I got an email from alumni last week
Regarding the $500 deposit, $250 will be credited toward tuition, $250 is a one-time enrollment fee. FYI.
Do you guys know that you will be accepted? So already check out the enrollment deposit?
^^ My daughter was accepted last year and is currently enrolled. Post #141 was merely from the perspective of a parent who is concerned with things like tuition bills 
Oh I definitely don’t know whether I’ll be accepted or not. However, I’ve learned the sooner you get the money in-- the greater chance you get the housing you want! I’m just budgeting “Okay, I’ll need $X for enrollment ASAP if accepted”
@okeydokeypokey and @summerhazed , years ago I was also an applicant from the deep hinterlands and assumed that no one in my town or within 200 miles of it had ever attended the University of Chicago, but lo and behold the admissions people found a nice lady who had taken a degree from the now defunct library school. I believe she was quite thrilled to have been enlisted to do the interview, which took place at her home, where she offered tea and cookies and let me expatiate on all the reasons I was being drawn by the big city and its mighty University. Whether what she wrote to the University helped me get in I don’t know, but it certainly helped to create in my mind the sense that this was a place that wanted me. When I arrived at the University I found many kids from urban and sophisticated backgrounds very different from my own - but I also found kids from places such as the one I came from, perhaps less sophisticated but with a longing to experience urban life and the high intellectual atmosphere of the University of Chicago. My belief is that the University really desires kids from small towns and rural areas who have had the gumption and intelligence to choose a demanding education such as Chicago offers. Don’t feel you are laboring under a disadvantage!
@marlowe1 Thanks for sharing your experience! A few months ago when I visited campus I definitely loved the urban and intellectual vibe that UChicago gave, which was something that I’m not really used to and have always wanted to experience in college, so I’m glad that you felt that way too. It’s a bit intimidating knowing that my college experience (at UChicago or any other school on my list) will be drastically different than my childhood, but it also relieves me that some other life for me exists outside of my small town. Fingers crossed that they’re trying to increase their enrollment of more rural students so I have a better chance at getting accepted!
@summerhazed I suggest you emphasize that background in your narrative of Why Chicago. Make it clear that your Pennsylvania is not the one of posh Philadelphia suburbs and private schools. If you have worked jobs or have had other distinctive rural or small town experiences, tell the story of them. If your school provided limited academic opportunities, but you aspire to transcend those limitations - hit that hard. Be yourself, of course - at least as you know yourself to date - but try not to be rejectionist or dismissive of where you come from: I think the University will like your having that rural experience coupled with a longing for the richer experience that Chicago, both city and university, could offer you. That is an old but vital Chicago story.
@marlowe1 I already applied ED to UChicago so my Why Chicago essay is already done and submitted. In it I talked more about how I used to hate the school, but I took the time to research and rethink it, which led me to make it my first choice, and how I love the rigorous curriculum and intellectualism. I discussed living in a small town more in my Common App (didn’t really write about how it affected my opportunities, but rather how it made me more ambitious) and my lack of opportunities in the Additional Info section. But thank you for the advice!
I had my interview the day before yesterday. He seemed he was a great representative of the school, but he was a bit bitter to realistic about the school (maybe more on the realistic side?) from the get go, although he did mention that I seemed more knowledgeable about the school than the general people he interviewed. Hopefully he write me well
Realistic as in… basically realistic about life in general. “I like that you’re passionate about the humanities, but realize that like me, you may be doing something totally different for a job”
@EmZoWe I contacted them too and was told the same thing. Maybe on-campus interviews are still being conducted but not off-campus. I’m out of state and was never told there was a due date to request so 
I read through last year’s forum for ED and they were expecting decisions on the 8th or 9th of December but didn’t actually get any until December 19th. If they somehow get released on the 8th this year, we’re only 17 days away!!!
I’m not expecting it to be as early as the 8th, but no matter what we have less than a month until decisions! It feels so insane knowing that a month from now there’s the chance that I’ll already be committed to college and know where I’m going
hey guys! I’ve applied as a near middle eastern major, can someone tell me how likely it is for me to get accepted early?
Depends on the rest of your admissions qualifications.
@prik22 - you are in luck because the Oriental Institute Museum (located right next to the Main Quad) is a treasure trove of ancient artifacts and history. Hopefully somewhere in your essays you mentioned something about wanting the opportunity to geek out in that place. I was just on campus visiting my kid and couldn’t get out of Ancient Mesopotamia before it was time to leave. You might score an advantage, too, in that you DON’T want to be an econ major! LOL. But keep in mind that you are not bound to any prospective major you are planning. Most of your initial coursework will be in the Core and you’ll have ample time to explore the various fields of study (including middle eastern civilizations and languages). Good luck to you!
I know it’s crazy! I come from a small rural school and most of my friends already have roommates and housing picked out for their state schools and everyone keeps asking me where I’m going and I feel like screaming “Check back in December!!!”
I applied early and have a quick question about SAT subject tests. I took some sort of last minute and got 790 U.S., 770 Math II, 720 Bio M. But UChicago’s website says to submit test scores if you feel that you did “exceptionally well” on any of them. Are these scores worth sending? The U.S. score is somewhere in 90-95 percentile and the others are both in the 60s. Or is it too late to send these anyway?
@afslex It’s probably not too late to send, you can at least try. And those are all really good scores! Percentiles don’t matter that much; as long as it’s above a 700+ you’re good. Definitely send US and Math. I wouldn’t send Bio unless you’re some kind of science major, since you really only need two subject tests.