UChicago Questions? Ask an admissions counselor!

<p>This is something that would be evaluated on a case by case basis. I would encourage the student to contact their regional admissions counselor directly to discuss the situation.</p>

<p>Hi Grace,
I have two questions:

  1. Does being related to an alumni help your application?
  2. Do admissions officers prefer an essay that is written in response to one of the questions asked, or do they prefer one in which the applicant has posed their own prompt?
    Thanks!</p>

<p>please supply EA vs RD stats for the class of 2016</p>

<p>Has U of C become more concerned about yield in the the last three years?</p>

<p>Hello, </p>

<p>I was just wondering, how important is your GPA? My unweighted GPA is somewhere around a 3.6-3.7. My school does a lot of grade deflation and my class rank is around 15%. I spoke with an admissions director a few weeks ago, and he informed me UChicago does not really look at class rank. Is this true? If an applicant had amazing credentials everywhere else and a low GPA such as mine, would they stand a chance? Thank you!</p>

<p>UChicago,</p>

<p>Why did you admit so many students this year?? After being over-enrolled last year, why didn’t the admissions office play it really, really conservative this year? As an alum, I’m really disappointed to note a bunch of students will be placed in New Grad Dorms and other ill-suited locations.</p>

<p>Hi Grace,</p>

<p>Thanks so much for taking the time to answer questions for all of us. I am a prospective student with a decent ACT score but a not-so-good SAT score and was wondering: will my lower SAT score be weighted as heavily when applying to UChicago? Or will admissions people focus more on the positive, my solid ACT? Thanks!</p>

<p>Hi all! Sorry for the lack of responses for a while-- was out of the office. I’ll answer things in a big bunch if that’s OK. Relevant statistics for the Class of 2016 may be found here: [Colleges</a> Report 2012 Admissions Statistics - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/16/college-admits-2012/]Colleges”>Colleges Report 2012 Admissions Statistics - The New York Times)</p>

<p>I know that our increased yield has been a topic of much discussion on CC and elsewhere. We are making plans to accommodate our unexpected increase in matriculating students by increasing available space in housing and ensuring that our class sizes remain small by adding additional junior faculty. [Large</a> admitted class forces adjustments on College – The Chicago Maroon](<a href=“Saul Bellow, dead at 89 – Chicago Maroon”>Saul Bellow, dead at 89 – Chicago Maroon)
I know that we could go on at length about yield discussions here, but I worry that this will derail the flow of admissions discussions and questions on this thread. I think it will be most productive to maintain this thread’s focus on specific questions about student life and the admissions process. I will be happy to weigh in, where appropriate, on separate threads if there are further questions or concerns. </p>

<p>On GPA: we look at a student’s transcript and the grades it contains; yes, this contains a GPA and a rank (in some cases), but it is much more important for us to see a transcript containing a strong record of rigor and to look at the grades received for individual courses. GPA and class rank are secondary considerations in this sense; while they will be affected by lower grades, it is the performance in and rigor of individual courses that we consider most heavily. </p>

<p>On testing: we do not require students to submit both an ACT and an SAT score. If you feel that your ACT scores more strongly represent your ability you are welcome to elect to not send your SAT scores. We will always consider your highest possible test score on either the ACT or the SAT, so if you have already sent us your SAT scores, there is no need to worry.</p>

<p>Thank you, which courses do you consider? Would it be a core like math, science, English, etc ? Or courses intended for a specified major? Thanks again!</p>

<p>All of the courses on your transcript are considered.</p>

<p>how do you view students that have taken gap years? is there ever a problem in terms of admissions?</p>

<p>kingsquirrel, good question. We are happy to see students who have taken gap years during high school or immediately following high school graduation for personal growth or development, and find that some students do also need to take gap years for health reasons (we would just be happy to see you get better over the course of that year!). It is not the most common thing for a high school student to do, but we would only really find cause for concern if the gap year were taken under relatively extreme circumstances (student was incarcerated, student was asked to leave a particular school for low academic performance, etc).</p>

<p>Dear UChicago,</p>

<p>I read from somewhere that one of the dorms at UChicago will be closing down for renovation, and as a result it will be accepting fewer people this year (Class of 2017). Can you verify this please? If so, how many?</p>

<p>Thank you!</p>

<p>lovegov, I am not sure where you received this information. While we do plan to add dorms in the future and, subsequently, retire some older dorms, to my knowledge the College has not made a plan to decrease space available in the class of 2017 (or future classes) as a result.</p>

<p>Hi, I requested to join the Class of 2016 page a few days ago (I am an admitted and committed '16 student who just recently signed up for Facebook) but haven’t heard back yet. Is there something else I should do to join the group? (I’m fairly certain that my FB name is the same as my real name). I’ve been hearing so much about the discussions and would like to take part! Thanks.</p>

<p>Grace happens to do the approving, she’s probably been busy the last few days!</p>

<p>I just approved a bunch of students who requested to join yesterday and today-- check and see if you were included. If not, request again and I will approve you.</p>

<p>Hello- I’m sure this has been asked before but, what the heck, S2 is looking at possibly doing an EA for UChicago. Does an interview have anything to do with that process? If so how do we get one setup? Anything else different about EA vs RD (other than deadline). </p>

<p>(Sorry for my ignorance have only done this once before and S1 did not do any EA.)</p>

<p>^ actually found some of the answers by browsing through older posts and on the schools website. If anyone is interested, you can sign up for an interview (off campus) after you fill out your EA application (they start 10/1/12). </p>

<p>Another question how does an interview weigh in the acceptance of a student (just curious)??</p>

<p>Would you please let me know approximately how many applicants U Chicago recieves in a given year that have had original scientific research published.
Does this give a student a big boost in the application?
Are such students highly sought after, given that their SAT scores, and transcript are in the U Chicago mean range.</p>

<p>Thank you!!</p>