Guys! Did you hear? Apparently, if you, God forbid, get deferred from Early Action, now you can be put in the Early Decision II pool instead of the Regular Decision. What do you think this means? Does it just mean you get a second chance at early acceptance, but this time, you’re bound? I think this is a good thing…right?
@AnimeMango wait whattttt??? Would they really do that though? I definitely think its a good things in terms of having your application reevaluated for a second shot but a bad thing since you will now be bound
@AnimeMango - practically speaking, I don’t see how they would have refused anyone this opportunity despite the “rules”. The default is RD, of course. But are they really going to tell an EDI kid who was deferred that they can’t re-commit? And anyone else for that matter who wishes to sign the commitment? This only helps UChicago.
I realize what they said at first - some obviously got poor advice from the admissions office - but for these elite schools - or any school, for that matter - pretty much anyone can call up their counselor and say something like “if you accept me I will 100% attend and send in the enrollment deposit right now”. kids deferred from SCEA do it all the time (we know several who were in this situation). Especially at this level of selectivity where a LOT of kids look equally talented, what better way to express a good fit than to put your money where you mouth is?
UChicago especially is obviously seeing how well the applicants can select themselves. They are compelling everyone to reveal the degree of preference for UChicago. That’s why it seemed odd that they had this rigid “you will go straight to RD, do not pass GO” rule. They’ve been enormously flexible on everything else, erring in favor of giving your application as much consideration as possible. (they have precious little time to do so, btw, given that they allowed materials to trickle in all the way to Thanksgiving).
However, keep this in mind: they will hold you to that commitment. Only do this if you KNOW you can attend and it IS your first choice. Don’t look at it as just one more way to “get in” but a viable way to be able to attend.
See that works against me. I would’ve applied ED if I could afford Chicago, but I can’t so I have to wait till aid/ scholarships roll in. It’s likely that I will be differed EA, and plopped into the RD pool. When I don’t request to have my app put into the ED pool (cuz I can be bound to a school I can’t afford), the college would likely perceive that as a lack of commitment/ drive to attend Chicago which could lead to a RD rejection. Oh well.
Same here @NikkuWadde I couldn’t apply ED because I won’t be able to attend if I don’t get enough financial aid. I’m assuming I’m going to get deferred, and then rejected or waitlisted.
Hey all! I applied EA. Really nervous. When do dissisions come out!??!
@NikkuWadde - for that matter, anyone this applies to - you can always have an in-depth conversation with the admissions and financial aid people to better understand exactly how they are treating the ED’s w/r/t financial aid. UChicago promises to cover 100% of “demonstrated financial need” w/o loans. You might be forgoing a merit scholarship by signing the commitment (i.e. what is the incentive for them to give you one at that point?) but how exactly do you know that it’s unaffordable? The best thing to do is ask and find out. Then make your decision about switching.
Our guess is around December 15-20 @Thecollegegal
@ChicagoU2021 hey, what major are you intending to pursue
And the countdown continues.
13-15 more days to go~
[-O<
And in general, assuming EA and ED decisions are released at the same time, I think it’s safe to assume both will come out on Friday 12/16. Based off trends, EA decisions typically have come out on a Friday and for yield reasons, they would want to release EA right after other top schools release ED, so 12/16 seems logical.
I’ve been lurking for a while, but I applied ED a few months back. Wrote my essays on serial killers, holding beating hearts, and brains (which in hindsight makes me sound insane). Had an on-campus interview over a month ago, and I cried in the middle of it. Whoops. Good luck to everyone here, and speaking of luck, I sure as hell need it.
Oh man, 12-14 more days…
I wish I could time travel so bad right now. :!!
@AnimeMango haha you just have to have your future self make a time travel machine so you can tell yourself 
I applied ED, and I know a lot of schools have exact release dates for their decisions but I couldn’t find one for Chicago… Does anyone have an idea of when it would be released
Question for anyone applying for financial aid and is EA/ED – I wasn’t able to upload all of the right forms by the Nov 15th deadline for EA. Does that have any impact on my application?
I don’t think so @azure342 They seem to be pretty flexible about this stuff… If you are missing something, your admissions counselor will let you know. I think they consider November 15th the recommended date to turn in this stuff, but it won’t harm you if you don’t have it by exactly that day.
@azure342 You should still get a decision from admissions since they don’t base it on need but your financial aid letter may come later.
@acdchai @stockqueen Awesome thank you so much!
@azure 342 I called admissions about those tax returns etc. and was told not to even worry about those till you are accepted. So just make sure they are uploaded when you can get to it, ok?
@romala0716 I hope you don’t mind but my hubby and I LOVED your post #151. Hope you get accepted - you sound about as creative wacky as they come.