@JBStillFlying do you think that they are going to accept less people early action now that there is ED I and ED II?
@allima logically speaking, if you have two identical early admission pools, and one is just EA and other other allows you to select ED, the second pool of EA’s are going to face a lower admit rate than the first pool. So while I’m not sure how admit rates would compare ED to EA, I’m pretty sure that last year’s EA faced an average admit rate that was higher than this year’s EA’s. Does that make sense?
You can do the same thing with the EDII vs. RD pool. Add to that the fact that deferred EDI’s and EA’s can opt for EDII by calling their admissions counselor and requesting the switch (obviously they’d have to sign the commitment as well), that would hurt the RD’s more than an identical pool just of RD’s with deferred EA’s thrown in. Hope I’m not getting too complicated here! Thought about this a lot.
So, to summarize, all else equal to last year, my D17’s chances as an EA are worse this year than if she had applied EA last year. If she is deferred, and because she doesn’t want to be Early Decision at all, her chances of being accepted are worse this year than last (all else equal) due to the presence of ED II’s (including anyone from the deferred pool who requests ED II).
I think they are brilliantly experimenting this year to see what happens by throwing in ED’s for both the early and regular pool and allowing the students to reveal how much they really want to attend UChicago. My daughter is revealing that she wants to attend, but it’s not her absolute #1. To the extent that there are equally talented kids who ARE revealing such, they will be selected before she is.
Hey guys, I was just wondering are test scores ever more than a qualifier at UChicago? Like many kids with stellar essays get admitted despite having lower scores. Is it ever the other way around? I guess I’m asking if a kid with perfect or near perfect test scores can get into this school even if his or her essays aren’t amazing ( not bad, just not flat out incredible)? This hypothetical kid also applied ED 
.
And then there are those for which UChicago is #1 but for financial reasons can’t apply ED. They are at even more of a disadvantage now due to the new ED option. Which is kinda ironic since UChicago has their whole No Barriers thing to help kids who need financial aid…
In my opinion based on my son’s friends (he’s a 2nd year) you have to have scores and/or grades to a certain point but having that essay be something special is really key. It seems like they looked more at recs than other schools so perhaps that is a strength for you. If you get in they send lots of people notes and they often refer to something from their app that was memorable about them. My son asked a lot of friends about their admissions experience since his younger sis is applying now and essay was the number 1 thing people mentioned and recs were the next. Scores and grades were just assumed to be good. ED has to help though since they know you will be coming.
At an information session I was at they mentioned that the ED kids had a 1% higher admit rate than the EA kids last year.
No ED last year, this is the first year with both ED/EA.
At the info. session we attended they said that early admission applications had a bit higher chance of acceptance due to the fact that they just tended to be stronger applications, i.e. students who were excited about UChicago and were better fits just tended to get their applications in early. In other words, it’s a correlation rather than a causation - getting your app. in early doesn’t cause you to have a higher admit rate, but is correlated with such because you recognize how UChicago is a good fit for you, etc.
That was for Early Action.
With the introduction of ED, they are segmenting the early admission pool into two groups: the “Absolute first choice” group and the “very interested in attending/it’s a good fit/but I’d like to look at other schools too” group. Both groups are going to have top-notch candidates. Given that the more ED’s they accept, the higher their yield and the earlier the commitment, which group do you think they will be more likely to draw their top-notchers from?
As for RD, that pool gets so big (there are RD candidates and the deferrals from early admission PLUS those who were dinged or deferred from SCEA elsewhere) that it only makes sense to segment that as well. Again, the best way to select among top-notchers is to see who is willing to commit. It helps yield and wraps up the admissions process more quickly.
The strongest EA applicants are more likely to be deferred to RD than previous years due to the addition of EDI and EDII.
No matter what, UChicago is looking for and will accept the applicants they believe fit best. Being that this is their first year with ED, I am sure they will be conscious of the fact that many applicants who would apply ED cannot simply for financial/familial reasons. All schools know this and take it into account.
We will be able to confirm this in the weeks to come. Good luck to everybody!
Is it true that for UChicago stellar essays and high GPA (4.0 UW with many advance classes) can compensate for a mediocre SAT score (2100ish)?
Yes, though it may also depend on recs and the breakdown of your scores (math and CR matter more than writing). Basically, does the whole package suggest that you’re a good fit for U of C.
Where can I find my UChicago Application ID Number? Is that on the Common App or in my UChicago account?
The UChicago account will have a reference # for you to use whenever you have a question.
Had a phone interview with a more recent alum (this century). It was delightful. He didn’t need much from me (know a little about UChicago ahead of time) and gave me tons of insight into UChicago. He described it has a haven for “nerds” (in its best connotation) to pursue their education and become well-rounded. He also said that it’s a good idea to ask your admissions counselor what to do to improve your app if deferred. I might re-apply as ED2 if I am deferred.
@johnwayne8321 you won’t need to re-apply for that - just contact your counsellor and make sure to sign the commitment form. Guessing you won’t be the only one switching your decision option if deferred! By then everyone will have heard back from all their early’s and would be much better informed about their prospects.
Earlier on admissions had said if you were deferred from EA you could not switch to ED2 but maybe they had a change of heart?
@acdchai the default is RD. But you can switch as long as you commit formally.
I hope admission counselors know that applying EA doesn’t necessarily mean it isn’t the applicants first choice. One could apply EA because they know how difficult it is to get accepted and it allows them to apply to other EA schools. Most EA schools allow you to apply to other EA schools but not any ED schools. So, althought UChicago would allow you to apply EA to other schools if you apply ED to UChicago there are very few schools that would allow you to apply to them EA if you apply to ED UChicago.
Those schools would also restrict you from applying EA to UChicago wouldn’t they? Those are SCEA applications. What other schools and application options are you thinking of?
UChicago might be someone’s first choice but for finances so necessity compels the applicant to apply EA rather than ED. While UChicago claims that it meets 100% of demonstrated need, that’s a technical definition that might not match the family’s true financial picture. When you sign the ED commitment you are effectively signing away your option to bargain or, at the very least, compromising it significantly.
Did Uchicago send notification email about result release date last year?