP class I could take sophomore year, 6IB classes junior year (2 of them I tested in AP as well) and finishing the IB program senior year as well as being one of only 3 kids in the district to take AP Spanish Literature because we wanted to.</p>

20

<p>There are a lot of opportunities to do mentoring here. Some pay- some are volunteer- may be a fun thing for you to look into.</p>