<p>If you don't think you have a chance, apply anyways. That is the best advise I can give you. I almost backed out myself. That'd be terrible because I'd have to go to NYU or my state university.</p>
<p>j10 -- what do you think was your app hook for acceptance? (I saw in an earlier post that you turned down Vandy.)</p>
<p>every year since my freshmen year, i changed a lot.
GPA:
9th 2.4
10th 3.8
11th 4.2
12th over 4.5</p>
<p>On top of that, i tried to take the most challenging classes possible.
I my parents doesn't speak English and I guess you can say that my family is relatively poor. Initiative matters.</p>
<p>I also have solid ECs. Presidents of two major school clubs (my school isn't big), FBLA econ competition (3rd in NJ without ever taking a class), and martial arts.</p>
<p>Its really not hard to take on a leadership position. Even if you doubt your abilities, just show initiative and that will probably be more than what most people will give. (Most people join just to pad their resumes. I put the number as high as 95 percent.)</p>
<p>Blue, you're like me.. except for this semester my GPA droped from 4.60 to probably 4.20 which completley ruins my upward trend. I'm gonna have my counselor write a note about that though</p>
<p>j10cpc5000: I live on the west coast and I applied to NYU and would have considered it, had they given me more fin. aid. What's wrong with NYU?</p>
<p>fakldjfksdjf: "What's wrong with NYU?"</p>
<p>Myriad things are "wrong with NYU" if you're assaying its academic value from a University-of-Chicagoan perspective. Then again, there are even some things wrong with Harvard when you're assaying its academic value from that same perspective.</p>
<p>i can assure you that there aren't ppl like Brinestorm at NYU, maybe so, but they will be a minority. He is the perfect representative of a Chicago student, exactly what I disliked about the school, the ppl just seemed sooo quircky and odd to say the least, but enormously BRIGHT.</p>
<p>Just out of curiosity, Brinestorm, like what, though? NYU seemed to be okay to me. A lot more people in my area know about NYU than UChicago, and my counselor was impressed that I got accepted into NYU, but she didn't know a thing about UChicago, other than that the location is nice.</p>
<p>Then your counselor is an idiot and should learn more about american universities before helping unknowledgeable kids make college decisions (there are many many counselors out there who are like that or who have unrealistic views of what it takes to get into a school).</p>
<p>NYU is not a bad school at all but its not on par with chicago or stanford or yale etc. The fact that chicago is no longer a big 10 school and that it's name sounds like a state school (upenn kids have the same problem) seems to mean that the average american doesnt understand how good of an institution it really is. It's not an Ivy and many americans still think that the Ivy League is THE list of schools to go to. Quite frankly, it isnt. The schools that hang on the "ivy name" like dartmouth are not the same as the schools that hang on their own name (and just happen to be an ivy) like harvard or princeton. Chicago is on par with the schools in the latter group but it doesnt have the name so people just don't care. The people who DO know are the people in the rest of the world, the people who do the grad school admissions and the people who do the hiring.</p>
<p>Chicago is the shizzzz in a goooood way, but it attracts a certain type of a person, and it is definetely not universal in its appeal whereas other schools have a more varied type of a person. I really feel that you have to be a certain type of person to enjoy the Chicago experience, and in addition, I have not met one alum from Chicago that has recommended me to attend it for undergraduate. However, its graduate programs are TOP NOTCH.</p>
<p>If you want to go to the college and can pay for it, never hesitate in applying.</p>
<p>fakldjfksdjf,</p>
<p>The Chicago difference has much to do with the student body, although, to be sure, the faculty at some point in history catalyzed this phenomenon. The students don't philosophize, read, write, analyze, sing, perform, volunteer for some sort of concrete reward such as a grade as much as students of other schools do. They draw intense pleasure from academic and intellectual activities. For many Chicago students, I believe that the school serves more as a guidance for their studies rather than as the very source of them.</p>
<p>Hmm. Explaining what I mean is difficult. Let's just say that it is an accepted, perhaps even an admired, reality at Chicago that many students pursue studies on Friday and Saturday nights instead of socializing or drinking; I don't think it's nearly the same at NYU. Although I will sure as hell not be studying on weekend nights at Chicago, I truly do respect a student who would be so passionate about his or her studies as to do so. What I look forward to at Chicago are normal social activites with intellectual profundity and wit mingled in every now and then.</p>
<p>collegekid1988,</p>
<p>Like I believe I've said before, if you saw it fit to discredit an entire university on account of what you witnessed one of its admitted students post on an Internet message board, by no means are you fit for Chicago.</p>
<p>I hope I've been of help; if not, I can always salvage these ten minutes lost when a physicist at Chicago develops a time machine.</p>
<p>NYU is good but I'm not willing to be in debt to study there. Chicago debt is fine. The average NYU student is way too...common. I have a few NYU kids in my school and there is nothing special about them. Actually, they are both art and fashion snobs. NYU is only a bit "better" than my state university but it cost a lot more. When the cost outweights the benefit, there is no reason for me to enroll.</p>
<p>In all fairness, NYU-Stern is a great school.</p>
<p>Yes, Stern and Tish are great schools. Everything else is just so-so. Mix them together and you get a decent/good university.</p>
<p>collegekid1988:</p>
<p>I know many Chicago undergrad alumni from many eras spanning from the late 1940's to the 2000's. All were enthusiastic and quite encouraging to my son about applying. Some went so far as to question why in the world would he consider any other place! Here is a little excerpt from what he wrote in one of his admissions essays:</p>
<p>"When the alumni of the University of Chicago gather, there is an unspoken connection evident: a sparkle in their eyes. ...when speaking of "The University" I see an understanding of what it means to experience such a unique university. ...I wish for that sparkle in my eye."</p>
<p>idad,</p>
<p>Interesting. While I read your son's words, I thought of the bond between military veterans. I'll leave you all to form your own analogies between studying at Chicago and the psychological hell of war.</p>
<p>Joking, of course.</p>
<p>One of the alums said a former Dean describe UChicago as "An academic boot camp" so you may be closer to the truth than you know!</p>
<p>Yeah, I applied to NYU as more of a safety, but I was just really surprised when my counselor told my mom that other people from my school have applied to NYU in the past and haven't been accepted. Maybe people don't know of UChi because of my location? Someone told me that people in the east know about UChi more than us in the west.</p>
<p>NYU is just a hot school right now, probably due to its location, and, perhaps, famous undergrads (Olsen twins). But, ignoring Tisch and Stern, academically, it's a second-tier school. I know SoCal students who were rejected by both Berkeley and UCLA, but accepted at NYU.</p>
<p>But, UofC is well-known by academia, grad schools, employers, and anyone who matters.</p>