Thanks for that info, @avb5151 , and congratulations. You are in for a helluvan exciting ride when you return to combat. That thought will be nice to hold in your mind all during your year off. Sharpen your mind on some good books!
I wonder whether lurking behind that box you checked is the thought of the College that all things considered a year off could be a pretty good thing for many students. That would seem to be the logical conclusion if you’re right in your speculation that checking the box enhanced your chances. But why offer that option only at the waitlist stage?
Even if they did, they would probably treat it as a transfer, plus as part of class of 2026, i believe you would start your 4 years then so that extra year of college beforehand would not make you graduate with the class of 2025 people, but i think it makes you graduate a year later, so people usually just use it for a gap year instead
i asked my MD admissions officer but havent heard from her yet, so does anyone know what is meant by the class of 2025 being full? like would the waitlisted not have a chance anymore?
If they are admitting to Class of '26 then that does suggest they are not going to extend any more admissions offers for the Class of '25. However, the waitlist isn’t closed till they tell you so. In any case, please make sure that when decision date roles around you have committed to a definite plan with a definite school. And realize that if they are keeping the wait list open that doesn’t mean they are regularly pulling from it. Good luck to you wherever you end up!
You would need to check with your AO. There might be rules about what you do with your time and I seem to remember reading that attending another university wasn’t one of them. They want you to commit to ONE university.
Also, @Laura2301 is partly correct - if you attend another university first, you are a transfer student. However, note that transfers to UChicago have a different admissions process.
@marlowe1, there are gappers who are admitted to the Class of '25, too. Some just have plans to do something after college and want to put off entry for a year, and so they clear that with their AO once admitted. We knew one such student many years ago. He was doing substantive volunteer work for a year and wished to enroll at UChicago the following year. They approved the request with pleasure.
I’m in touch with my rep, and she told me this: since I did not apply for this gap year, I am free to do whatever I want. She recommends that it is something valuable which obviously I will do, but the only time that there are restrictions on gap year activities is if you apply for one during your time at UChicago.
That doesn’t surprise me. Most gap year plans seem pretty substantive anyway - yours might not be finalized but both are great choices - and students who embark on them are probably more mature and wiser than their classmates when they enroll the following fall. It can be a great experience. UChicago always factors in a few gappers - either students who request it directly or those who are Z-listed - so it’s no big deal as last year’s gappers just join this year’s incoming class. Of course, who really knows how many gapped last year! It was a weird year.
Right. And to be totally honest, I never would have thought that I could get in UChicago, so by them giving me a gap year, I hope to use it to maybe brush up on some subjects that would crush me at chicago if I went this fall. I’m still going to enjoy myself by working and traveling, but I’ll definitely take online classes relating to the core curriculum or just economics classes so that I don’t feel overwhelmed when I arrive in the fall of 22.
For the two who you know that got admitted off of waitlist, were they admitted by their regional AO, or was it just someone part of the admissions team (aka not their specific AO)? also, any more news of any others getting admitted that you know?
You might ask the master of the Humanities Collegiate Division to send you the name of any summer reading assigned based on your top choice of Hum. They were planning to do that last year - I think even tailor it to the student’s hum sequence - but I’m not sure how that worked out. Be sure not to enroll in college courses w/o clearing that with your AO. Online tools might be helpful - or might not.
Get advice from Admissions on what you should be doing w/r/t your academic prep during this year off. They didn’t admit you because they thought you couldn’t handle it, even after a gap year. Acquired knowledge can be helpful but it’s really only a bit of a “head start” - At UChicago the most helpful thing you can learn is how to think about, analyze and frame the problem.
However, you might definitely want to ask about about math or science or F/L skills falling out of use and messing up your placement test next summer. You don’t want to be over-placed, but you don’t want to be under-placed, either.
As for Econ, that’s not even something you need to worry about your first quarter. Stick with the Core and get used to the pace and worry about the major a bit later on.
Of course, any UChicago video on youtube on any of the above: about the Core, about Hum, Econ, Math . . . will definitely be worth watching. Some of the orientation videos about math placement or how many courses to select for fall are available for anyone to watch.
First contact was by the regional AO, but the offer of acceptance was from the Dean of Admissions (I believe it was a regular UChicago admissions office email address).
We do know that full pay applicants tend to be favored when coming off any waitlist. However, I do know applicants, some with significant need, who have come off UChicago’s waitlist in past years (recent), as well as other schools.