Last fall, total early applications was around 13,000. No way were the majority of those EDI as that would be unprecedented for any school. Most likely they got no more than 5000 ED and the rest EA. The admit rates were likely very disparate as a result. The big question is whether they are admitting mostly EDI again or have bumped up the EA. Or could be that last year was just weirdly high in the number of ED apps but you’d think the opposite. You’d also expect that more would apply ED this year given the large portion of the class having come in under the binding plans.
@Kh521k Have your recommenders email the letter directly to your admissions counselor/the admissions office with identifying information (e.g. your name, applicant ID, high school).
I believe the end game for Nondorf and UChicago is yield. If that is true, then ED/EA ratio should be similar to last year. A switch from EA to EDII plays to that yield as well.
EDII outright still is attractive to the SCEA differds.
The published UChicago 2021 RD rate was discussed on many forums so I wouldn’t be surprised to see an increase in EA/ED and ultimately EDII this year.
@SocraticSeminars Your experience is virtually identical to our son
Son (legacy) was accepted EA
Stats: 93.7% UW Unweighted GPA, 34C 36SS ACT, SAT Subject Math 2, 800 SAT Subject Chemistry 770, extracurricular: Debate, lacrosse, extensive community service (regularly over five years)
He also did an off-campus interview, and it went very well, even though they debated politics. He thinks admissions was also more willing to admit him due to legacy status. He was deferred at both ND and MI. His essays were strong at all schools, but his gpa was likely 1-2% off his school’s most competitive candidates. His admission status at each school seems to reflect the time he spent getting to know the regional rep. I would say this is true for my son’s friends as well.
Good luck to everyone-this is one crazy process!
@slk1022 I think the kids feel that legacy matters because the acceptance letter encourages them to think that way (i.e. “family tradition,” “talk to your family” about UChicago). It’s unfortunate because kids want to know they made it through their own efforts. I think legacies are admitted early when it makes no sense to defer them due to high GPA/test scores, strong essays and they’ve distinguished themselves in some standout way. Our interviewer was not an undergrad alum but an executive w/ an MBA from Booth who funds new ventures. His first question was: “Pretend I am a peer. Convince me that I need to attend UChicago.” It was like a job interview. He was the kind of interviewer who would not have hesitated to give a thumbs down to a candidate who was not self-confident and who didn’t do their research into UChicago.
Daughter was accepted EA from large STEM-heavy public high school.
Stats: 96 GPA (not sure whether that is weighted or unweighted), 35 composite ACT, 710 on SAT Subject Math 2, 800 on SAT Subject Physics.
Extracurricular: Varsity track, physics tutoring, materials science course at a college over the summer, YMCA summer community service program - not a ton of extracurriculars.
Interview with a local alum went well. She also responded to the “what do you do to blow off steam” card from Chicago with a drawing, which she does for fun. Her response was “I draw pictures of machines that don’t exist,” above an elaborate steampunkish contraption that blew off steam.
The range of her interests plus her essay must have been major factors. She felt inspired when she wrote it, and it read that way.
Good luck to all!
hi! I have a question. I took 2 sat subject tests, I have a 780 on math 2 but a 690 on physics. Should I submit both or just one?
my son emailed his regional rep with similar question in October and he said to send them…he was accepted ED
My D was accepted EA to UChi. Did anyone receive any merit scholarships with their acceptance letter? The website says merit scholarships are awarded on a “rolling basis through the end of April”. Does that means there’s still hope? Also, she will likely be a National Merit Finalist. Does anyone know how much $$ they might give her for that?
@Kathy V UChicago’s college-sponsored award through NM is up to $2,000 per year. They also used to guarantee an amount over and above any NM-specific award to a total of $4,000 for NMF’s but they dropped that as of last year, possibly in conjunction with the introduction of EDI/EDII. Since your daughter was accepted EA and has other choices, they might be inclined to give her merit aid even aside from anything associated with NM. Congrats to her - UChicago is a cool place for NM kids, according to my daughter!
In addition to NM $$, I’m also wondering if she might still be in the running for other merit scholarships at U Chicago. Nothing was mentioned in her acceptance letter. That’s why I’m wondering if anyone received a merit scholarship notification yet?
@kathy V my son got accepted ED to UChicago , it was a page in his account detailing his grant and scholarships , and few days later we received a big letter with the official acceptance letter and detail letter with scholarships and howmuch we suppose to pay for the first year.
@phenix2022 were those need-based or merit-based grants/scholarships? ED-accepteds typically receive their FA awards quickly due to the commitment deadline.
@JBStillFlying , it was both i think, they were generous in my opinion , we did apply for FA
@phenix2022 - we couldn’t agree more with my daughter’s FA last year! Need-based tends to be a yearly grant with no mention of future years because it’s re-assessed each year. Merit tend to be administered as a set amount per year guaranteed for four years with certain minimums established for maintaining the scholarship(s).
@JBStillFlying , good to know , how is your daughter doing so far?i know is challenging school.
@phenix2022 so far so good. The work-load during the fall was certainly challenging but manageable for her and she loves the school and the kids there. We’ll see what happens this winter.
Here’s the info. on merit scholarships, for anyone interested. Not a lot of information, unfortunately.
https://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/page/merit-scholarships
My son was accepted ED, did not apply for FA. When he received his congratulations letter in the mail there was no information regarding tuition amount - no financial information at all.
Any idea when we should be receiving information about how much we will be paying, or do we just wait until we get the first tuition bill?
@caymusjordan - tuition bills will be available via my.uchicago (your son can log onto his account once he receives his CNET ID # in the spring or early summer . . . ). You’ll want him to grant you access to the bill if you are planning to be the payor. However, COA information should be available well before the first bill, even for those who don’t apply for FA. Typically in the spring, schools send out their COA and FA information to all students but this information will definitely be available online as well. Right now, all FA information going out to families who applied for need-based assistance is likely based on current - that is, 2017/18 - tuition and res. housing numbers. Those costs will be higher next fiscal year, most likely, but net COA for those families may well stay the same as grants etc. are adjusted. That’s how it worked for us last year (my D was accepted EDII).
@bookluver04 If your Physics SAT Subject was a 690, that means you scored higher than 51% of students who took the test. I don’t recommend submitting your physics score for 2 reasons: 1. SAT subject scores are not required at UChicago. 2. In general I get the impression that highly selective colleges like test scores where you are scoring in the top 5% or top 25% of test takers. If you Google “What Is a Good SAT Subject Test Score?” you will find an article on the Prep Scholar Web site that overviews test score percentiles.