UChicago Questions? Ask an admissions counselor!

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
1941

<p>falody, we don not require a certification of finances from international students until you are accepted and decide to attend. Our international team will follow up with you with instructions if you are admitted!</p>

<p>As for majors: we don’t hold students to the majors they list on their application, but hope that you will simply let us know which majors you may be considering. We do not have “quotas” for any particular major, and simply hope to admit students such that our many offerings will be well-represented, and, when students do indicate a strong interest in a particular major, want to make sure you will be well prepared for that field of study (in example, we would hope that a prospective Econ major has taken math through calculus before graduating high school). </p>

<p>All: your favorite things essay can take many forms. Most students choose to write a small essay; a list is not out of the question, but it can be helpful for us to have a bit more description of your interests than a list may be able to provide. (Don’t freak out if you wrote a list and are reading this right now going aaaaah, should I re-write this as an essay? No, you shouldn’t, you’ll be fine). </p>

<p>mmm270, we have alums in a surprising variety of places, and are also have alums who are able to interview students by Skype and phone conversation. If you request an interview and we have the ability to accommodate you, you will not need to travel to accomplish this. </p>

<p>bobscoop75, we hope that students who submit their enrollment deposits do plan to attend UChicago, but understand that circumstances may arise in which this is not possible (change in financial or family picture, admitted off of the waiting list at a different school, visiting after depositing and deciding we are not the right fit, etc). Our enrollment deposit is therefore not a binding commitment, but we are not able to refund it once it has been paid, so we hope that UChicago is the school a student reasonably expects will be their college choice when their enrollment deposit is made. </p>

<p>blee35, yes, you are more than welcome to upload a document to your UChicago Account containing information about new awards or activities.</p>

1942

<p>EnoughNerve, it is not necessary to submit additional letters of recommendation after being deferred; we really only ask that students who are still interested in UChicago make sure to send their midyear grades and a note indicating your continued interest (if indeed you’re still interested!) Please don’t worry, this is really all we look for.</p>

1943

<p>Hi Grace,</p>

<p>This might be a really obtuse question, and actually, I think it is now, but I suppose I’ll pose it anyway.</p>

<p>The arts supplement. Is this something restricted to creative writing, theatre, dance, etc. majors? Or could a student applying outside of those fields submit one as well? (I’m a deferred applicant, and had an idea regarding the portfolio that I feel could improve my chances of admission)</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

1944

<p>How good does the gold presidential service award look on an application? (250+ hours of volunteering in one year)? Would UC like to see an applicant receive that consistently or does one year look good enough?</p>

1945

<p>Hi Grace,
Thanks for your response. I was also wondering, if we wanted to submit another recommendation for deferred applicant, would this be done through the student’s profile, Common Application, or emailed to the regional counselor? Thank you!</p>

1946

<p>Hi Grace,</p>

<p>I was deferred EA and I was just wondering what percentage of the applicants that applied EA were deferred instead of outright rejected?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

1947

<p>donewithnh, the “arts supplement” is not strictly reserved for the arts-- you’re welcome to submit scientific research, journalism, etc. that you have produced. </p>

<p>hahaharvard, we’re happy to see students volunteering in a sustained fashion; it is not necessary to have received an award for service for your volunteering to be considered by us. </p>

<p>blee35, if you were interested in submitting an additional recommendation, this should be done by the instructor either through the Common App or by mail, email, or fax to our office. </p>

<p>neurogirl, I don’t have that exact figure handy, but if it helps, about 10% of our deferred applicants are usually accepted each year.</p>

1948

<p>I’ve heard that U of C loves Model UN. Is it necessary to win awards in an extracurricular for it to be valued or is leadership enough?</p>

1949

<p>Haharvard, it is not necessary to win awards for an activity to be a valuable consideration in your application-- we are simply pay to see students participating in activities that they enjoy and feel are a good use of their time.</p>

1950

<p>Hi UChicago,
I am a parent of a student who applied regular admission. My son had taken couple of courses in our state university and received all A’s. Is it recommended that he send the transcripts from the college. Thank You.</p>

1951

<p>Grace,</p>

<p>Upthread you replied to bobscoop75’s question about enrollment deposits as follows:</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>I’m a little confused, because the admissions materials state: “Payment of this deposit signals your commitment to matriculate at the University of Chicago and indicates that you have withdrawn your other applications and have not made a commitment to enroll at any other college.”</p>

<p>Your explanation seems a little more “liberal” than the quoted materials. Let’s say that, hypothetically, an EA-admitted student was waiting to hear back from one other school where she would have a very slim chance of acceptance (guess), but if not accepted there, she would DEFINITELY be attending UChicago, and might even do so if she were accepted at this other (probably inferior) university. In other words, she is 95% sure that she will be attending UChicago. Would it be “dishonest” (her words) to submit a deposit to UChicago in order to secure her place in the housing queue if she were willing to surrender her $500 in the extremely unlikely scenario that she’s accepted to this other unnamed college?</p>

1952

<p>^Kudos to you and to your daughter for your concern over the ethics of this decision. Kudos to you for having raised such an ethical daughter, and kudos to your daughter for having internalized the lessons.</p>

<p>My own opinion is that you should go ahead and make the deposit, knowing that there is a slight chance you may not go. UChicago recognizes that this happens from time to time, and so you have unofficial dispensation.</p>

<p>As I think through the subtleties of your ethical dilemma, it occurs to me that your post could make an interesting essay topic for some UChicago philosophy or even economics class!</p>

1953

<p>Hi, Grace! My teacher and I have been struggling with submitting her teacher recommendation via the Common Application. Although she finished the recommendation prior to the deadline, it has not allowed her to submit it, and she has been trying now for a full week. Is it still possible to submit the recommendation by mail although it is past the deadline for this reason?</p>

1954

<p>Hey Grace, I’m extremely passionate about making it to UChicago and as a junior right now I’m trying my best to be a wanted applicant, so any general tips on how to make it?</p>

<p>-AJ</p>

1955

<p>i’ve been hearing people talk about a facebook page for admitted students in the EA round; would you be able to link it to me?</p>

<p>thanks :)</p>

1956

<p>just check your uchicago account, and there’s a link to the facebook page on the admitted students site</p>

1957

<p>Hi Grace,
Two quick questions -

  1. If my child was admitted with the Dean’s scholarship, is there any chance she will get additional merit aid or is the Dean’s award the only possible award.
  2. We know that we definitely won’t qualify for financial aid so we didn’t complete any financial aid forms. We have heard that sometimes you need to complete them to get merit money. Is that true?</p>
1958

<p>@kaukauna #1952:

</p>

<p>Thank you. Yes, I am very proud of her. D is very insistent that her first official interaction with U of C not be a dishonest one. Although I appreciate your blessing, I would really like to hear what Grace has to say before pulling the trigger. Hopefully she will chime in soon. Perhaps the admissions office is closed today due to the weather.</p>

1959

<p>DGDzDad and others, wow! This is a very “UChicago” discussion at this point! :slight_smile: Our policy regarding deposits is meant to be flexible with regards to students who are waiting to receive offers off of a waiting list or other uncertain admission offers, but also to be respectful of the NACAC principles of good practice, which state that a school will “not knowingly recruit students who are enrolled, registered, have initiated deferred
admission, or have declared their intent, or submitted contractual deposits to other
institutions unless the students initiate inquiries themselves”. So in this case, it would certainly be most ethical for a student who has deposited here (or elsewhere) to withdraw all pending other applications, and very much appreciated by any school that she do so, but not strictly required that she do so.</p>

1960

<p>ColorGuard, no need to worry-- we have extended our deadline to January 15 in light of many students’ continued issues with the Common App. Hopefully your teacher will be able to resolve her issues submitting the recommendations before that time!</p>

<p>weavingdreams, the group is private for admitted students only so I hesitate to post the link here, but it is available in the “Admitted Students” section of your UChicago account!</p>

<p>desie123, it is likely that an already-awarded scholarship will be a student’s only award, but not impossible for the student to receive further merit aid; I would be in touch with your student’s regional admissions counselor if you have questions or concerns. </p>

<p>We encourage all families to complete the need-based financial aid application as need-based aid is our most generous source of student support. It is not strictly necessary to apply for need-based aid to be considered for merit scholarships, particularly if you are absolutely certain that you will not qualify for aid, but we do encourage families who might consider themselves “on the bubble” for aid eligibility to consider applying for aid, as we want to be able to provide students with all of the aid for which they qualify just in case!</p>