<p>recursive, paper acceptance packets are indeed in the mail and can take varying lengths of time to reach students all over the country, but should arrive soon (and we do mail packages to international students, but these can often take up to a month to arrive depending on your location). </p>
<p>riar2496, you’d definitely be able to focus in biophysics from either the physics or biology/biochemistry side-- while the titles of our majors can be quite broad, there is a lot of opportunity to focus on a topic of interest to you within the major.</p>
<p>I was recently admitted early action to UChicago, and needless to say I’m beyond excited. I’m in love with the University of Chicago, and if money wasn’t an obstacle I would send in my deposit tomorrow. But the problem is, my needs-based financial aid package came back still far too high for my family to afford, and my mom is pressuring me to accept an offer of a full tuition merit scholarship at another reputable school. Is there anything I can do to reapply for merit based financial aid at UChicago so that the financial difference between the two schools is less startling? Or does the fact that I wasn’t awarded a merit scholarship at my time of admission mean that UChicago will remain financially out of my reach?</p>
<p>Wondering2014. As always, I will defer to Grace on this subject, but as a parent who had to deal with this very problem my advice to you is to write to the financial aid department to explain your dilemma. They may have ways to help you. Then again they may not, but it is certainly worth the try.</p>
<p>Wondering2014, our need-based financial aid awards are estimates until your FAFSA is submitted after it is available in January; I would wait until then to make a final decision as it is possible that the FAFSA could impact (hopefully positively!) your decision-making. You are also welcome to be in touch with the aid office to let them know of any additional information they should be aware of as they consider your final aid package. Additionally, we award merit scholarships to students through April on a rolling basis-- some students find out about merit awards with their offer of admission, while others may receive an award after our merit committees with faculty meet (usually about monthly).</p>
<p>Hi Grace,
As an admitted student, I cannot describe how EXCITED I am to attend UChicago. I was browsing through the course catalog, and noticed that one of the courses I want to take (an obscure language few schools offer- go Chicago!) only has two students enrolled this quarter. This language is one of the reasons why I wanted to go to Chicago- my question is, will UChicago cancel courses if an enrollment minimum is not met?</p>
<p>Hi Grace,
As a homeschooled applicant, it’s certainly difficult to find those willing to write a letter of recommendation. Would one letter of recommendation from a professor and one recommendation from a mentor in an academic area immediately get me ‘blackballed’?</p>
<p>Hi Grace,
Thank you for answering my question!
As I was uploading my 2012 tax returns into the UChicago Account I was not sure what the directions meant by having them signed because my parents used the online tax tool, Turbo Tax. I downloaded the official returns from Turbo Tax and then uploaded them into my UChicago Account; there isn’t a way I can add a signature to them, so I am wondering if that works?
Thank you!</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Do international students need to do a financial statement proving they have the financial status? If yes, when and how can it be done?</p></li>
<li><p>Does choosing a more popular major such as Economics decrease chances of getting in?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Hello Grace,
I had a question about the UChicago supplement. For the “Share with us your favorite things” question, are you looking for answers in list form or as a true essay? If the latter, what sort of word count is considered appropriate? </p>
<p>I am applying RD and really want to have an interview. However, I live in a kind of remote area. Is there a way I can ask for one in, for example, New York?</p>
<p>Hello! I was admitted to the Class of 2018 EA, and I am very eager to deposit my enrollment fee to secure my place in the housing queue. However, my parents wanted me to apply to some RD schools. If I pay the deposit, must I withdraw all my other applications? Also, I understand that the deposit is an indication of attending UChicago, but does the deposit create binding enrollment? I would very much like to attend UChicago; therefore, I am concerned about indicating housing preference as soon as possible, but I want to know if it is possible to withdraw enrollment (forfeiting the deposit), so I can prepare for the slim possibility that I end up going to a different school.</p>
<p>Hi Grace,
If we were a deferred student from EA and it asks that we submit any extra materials through portfolios, do we upload a document with new additional awards/extracurricular activities that we did not place on our application?</p>
<p>@neuromajor - I know you directed your question at Grace, and you should rely on her answer, but just thought I’d let you know that my D was admitted EA and she submitted a 500 word essay in response to this prompt.</p>
<p>Hi, Grace! Deferree here. So, I read in your UChicago blog post that additional recommendations definitely aren’t necessary. I was wondering, though if they could be helpful. I submitted two academic recommendations, one from my English teacher and one from my History teacher, and an arts rec from my theater teacher as I want to be a theater major. My former math teacher offered, unsolicited, to write me a recommendation after I’d already sent my application in, and now that I’ve been deferred I was curious if that could be helpful. On the one hand, I think my application may have come across as very social science heavy (since all three recommendations came from teachers in subjects related to English and communication) and a recommendation from my calculus teacher might help show a side of me that may not have come through as strongly. On the other hand, as I’ve already submitted three I don’t want to swamp my admissions counselor. I’m just really enthusiastic about UChicago and I’m not sure how to balance showing a full picture of myself as a student and not overwhelming my counselor, who I’m sure already has plenty of stress and paperwork on her plate.</p>
<p>Thanks for being patient over my holiday break, all! Back to answering questions now!</p>
<p>ewigewig, I believe it is up to the professor’s discretion whether to offer a class to one or two students, but we do not have an official minimum enrollment in courses and the vast majority of professors (especially those in obscure languages, which tend to have very small enrollments) are happy to offer a class to two students or as an independent study if only one student enrolls. </p>
<p>questions777, I’d defer to asking the College Aid office their thoughts on this one-- <a href=“mailto:college-aid@uchicago.edu”>college-aid@uchicago.edu</a>. </p>
<p>arrhenius, the food… is good! OK, I might not be the most impartial source, but in addition to being an admissions officer I ate at Bartlett for four years (and sometimes wish I could still eat there-- cooking for yourself is boring). Overall I think the two dining halls we have on campus have a wide variety of options, including vegan/vegetarian, kosher, halal, gluten free, and vast sources for people on a pizza-only diet, and while it may not quite meet mom’s home cooking you’ll certainly be able to sustain yourself in whatever fashion of health you define.</p>