UChicago Class of 2023 EA/EDI Results Only

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
1

Post your results here! Hopefully this helps people considering EDII or RD.
You know the deal. Good luck to everyone!!

Remove spaces in brackets before posting!!

[ size=4][ color=green][ b]Decision: Accepted [/color][/size]
[ size=4][ color=orange][ b]Decision: Waitlisted **[/color][/size]
[ size=4][ color=red][ b]Decision: Rejected **[/color][/size]

[ b]Objective:**
[ *] SAT I (breakdown):
[ *] ACT (breakdown):
[ *] SAT II:
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
[ *] AP (place score in parentheses):
[ *] IB (place score in parentheses):
[ *] Senior Year Course Load:
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

[ /list][ b]Subjective:**
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses):
[ *] Job/Work Experience:
[ *] Volunteer/Community service:
[ *] Summer Activities:
[ *] Essays:
[ *] Teacher Recommendation:
[ *] Counselor Rec:
[ *] Additional Rec:
[ *] Interview:
[ *] Supplementary Material:

[ /list][ b]Other**
[ *]Applied for Financial Aid?:
[ *] State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant):
[ *] School Type:
[ *] Ethnicity:
[ *] Gender:
[ *] Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate):
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

[ /list][ b]Reflection**
[ *] Strengths:
[ *] Weaknesses:
[ *] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
[ *] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:

[ /list][ b]General Comments: **

2

**Decision: Accepted ED1

Objective:
[] SAT I (breakdown): N/A
[] ACT (breakdown):
35 (35 english, 34 math, 36 reading, 36 science)
[] SAT II:
800 US History, 790 Biology E, 770 Math II
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
3.92
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
[] AP (place score in parentheses):
APUSH (4), Biology (5), Language + Comp (5), World History (5), AP Calc BC (4), AB Subscore (5)
[] IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load:
Intro to Java Accel, Object Oriented Java Accel (both half-year courses), AP Physics I, AP Government and Politics (combined US + comp), Choir, AP English IV, AP Statistics, African History (half year), and Great Books (half year)
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
AP Scholar w Distinction, National Merit Scholar commended student, 2 certamen (latin trivia) state championships, 3 medals in national latin exam, “most creative” final policy brief @ georgetown foreign policy summer program
[/list][ b]Subjective:**
[li] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): [/li]2 high level choirs w internat’l tours, staff copy editor @ a few school newspapers, njjcl certamen team (team captain), improv/acting classes, JSA (director of recruitment), and a position on the advisory board w a local foundation that gives teacher grants
[] Job/Work Experience: N/A
[] Volunteer/Community service:
some stuff through my synagogue including rebuilding houses in new orleans, and tutoring through a program @ my school
[] Summer Activities:
theater camp and a georgetown summer program
[] Essays:
Common App: abt improv comedy and what it’s like to absolutely bomb on stage
Uncommon Essay: “two kinds of ppl” abt the aeneid and the odyssey + diff kinds of heroism, which a teacher i showed it to Loved
Why UChicago: uh just like their latin motto and how that related to the core + their housing
[] Teacher Recommendation:

  1. my ap lang teacher who really liked me and is like #1 highly sought after for writing recs at my school
  2. my latin teacher who had me for 3 years including a week long class trip to italy, and she skipped me a year ahead so i could finish the curriculum my junior year
    [] Counselor Rec:
    lmao who the hell knows he’s brand new my junior year and barely knows me? he seems impressed by me whenever we talk so probably good?
    [    ] Additional Rec:
    idk if this counts but my school’s college counselor (who knows me p well) called and talked to them abt me a bit?
    [] Interview:
    i mean i sent in a video? it was terrible mostly just rambling abt second city + uchicago improv scene
    [    ] Supplementary Material:
    i sent in a recording of a solo i did for a choir concert

Other
[]Applied for Financial Aid?: Nope
[] State (if domestic applicant):
New Jersey
Country (if international applicant): N/A
[] School Type:
Public
[] Ethnicity:
White Jewish
[] Gender:
Female
[] Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate): N/A
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):[/li]
Reflection
[] Strengths:
My uncommon essay was really strong, plus i think my recs were probably very good.
[] Weaknesses:
Not much community service? Plus my why uchicago was p generic and my video was downright abysmal
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Whomst knows but I’ll take it lol
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
nowhere!

[/list]**General Comments: **
lowkey highkey still screaming, hoping this post transitions me out of the application-stress mode and finally convinces me this is real lol

3

**Decision: Deferred EA **

Objective:
[] SAT I (breakdown): NA
[] ACT (breakdown): 34C (34E, 35M, 35R, 32S)
[] SAT II: Math 2 - 800
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.95UW
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): NA
[] AP (place score in parentheses): CalcAB(4), CalcBC(3), Lang(3). APs are low since I transferred.
[] IB (place score in parentheses): NA
[] Senior Year Course Load:
-Multivariable Calc, AP Lit, Civics Honors, AP Chem, Spanish 3 Honors, College Physics 2 Lecture+Lab
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None[/li]
Subjective:
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses):
-Research at a local university resulting in a published poster. I am going to publish a paper in January.
-Intern at a local hospital. I have shadowed surgeons and watched several brain/heart surgeries.
-Varsity Science Olympiad/Math team. Compete in Boomilever, Astronomy, and Genetics events. I mentor a JV member who has autism.
-Tutoring math after school through Mu Alpha Theta. I also ran a youtube channel where I would do problems that the students I was tutoring asked me to do on video.
[] Job/Work Experience: NA
[] Volunteer/Community service:
-Brother has cerebral palsy so I dedicate a ton of time to volunteering at events he attends. Stuff like mock proms, bingo nights, we even went waterskiing.
[] Summer Activities:
-Took College Physics 1 w/ Lab at a local university, and got an A in both the lab+lecture. I also worked on my research as well
[] Essays:
-Commonapp essay was nothing special although it was about growing up with au-pairs after my dad’s death. Not the best essay I’ve written, but pretty good nonetheless.
-I chose the sailing prompt and wrote a sci-fi story about walking amongst my memories. My AP Lit teacher read it and said I would love to take a creative writing class.
-Wrote my WhyChicago essay about how I enjoyed the intellectual culture, as well as name dropped professors I wanted to do research with.
[] Teacher Recommendation:
-Got my AP Lang teacher who liked me a lot, and we were very good friends and loved to talk about music. He said I was the most determined student he had ever had.
-Got a rec from my College Physics 1 professor. Didn’t know me that well personally, but knew I was academically capable.
[] Counselor Rec:
-I transferred schools halfway through HS, so wasn’t the best it could be. It definetely wasn’t bad, and she explained my transfer.
[] Additional Rec:
-Got a rec from my research mentor. Good rec that speaks to my research/academic skill
-Got a rec from a Westpoint professor/MIT alumni who tutored me. I saw it, and it was a very good rec.
[] Interview: NA
[] Supplementary Material: submitted a copy of my research poster+abstract

Other
[] Major: Chemistry (premed)
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yea
[] State (if domestic applicant): NC
[] School Type: Good public
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate): 140k
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection
[] Strengths: stats, meaningful ECs, good recs, good supplemental essays, and research
[] Weaknesses: lack of awards, AP scores (maybe they matter), commonapp wasn’t 10/10, and a lack of leadership.
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
I mean I applied EA so I expected rejection tbh although I know being deferred basically is rejection at UChicago. I think I was a good applicant but just got not good enough to get an acceptance.
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Rejected Duke ED (with legacy), Deferred at MIT

**General Comments: **
I’m ok with the outcome. I can’t really expect acceptance with schools like this. Hopefully going into the RD round I get accepted to one of the 13+ schools I am applying to. The hooked Duke ED rejection has just destroyed me though. Still though, at least when I’m deferred I know that my application was good it’s just that these schools get so many applicants. I ED2’d to WashU, so here’s to hoping.

4

[ b]Decision: Accepted

Objective:
[] SAT I (breakdown): 770M 760R (1530)
[] ACT (breakdown): 36R 36S 35E 34M (35)
[] SAT II: 780 Math II, 780 Chemistry
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9ish (My school doesn’t tell us)
[] Rank: Top 5%
[] AP: Human Geography (5), Chemistry (5), Statistics (5), US History (4)
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP B/C Calculus, AP Physics C, AP Macro/Micro Economics, AP German, AP Language and Composition
[] Major Awards: None?

[/list]Subjective:
[] Extracurriculars: Science Olympiad (Captain), Boy Scouts (Senior Patrol Leader), Math Team, WYSE Team.
[] Job/Work Experience: I work at a grocery store in my town.
[] Volunteer/Community service: Mostly through Boy Scouts. I didn’t really mention it in my application.
[] Summer Activities: N/A
[] Essays:I think my why UChicago one was pretty good, but if I’m being honest, I really didn’t think the essay I wrote using their prompt was that great. I wasn’t really expecting to be accepted.
[] Teacher Recommendation: I think this recommendation was pretty good. It was from my Statistics teacher and I really think she put a lot of time into it.
[] Counselor Rec: I’m not sure how good this one was. My counselor was new this year, so he doesn’t know me that well.
[] Additional Rec: My Chemistry Teacher from last year wrote me a letter, and I think it was pretty good. I don’t know how much time he spent on it, but he really liked me, and has even asked me for help on solving problems that he’s been having with questions.
[] Interview: Didn’t get one.
[] Supplementary Material: None

[/list]Other
[]Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes, but I haven’t received my aid package yet. I need to make sure I submitted everything.
[] State: Illinois
[] School Type:Public
[] Ethnicity:Hispanic
[] Gender:Male
[] Income Bracket:$50,000-$70,000
[li] Hooks: None?[/li]
[/list]Reflection
[] Strengths: I guess that my essays really showed who I was, even if I didn’t think that one of them was that good. Along with that, my letters of recommendation were really good, and I think they helped show the admissions committe just what kind of student I am.
[] Weaknesses: My extracurricular weren’t that good, and I didn’t do that much volunteering.
[] Why you think you were accepted: I honestly have no idea. I wasn’t expecting to get accepted, so opening my decision wasn’t a big deal for me. I had already accepted the fact that I was probably rejected, but lo and behold, I got accepted. It probably has to do with the fact that I’m from Illinois, and have been to competitions at UChicago before.
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I was deferred from UPenn ED

[/list]**General Comments: **

5

**Decision: ED1 Rejected **

Objective:
[] SAT I (breakdown): N/A
[] ACT (breakdown): 35C (English 35, Math 36, Science 34, Reading 34)
[] SAT II: Math II 800, Chemistry 760
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.75 (4.9/5.33 weighted)
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
[] AP (place score in parentheses): AP Geography (4), AP Chemistry (5), AP Spanish Language and Culture (5), AP US History (4)
[] IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics C (M and EM), AP Economics (Micro and Macro), AP Calculus BC, AP Literature and Composition, AP Spanish Literature and Culture
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Spanish Exam Bronze, Youth Volunteer Recognition, Honor Roll?[/li]
[/list]Subjective:
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses):
-Korean Club (Leader)
-Chicago Aquarium Society (Co-Manager)
-Internship Research at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine on cognitive decay and super agers and their resistance to Alzheimer’s and cognitive decay
-Published medical research as first-author on an abnormal case of fistulas on a patient
-School Pep Band (Leader), Symphonic Wind Ensemble at school
-Played at Carnegie Hall
-Drone photographer, and solo cinematographer
-buying/selling/trading aquarium fish/plants/equipment
-an assistant teacher for my AP Chemistry class (leadership?)
[] Job/Work Experience: Helping my aunt with her cafe.
[] Volunteer/Community service: Volunteering at the Northshore Community Hospital (Associated with the University of Chicago) since I was 16 (age required to volunteer).
[] Summer Activities: Volunteering at the hospital, working with my aunt, starting new aquariums, taking summer physics classes, and doing research at Northwestern (mentioned above).
[] Essays: Why UChicago (9.5/10), Uncommon Essay - Make your own spell (9/10), Common App (8/10)
[] Teacher Recommendation: AP Lang and Comp AND Ap Lit and Comp teacher (same teacher 10/10) and my AP Chem teacher who I co-teach her class (9.5/10)
[] Counselor Rec: My counselor has around 50 kids to write for so I would say around a (6-7/10)
[] Additional Rec: N/A
[] Interview: No interview
[] Supplementary Material: Student Aid Report, Extenuating Circumstance

[/list]Other
[]Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[] State (if domestic applicant): Illinois
Country (if international applicant): DACA
[] School Type: Public High School (New Trier High School)
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate): $0. We are living off my brother (serviceman in the US Army) bonus which is $24,000, but will decrease to $15,000 next year when he is stationed in the states.
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First generation, DACA student, divorced father, no-income[/li]
[/list][ b]Reflection**
[] Strengths: I think my grades, my extracurriculars, my essays, and my recommendations were the strongest.
[] Weaknesses: Perhaps my GPA?
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I was rejected…This was a complete shock to me as I depended on this school for my financed higher education and was my first choice (and would’ve been regardless if my family had money). I’m not sure why I was rejected…I thought I would be accepted given my circumstance and how many ED applicants are usually accepted from my High School.
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: UIC, UIUC (can’t afford any of them).

[/list]**General Comments: ** I’m at a complete loss right now. I wasn’t deferred, just rejected, meaning I wasn’t even considered for them and probably didn’t even pass the preliminary rounds…how? I just want to die right now to be honest. This has been my dream school, my possible school given my circumstance, and really not sure if I can even make a school that would give full aid for me (T-25). As a DACA recipient and NO-income, I felt like my hardships would have been somewhat beneficial considering how much I had to do and spend time on to get the results I did. Perhaps they didn’t see any of the UChicago qualities they were looking for. I am devastated.

6

[ size=4][ color=orange][ b]Decision: Deferred EA **[/color][/size]

[ b]Objective:**
[ *] SAT I (breakdown): N/A
[ *] ACT (breakdown): 35 (35 English, 34 Math, 36 Reading, 36 Science; 11/12 Writing)
[ *] SAT II: 780 US 760 M2 750 World
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.33 (4.64 weighted)
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
[ *] AP (place score in parentheses): Lang (5), Chemistry (5), World History (5), European History (5), USH (5)
[ *] IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: AP US Govt, AP Comp Gov, AP Calc AB, AP Biology, AP Lit, AP Spanish Language/Culture, AP Microeconomics, AP Macroeconomics
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Distinction, National Merit Commended, Cum Laude, Malone Scholar, National Honor Society, President’s Bronze Volunteer Service Award

[ /list][ b]Subjective:**
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Founded a think tank (published in 3 countries, 800 monthly readers), State Director of a student-run SuperPAC, top-10 nationally ranked debater, founded small web design firm as a past time, founded a TED-Ed club at my school
[ *] Job/Work Experience: Basically the startups above
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: Over 100 hours between the Orlando Regional Medical and History Centers, Shakespeare With Heart (a theatre program where we help perform productions with differently abled children), other menial things
[ *] Summer Activities: Competing at National Speech and Debate tournament two years in a row, developing my nonprofits
[ *] Essays: Common App: Exploring the foundation of my think tank through the metaphor of having a child and the personal growth I experienced by developing it, 8-9/10. For the Uncommon Essay, I did the mantis shrimp prompt and spun into how the mantis shrimp would recognize political polarization in the US and how it would solve it, 10/10 imo. My Why Chicago essay was good and detailed, but it could have used more flare, 7/10.
[ *] Teacher Recommendation: Waived FERPA rights but: My USH teacher is fantastic and I’ve known him since freshman year because of history bowl, co-founded TED-Ed club with (probably 10/10); AP Lang teacher, good rec writer, probably like a 7-8/10
[ *] Counselor Rec: My counselor has been kind of a mess, but I think he writes decent recs, 6-7/10
[ *] Additional Rec: Debate coach, known since my Freshman year, very close and knows me incredibly well 10/10
[ *] Interview: N/A
[ *] Supplementary Material: N/A besides providing links to my websites and uploading a full resumé

[ /list][ b]Other**
[ *]Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): FL
Country (if international applicant):
[ *] School Type: Private preparatory
[ *] Ethnicity: Caucasian
[ *] Gender: Male
[ *] Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate): Upper middle class (75k-110k bracket)
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Only person besides my other to go to college on both sides of family, all of my unique ECs

[ /list][ b]Reflection**
[ *] Strengths: ECs, uncommon essay
[ *] Weaknesses: My subject tests could have been better and I know my ACT score is slowly going from 75th percentile to roughly 65th percentile.
[ *] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I’m not sure, I was a little surprised (even though UChicago has the lowest EA acceptance rate in the country according to estimates this year). Although my common app focused on the personal growth from my ECs, maybe officers thought it was arrogant…? I’m going to most likely apply ED2 and hope to have better luck!
[ /list]

7

**Decision: Accepted ED1

Objective:
[] SAT I (breakdown): 1540 composite (770/770, 7/8/7 essay)
[] ACT (breakdown): N/A
[] SAT II: N/A
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.97
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
[] AP (place score in parentheses): Seminar (5), Research (5), Calc BC (5), Environmental Science (5), US History (5), Spanish Lang (5), English Lang (5)
[] IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Bio, Symphonic Band, Honors Humanities, AP Gov, IncubatorEDU, AP Physics C Mechanics, Multivariable Calc
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
-nothing too major. national merit semifinalist, ap capstone diploma, ap scholar w/ distinction, and some smaller awards
[/list]Subjective:
[li] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): [/li]-research group at Argnone National Laboratory, symphonic band (performing at state conference), pep band, marching band, jazz lab band, pit orchestra, varsity track and field
[] Job/Work Experience:
-Quarknet internship at Fermilab
[] Volunteer/Community service:
-I play flute and piano at senior homes with groups, and some general NHS related things
[] Summer Activities:
-just the fermi internship was over the summer
[] Essays:
-my common app was a little goofy. i wrote about the whole “australia doesn’t exist” meme, but took a bit of a serious spin on it at the end. i ended up really liking how it came out
-i chose the prompt where you send a letter to any object, and i wrote a letter to the favorite key on my flute. this was probably my favorite essay of the 3, even though i wrote it a little rushed since i changed prompts last minute
-the why uchicago one was a little formulaic. nothing too unique, i talked about specific classes i would want to take, the flexibility of the core, uchicago’s connections to argonne and fermi, d3 athletics, and the general vibe and community i felt when i visited.
[] Teacher Recommendation:
-i asked my calc bc teacher for one. he was literally the best teacher i’ve ever had, and i did very well in his class. he also wrote my rec when i was applying for the fermi internship, so i think he wrote a strong one this time around too
-my second rec was from my seminar teacher, who also oversees the argonne esrp group i’m a part of. i’ve known her for 3 years now and have a great relationship with her, so i think i got a solid rec from her as well
[] Counselor Rec:
-little nervous for this one! my counselor and i have a good relationship, but we aren’t very close or anything. we met a lot before the nov. 1 deadline though, so i think i got a decent rec from him. it was the one i was most unsure about
[] Additional Rec:
-considered having my fermi mentor write one, but i didn’t get to know her too well since she was always off doing her own things
[] Interview:
-i did this super last minute and it was just me rambling on about the community at uchicago. i had no idea what to say for it, and figured i should at least submit one since they can put a face/voice to my app, and that way i did it at least
[] Supplementary Material:
-submitted my argonne and fermi abstracts

Other
[]Applied for Financial Aid?:
-yep, but didn’t expect anything
[] State (if domestic applicant):
-illinois (from the chicagoland area actually)
Country (if international applicant): USA
[] School Type:
-large and fairly well-funded public
[] Ethnicity:
-asian
[] Gender:
-female
[] Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate):
-family income is around $225,000 and about $1,000,000 in savings/investments. our efc was around $103,000
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):
-none. i guess i’m a female applying as a stem major, but i’m also asian so i figured those might cancel out

Reflection
[] Strengths:
-i think it was pretty cool that i got a chance to work and conduct research at 2 of the national laboratories uchicago manages, and i hope it showed my stem spike
-i was also proud of my essays. i feel like they had the quirkiness that uchicago really embodies
[] Weaknesses:
-no major awards
-though im very involved in all of the extracurricular activites i listed, i didn’t have many formal leadership titles
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
-honestly, who can even say? i thought i was a fairly strong applicant, but it seems like you can never tell with these top tier schools
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
-i only applied to my safety early, Lawrence university. I was accepted a couple days ago!

**General Comments: **
uhh it really hasn’t sunk in yet that i got in! i’ve been dreaming about this moment for what feels like forever, and now that it’s here i can’t even process it.

8

[ size=4][ color=green][ b]Decision: Accepted [/color][/size]

[ b]Objective:**
[ *] SAT I (breakdown): 1520
[ *] ACT (breakdown):N/A
[ *] SAT II:N/A
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):N/A
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):N/A
[ *] AP (place score in parentheses):N/A
[ *] IB (place score in parentheses): HL: Math (7), Physics (7), English (7), Theatre (7). SL: Psychology (7), Greek (6). 2/3 Bonus Points
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: N/A
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Math awards

[ /list][ b]Subjective:**
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): - national team karate - Theatre, courses and multiple plays, won a couple acting ‘tournaments’ - Bit of debate (competitions) - varsity soccer - tennis
[ *] Job/Work Experience: Surf shop teacher
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: Putting on a play for mental illness - tutoring
[ *] Summer Activities: Job exp. mentioned above - surfing - sailing - RADA
[ *] Essays: Personal statement was good, i tried to remain authentic and made sure that I showed hem that I wasn’t burnt out. It was important for me to show the way my mind works and my questioning nature.

why chicago was not the strongest. 953 words. Very specific, told them the things I would get involved in and why Chicago was the right school for me.

Option 2 supplemental was my strongest point. Made it a creative story and explored some existential human issues. I tried to show myself through my essay. Stay original and push yourself.

[ *] Teacher Recommendation: I had english, math, theatre,
[ *] Counselor Rec: N/A
[ *] Additional Rec: old theatre and english teacher, head of upper school, boss from summer job.
[ *] Interview: N/A
[ *] Supplementary Material: N/A

[ /list][ b]Other**
[ *]Applied for Financial Aid?: No
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): International
Country (if international applicant): Greece
[ *] School Type: Private
[ *] Ethnicity: White
[ *] Gender: Male (ish), jokes. Male
[ *] Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate): no clue
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): first gen

[ /list][ b]Reflection**
[ *] Strengths: Essays, creativity, originality.
[ *] Weaknesses: No direct specialisation, did not have one standout, spectacular talent. I was an all rounder. Could be seen as good or bad
[ *] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Essays, luck.
[ *] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: N/A

[ /list][ b]General Comments: **
I think that the most important thing is to maintain authenticity and show them who you are and why they want you. Try to write something that they haven’t seen before. Don’t worry if you are not the greatest mathematician because at the end of the day it is a shot in the dark.

9

[ size=4][ color=red][ b]Decision: Rejected EA ][/Red
][4]
[ b]Objective:**
[ *] SAT I (breakdown):Test Optional
[ *] ACT (breakdown): Test Optional
[ *] SAT II:Test Optional
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):3.72
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):19/67
[ *] AP (place score in parentheses):AP Calc, AP Biology AP European History (my school doesn’t offer alot of AP courses)
[ *] IB (place score in parentheses):
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: AP Chemistry AP Statistics
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): High Honors throughout my high school career

[ /list][ b]Subjective:**
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses):Global Action President, Student Council, started a music therapy program (inspired by my autistic brother), NHS, Key Club, Penn Summer Science Initiative, Church Choir, Band, Church Helper, Poetry (I wrote poetry for the Literary Magazine and participated in poetry slam).
[ *] Job/Work Experience: none
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: 200+ hours from being a Church Helper and in clubs and music therapy program
[ *] Summer Activities: Penn Summer Science Initiative
[ *] Essays: Common App Essay: Music Therapy program 8/10
Uncommon Essay: How apples and oranges are supposed to be compared, used that to talk about racial profiling in a more philosophical way and use elements from two neuroscientific research in the essay (9/10)
Why UChicago: Talk about the research opportunities, the Core Curriculum and the UChicago Soul Umoja Gospel Choir that I want to join (8/10)
[ *] Teacher Recommendation: AP Calc Teacher (10/10), AP Bio Teacher (10/10)
[ *] Counselor Rec: (10/10)
[ *] Additional Rec: Penn Summer Science Initiative Advisor (10/10)
[ *] Interview: Optional Video (it was pretty good and real) (9/10)
[ *] Supplementary Material: Poem that I read at the Poetry Slam and several research papers from the Penn Science Initiative

[ /list][ b]Other**
[ *]Applied for Financial Aid?:Yes
[ *] State (if domestic applicant):PA
Country (if international applicant):
[ *] School Type: Public Charter
[ *] Ethnicity: African American (Nigerian)
[ *] Gender:Male
[ *] Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate):73,000 for my dad working 2 jobs
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM

[ /list][ b]Reflection**
[ *] Strengths:Everything beside test scores
[ *] Weaknesses: test scores
[ *] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I think this process was basically a crap shoot, people who were well qualified to get in didn’t, and people who were qualified did. I think is just how they feel about you in that period of time. To be fair it is not their fault. They have 35000 applicants a year and they can only accept 2000.
[ *] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted to Penn State, Drexel, UMass Amherst, and Widener

[ /list][ b]General Comments: For the people who got in, congratulations u will have a great 4 years there. For the people who are deferred or rejected, do not let this decision define who u are like I said earlier it is basically a crap shoot. All in all, you all are extraordinary people and wherever you end up going to, you will do amazing things.

11

Decision : Accepted

Objective:
[ *] SAT I (breakdown): 1520 730 CR, 790 M
[ *] ACT (breakdown): 34 C , 35 W, 32 M, 33, S, 34 R
[ *] SAT II: didn’t take , didn’t need them
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.7 UW, 4.25 W but probably going up to 4.3w soon

[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): our school doesn’t rank
[ *] AP (place score in parentheses): Euro (3, APUSH (3), Spanish (4) , Biology (4)
[ *] IB (place score in parentheses):
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: Anatomy, AP Lang, Spanish V, AP macroeconomics, Ap statistics , orchestra
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
none, missed the deadline for NHRP (rip) unless Illinois state scholar and AP scholar with honor counts
Subjective
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses):
Key Club (Executive Board), Spanish Honor Society , Orchestra , Middle School Tutor , Badminton team
[ *] Job/Work Experience: none
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: Catechist at my Church
[ *] Summer Activities: none
[ *] Essays:
common app, had a typo but was good 8/10
Uncommon : 10/10 everyone who read it loved it and I’m very proud of it
Why Uchicago 9/10 very specific
[ *] Teacher Recommendation: a bunch of my teachers had to move this year so I couldn’t get my first choice
Sophomore English teacher, she didn’t have a lot of time so it was short but it was probably good
AP Spanish teacher , probably good I’m assuming
[ *] Counselor Rec: she doesn’t know me super well but she likes me a lot from our meetings I think
[ *] Additional Rec:
[ *] Interview:
[ *] Supplementary Material: didn’t send anything

Other
[ *]Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): IL
Country (if international applicant):
[ *] School Type: decent public
[ *] Ethnicity: hispanic
[ *] Gender: girl
[ *] Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate): middle
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, first-gen,

[ /list][ b]Reflection**
[ *] Strengths: Test Scores, Essays
[ *] Weaknesses: GPA , I didn’t get into national honor society for some odd reason
[ *] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I think my essays pulled through
[ *] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: accepted to university of Illinois, Loyola Chicago , overall really excited, I feel really good right now !

12

Decision: Accepted ED1

Objective:
SAT I: 1530, 800 M, 730 R/W
ACT: 34
SAT II: Didn’t take
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank: 12/700
AP: World (5), APush (5), Music Theory (5), Lang & Comp (5), Psych (5), Physics 1 (4)
IB: N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Cal AB, Physics BC, IB World Religion, IB English VI, Orchestra, AP Gov, Econ
Major Awards: Nothing too exciting - National Merit Semifinalist - most likely Finalist, AP Scholar, All-region and All-State Orchestra

Subjective:
Extracurriculars: Chamber Orchestra (section leader), Physics Club (Founder), Model UN (President), Mu Alpha Theta (President), Odyssey of the Mind, NHS, youth orchestra,
Job/Work Experience: Cello student teacher
Volunteer/Community service: Odyssey of the Mind mentor for middle school kids
Summer Activities: Governor’s school and orchestra camps
Essays:
Common App 10/10
Uncommon 9/10 - falling off edge of earth
Why UChicago 8/10
Teacher Recommendation: not sure - IB English teacher and AP Physics teacher
Counselor Rec: not sure
Additional Rec: not sure - Odyssey of the Mind coach
Interview: N/A
Supplementary Material: 2 minute video - self recorded on phone - played cello and talked about little things not in my app.

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: no
State: AR
School Type: Public - 4000 students
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Hooks: none

Reflection
Strengths: grades, test scores, essays, orchestra
Weaknesses: no big accomplishments
Why you think you were accepted: Essays and the video
Where else were you accepted: Guess we won’t know as all other apps will be pulled today. Also applied to Case Western, University of Rochester, Carleton, St. Olaf and Lawrence University (Focused on science and music schools)

13

Decision: Deferred Early Action

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1480 [750 ERA; 730 Math]
ACT (breakdown): Did Not Take
SAT II: None
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.00
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 5%
AP (place score in parentheses): Lang (5), Physics (5)
IB (place score in parentheses): None
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus AB/BC, AP Prob & Stat, AP Lit, AP Euro, Hon. Wind Ensemble, Science Research
Major Awards: National Merit Commended Student

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Marching band (Section leader), Mock Trial team, Physics Olympics team (Captain), Academic Challenge (Captain)
Job/Work Experience: None
Volunteer/Community service: I spend my summers volunteering at a kids’ camp and the local library.
Summer Activities: Marching band, volunteering, physics master classes at a university an hour away (On par with Chicago, JHU, etc.)
Essays: 8.5/10. My Common App essay was good and reflected me, but not particularly special. My Chicago-specific essays (I did the tree prompt) were fantastic, though, and one of them made a person editing them tear up a little.
Teacher Recommendation: 10/10. I’ve had both teachers for two years, they know me very well, and have told me that writing letters for me was a blast.
Counselor Rec: 7/10. He doesn’t know me that well (Class of 200 kids), but he likes me well enough, worked off of my resume, and what other teachers have told him over the years (All good things!).
Additional Rec: None.

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
State: Maryland
School Type: Public Rural
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: <$100,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Rural female going into STEM major.

Reflection
Strengths: I have a bit of a hook, stellar grades, and excellent essays.
Weaknesses: Test scores are a bit low for UChicago. That, and I haven’t published research or won an Olympic medal.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: My mentioned weaknesses above, and most likely the fact that admissions at this level are a total crapshoot. I’m just counting myself lucky I’m not rejected.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: This was my first college decision.

General Comments: To be honest, while I was hopeful, I was expecting a rejection. However, I’m thrilled I’m still in it, and chose to apply EDII instead of RD. I may get rejected yet, but I still have a chance for another six weeks, and am taking full advantage of it. In the meantime, I have another seven apps out there and will hear back from another two schools by then, so it’ll be interesting to see where this takes me.

14

**Decision: Deferred EA **

Formatting PSA: put [ list] before each set of [ *] to get bullets

Objective:

[ul]
[]SAT I (breakdown): 1600 (800 reading, 800 math, 6/6/6 essay)
[] ACT (breakdown): N/A
[] SAT II: 800 in Math II, 800 in Physics
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
[] AP (place score in parentheses): Compsci A (5), Calc BC (5)
[] IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Statistics, English 4, French 5, AP Chem, Multivariable Calculus
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Just small things - National Merit Finalist, National French Exam, one piano competition[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:

[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): piano, dance, creative arts club (officer), tennis but not on the school team, school book club (officer), math league, tech crew (manager)
[] Job/Work Experience: none
[] Volunteer/Community service: I do online transcription stuff, if that counts, but pretty much nothing else
[] Summer Activities: took a coding class (non-credit) at Columbia
[] Essays:

  • Common App one got approved by my counselor, so it probably wasn’t terrible. Reflective and on a unique subject
  • Why UChicago had a lot of specific details and I made sure to talk about me and not just the school. But maybe it was too much of a laundry list and not passionate enough
  • I chose the coin your own word prompt and talked about struggling with self-studying languages and connected it to my transcription work. Wrote it super fast but reading it now doesn’t make me cringe, which I’ll take as a good sign.
    [    ] Teacher Recommendation: not super close with my teachers, but I think I made myself stand out in one class and got some nice compliments in the other
    [] Counselor Rec: she doesn’t have a lot of kids and we’ve talked a few times, so she knows me pretty well
    [    ] Additional Rec: N/A
    [] Interview: N/A
    [    ] Supplementary Material: N/A

[/ul]Other

[ul]
[]Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
[] State (if domestic applicant): New Jersey
[] School Type: selective public magnet, class size <100
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: female
[] Income Bracket (mention if FA candidate): >$200,000
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): N/A[/li]
[/ul]Reflection

[ul]
[] Strengths: stats, a few leadership positions
[] Weaknesses: everything else, lol? ECs are a bit all over the place. And I didn’t get detailed feedback on my UChicago essays, so maybe they were really weak
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Yield protection bc I didn’t show enough passion for UChicago, or I came across as someone strong academically but not a good candidate otherwise
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Haven’t gotten any other decisions yet

[/ul]**General Comments: **
Proof that stats aren’t everything, for anyone nervous about theirs?
I didn’t want to ED anywhere but UChicago is my #1 right now. Still, I was expecting to be deferred, so I’m not too upset. Grateful not to be rejected, but deciding whether to go ED II or RD is stressful…
It feels weird to post this knowing that someone from my school could see it (it’s small enough that they’d know exactly who I am), but hopefully it helps someone. Congrats to everyone who got in, and good luck to the rest of us!

15

Today, January 11th, 2019, I was accepted into the University of Chicago. I applied Regular Decision in late November of 2018. As you can probably infer, this was a major surprise! Was anyone else accepted? Can anyone explain why a Regular Decision student might be accepted MONTHS before the RD Decision Release date in March?

In case you were wondering, I’ll post my stats below (from a template I copy-pasted from the ED thread).

[ b]Objective:**
[ *] SAT I (breakdown): N/A
[ *] ACT (breakdown): 33C, 34 Superscore (35E, 29M, 36R, 35S)
[ *] SAT II: 700 Biology E 720 Literature
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.91
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 26 of 471
[ *] AP (place score in parentheses): Biology (5) Lang (4) World (4)
[ *] IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: Human Anatomy & Physiology, AP Lit, AP Art History, Pre-Calc, AP Psych, AP COGO, APUSH
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None!

[ /list][ b]Subjective:**
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Sos Club for Mental Health (President& Founder) Various Volunteer work, nothing special
[ *] Job/Work Experience: Senior Lifeguard (Management Level) Swim Lesson Instructor (Management Level), other experiences at dog kennels
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: Volunteer at Five Acres Animal Shelter in St. Charles, Missouri (low commitment)
[ *] Summer Activities: Work, nothing special
[ *] Essays: Both were very strong, I spent much time on them. I’ll let you read them if you’d like, 9/10
[ *] Teacher Recommendation: 7/10, I ended up asking different teachers for more recommendations about a month after sending my Uchicago application because I thought my initial ones were weak (I waved my FERPA rights but my teachers chose to show me). However, UChicago received the ones I considered to be weak rather than the stronger ones.
[ *] Counselor Rec: I haven’t read it, but I assume it’s alright lol
[ *] Additional Rec: From the Sponsor of my club, which I spend most of my after-school time on. 9/10
[ *] Interview: Didn’t Interview!
[ *] Supplementary Material: N/A

[ /list][ b]Other**
[ *]Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes, idk why
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): MISSOURI!
Country (if international applicant):
[ *] School Type: Public
[ *] Ethnicity: Black
[ *] Gender: Female
[ *] Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate): Greater than 400k
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM

[ /list][ b]Reflection**
[ *] Strengths: Essays, I spent much time on them. I guess my ACT score was okay but not extraordinary. My Recs might have been the reason I received random Early acceptance?
[ *] Weaknesses: My class rank-- I am in the top 5% of my class but I am not Valedictorian. I didn’t have any MAJOR awards other than AP Scholar with Honor, which isn’t all that special.
[ *] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I HAVE LITERALLY NO CLUE
[ *] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I was accepted to Loyola University Chicago with a 23k Scholarship, and Deferred from Harvard Early Action.

[ /list][ b]General Comments: ** :)) :)) I LITERALLY FEEL SO LUCKY LIKE I AM AN AVERAGE JOE AS COMPARED TO THE REST OF YOU… and my friend who is Valedictorian of my school was deferred early action :frowning: I am beyond elated and will be heavily considering taking a place at the University of Chicago for 2023!

16

Hi @carey46, would you be willing to send your essays? I am a junior right now with similar GPA and I’m freaking out about my essays. I know UChicago expects like unconventional, brilliant essays.

17

@basketcaseofastudent just remember that while your essays should be unconventional, brilliant, witty, easy to read, etc. they do need to tell the reader something about how you think, feel, what interests you. The worst thing you can do is write a strange, unusual essay that tells the reader nothing about you.

18

hey i don’t even know if you will see this but i just wanna say i hope all is well for you now and from what i just read about you i already think you’re a great person and strong candidate–you will do amazing things in life!! Good luck!!