<p>So lately I've been putting a lot of thought into attending a summer quarter at the University. I just had a few questions that I was hoping you fine people could answer. For one, how hard is it to actually gain admittance for a summer quarter? And secondly, how much of an effect would this have when it comes time to submit real applications? I have a feeling it wouldn't really make a huge difference, but showing that kind of interest really can't hurt. Thanks guys, have a good one.</p>
<p>I took a class at U-Chi this past summer through the commuter program. If you are looking for something that may impact admissions chances, I would suggest you apply for an actual class with students enrolled in the college, rather than one of the classes set aside for high school students. For one thing, your performance in an actual college class is more telling of your abilities than yet another class with high school students. Also, if you feel you are performing well, you could look into having your professor write a recommendation (That's what I did). </p>
<p>To be honest, I don't know how stringent their standards are for admissions to the Summer Quarter. I don't know anyone else who applied. Personally, I had a 3.6 (unweighted) at the best private school in my state, with a very difficult course load. My recommendations were as good as one could hope for. My essay, upon second-reading, was the worst example of writing I can imagine (I panicked and wrote this at the last minute). My guess is that they look to see if a student has been challenged before, and if he appears to have responded reasonably well (GPA/Recs). On the one hand, this is a money-maker for the school, but the University of Chicago doesn't want rich idiots dragging down the quality of their classes.</p>
<p>That having been said, it's a great opportunity to see the school. It doesn't give you a great opportunity to see what the school is like during the year, but you can at least see more of Chicago. Summer classes are never quite as difficult as regular classes, but you still get a reasonable impression of what college will be like.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info, it's greatly appreciated. It definitely sounds like something I'd be interested in. And yeah, I'd be taking the actual classes, not one of the other high school specific things. Once again, thanks.</p>
<p>i heard it's really easy to get accepted to the highschool summer program</p>
<p>Esentman-</p>
<p>What course(s) were you planning on taking? I'm also going to apply to take one of the summer undergrad courses as a commuter. </p>
<p>And if what Bigtwix says is true, then I won't have to worry about applying to the summer program at Northwestern for back-up.</p>
<p>BIGTWIX,
Not really. I attended the summer program for creative writing and from what I heard about 50-70% of the kids who replied did not get in. My session only had 5 kids and the session after that had 14.</p>
<p>really
maybe its jus for the creative writing
but i heard it was pretty easy to get accepted into...
obviously i dont know firsthand cause iv enever been to the summer programs...</p>
<p>Anyone taken one of the Intensive language ones.
Cause i really wanna take the japanese 1</p>
<p>i did intensive language study, and it was intense (at least 5 hours of hw a night, i also commuted from home and i was burned out by the time my quarter was over). i don't know about the difficulty of getting in, but i do know that it shows u have interest in the school, it will not guarantee/or help admissions by any means. (i took 3rd year arabic, it was AMAZING!!!! the NELC department is fantastic, as are most of the language/history departments.)</p>
<p>MSHP, I'll probably be taking the econ courses, but most likely only one of them, as I won't be able to go until the July portion of the program (since school for me ends on June 20th). And there are many more courses I'd love to take; it's going to be hard to narrow my choices down to only a few.</p>
<p>You cannot take anything above core econ unless you are already in college. Also, you will be the only person who does not go to Chicago. </p>
<p>Alan Sandersons intro courses are wonderful though.</p>
<p>I know it's only the intro courses for econ. And what do you mean I'll be the only person that doesn't go to Chicago?</p>
<p>I took Introduction to Attic Greek (first year ancient Greek) in summer 2005 and was accepted to the College for the following school year. </p>
<p>Like nada07 said, the language department at the University of Chicago is incredible. The summer course, because it was one year condensed into nine weeks, had me on my toes throughout it, burning me out in the process. But I had never learned as much in my life before taking that course. The temporary hell is completely worth the long-time satisfaction.</p>