UChicago Class of 2020 Early Action results

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
41

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I and/or ACT : 780 CR, 740 Math (Chicago only counts those 2), 730 Writing (Didn’t matter)
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Hebrew (800), US History (770), World History (750), Math 2 (760)- Never sent the Math 2
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.91
Rank/Percentile: School Doesn’t Rank
AP (place score in parentheses): US History (5), School doesn’t really do APs
IB (place score in parentheses):
Senior Year Course Load: Lots of Honors Courses
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Co Captain of Model Congress Team, few others, but that was main one
Job/Work Experience: Interned for last four summers at political campaigns and an investment bank
Volunteer/Community Service: Meet with Holocaust Survivor weekly
Summer Activities:
Essays: Good, but not wowing (I think)
Teacher Recommendations: 3, all very strong
Counselor Rec:
Additional Rec:
Interview: Went extremely well

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes
Projected Concentration: Poli Sci/Econ
State/Country: NY
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: >150k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First generation

Reflection
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:
Where else you are applying or have already applied:
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight:

42

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ list]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2240
[] ACT (breakdown): 34 (36E, 34M, 35R, 32S)
[] SAT II: 750 Bio, 790 Chem
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.78
[] Weighted GPA: idk haha maybe 4.2?
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn’t rank but I’m not in the top 15% for sure
[] AP (place score in parentheses): Biology (5), Chemistry (5), APUSH (3), APENG (4), Psychology (5)
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Gov, AP Physics 1, AP Calculus, AP Environmental Science, Band, English 12
[] Number of other EA applicants in your school: A lot I heard
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):[/list] Subjective:[ul] National Merit Semifinalist, few local awards
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): President of 4 clubs, nothing much haha
[] Job/Work Experience: none
[] Volunteer/Community service: 600+ Hours
[] Essays (Include Subjects):[list]
[] Common App Main: Talked about my passion for integrating humanities and the sciences
[] Extended essay(which topic): Picked the “untranslatable” prompt from last year about my cultural idiosyncrasies.
[] Optional Essay: Wrote about my different interested. Probably came off as slightly crazy.
[] Why Chicago: It was decent, pretty generic in my opinion
[] Other:[/ul][li] Teacher Recommendation #1: Amazing, said she loved my passion for learning[/li][] Teacher Recommendation #2: Said I was his best student
[] Counselor Rec: Idk her that well, I got a new one this year
[] Additional Rec: Amazing too
[] Interview: We really hit it off I thought
[] Date Submitted App: 11/01
[] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Large Competitive Public
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: XX
[] Income Bracket: High
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):[/list] [ b]Reflection**[ list]
[] Strengths: ACT Maybe? My enthusiasm for learning really showed in my essay and how I hope to use interdisciplinary thinking to save the world
[] Weaknesses: GPA for sure, I got a C in one class oops and my grades had been on a downward trend sophomore year. I also have not sure cancer or won anything major.
[] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Tbh I’m not sure
General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations, etc: Don’t let scores ever pull you down because you are more than a number and I think U Chicago is great at understanding that!!! I hope I can get enough money o make it doable because my parents are paying for my education and I hope to go to grad school :slight_smile:

43

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown):n/a
[] ACT: 33 Composite (34E 31M 34R 33S 34W+E)
[] SAT II: Math 770 Physics 640 Biology E 660
[] GPA (out of 4.0): 3.73 UW 4.127 W
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school does not rank
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Spanish Lang (5) Chem (3) Spanish Lit (5) Physics 1 (3) English Lang (4) Calc AB (5) Physics 2 (-) Calc BC (-) Env Sci (-) Macroecon (-) English Lit (-)
[] Senior Year Course Load: Linear Algebra H, AP Physics 2, AP Calc BC, AP Environmental Science, Government/AP Macroecon, AP English Lit
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): got a couple of national awards from AFJROTC

[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[li] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): [/li]Gay-Straight Alliance (VP) 2 yrs
Baking Club (Treasurer) 2 yrs
Science Bowl Team (member) 1yr
AFJROTC (various positions) 3 yrs
Peer Tutor 1yr
work with a nonprofit group 4 yrs

[] Volunteer/Community service: lots… 300+ hrs
[] Summer Activities: This summer I took a college course at UChicago on a full scholarship
[] Essays:
ComApp 8/10 wrote about my mom passing away and how that encouraged personal growth
Why UChicago 8/10 wrote about my summer experience there and how i feel like id vibe really well with the students
uncommon essay 7/10 I wrote about the mantis shrimp and how humans try to categorize people too much
Faves 9/10 used emojis to convey my favorite things while in certain states of mind
[] Teacher Recommendation: both got me into the summer program at U of C
Spanish Teacher of 3 years
10th Grade English Teacher & Peer Tutoring advisor (2 years)
[] Counselor Rec: should be pretty good, she said she loved the info I shared on my brag packet
[] Additional Rec: n/a
[li] Interview: I think it went well[/li]
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[] Intended Major: Environmental Studies and International Relations
[] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[] School Type: Competitive Public about 650+ in senior class
[] Ethnicity: Mexican
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: 100k+
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: The summer program I did there, also being hispanic tbh
[] Weaknesses: Having not many As in AP classes
[li] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: nobody knows.[/li][/ul]General Comments: Hope this helps someone down the line. Good luck as decisions roll in!

44

**Decision: Deferred **

Objective:
SAT I and/or ACT (breakdown): 2070, lol! (680 R/610 M (super bad at testing in math)/780 W/10 E)
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Did not send
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank/Percentile: 1/182
AP (place score in parentheses): AP World History (5), AP Psychology (5), AP Statistics (3, oops! Got an A on the final exam, though!), AP English Language (5)
IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus AB, AP French Language, mandatory theology class, AP US History, AP Physics (1 and 2 crammed into 1 year), AP English Literature
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Scholar Commended, but that is about it besides some debate awards or school-level recognition.

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses):
Mock Trial program founder/team captain/Head Plaintiff Counsel
Varsity Golf
Junior State of America (Cabinet position)
Student government: homeroom representative for 3 years and Co-Class President the other (there were 2 of us)
Advanced Concert Choir for as many years as we have had the program
Varsity Policy or CX Debate (went to State and won some speaking awards at a national tournament)
Harry Potter Club Co-President
National Honor Society Officer

Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community Service: 300+ hours with Campfire USA, some other local events throughout the years
Summer Activities: Some work with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Economics for Leaders (10/10 would recommend!), French cultural immersion experience, did Golf Camp one time (hilarious), performed at Carnegie Hall with my school’s choir.
Essays: Honestly probably the reason I got deferred and not rejected! It is hard, but if I had to rank them I would give my common app essay a 9/10, my historical mashup essay a 10/10, my “Why UChicago” essay an 8/10, and my optional essay (a list of my interests) an 8.5/10.
Teacher Recommendations: One from my Mock Trial coach/English 11 teacher and one from my French teacher/NHS supervisor. I waived my right to read them, but I have a good relationship with both teachers.
Counselor Rec: Also waived my right to read this, but we also have a good relationship.
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: N/A

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes.
Projected Concentration: International Studies
State/Country: WA
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: White
Gender: XX
Income Bracket: $200k + between two households
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None whatsoever!

Reflection
Strengths: Essays and commitment to my ECs.
Weaknesses: TEST SCORES!!!
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I have no clue but I am very grateful to them for giving me a second shot! I plan to submit another ACT score, so that will hopefully help me out.
Where else you are applying or have already applied: State flagships (accepted), Notre Dame EA (rejected), Georgetown SFS EA (deferred), UMichigan LSA EA (also deferred). RD: USC, Berkeley, UCLA, Wake Forest, American, Boston College, Johns Hopkins, Brown, Cornell
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight:
Congratulations to everyone who was accepted!!

To all those who are deferred: I know it is frustrating (I have three of them) but I am trying to stay positive and wish everyone the best!

To all those rejected: Sometimes there is no rhyme or reason to this process (look at my stats and decisions!), but know that we will all end up where we are meant to end up!

To future applicants: At the end of the day the process is so random that it is best to stay true to yourself. I spent years trying to guess what the AdCom wanted to see on paper, and I finally realized at the beginning of this year that I needed to just be me. All of you are amazing individuals who will change the world in some way and will end up at the right school for YOU! Admissions can be a tough pill to swallow but if you do your best and keep working on those grades and test scores, you should feel accomplished for even trying!

45

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
ACT (breakdown): 35C- 33R 34E 35S 36M
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Math 2 770
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98
Rank/Percentile: 56/1092
AP (place score in parentheses): did not submit
IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics 1, AP English Lit, AP Macro/Micro, AP French, AP Calc BC, AP US Gov, AP Comparative, Dual Enrollment World Religions
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Hispanic Scholar, Academic Excellence in English and AICE Thinking Skills, AP Scholar with Distinction

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): French Honor Society Treasurer, French Club President, National Honor Society Senator
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community Service: Secretary at my church every summer, volunteer at a horse camp for mentally disabled kids 4 times a week
Summer Activities: Rustic Pathways Volunteer trip to Costa Rica
Essays: Common App-10, everyone who read it cried
Uncommon-9 very UChicago-y super weird and just a lot of fun to write
Why UChicago-10 talked about the school motto and how I live by it, and how I would use the research opportunities at UChicago to continue to learn
Optional-8 really simple, it was just a short poem about my favorite book
Teacher Recommendations: One from AP English Lang teacher(9/10), really good, I spoke a lot in that class so she really knew me, the other from AP Calc AB teacher(7/10), it was alright but my intended major is math so it fit
Counselor Rec: My school has 5000 kids, so she doesn’t know me at all, probably super generic (5/10)
Additional Rec: A lady at my church that I’ve known for 10 years, knows me super well (10/10)
Interview: didn’t have one

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? yes
Projected Concentration: math/economics
State/Country: FL
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: F
Income Bracket: <50,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, low income

Reflection
Strengths: Test scores, grades, loved my essays!!!
Weaknesses: no major awards, super competitive high school (10+ applied to UChicago)
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I spent months on my essays, and they were honestly the best things I have ever written, and being a hispanic female going into STEM couldn’t have hurt
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Notre Dame (accepted) Boston College (accepted), applying to Yale, Princeton, Harvard, Brown, UPenn, Duke, Dartmouth
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: ESSAYS ESSAYS ESSAYS, they are by far the most important, mine were all super personal, make sure after reading your application your admissions counselor feels like they’ve known you their whole lives!

46

**Decision: Deferred **

Objective:
SAT I and/or ACT (breakdown): 800 CR 780 Math 800 CW (2380)
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Physics, Math level 2, Biology E, Chemistry (800 in each)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8ish. My school doesn’t really have a GPA system
Rank/Percentile: N/A
AP (place score in parentheses): Physics C Mechanics, Calculus AB (5 in each)
IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: N/A (International student)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National level Spelling Bee and Elocution prizes; The Telegraph Award for the Best All-Rounder 2015

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Elocution, Debate, Model UN, Spelling Bee, Theatre, Classical Guitar, Karate, Essay-Writing…
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community Service: I’ve been volunteering at a school for mentally handicapped children for the last 2 years or so
Summer Activities: Our extra-curriculars spill over to the summer, I’m not sure that we have any exclusive summer activities
Essays: Common App 9/10 (It was unconventional, and IMO well written), UChicago Supplement 9/10 (One of the previous year’s prompts), Why UChicago 10/10 (Really well articulated ideas - or so I felt :P), Q2 Essay 8/10 (It was just a list, but a good list)
Teacher Recommendations: Physics, English and Chemistry Teachers gave me Really good recommendations (even the ratings were really good)
Counselor Rec: Noo Idea. Wouldn’t let me see (Plus she didn’t know me very well)
Additional Rec: Brilliant. A mentor of mine wrote it, and she wrote really glowing stuff.
Interview: Went great, i guess. We spoke for about 45 minutes, mostly going back and forth about the utility and practicality of holistic education, and I got in some pertinent questions (He requested my CV beforehand so who knows what that meant?!)

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes
Projected Concentration: Physics
State/Country: India
School Type: Private, All-Boys
Ethnicity: Indian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: <$30,000 p.a.
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Sorry, I don’t know what these are

Reflection
Strengths: Large breadth of activities, strong essays, strong teacher recs, good test scores
Weaknesses: Dearth of sports, Counselor rec (?), Essays were kind of really offbeat
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: No definite idea
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Pomona, HMC, CMC, F&M, Grinnell, Macalester, Yale, Harvard, Duke, Hamilton, Colby, Williams, Swarthmore, Vanderbilt, Colgate, Cornell, MIT
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: I’m really sad - I really wanted to go to UChicago. Best of luck!

47

Decision: Accepted

First off, congratulations to @ComputerAge and @pHBalance for getting accepted!!! So happy to see my fellow Penn ED applicants have success! :slight_smile:

If y’all want to see my overall stats, click here: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1815927-chance-me-upenn-ed-uchicago-ea-columbia-rd-and-others.html#latest

Reflection: I did not have the absolute strongest academic profile (1500/2220 SAT and a 3.82/4.62 GPA). I did not even interview with UChicago, thinking I would never have a chance of getting in, and I am the lowest academically qualified applicant in my school’s history to get accepted by UChicago. With all of those things against me, how in the world can one be accepted? Answer: ESSAYS

I now have renewed faith in admissions counselors that they try to pick people who will be a fit at their university, and the essays are a huge part of that in my opinion. I spent around ~100 hours working on my CommonApp essay, which was about a story of how a fear of death inspired my love of philosophy (I applied to UChicago with an intended major of Philosophy and Allied Fields (the allied field I’ll probably make history, law, economics, or anthropology)), and how that affected my life. My UChicago extended essay was extremely risky, but super unique. I predicted that if it rubbed off the right way with admissions, then it would work really well. It was the question about “destroy a question with your answer.” I took a huge risk and actually showed how an answer not from myself, but a different person, the philosopher Jim Holt, destroyed the question of why the world exists. I even had a bibliography in my essay. I thought they would think of it as borderline plagiarism/unoriginal work, but they obviously thought it was erudite. My Why UChicago essay was alright, pretty generic, but I got across my theme of interdisciplinary study in philosophy and other fields well in conjunction with classes and other majors. I did a list of books, movies, songs, etc. for the optional response lol, which I now know we were supposed to interact with them in more of a formal way.

Anyways, super psyched to be accepted! Makes my senior year a lot less stressful. I’m withdrawing/not applying to any schools now except Columbia RD and Penn RD (I was deferred). Good luck to all future and current applicants! :slight_smile: Message me if you have any questions.

48

GPA on mine should be 3.88, not 3.78

49

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I and/or ACT (breakdown): 35 (single sitting)
SAT II (place score in parentheses): ML2(800), CHM(770), LIT(660)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank/Percentile: Not really supplied by school, but tied for first/top 1% I guess. Out of ~350-400 students.
AP (place score in parentheses): CHM(4), EUR(4), CALC AB(5)
Senior Year Course Load: At HS: AP Calc BC, Dual Credit English, AP Physics, Government. At local university: Organic Chemistry (300-level) and corresponding lab course. Due to scheduling conflicts between university and HS, this is the most classes I could take.
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Commendation, but that’s it.

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Guitar; band, lessons, performances w/ local program. With band played local venues and festivals, blurbed by prominent local papers. Ultimate Frisbee Gr 9-12 (captain senior year).
Volunteer/Community Service: NHS, but really not much to speak of. Band played shows and recorded songs for local music charity.
Summer Activities: 4wk summer camp 5 years in a row (idk what that shows though). Recorded album with band last summer, which I included a link to in my app. Volunteered with above local music program to teach kids guitar.
Essays: I felt really strong about my essays! Definitely put a lot of work and revision into them, and got great feedback from those who helped. My YUCHI? was about when I visited, I described the variety of architecture in the sense of a mixtape (having a common theme etc), and how it made me feel like I belonged. Extended essay was also unique, I did the art as plagiarism/revolution one and talked about glitch art as a genre and my own personal experience, and tied it into synesthesia and other stuff. Included works of art that I had made.
Teacher Recommendations: Probably strong? One english teacher (freshman and senior year) and my AP Chem teacher.
Counselor Rec: probably good, my “senior interview” went really well, we talked way longer than most students do.
Interview: Did interview at UChicago, went well but I don’t know if I did anything much to distinguish myself besides gush about the tour I was just on. Really liked my interviewer (current senior at UChicago), maybe he liked me too.

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes.
Projected Concentration: Chemistry
State/Country: Portland, OR, USA
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White as wonderbread. Revolutionary war white. Mayflower white.
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: This last year my dad was writing and my mom was in law school, so I think we had negative income for the year haha. This’ll adjust next year as far as financial aid goes, but that’s the info they had for apps.
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): …hipster Portland rock musician? Seems like more of a repulsor than a hook.

Reflection
Strengths: Visited, interviewed, essays were really refined and unique. Taking Organic Chemistry at university. GPA and test scores. Recs probably. Not many ECs, but long, passionate involvement in the ones I have.
Weaknesses: Like everything, according to what you usually see on this site. Only 3 APs, but APs only available junior year. No awards, clubs, hardly any community service. No summer internships or jobs. White boy from white town. No hooks.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I think I had a foundation (GPA and ACT) that didn’t need any excuses, and my essays really showed that I was a good fit at UChicago. If that’s not why I have no idea haha.
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Rejected from Harvey Mudd ED. Lined up to apply to Macalester, Occidental, Pomona, Yale, Tufts, Stanford, and Penn.
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: This site made me feel like I would never get in, and I’m so happy to be an example that you don’t have to devote your entire life to activities that will help you get into college! Just do what you like doing, but be involved and committed. REAL HUMAN BEINGS GET INTO GOOD SCHOOLS TOO :slight_smile:

50

**Decision: Accepted **

University Scholar - $25,000 per year

Objective:
SAT I and/or ACT (breakdown): 33 (34 superscore) ACT (33 E, 30 M, 32 R, 35 S, 11 Writing)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0 (W: 4.535 as of the end of junior year)
Rank/Percentile: 1 of 331
AP (place score in parentheses): AP Calc BC (5), AP Gov (5), AP Lang (5), AP Physics (4), APUSH (5), AP Stats (5)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Chem, AP Bio, AP Lit, AP Human Geography, AP Computer Science

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): NHS (President), Student Council (Vice-president), Interact (Vice-president), Foreign Language Club, Environmental Club, Varsity Tennis
Job/Work Experience: Cleveland Clinic Summer Internship Program (9 weeks in summer of 2015)
Volunteer/Community Service: Too many to list
Summer Activities: Internship program listed above
Essays: Supplement 6 (10) - I posed my own question, exploring why humanity nonchalantly wastes resources from material waste all the way to human potential. It was very well written and I received many positive compliments on it.
Why UC? (9) - Focused heavily on pre-med opportunities available and the importance of the CORE and undergraduate research.
Optional (9) - Commentary on the impact of literature, and how it relates back to the human experience.

Teacher Recommendations: AP Lang Teacher (10) - Had her as a freshman and again in my junior year. She really helped my writing ability flourish.
AP Calc Teacher (10) - Had her as an Algebra II teacher freshman year and she loved having me in Calculus last year.
Counselor Rec: 10 - My guidance counselor loves me. She loves the potential that I have displayed through high school.
Additional Rec: My former AP Stats and Pre-Calc teacher (also my tennis coach for my entire high school career)
Interview: No

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes
Projected Concentration: Biochemistry (Pre-Med) with a double major/minor in political science/public policy
State/Country: Ohio, USA
School Type: Public coed
Ethnicity: African (Both parents from Ghana)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $200,000+

Reflection
Strengths: GPA, Writing, Personality
Weaknesses: Average ACT
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: My uniqueness as an applicant and my strong GPA and essays.
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Northwestern HPME, Harvard, Rice Medical Scholars Program, Wash U University Scholars in Medicine, Case Western Reserve PPSP in Medicine, Yale, Columbia, Stanford, Ohio State
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Good luck to everyone! You will be a great fit no matter where you go! Remember this and you will truly find your bliss and flourish!

51

**Decision: Deferred **

Objective:
ACT (superscore): 32 (33E, 27M, 34R, 33S)
ACT (one sitting): 31 (28E, 27M, 34R, 33S)
SAT II: 760 Spanish (didn’t submit)
GPA (out of 4.0): 87/100 (school does not do 4.0 scale)
Rank/Percentile: N/A (school does not rank)
AP (place score in parentheses): AP US History, AP Spanish, AP US Goverment

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): 3 year varsity football letterman (nationally ranked for my position), 2 year varsity ski team letterman (co-captain), tutor, president of school’s international club, VP of school’s SADD program
Job/Work Experience: Mostly work overseas
Volunteer/Community Service: Volunteer work in Latin America
Teacher Recommendations: Didn’t read them. I’m assuming they’re ok.
Interview: Was not offered one

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
State/Country: NJ
School Type: All-boys Catholic school
Gender: Male
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Recruited athlete

Reflection
Strengths: Essays were strong
Weaknesses: GPA, test scores
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: GPA was far below average for such an elite school

General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: I took an official visit for football and really liked the place. Everyone is incredibly smart. People say it’s “where fun goes to die” but I honestly had a lot of fun. The students are very nice as well. I was expecting a flat-out rejection so I was a bit surprised that I was deferred. I hope this helps someone. Good luck to everyone.

52

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
ACT (breakdown): 31 (E:31 M:34 R:30 S:27 W:29)
SAT II (place score in parentheses): didn’t take any
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): n/a
Rank/Percentile: n/a
AP (place score in parentheses): n/a
IB (place score in parentheses): predicted 44
Senior Year Course Load: English literature A HL (7), Mandarin B SL (7), Economics HL (7), Maths SL (7), Biology HL (7), Music SL (6), TOK
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nothing major; got a Cambridge Learner’s Award for Highest Grade in Mandarin Foreign Language in my iGCSE exams but that’s about it. Others were mostly in-school awards

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Bunch of music ones (band/choir etc), Duke of Edinburgh Award (Completed Gold and Silver)
Job/Work Experience: none
Volunteer/Community Service:Lots, teaching migrant school kids English, teaching music to disadvantaged adults (did both of these basically for 4 years)
Summer Activities:Self-education through MOOCs and volunteering at a local kindergarten in Malaysia and an orphanage in rural China
Essays: Common App (9/10), Extended Supp (8/10), Why Chicago (8/10), Favorites - made a crossword for this (9/10)
Teacher Recommendations: English teacher who knew me for 4 years and thought that I was a great writer (9.5/10), Econs teacher (7/10)
Counselor Rec: (8.5/10) Changed counsellors at the end of junior year, he recently moved to our school but we got along really well and he supervised one of the extracurriculars I was part of
Additional Rec: n/a
Interview: n/a

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?Yes
Projected Concentration: Linguistics, Economics
State/Country: Malaysia
School Type: International school in Shanghai
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: ~100K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Can’t think of any; Mum didn’t attend college?

Reflection
Strengths: Definitely my essays and my recs
Weaknesses: Test scores
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: ESSAYS! I spent a long time agonizing over it before settling on a topic I wanted to write about
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Bard (RD), Amherst (RD), Macalester (RD) as well as 5 schools in the UK - Received offers from University of Newcastle, Manchester, Edinburgh and UCL; still waiting to hear back from Cambridge in January
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: ESSAYS are very important

53

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I and/or ACT (breakdown): ACT: 35 comp, 36 sci, 35 reading, 35 writing,33 math
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Chemistry(790), Math II(800)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.79
Rank/Percentile: 25th (Exactly 5% mark)
AP (place score in parentheses):
Calc BC(5), Stat(5), Phys C Mech(5), AP Eng Lang(5), AP CompSci(4), APUSH(5),AP Enviro(4), AP Bio(4), AP Macro(5), AP Chem(5)
Senior Year Course Load: Multivariable Calc, AP Phys C E/M, AP Eng Lit, AP Macro, Spanish IV, Research
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Some state FBLA competitions, did mediocre in national mathematics competition like Moodys, made AIME, but nothing really of the USAMO, Intel, Siemens sort(did submit a paper I wrote and submitted for publication as a supplement however, dunno if they read it)

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): FBLA(Chap President), Model UN( chap Founder/Pres/DG), IT/Math Intern at a bank
Job/Work Experience: None
Volunteer/Community Service: Volunteered for 4 years at a tutoring place in India, about a month each summer. Set up a charity for them here in the states. Volunteered at local hospital, have about 500+ hours on record as an Emergency Room volunteer.
Summer Activities:Attended a pretty selective math program at local uni, did the aforementioned volunteering, did molecular bio and math research with a professor and wrote a paper which may be published.
Essays: Common App: 7/10, not astounding but it was good. Talked about how my mentor quit on me at one point and I found a different mentor and bounced back.
Why Chicago: 10/10, best essay I had written, probably the one that got me in. Described the professors I met and the class I sat in on, plus my future plans and interests at Chicago.
Creative: 9/10, a pretty eccentric essay, discussed how my life could be described as an equation, and talked about the nuances of my personality from there.
Teacher Recommendations:
AP English Teacher 9/10
Calc Teacher Not Sure/10
Counselor Rec: Not Sure /10
Additional Rec: Research professor 9/10
Interview (Alumni): Went very well, interviewer was pretty friendly and seemed interested in what I had to say, despite not being a math person like myself. Remember, they want to be coddled a bit too, and they like hearing all the good things about the school they attended.

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Projected Concentration: Mathematics
State/Country: NJ, Monmouth County(RIP)
School Type:Large Public
Ethnicity: Asian Indian(RIP)
Gender:Male
Income Bracket: 500k +
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None(RIP)

[ b]Reflection**
Strengths: Essays
Weaknesses: Low GPA/Rank, the people who were applying to my school had more prestigious awards/activities
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Quality of my essays, and the fact that my application was well written as a whole. I made sure to stay in contact with my regional rep as well.
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Ivies, duke, UC schools
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Do your best on your apps! write good essays, they matter, especially for this school. The people who try to rush their apps and expect results will find none. I was able to get in above 2 people who had better stats than me in almost every aspect on paper. Why? Because I was passionate about the school and my essays and application reflected that. I am willing to read essays

54

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I and/or ACT (breakdown): 33 composite, 34 ‘superscore’
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Math 2- 800 (I had to take the SAT subject tests bc math was one of my lowest scores on my act)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank/Percentile: 2/180
AP (place score in parentheses): Calc AB (5), US History (4), English Language (4)
IB (place score in parentheses):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Psychology, AP Calculus BC, AP Physics 1
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Awarded a Full Scholarship to a Private School

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): I took Photography classes since freshman year, Body Building Club (treasurer), Film Photography Club (co-president), NHS, Chinese School, Varsity Fencing Team, Student Government for one year
Job/Work Experience: Teaching Assistant at the same Photography School
Volunteer/Community Service: Worked in a soup kitchen, Housing Works and Low Income development.
Summer Activities: Harvard Summer School (B in Microeconomics & A in Biostastics) Johns Hopkins Summer University (A in Macroeconomics & A in Biochemistry)
Essays: My why UChicago essay talked a lot about my experience when I visited UChicago, I mentioned a lot of their traditions and how beautiful of an environment it was. Touched on my passion for mathematics and my ability to speak cantonese so my wants to study abroad. For my creative essay I used the ‘words that do not translate well’ and I made it into a psych evaluation haha.
Teacher Recommendations: Had the Math Department Chair who has taught me Calculus for the past two years write one, and my Econ/AP Psych/AP USH teacher write the other. I’m guessing they were really strong
Counselor Rec: Having gotten accepted into 3/4 of my schools EA, I guess it is also really strong
Additional Rec: I had one from my econ professor at JHU but i don’t think it made it on time
Interview: Best part. She graduated recently so we had so much to connect and talk over. What should’ve lasted 30 minutes lasted for 2 hours. I look up to her, emailed her today and we couldn’t stop fangirling together. She helped me solidify UChicago as my first choice.

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? yes, I’m so happy I got a decent amount!
Projected Concentration: Mathematics with a specialization in Economics
State/Country: New York
School Type: Present: public, Past: private catholic all girls
Ethnicity: Multiracial (White, Latino and Asian)
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: <200k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflection
Strengths: I left my full scholarship private school for my public one because I wasn’t challenged enough. My summer courses had really good grades for college credit!
Weaknesses: I was afraid I wasn’t qualified enough. After receiving a deferral from MIT wednesday, I started to doubt everything. :frowning:
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I’ve always been dedicated to my studies but I think my quirkiness displayed in my interview and essay topped it off.
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Got accepted into Georgetown and UMich, I sent in RD apps for Upenn, JHU, Harvard and UC Berkeley but I made it into my first choice. I can’t stop tearing hooo my god.
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: I cried and cried and screamed and cried when I saw the post. instead of reading the ‘congratulations’ on top i spent five minutes reading the paragraphs before i realized i made it. hahaha!

55

Deferred
Objective:
SAT I and/or ACT (breakdown): Composite: 34 E 35 M 36 W 35 S 31
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Math II (790), Chemistry (750), Physics (720)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.96
Rank/Percentile: Top 10%
AP (place score in parentheses): Chem (4), Calc BC (5), USH (5), English Lang (5), Physics 1 (3)
IB (place score in parentheses): Not offered
Senior Year Course Load: Multivar Calc/Diff Eq (from community college), AP Gov/Macroecon, AP French, English, AP Physics 2, AP Computer Science
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Siemens semifinalist, IPPF top 64, National Merit Semifinalist, AP Scholar with Distinction, Presidential Volunteer Service Award, Quiz bowl national qualifier

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Speech/Debate (Chair of extemp, treasurer), Science club (Secretary), Quiz Bowl (Director of outreach), Violin, couple others
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community Service: Coaching elementary school speech/debate workshops, environmental education (Junior Ranger leader in county parts), starting/coaching new high school quiz bowl teams
Summer Activities: Astrophysics research internship at UC Santa Cruz
Essays: Common App- 7.5/10, Why Chicago- 8.5/10, Favorites- 6/10, Extended 8/10
Teacher Recommendations: Pretty good, they were from my AP French teacher (who’s had me for 3 years) and Precalc teacher who also advises science club.
Counselor Rec: No idea
Additional Rec: From research mentor, no idea how it was.
Interview: Amazing! The interviewer and I really struck up a conversation and we were going on and on for over an hour.

[Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes
Projected Concentration: Molecular Engineering, History of Science (I think?)
State/Country: California
School Type: Competitive large public school
Ethnicity: Asian-American
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Upper-middle class
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Not really

Reflection
Strengths: Extracurriculars/awards
Weaknesses: Although I really liked my essays at first, I don’t like them that much in hindsight, I took a lot of risks that shouldn’t have been taken, test scores
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I don’t think I showed much of my personality in my essays. I just sat down and wrote stories.
Where else you are applying or have already applied: All the UCs, USC, Rice, Stanford, Princeton, couple other private schools and CSUs.
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: E s s a y s are the make it or break it. Good luck to all of us deferrees, we’ll get in somewhere amazing!

56

**Decision: Deferred **

Objective:
SAT I and/or ACT (breakdown): 2320 (800 W, 720 M, 800 CR)
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Literature (780), Physics (750), Math (730)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): N/A, my school uses a different scale
Rank/Percentile: top 10%
AP (place score in parentheses): N/A (I’m self-studying for some this year)
IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: I’m an international student, but my subjects are English, Math, Physics, Art, and Additional Literature.
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): 3rd at the finals of the Frank Anthony All-India Memorial Debate (and several awards for the previous rounds), National Finalist for Albert Barrow All-India Creative Writing Competition (I don’t know if it should go here, but I’m also class valedictorian)

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): school newspaper (founder & editor-in-chief), book review blogger, school debate club, piano for 7 years, to-be-published poet
Job/Work Experience: Internships at two architecture firms
Volunteer/Community Service: member of school’s interact club and volunteer for blood drive and fundraiser carnival; taught spoken English to middle schoolers
Summer Activities: LOL. Don’t even ask. Barely anything, mostly because I didn’t decide on applying until this July.
Essays: Common App (7/10) - on my love for storytelling, which I think expressed my thoughts well, but I’m worried it didn’t say as much about me as it should have. Also I realised only later that there was a tense error I forgot to correct ugh but I don’t think it was that noticeable? Why UChicago (8/10) - I really thought this was a good essay. I detailed the reasons why I love UChic, mentioned specific classes, and threw in puns and jokes for good measure. Supplemental - Archnemesis (8/10) - I personified my pride as something of the devil on my shoulder, and I was actually quite proud of how introspective I sounded. Favourite things (9/10) - I think this truly captured a lot of my nerdy side (who am I kidding, I consist of solely a nerdy side) because I talked about my favourite books with neat one-line summaries, my favourite poetry, and my favourite film and video game score, which I think made me sound well-read and passionate - plus the film score thing would’ve seemed pretty original, I think.
Teacher Recommendations: #1 - Additional Literature teacher (9/10) - definitely a good rec, because I love her class and I’m very active, and I know she really likes me too!

2 - Physics teacher (8.5/10) - though my physics grades weren't as good as in other classes, I'm also a very active participant in his class and I know he sees a lot of potential in me.

Counselor Rec: 9/10 - my counsellor is the principal, but he’s also my debate coach and he’s read a lot of my writing so he knows me well. I’m pretty sure I had no worries in this respect.
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: 4/10, this was veeeeery awkward and I left feeling really uneasy. I read someone else’s post (though I think that person was accepted) saying their interviewer felt they weren’t specific enough, and I went through that. Most things I said, she thought were applicable to any school. And when I asked her questions, she gave me awfully vague answers haha. We weren’t uncomfortable around each other and the conversation wasn’t weird, but some of her questions threw me off and I don’t think we clicked too well.

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? No
Projected Concentration: Computer Science
State/Country: India
School Type: competitive private school
Ethnicity: Indian
Gender: F
Income Bracket: upper-middle class
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): I’d say girl in STEM, but that’s about it.

Reflection
Strengths: I know my recs were good, and so was my score. I know I sounded passionate.
Weaknesses: Not that I think my essays were terrible, but in hindsight I’m not sure if I sounded personal enough. I also think maybe I didn’t demonstrate enough interest for Comp Sci. The interview was without a doubt awful, but I don’t think that has as much bearing on the app as other things.
Why you think you were deferred: Probably the Comp Sci thing.
Where else you are applying or have already applied: I’ve already applied RD to Swat, Pomona, and UMass Amherst, and I’m going to apply to some craaazy reaches soon lol.
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: First off, congratulations to everyone who got in! And to those who were rejected, don’t let it get to you too much. There are multiple colleges where you can have an amazing time, and it’s okay if UChic said no. There will absolutely be some places that recognise your strengths and would love to have you :slight_smile:
So, advice? Make it as personal as possible, and make sure they see as much of who you truly are as possible. With UChic I’d say it’s not a bad thing to show your passions, show your quirks, and go all out on the supplements.

57

**Decision: Deferred **

Objective:
SAT I: 2380 (780 CR)
SAT II: Math II, Physics, Chemistry, Bio M, Eng Lit 5x800
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): international student, really weird GPA
AP: To be taken May 2016, estimated Calc BC, Physics M & E, Chem, Bio 5x5
Senior Year Course Load: The usual
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): nah

Subjective:
Extracurriculars: Bio research at university, school rock band lead singer, MUN, Bio Olympiads, etc
Job/Work Experience: nah
Volunteer/Community Service: Hospital volunteering, short stint
Summer Activities: research at university
Essays: I put a lot of time into my UChicago essays, I’ll rate 9/10, weaker Common App essay, 7/10
Teacher Recommendations: Really good
Counselor Rec: the best
Additional Rec: none
Interview: No alumni :frowning:

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yup, and as an international student, which nailed my coffin, I suppose
Projected Concentration: Biology
State/Country: China
School Type: Public, not well known
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: F
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): nope

Reflection
Strengths: Really good test scores, creative UChicago essays
Weaknesses: Lack of unique ECs, no AP, most importantly: applied for FA as international student
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: FA! Damn you!
Where else you are applying or have already applied: rejected from two dream schools, and now a third. This isn’t looking good.
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Congrats to all accepted! And, um, wish me luck? (Plz gib me monies plz)

58

**Decision: Deferred **

Objective:
SAT I and/or ACT (breakdown): 780 Math, 770 Reading, 710 Math
SAT II (place score in parentheses): US History (800) Math II (800) Physics (800), World History (760)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 40
Rank/Percentile:
AP (place score in parentheses): US (5), World (5), English Lang (5)
IB (place score in parentheses):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Spanish, AP Calculus, AP Chemistry, AP Literature
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses):

  • Moot Court (Captain, 4 years in city finals, 3 years city champions)
  • Mock Trial (Captain, 2 years semifinalists)
  • Model UN (Captain, 3 Best Delegate Awards, 2 outstanding Delegates, 2 honorable mentions)
    Job/Work Experience:
  • Worked on a farm Summer between Sophomore and Junior Year
  • Worked as a Dishwasher Summer between Junior and Senior year
    Volunteer/Community Service:
  • Part of a Jewish teens organization that does community service around my community
    Summer Activities: (See work experience and also I go to camp every summer)
    Essays:
  • Common app about my love of fashion and how I grew up as a young man. I thought it was pretty good.
  • Chicago Primary Supplement about Moot Court and arguing in front of 2nd circuit justices
  • Favorites was about my Jewish mens group and closeness between us.
    Teacher Recommendations: One from my physics teacher and one from my APUSH teacher, both of them really love me so i thought that would be good.

Counselor Rec: i don’t know
Additional Rec: 1 from my Moot Court/Mock Trial coach and she loves me so that should be good.
Interview: I had an interview which i thought went very well.

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Projected Concentration: Molecular Engineering
State/Country: New York, NY
School Type: Public Magnet School
Ethnicity: White/Jewish
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Upper Middle Class
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflection
Strengths: My Grades, extracurriculars, job experience, Essays, and recommendations
Weaknesses: I’m kind of Generic
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I didn’t fit the kind of student they were looking for. A good friend of mine with worse SATs and worse grades got in because he plays baseball. I don’t know what went wrong just bad luck I guess.
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Brown, Princeton, Yale, Columbia, Cornell, Northwestern, SUNY Binghamton, RIT, Case Western Reserve, Carnegie Mellon, Swarthmore, Tufts, Washington University
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Don’t get too attached to any one school.

59

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I and/or ACT (breakdown): 35M, 32E, 32R, 33S, 33Composite
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Spanish (800), Math II (800), Chemistry (780)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8
AP (place score in parentheses): Spanish (5) Lang and Comp (5) Human Geo (5) Physics 1 (4) USH (5)
Senior Year Course Load: Calc BC, French IV, AP Lit, AP Economics (Micro & Macro), AP Chem
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Distinction

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): NHS (President), Latin American Student Organization (President), Student Council (Rep), Tutor during lunch periods, Math Team (Co-Captain),
Job/Work Experience: Athletico Physical Therapy, Kmart
Volunteer/Community Service: Feed My Starving Children, Hermosa, 5K
Summer Activities: UChicago Neubauer Summer Scholars
Essays: “Art is either plagiarism or revolution”–I wrote about analog photography and the way it has revolutionized the way that I experience art forms.
Teacher Recommendations: Physics 1 teacher was a UChicago alum and my AP Lang teacher wrote me glowing letters of recommendation even though I did not read them.
Counselor Rec: Probably generic, but strong
Additional Rec: Math Team coach
Interview: YES. I interviewed on campus.

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes!
Projected Concentration: I am still waiting for my FA letter.
State/Country: Illinois
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: X<60,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, First Gen

Reflection
Strengths: Strong essays–very passionate about photography and UChicago
Weaknesses: GPA and test scores could have been higher.
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Johns Hopkins, Yale, Northwestern
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: This has been a wild ride.

60

**Decision: Deferred **

Objective:
SAT I and/or ACT (breakdown): 1800 (out of 2400) 1230 (out of 1600) (superscored) (M=660 CR=570 W=570)
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Math 2(590) U.S. History (600)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.60UW 4.58W
Rank/Percentile: school doesn’t rank
AP (place score in parentheses): U.S. History (3) AP English Lang (3)
IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Gov, AP Macroeconomics, AP Eng. Lit., AP Calculus AB, Research 2 Honors, and 7 college classes (Dual Enrollment)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): N/A

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): NHS (VP), Democrats Club (Founder/President), Music Club, Speech and Debate, Mock Trial, Yearbook, FBLA (member since 2012)
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community Service: I’ve volunteered at Jewish Community Theater ever since Freshman year, it’s been the main source of my community service hours. I also do work for my school during recruitment times and information sessions.
Summer Activities: Participated in a STEM program where I researched the effects of the baby boomer population on modern day healthcare
Essays: Common App essay was basically an ode to my city and how it’s made me who i am today (8), UChicago Extended Essay was about my art of diplomacy and how personalized it can be (9), Why UChicago essay was basically me saying how much I loved the school, explaining why it was my top choice, and told them I had a sense of belonging there (9), for the Optional I wrote about my favorite band, Nirvana, and politician, Lydon B. Johnson. (8)
Teacher Recommendations: The rec from my AP History teacher was amazing (10). My AP Lang teacher, I heard, writes pretty generic letters so I’m not too sure about this one. (7)
Counselor Rec: We got a new counselor just as I entered my senior year, but she was in communication with my old counselor to write my rec. So I’m guessing maybe (8)
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: Went well, I believe. I did an on-campus interview and was paired with a 4th year student who was also a Poli Sci major so we had a lot to talk about.

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes
Projected Concentration: Political Science/History/Computer Science
State/Country: FL
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Black/African-American
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: ~75,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection
Strengths: I would say my essays and recs had to be the key part of my application as those gave me a little more character when they read the rest if my app. Also, my interview so they could put face to a name.
Weaknesses: My test scores. I’ve never been the best test taker, no matter how long I study or what material I read from, I always end up scoring in the same range.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Possibly my test scores, but I thoroughly believe that that’s not a big deal in the UChicago application process. If not my test scores, maybe my GPA. They could’ve waned to see how my senior year turns out before giving me a spot.
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Uni of Cal. (LA and Irvine), Florida State, Brown, American U., Northeastern, Northwestern, Harvard, etc.
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: I’m still optimistic that I will get in. I’ve seen class profiles of previous years and some student got in w/ lower scores than I. I just kind of wish they were a little bit higher so I could be more confident in them. Regardless, I did my best with what I could and quite literally did everything for UChicago. So we’ll just have to see if my hardwork pays off in March. (: