<p>Hi Grace,
I’m a prospie applying EA to UChicago, and I’m from the East Coast. I was wondering if UChicago admissions take into consideration where an applicant is from, and whether or not that information is then considered relative to a quota or something. In other words, does geographic location hold significant sway (positive or negative) in an application? </p>
<p>Another question: I have heard the application process at particularly selective schools referred to as a “crapshoot” and “lottery” sometimes. Since the applications for UChicago just keep increasing with every class of seniors, what I was wondering is if the school will eventually submit to more mechanic/objective evaluation of a student. I know UChicago is all about holistics, so long story short: will this year’s expected volume of applications hurt UChicago’s ability to adhere to their holistic tradition, and if so, will this turn admissions at UChicago into more of a “crapshoot”? </p>
<p>Hi, since I go to a very small school(there are 46 students in my class) there are no AP classes offered to us. I know this may hurt my application so my question is will taking SAT Subject Tests and graduating with 19 credits in college classes help strengthen my application in the way AP classes would strengthen a “regular” application? Also, does it matter that I’m the first student in my school’s history to apply to UChicago? Thanks.</p>
<p>With EA rather than ED, how do the AOs distinguish or look for those who truly view UChi as student’s first choice vs. those who just want an early acceptance–or does UChi not factor in a student’s expressed interest?</p>
<p>surrealism-- while we do hope to maintain balance in many areas of our class, we do not have quotas for any group, and aim to admit the most qualified students in the country, regardless of their background. So, your region will not have a significant impact on your application. </p>
<p>As our applicant pool grows, so does our staff. We are committed to making sure that all students receive our full consideration in our admissions process; everyone’s application is read, in full, by a real person (in fact, multiple real people) and all decisions are made in an application committee. We do not use any mechanisms to pre-sort applications or employ any cutoffs for GPA or score requirements, so all students who apply will have their application considered in the same fashion. </p>
<p>RonBurg, great question. We hope to see students who have taken advantage of the most rigorous options available to them at their school, but recognize that not all students have access to the same opportunities. Since offerings can vary widely by school or area, we do not expect students to arrive at UChicago with perfectly similar backgrounds, and do certainly consider students from rural areas or small schools that may have more limited offerings. (Having read applications from northern Minnesota and North/South Dakota, I can say with certainty that we do admit students whose class sizes are very small and, as such, have had limited offerings in terms of AP/other honors courses, so long as those students show us that they are doing the best they can with the opportunities available to them). Taking advantage of other methods of rigor, like taking courses at a local college, is a great way to challenge yourself in the absence of AP or other higher level coursework at your school. The fact that no students have applied to UChicago from your school in the past will not put you at a disadvantage.</p>
<p>erlanger, ‘fit’ for our environment is a very important thing we consider in the admissions process. Our best gauge of a student’s interest comes not necessarily from having visited campus or attending events, but mainly from a student’s “Why Chicago” essay. (Visiting and learning more are certainly valuable, of course-- but mainly for the information the students gain through the experience and not just the act of having visited). While we are not expecting that every student will present an absolutely perfect fit for our environment in that essay, students with a strong interest in the type of environment we offer, who we can easily see growing intellectually in this environment and from the opportunities available in it, really are able to make their voices and interest heard through that piece.</p>
<p>@UCHICAGO-- when do you think is the best time to visit the school? DD14 wants to visit in the spring, during spring break… but do you think its best to visit in the dead of the winter? When the snow is mailbox high/the mercury is painfully low??? I want her to get a good idea of what the school is like and its probably best to do it in the winter…</p>
<p>Hello Ms. Chapin,
I’m really interested in the University of Chicago and I’m applying EA. Just a little about me: I’m really interested in economics and I plan to pursue an MBA at the very least.
I have taken a number of AP classes (15 to be exact), and I’ve made about 4-5 B’s in my entire high school career and I’ve participated in a few (but meaningful) EC’s. Will UChicago look at the number of AP classes I have taken as “academic rigor” or will it be looked as not putting too much time outside of school?
Thanks for your help in advance.</p>
<p>@NewHavenMom-- I would say the best time to visit the school is when students are on campus. Whether a student (or parent) is interested in visiting campus at its best (spring! early summer! fall!) or worst (yes, it does get cold here; February is not the most pleasant month, although it is bearable) I’d say that if you can fit it in to your family schedule to visit during a time that is not summer, Spring, or winter break and have a shot at visiting courses and seeing the kinds of things students do on campus, that is best. We are open for visits over most breaks and do have student staff on hand, and of course welcome students to visit campus during those times, but I always think it can be a better experience to visit when everything is going on! Our academic calendar may be found here if you are interested in knowing when breaks occur: <a href=“Page Not Found | University of Chicago”>http://www.uchicago.edu/academics/calendar/</a></p>
<p>@knightrider, we do not expect students to be superhuman We hope that students will be involved in activities outside of school but understand that academic performance comes first.</p>
<p>Do academic departments review applications that are very heavily focused in their area (eg. for a student who has done a lot of math research, summer programs, national contests, papers, etc)?</p>
<p>If so, how much say do they have in a decision?</p>
<p>@UChicago: Thanks for the help. I really appreciate it.</p>
<p>Just a quick question (if you don’t mind me asking):
I had joined the Academic Decathlon last year, and it took up most of my time out of school. I must have spent about 30+ hours a week on prepping for competitions. Though it is entirely a academic club, I was able to learn a lot about leadership and character building. Will this be considered in my application?</p>
<p>cdaddio, we may forward supplemental information a student provides (music, art, creative writing, research projects) to a particular department for proper evaluation, but the relationship is informational in nature. Members of the admissions office make all final decisions in our admissions committees. </p>
<p>knightrider, you will be able to note participation in this group under the “Activities” section of the Common Application. Please feel free to extend your explanation of the group in to the small extended explanation section if you feel that it requires further description.</p>
<p>I am a female interested in Engineering and noticed press releases that UC is beginning an engineering program this Spring. Is that in place? any feedback about the program so far?</p>
<p>affannoso, great question. While we are building a center for the study of molecular engineering, this program differs from traditional engineering programs at different schools-- focused in applications in chemistry, physics, biology, materials science, and nanotechnology. It is in its development stages, and still building its faculty; we expect that in the future this program will offer undergraduate concentrations and majors, but those are not currently available, although some coursework in molecular engineering will be available as early as this academic year. I would definitely check out their site for more detailed information about the program to see whether or not you feel it would be a good match for your interests: [About</a> | Institute for Molecular Engineering](<a href=“http://molecularengineering.uchicago.edu/about/]About”>http://molecularengineering.uchicago.edu/about/)</p>
<p>Thank you for your answers to my previous post! I have one more. How exactly does the actual admissions process work? What happens in the admissions office? Who reads which applications, and how much time is spent on each? How long does the EA application process take? How are final decisions made, and by whom? Thank you again!</p>
<p>Hi! I’m in the middle of writing my Why Chicago essay (starting early!), and I’m wondering if there’s a maximum length. I’m finding I have quite a bit to say… 250 words? 500? 100? </p>
<p>Hi! I am an incoming senior in High School and was wondering how much class rank influenced the entry process? I posted this in the main forum but I figured asking you would be much better. I am not going to end up being in the top 10% but will end up being in the top 11% and was wondering how that would influence the process? Thanks!</p>
<p>surrealism-- a student’s regional admissions counselor is the first person to read their application, and the application is read at least one other time by a different admissions counselor in our staff. All final decisions are made in an admissions committee consisting of both junior and senior staff toward the end of each admissions cycle. </p>
<p>tarmiriel-- we suggest keeping your essays to approximately 500 words each. Slightly more or slightly less is fine, but that is a good marker. </p>
<p>talershan-- grades and individual achievement are emphasized in our admissions process more than class rank would be; most of our incoming students fall in the top 10-15% of their classes, but we realize that some schools do not rank, do not consider a weighted rank, etc, and therefore lean strongly on the side of the individual student’s transcript. I would not be overly worried about being in the top 11% of your class :)</p>
<p>3boys-- we would prefer that students limit the description of their activities to the short note next to the activity on the Common App. It is not necessary to provide more than a brief description, and students may describe one or two of their most important activities in depth in an short paragraph attached to activities section of the Common App. If this is not possible, “see attached” may suffice, so long as the additional list of activities is clear and concise.</p>
We hope that students will be involved in activities outside of school but understand that academic performance comes first.</p>