Hey I got a likely letter last night via email (not an athlete) and I was wondering how common this was. I applied RD if that helps. Thanks!
I’m curious, what did the email say? Were you deferred or regular decision? @LorChihuahua Thanks!
Sorry, just re-read that you were RD. @LorChihuahua still curious what the email said. Thanks!
Did the likely letter allow you to accept and make a deposit for housing as well?
“Congratulations! While official decisions are several weeks away, we couldn’t wait to share the good news. The admissions committee has reviewed your application, and I am pleased to extend to you a provisional invitation to join the University of Chicago Class of 2021. As long as you continue your strong performance and there is not a negative change in your record, you can expect to receive an official offer of admission in late March. From a group of highly talented and diverse applicants, you have distinguished yourself as a top scholar and are one of only a handful of students to receive this early offer.”
That’s the first part of the letter… there is a option to reply to the offer and “secure your place” in the class.
I haven’t heard of this before…congrats! Did you have any special extracurricular?
@LorChihuahua Wow. Congratulations. They must really want you! Exciting news!
Wow - you get to commit even before they even offer admission. That clever Nondorf is at it again, working to increase the yield.
Are you planning to secure your place? You’ll need to pay the $500 enrollment fee before you can access the housing queue. Not a bad idea to do if you were planning to come anyway.
Thanks all! @TheBanker no super special extracurricular just an internship. @JBStillFlying I’m going to wait off for now and consider my other options.
@LorChihuahua - smart. If you are that desirable a candidate maybe they’ll entice you with some moola a bit later. You already have their intent so you know what they’ll do. The only benefit you get by committing now is to get into the housing pool sooner. But you might be giving up a bit of merit for that privilege because you signed up right away. Playing hard to get is a good strategy.
Keep us informed. This is fascinating.
My daughter received the same letter yesterday, too, also through RD. So there are at least a few students in the “handful.” It’s annoying about the housing pool, but she’s almost certainly going to wait to commit, both for merit aid and to see if she’s accepted by Yale (deferred SCEA).
While both Yale and UChicago are great schools, I feel they have distinctly different cultures. Has your D visited both schools and liked both of them?
My nephew graduated from Yale a few years ago, but my D had less than zero interest in Yale given how they handled the Halloween costume incident and their treatment of Mr. and Mrs. Christakis.
@JBStillFlying I was trying to stay humble but I was also offered 15k a year merit award. Definitely exciting but going to have to wait for other acceptances. I’m waiting mostly for the big end of march release date, but also received a likely letter from Yale (YES-W). I’m super behind on financial aid forms though, so I’ll need to do Chicago’s to see where that puts me at a year.
Ah. thanks @LorChihuahua. That’s helpful info. They might still offer more later on 
but the fact that they are enticing you early with aid tells me that they are trying to maximize yield on that RD pool. Just speculation but that’s what it looks like.
Good point @hebegebe. She fell in love with Yale when we visited, but has only heard about U of C from me (I attended in the 80s). I think Chicago would be a great fit for her, but we definitely need to get her out for one of the accepted student weekends. Congratulations @LorChihuahua-- you’ve got a hard choice ahead of you!
I am curious to know. If you get a likely letter now, why would you not negotiate aid now before committing and before the other acceptances come out?
(I am assuming that there is only so much scholarships to give away every year and the later you negotiate the lower your chances would be.)
[I’m not going to deny that there are some cultural differences between Yale and Chicago, as there are between any two specific colleges, but there are tremendous overlaps as well, much more so than the differences. My spouse and I are both Yale alumni, and our children are both recent Chicago grads, and one of the things we absolutely loved about their experience and education at Chicago was how similar it was to the wonderful experience and education we had back in the day at Yale. The differences in cliches about the two places are much more profound than the differences in actual lived reality.]
Congrats!! Sounds like you are going to have some great options! @LorChihuahua
@LorChihuahua Can you tell us your stats (SAT, ACT, grades), or if you want to maintain anonymity, some rough idea? Thanks!