They must have sent instructions. Here’s what they said on the Uncommon blog and I’ll bet they sent similar wording out to everyone:
Waitlist: You have not been offered a place in the Class of 2025 at this time, but we will let you know by early summer if we are able to offer you a spot from the waitlist. UChicago’s waitlist is not ranked. If UChicago remains your top choice, here’s some advice on what to do next.
Do:
Accept your spot on the waitlist by logging into your UChicago Account. If you’re still interested in attending UChicago, this is the way to let us know.
Accept a place at another school by May 3 to make sure you have a college home for next year. If we are able to offer you a spot in the class and you choose to accept it, please let the other school know as soon as possible that you will not be attending.
Write a brief note to your regional admissions counselor explaining why UChicago remains your top choice.
Don’t:
Worry about meeting us. We do not make decisions based on whether or not a student has visited (our office is actually not open to visitors at this time) or engaged with our virtual programming. While we would certainly welcome you to check out a virtual info session or other online event to learn more about us if you still have questions, you are in no way obligated to do so. Following the steps listed above is all that’s needed to indicate your continued interest.
Submit all-new application materials. The application you sent us originally is complete, and we have determined that it is a strong one. We have all the information we need from you, and, as time goes on, we’ll know more about whether there is space left in the class to take students from the waitlist.
Panic. An admissions decision is not an evaluation of you as a person. Decisions are made over a long period of time by a number of people and take into account the entire applicant pool. Please keep in mind that we cannot give reasons for decisions over the phone or via email, as it really is impossible to condense the conversations behind our decisions in a way that would be adequate or helpful to the applicant.
My S20 was on the waitlist last year. UChicago usually builds a very large waitlist. If you are on the waitlist and you applied for FinAid, don’t get your hope too high. They usually get the kids with full pay off of the waitlist.
This contradicts post #173 (merit in that case) and other testimonies. With the exception of international students, UChicago is supposed to be need-blind when they make admissions decisions, and they offer to meet full need. That many full-pay are waitlisted and may even be admitted eventually, there is little doubt. That’s also true for those who require need-based aid. And keep in mind that many don’t apply their first year, precisely because of rumors of this type, but do complete those FA forms in subsequent years If admitted.
I would guess that merit is from NMS Finalist, not really a FinAid. When kids got in from waitlist last year, people asked and none applied for FinAid.
In my opinion, the whole need-blind (and “fit”) talking point is just used by top colleges to attract more applicants. Unless you have hooks, that does not really apply to most of middle class kids.
In my opinion, you are wrong about fit, and the facts contradict your statement about middle income families and financial aid. You and anyone else can look up the net cost of attendance by income quintile.
That would be a scandal if it were true, @Transfer20212025 . It would be a departure from the practice and the serious commitment of the University of Chicago over a period stretching back at least to the fifties. I myself attended only because of serious FA once upon a time: I relied on that commitment, and it was honored through all four years. If any instruction were now being given to AOs to identify and favor full-pay applicants there would be a revolt in that office and someone would blow the whistle on it.
A couple of years ago there was such a whistle-blowing over what seemed to be a preference given to full-pay students with respect to placements into well-paying summer jobs. That proved to be much less than what it appeared to be, but it showed the sensitivity that exists about any hint of such preferences even in a minor matter.
Unless the top colleges open their books on who gets in and who does not, no one will know for sure about the whole admission myth. Your opinion is as good as mine.
There’s been a lot of discussion on the subject of “fit” and usually it’s based on anecdotes; however, those who are familiar with the curriculum and pedagogy tend to be sympathetic to the idea. An experience-based opinion perhaps, which is usually better than stabs in the dark and mere assertion. As I mentioned earlier, the subject of net cost of attendance for the middle stratum of income distribution is not opinion but fact.
Actually, UChicago’s financial aid policy is a lot less haphazard now than it was back then. My kids are a more recent example of how UChicago meets demonstrated need.
Wow, that sounds like a pretty high number. I know Covid affected everything, but I´m surprised to hear it was that high. Any idea on how many were on the Waitlist to begin with?
My S21 is on the waitlist: he had done ED at another school but the more research he did on Chicago the higher it went on his list. His guidance counselor says that typically she feels that WL at a high yield school like UC is a lost cause but that last year and this year will be different.
CRHeel94 - it was indeed high. Too high. Their yield was higher than expected and they ended up over-subscribing by over 100.
There is no way to know how this year will go. Last year they started pulling off the wait list pretty quickly but each year is a bit different. As I mentioned upthread, they already seemed to have built in an extra 300 or so by admitting 2,400 this year rather than the 2,100 or so they admitted for Class of '23 (before Covid). Unless they are deliberately increasing the size of the class, that suggests smaller pulls from the W/L this year. But - each year is different and these are just speculations.
By 2019, UChicago’s yield was over 80%. They only admitted a little over 2,100 that year for a class size of about 1,740. That’s consistent with the College’s stated goal of 7,000 enrollees total - a goal they reached this year. Clearly, if they admit 2,400 - as they just apparently did - they are admitting 300 or so more than they had been prior to Covid. They are either expecting more than usual to drop, so built that into their admission decision, or they are planning to increase the overall enrollment of the College past their original stated goal.
Thanks. And I don’t know who’d make that up. But, I was accepted RD last Friday and just rechecked and my acceptance letter doesn’t say that and the next thing (and the first thing my parents received) was a Saturday afternoon email to me and my parents inviting us to admitted students events, with no mention of these stats.