Been conflicted over whether to post this before or after the final decision (or at all), but I suppose it can’t really hurt. I’m also applying in the middle of compulsory military service so my final year of school was 2014 and I’m applying for the class of 2021.
Decision: Waitlisted
Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2240: 800R, 740M, 700W (Screwed up the essay due to time and lack of ideas for examples)
[] SAT I superscore (breakdown):2280: 800R, 780M, 700W (Writing flopped this time due to grammar section mistakes)
[] ACT (breakdown): N/A
[] SAT II: 800 Chemistry, 770 Biology M
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): N/A
[] Weighted GPA: N/A
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A (By final IB score it would be between 5% and 15%)
[] AP (place score in parentheses): N/A
[] IB (place score in parentheses): 44 (Double As for TOK/EE, lost my point in LangLit SL)
[] Senior Year Course Load: IB Package: Biology, Chemistry, and History HL. LangLit, Maths, and Mandarin B SL. EE in Biology.
[] Number of other RD applicants in your school: There probably are a few but I don’t know any
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Putting most of these under extracurriculars section.[/ul]
Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses. Putting awards here because it’s more convenient): St John Ambulance Brigade (2009-2014, CSM (Head) in 2012), First Aid Competition (2009-2014, National 3rd in 2011, 2nd in 2012, continued to train competition teams thereafter), Choir (2009-2012, SYF Gold in 2009, 2011), Young Diplomat’s Society (Model UN group. One best del), A few others including Church involvement, unofficial Philosophy club, online Neuroscience Courses
[] Job/Work Experience: Mentioned interning at a law firm but that was short and minor
[li] Volunteer/Community service: Nothing outside school programmes[/ul] [/li]
Writing (Write a brief description and Rate Quality on 1-10 Scale; 10 as Best):[ul]
[] Essays (Include Subjects):[list]
[li] Common App Main: 8/10 (An incident that involved me talking to the principal. Won’t share publicly online)[/li][] Extended essay(which topic): ???/10 (The Borges prompt. A very weird and crazy conversation between two sides of my personality. Entertaining but very raw since it was assembled last minute though it had ideas that were stewing for months)
[] Optional Essay: 8/10 (Wrote about Aeon Magazine)
[] Why Chicago: 9+/10 (Very unique concept. Includes my love of brains (in interest and taste), comparing myself to a zombie, bringing up the concept of p-zombies, inventing a concept called a q-zombie which eats minds, and then referencing a lot of things about UChicago. Personally loved this essay though the writing could be better on a technical level. I may post it after final decisions are out.)
[/ul]
[] Teacher Recommendation #1: Chemistry Teacher, 7-8/10?
[] Teacher Recommendation #2: History Teacher, 8-9//10? (I think my personality shone through this class)
[] Counselor Rec: My SJAB teacher, because our school doesn’t have the counsellor write our recs, 6-8/10 (He doesn’t really know the other side of me.)
[] Additional Rec: N/A
[] Interview: Did not request and regretting it now. May try to pull off some stunts.
[] Art Supplement: N/A[/list]
Other[ul]
[] Intended major: Biological Sciences (Neuroscience) + Philosophy
[] Date Submitted App: 1 Jan, minutes before the deadline
[] State (if domestic applicant): N/A
[] Country (if international applicant): Singapore
[] School Type: “Independent” (Semi-private)
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: M
[] Income Bracket: High
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None, negative hook of being Asian and my country being very competitive[/ul][/li]
Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Why UChicago essay, All my essays except Common app actually mentioned UChicago, Good and consistent academic results, earlier ECs
[] Weaknesses: ECs in the last two years were weaker, UChicago supplement is a very unpredictable factor
[] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Essays got their attention and showed fit, but my application may not have stood out in other areas (also the main supplement being a little overboard)
[] What would you have done differently?: Definitely write my essays earlier (The supplement is even “self-aware” about this point), modify quite a few remarks in the supplement, and maybe request for an interview.
[li] Where else were you accepted/rejected/waitlisted?: Accepted by WashU, Rejected by JHU and Duke[/li][/ul]
Other Factors:
General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations, etc: UChicago has been my dream school since I discovered in it two years ago. Sure it doesn’t have standalone undergrad neuroscience and the weather is freezing but everything that I’ve read about the school culture and community makes me feel that this is the kind of place I would thrive in and love. While I’m glad they thought I was suitable enough to waitlist me the low admission rate off the waitlist and my lack of clear hooks/roles to fill makes me worried (I also wonder how they treat waitlisted students not enrolling in the coming year). Still, I’m not going to give up this last glimmer of hope. Not until all the waitlist decisions are finalised. To all my fellow waitlistees, you may be my competitors, but (just as UChicago students treat the Core and brutal academics) you share my struggles. Don’t give up hope yet. It’s not over till the class is announced
