My son applied RD to them over the weekend… So if I’m reading all things correctly he only has a 2% chance?? Goodness. At least the app was free…but still. He’s not 100% sure he’d go there, and the school is extremely expensive, so the ED or ED2 plans weren’t even a consideration, but are there any stats on if he would have helped himself w/ the EA option? Or are the vast majority of those deferred just like other elite schools too (making it the same odd as RD anyways)…
He has a 35 best sitting composite ACT (36 w/ a superscore )…and 800, 780, 770 on MathII, Physics, Chem Subject tests… Nine 5’s and one 4 of out of 10 APs through Junior year (Nat AP Scholar)… He has all A’s in everything in HS - his weighted GPA is around 4.6…he got a 9 on the AIME. He has been heavy into music/band/math related EC’s, but nothing nationally recognized besides for AIME qualification/score (which to him was very exciting, but probably run of the mill to these elite schools)…
We really didn’t know much about UChicago until the marketing literature started ;)…and then we researched to find out what a great school it is…he wants to major in math. Do you know how/where they get that list to send the material to? No way they send all that to everyone… Do they get a list from the §SAT/ACT people?
@MathMom71 Actually, it looks like they kind of do send all that to everyone, or at least to a very broad subset of everyone, including lots of people who wold be very marginal candidates for admission if they applied. I think they get multiple lists from different sources, but certainly the College Board (which administers the SAT/PSAT) and its ACT equivalent are two of them.
As I am sure you are learning, applications to super-selective colleges like the University of Chicago depend on much more than GPA and test scores. But having a great GPA and great test scores is a good place to start. And the University of Chicago is a place where great students with a strong interest in mathematics congregate.
Two percent is a ballpark guess of the percentage of Regular Decision applicants who will be offered admission. It’s probably pretty accurate, and even if it’s too low, there will still be lots of disappointed applicants in March, many of them very good candidates for admission who nonetheless weren’t admitted. However, really strong candidates have much more than a 2% chance of admission. That is because lots of people applying don’t really have as much as a 2% change of admission.
There is really no information available that would let you gauge how much better your son’s chances might have been had he applied EA. This is only the second year under a new early-application system at Chicago. They never released precise information on what happened last year, just some comments by admissions officers at talks. And anyway they may have made some changes in their internal processes this year. Nothing is really stable enough, and there’s not enough of a public track record, to answer your question accurately.
@MathMom71 - I agree with above. I know of a couple kids that have pretty low stats at our school that received a lot of mailings as well from UChicago. My son applied ED (and was accepted), he had an ACT score lower than your son’s (34) and similar other stats, but I think what helped his admission (in addition to applying ED), was the fact that he really wanted to attend UChicago - he fell in love with the school when we visited, stayed in contact with his regional admissions rep and his essays were really strong. The essays showed who he is outside of all the academic “stuff” and I think he was able to convey what he would bring to the college outside of just strong academics.
Best of luck with your son’s applications - it sounds like he will do great at whatever school he chooses!
@astrofan We got notification of need-based aid (but we did submit all documents before 11/15) but the admissions office told me that merit scholarships are still being awarded. You could call the FA office - I called them one day last week to ask a couple questions and the guy I talked to was very helpful - he even pulled up our info while we were on the phone and was able to answer a specific question about how/if our medical expenses were considered. You can also appeal or submit additional info at any time.
@FattoWolf That would be highly unlikely to have an acceptance letter being sent to a RD candidate so early in January. ED2 decision likely won’t even come out in one month. IMHO I strongly doubt the authenticity of that acceptance letter.
Considering how applicants still have time to switch between RD and EDII, I highly doubt that the ADCOM has started accepting students, much less than mail out decisions already.
I received a conditional (assuming grades are kept to a similar standard) acceptance a few days ago! From what I understand, an early notification is for students who have been awarded specific merit scholarships – it states in the email that the formal letter won’t come until March and that most students are notified then. I applied RD and I would say the letter was very much authentic – it came in the form of a status update on my UChicago portal with a letter signed by the Dean of Admission.
If it’s showing up on the portal than it’s authentic. Thanks for sharing that info, @watercursess. Do you have an idea of why you were awarded this merit scholarship? Are you an athlete or a special recruit of some kind or is it more that they are tipping the hat to merit recipients early on just as an FYI?
@JBStillFlying I am not an athlete or special recruit. The UChicago website says this about merit scholarships: “Exemplary students are selected to receive University merit scholarships on the basis of outstanding academic achievement (including recognition as a National Merit Finalist or through the National Hispanic Recognition Program), extracurricular achievement, demonstrated leadership, and commitment to their communities.” I have strong extracurriculars and leadership experiences but surely not more than the average student admitted (I don’t think I would stand out in the “admitted” discussion thread) – that said, I am part of the National Hispanic Recognition Program (which is like national merit for Hispanic students), so that might have pushed it over the edge. Of course, they don’t really tell you why, so I am really speculating.
@watercursess your National Hispanic Rec. no doubt helps and as a talented person of Hispanic decent you might be eligible for direct merit aid from the institution. Congrats!
National Merit has it’s own scholarship schedule and you deal with NMSC for that one. However, talented kids who happen to be National Merit probably get money from the institution in non binding rounds.
Agree, @fbsdreams - no reason to wait for formal notification if they are planning to hand this out. Seem to recall a couple non-athletic ones last year too. Is this an “outside the box” use of LL’s?
Is this what most people are currently seeing in their status portal?
“We are still processing a large volume of application material from Regular Decision and Early Decision-II candidates, and will open up the application status tracker once the majority of material has been processed. Please rest assured that this processing time is a normal portion of our application review process, and that your application is considered on-time based on the date of your Common Application or Coalition Application submission, not the date we process your materials. Thank you for your patience!”