<p>My son received a letter today from Admissions telling him that his application is part of the Small School Talent Search Program. Included was a refund check as his application fee was being returned. My first reaction was we had made a mistake and his application was not being considered. But then I read it again and it states he is entitled to apply free of charge under this program.</p>
<p>Has his application just been moved from one stack to another or is this a good sign?</p>
<p>You can always overanalyse something like this, but the optimist in me would take it as good news.</p>
<p>I believe that STS schools are chosen regardless of applicant quality. But hey, somebody in the office is doing their job! That’s always a good sign.</p>
<p>The Small Schools Talent Search is just a way of encouraging students from smaller schools or more rural communities to apply to Chicago, by means of waiving the application fee for students that come from such schools. While it’s not a guarantee of admission, and your student will be considered in the same pile as everyone else, the admissions office does look for a measure of geographic diversity in its incoming class, which could be helpful… and besides, saving that $65 is pretty nice!</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone for your views. One reason he applied is a classmate grew up in Chicago and told him U of Chicago has an excellent mathematics program. We live in a small town in NY and he is probably the first kid from his school to apply in quite awhile. He will use the money when he visits schools in April. Too bad there wasn’t a plane ticket in with the letter. It was a nice gesture on their part.</p>