No she was not a legacy at UChicago. She was a legacy at Harvard (double) and Princeton (which treats the kids of its PhDs as legacies).
Conventional wisdom says legacy gives you an edge only if you apply SCEA, so she sacrificed that potential edge to apply EA at a school where she was not a legacy. Something she might not have done had she been able to claim the advantages both of SCEA/legacy at one of the other schools and of ED2 at Chicago. So that’s a plausible account of the scenario JBS proposed which explains why a kid who was accepted SCEA elsewhere might ED2 UChicago.
@JBStillFlying I think it’s somewhat risky even being a strong candidate. The “easiest” pool would be the ED pool just based on the simple fact that there are 14-1500 open slots at that time. After each round the competition gets more intense due to pool size, open slots and the typical strength of applicants.
Think average SAT was something like 1540 and ACT 34 last year, so grades and EC’s don’t really differentiate. I’d like to see the data on the average stats of offers vs entire pool. That would be interesting.
On the flip side we know of quite a few MIT deferreds that applied EDII.
@TheShortSon I believe legacy is somewhat helpful and more likely in the ED pool than RD. I know several kids who are legacies that currently attend. And if you work through the numbers, given that there were a lot fewer students back 30+ years ago at the College (my graduating class was about 500 IIRC) and they tend to not be a very fecund lot, there are actually probably not that many qualified legacy applicants.
DD (legacy) was accepted EA last year but also had top stats, essays that conveyed fit and interest taking specific advantage of her inside knowledge of the school, and was geographically advantaged, coming from one of those states that schools typically have trouble enrolling from. In fact, she has yet to meet anyone from our state at school.
We are another family that probably would have passed on ED1 as we were careful to avoid having DD ‘fall in love’ with any one school with a low admit rate. She gradually fell in love with UC between December acceptance and April decision day. Worked out in the end but would have been a risky strategy this year. Too bad.
Yes, these are family decisions (at least at the application strategy stage) and decisions under uncertainty, as well as decisions that evolve over time, so there are lots of reasons why some excellent applicants won’t jump at the ED1 option.
No matter what we estimate, we will find out tonight. Stay humble. Most of the people who do not get in to these schools are those so confident and self-obsessed that they believe they are not affected by flaw or mistake, or possibility of failure. It shines through essays and overall rhetoric. We will know for sure what will happen tonight, so until then there is no reason to speak up about oneself for self validation, or worry about what is going to happen. Just relax and know what will happen will.
@CalmConquistador 4 or 5 I would think. I wanna say that last time we thought it was coming out at 4 and it came at 4, but it may have been 3 --> 4. Whatever the case, 4 or 5 PM are the best time estimates and i’m pretty sure they are released exactly on the hour.
Also, I would be checking at 3,4,5 PM in your portals or this thread. For EA/ED I, many people (myself included) didn’t get emails until 45ish minutes after decisions had already been released, so that’s not the most reliable way to know when the decision is out.
Checking out for the afternoon - see you all on the other side. Good luck to everyone. Regardless of where you or my kid ends up, they will do great things in college and beyond!
3 months ago, I was expecting a rejection letter from Pton. One of my friends said “You will get rejected today. How do you feel about it?” It was the worst day in my life. I was really depressed because I knew that I had no chance to get in. Then, I got accepted. I couldn’t sleep that evening. Life is surprising, and the admission process is a matter of luck. Hopefully, you will all get in, too!
Good luck everyone, I wish we could all end up at UChicago!!