***University of Chicago 2019 RD Results

[moogooloo]

[ size=+2][ color=orange][ b]Decision: Waitlisted**[/color][/size]

[ b]Objective:[ list]
[ *] SAT I (breakdown): NA
[ *] SAT I superscore (breakdown): NA
[ *] ACT (breakdown): English 34, Reading 34, Math 27, Science 26 haha
[ *] ACT superscore (breakdown): 30
[ *] SAT II: na
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.81
[ *] Weighted GPA:
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 10%
[ *] AP (4,4,4,4,5,4,3,5,don’t know, don’t know): AP Human Geo, AP World History, AP Art History, AP Studio Art, AP US His, AP US Gov, AP Bio, AP English lit, AP Calc BC, AP Euro
[ *] IB (don’t know yet): IB English HL 1 and 2, IB TOK, IB Bio HL 2
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: IB English HL 2, IB Art HL 2, AP Calc BC (which is double blocked), AP Euro, IB Bio HL 2
[ *] Number of other EA applicants in your school: 2
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):[/list] [ b]Subjective:[ list] nope haha
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): General art participation stuff (downtown gallery showings, completing HL Art independently), jv softball team manager, officer of Art History club, officer of Environmental Club, web designer for Venture Crew (trooping organization)… that sort of stuff
[ *] Job/Work Experience: na
[ *] Volunteer/Community service:[/list] [ b]Writing (Write a brief description and Rate Quality on 1-10 Scale; 10 as Best):**[ list] environmental volunteering (7, basically organizing tree planting events during the spring), volunteering regularly with the homeless (8, soup kitchens, clothing, organizing school activities)…
[ *] Essays (Include Subjects):[ list]
[ *] Common App Main: Favorite environment
[ *] EC Short Answer: Environmental Club
[ *] Extended essay(which topic):
[ *] Optional Essay: Why are odd numbers so odd? I think this was the BEST essay I wrote for any college, hands down.

[ *] Why Chicago: Meeting regularly with school officials, interview, regular campus visits, speaking with professors; I have experience with the school, I know some of the faculty, and I think that UChicago’s education system really resonates with my own needs as a student to grow and learn
[ *] Other:[/list][ *] Teacher Recommendation #1: rec from bio teacher
[ *] Teacher Recommendation #2: rec from art history teacher
[ *] Counselor Rec: nope
[ *] Additional Rec: rec from art teacher
[ ] Interview: Went well
[ ] Art Supplement:[/list] [ b]Other[ list] Yes.
[ *] Date Submitted App: 12/30/15
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): Utah
[ *] Country (if international applicant): US
[ *] School Type: Public
[ *] Ethnicity: White
[ *] Gender: Female
[ ] Income Bracket: Lower middle class (?)
[ ] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):[/list] [ b]Reflection[ list]
[ *] Strengths: Definitely my essays and ECs.
[ *] Weaknesses: My test scores…
[ ] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I think I was waitlisted because of my test scores, partially. I also think it was because I had a grade dip in junior year (from 3.9 to 3.7ish, hence the 3.8 gpa…)
[ ] What would you have done differently?:[/list][/list][ b]Other Factors: I would definitely add more rigor to my course load. I would have completed all the required grad stuff online or during 9th grade. I don’t know if that’s what got me waitlisted, but, I would’ve liked a few harder classes anyways.
[ b]General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations, etc: Wow, I totally expected to be rejected so this is almost happy news. It’s still a disappointment though, because I would have loved to go. Oh well, more waiting, I guess… and congratulations to anyone whose been accepted! **

[NWIStudent]

Decision: Waitlisted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2310 (800 M, 800 CR, 710 W) Single sitting
ACT (breakdown): 36 M, 36 E, 35 S, 31 R
ACT superscore: 35
SAT II: Math II (800), Physics (800), Chem (790)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.00
Weighted GPA: 4.76
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 1%, presumably #1 in rank
AP: Calc BC (5), Chemistry (5), US History (5),
Senior Year Course Load: AP Stats/Bio/Compsci/Econ/Gov/Lang/Spanish + Speech/Health second semester
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): 3-time AIME qualifier, won state science olympiad and JETS competitions, not that big but still decent

Subjective:
Extracurriculars: Debate, Science Olympiad, Cross Country, Academic Superbowl, JETS
Job/Work Experience: Worked for my dad’s business, tutoring
Volunteer/Community service: Teen Court, Project X, a few other things
Common App Main: Talked about failure of not making science olympiad team
Optional Essay: Odd Numbers Essay and Why Chicago Essay were both pretty good
Teacher Recommendations: They were both pretty good I think
Counselor Rec:
Additional Rec:
Interview: Didn’t have the opportunity to do one

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Couldn’t live without it!
Intended Major: Biochemistry/ Environmental Biology (possibly pre-med track)
State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant):
Ethnicity: White
School Type: Public
Gender: Male
Income Bracket:medium
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Strengths: Essay, recs, test scores, GPA
What you tried to focus on in your application - odd numbers essay
Weaknesses: Lack of geographic diversity (live ~20 miles from Chicago)
Where else were you accepted: Stanford EA, IU, Purdue, WUSTL
The most unique thing in your application: Who knows?
What would you have done differently?: Not much really. Maybe better extracurriculars?
General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations, etc: Congrats everyone who was accepted! I’m happy w/ Stanford EA and am

[gs2498]

[ size=+2][ color=green][ b]Decision: Accepted**[/color][/size]

[ b]Objective:**[ list]
[ *] SAT I (breakdown): 2190 (didn’t send)
[ *] SAT I superscore (breakdown): still a 2190…
[ *] ACT (breakdown): 36 (35 E, the rest were 36)
[ *] ACT superscore (breakdown): 36 one sitting
[ *] SAT II: didn’t send
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[ *] Weighted GPA: 4.64
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2/355
[ *] AP (place score in parentheses): mostly 5s, a couple 4s, one 3 in a class I DESPISED (I’m looking at you APUSH)
[ *] IB (place score in parentheses): school doesn’t offer
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: DE Computer Science (Python), Senior Technology Lab(3-D Printing, Robotics, Science Photography, etc.), Connections in Mathematics (number theory course), AP English Literature, AP Comparative Government, AP US Government, AP Computer Science (Java), and AP Environmental Science
[ *] Number of other EA applicants in your school: 0?
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Finalist, A couple state awards at science and history fairs, abstract accepted to national conference (one of only two high school students at the conference), major regional awards for speech, national district award for Key Club…a couple meaningful school awards (not really major, but they were important to me) [/list]

[ b]Subjective:[ list]
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Scholastic Bowl (Varsity Captain+multiple varsity letters: apparently it counts as a sport, we had to get physicals!), Forensics (team mentor in Extemporaneous Speaking), Key Club (secretary), Symphony Orchestra (Assistant Principal Cellist), Math Honor Society (lead scorer if that’s a thing, we don’t have leadership positions), Aerospace Scholars (Legislative Outreach and 3-D modeling team head), National Honor Society, Gay-Straight Alliance, Anime Club (WOOT!), Mercy Care Council (working to fund raise for our sister school in Kenya), Archery (self-taught), Kickboxing and Taekwondo
[ *] Job/Work Experience: worked as an at a local engineering firm designing an economic water purification system for mitigating the cholera epidemic in Haiti, worked as a material science intern at NASA over the summer (cool stuff!)
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: Astronomy Research mentoring for research students at my school, tutoring Adv/AP Physics, math tutoring program math for struggling/at-risk elementary schoolers, cello performance for charity events, public library circulation assistant, most service projects I do are one-time things rather than one long-term thing, in total I probably have amassed around 400-500 hours [/list]
[ b]Writing (Write a brief description and Rate Quality on 1-10 Scale; 10 as Best):[ list]
[ *] Essays (Include Subjects):[ list]
[ *] Common App Main: 7-8/10 I wrote it about growing up as mixed in a community where my culture(s) was/were not represented. I liked it and thought it was well written, but the topic (I think) is fairly common
[ *] EC Short Answer: what? I have no idea what this is…
[ *] Extended essay(which topic): 9-10/10 Odd numbers, I wrote about how we have not yet discovered any odd perfect numbers, but that, if one should exist, we already know it must have certain properties. I used this as an analogy to finding my perfect career and what I expect to get out of it. I was brutally(hopefully, hilariously at times) honest.
[ *] Optional Essay: 8/10, I wrote three or four little paragraphs about my favorite book, anime, news sources (hello the Onion!), etc. Very lighthearted writing, I had fun with it
[ *] Why Chicago: 10/10 no gimmicks in this one, it was straightforward and heartfelt, I talked about how I perceive learning and the differences between knowing something and understanding it, about how the UChicago community fosters a certain type of thinking style, etc.
[ *] Other:[/list][ *] Teacher Recommendation #1: 8-9/10 (a guess, I didn’t see either) my AP Language teacher and Forensics Coach, very good writer and raves about me, probably addressed my growth as a writer and speaker which rounded out my application well (most other stuff was STEM-y)
[ *] Teacher Recommendation #2: 9/10 (again, a guess) my Multivariable Calc teacher, loved me, and I won the highest award for his course as a junior (1st junior to win in the history of the school)
[ *] Counselor Rec: 7-8/10, she loves me, but writing isn’t her forte
[ *] Additional Rec: nada
[ ] Interview: Okay, maybe good? I didn’t get a good read on her and it lasted around 45 minutes. I think she was impressed by my answers to her unconventional questions…not really my strong suit
[ ] Art Supplement: none[/list]
[ b]Other[ list]
[ *] Date Submitted App: 1/5/15 aw yeah…I wrote all of the essays in the last couple of days before the deadline ad then power-edited…no sleep was to be had those few days
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): VA
[ *] Country (if international applicant): n/a
[ *] School Type: Run of the mill public and magnet in the morning
[ *] Ethnicity: Mixed (White, Hispanic, Asian)
[ *] Gender: Female
[ ] Income Bracket: VERY confusing family situation, anywhere from low-middle to medium high-middle depending on how the college asks it to be reported
[ ] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): …Southern VA student (they don’t get a lot that aren’t NoVA kids…), Hispanic?[/list]
[ b]Reflection[ list]
[ ] Strengths: UCHICAGO ESSAYS (I honestly think that is what got me in), ACT, maybe some of the extracurricular things?
[ ] Weaknesses: no long term community service, awards are meh at best in this pool, same with extracurriculars honestly, common app essay
[ ] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: HOLY FRAK I STILL AM IN SHOCK THAT I GOT IN! Everyone in this pool is so talented and impressive. I was stress reading the EA thread for months and in awe at the variety and strength of applicants there, and I still am wondering in the back of my mind if my admission was a fluke. Honestly though, it was the essays. It had to have been.
[ ] What would you have done differently?: see weaknesses, I wish I had gotten started on my extracurriculars in 9th grade so that I had more leadership, NOT PROCRASTINATED SO MUCH (I procrastinated like crazy in first semester and ended up in this terrible pit of stress where I had 25 essays to write in 15 days at the end of December 0/100 do not recommend) [/list][/list]
[ b]Other Factors:
[ b]General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations, etc: Hello! If you are reading this then you are probably either someone who has recently received a decision or is going to apply in the future and this is what I leave you with: If you are here, then you are impressive and intelligent regardless of your admissions status. That is all. Happy Super PI day everyone

[AidanJM]

[ size=+2][ color=green][ b]Decision: Deferred and then ACCEPTED**[/color][/size]

[ b]Objective:[ list]
[ *] SAT I (breakdown): 2380 (800 CR, 790 M 790 W)
[ *] SAT I superscore (breakdown): Only took the SAT once, sent that.
[ *] ACT (breakdown): Didn’t take.
[ *] ACT superscore (breakdown): See above.
[ *] SAT II: 790 Math II, 770 Literature
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.92
[ *] Weighted GPA: 4.66
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Doesn’t rank.
[ *] AP (place score in parentheses): Didn’t send.
[ *] IB (place score in parentheses): Didn’t send.
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: IB Math HL (Took AP Calculus BC last year), IB History HL, IB English HL, IB Physics HL, AP Econ, AP Comp. Gov., and Honors Philosophy.
[ *] Number of other RD applicants in your school: 25
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):[/list] [ b]Subjective:[ list] NONE.
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses):
Captain of Debate team, Founder/Leader of Stock Club (education/competition in investment on stock market), some other things.
[ *] Job/Work Experience: NONE. I HAVE NEVER WORKED A DAY IN MY LIFE AND I LOVE IT.
[ *] Volunteer/Community service:[/list]

Lots of work with Deaf/Hard of Hearing kids over the last three years. I myself am completely deaf in my left ear, and severely hard-of-hearing on my right.

[ b]Writing (Write a brief description and Rate Quality on 1-10 Scale; 10 as Best):**[ list]
[ *] Essays (Include Subjects):[ list]

[ *] Common App Main: 10/10 wrote about how being deaf/hard-of-hearing helped me work harder than my peers and develop my interests in mathematics and physics.

[ *] EC Short Answer: lol what is this

[ *] Extended essay(which topic):
Chose the one about Jeppe Hein’s “Why are you here?” Sign. 10/10

I was so incredibly quirky in it that I actually can’t even read it now without cringing.

[ *] Optional Essay:

0/10
I messed up on this one. I interpreted it wrong and just made a bulleted list of things I liked. A lot of Science Fiction books and Harrison Ford movies. I love Harrison Ford.

[ *] Why Chicago:

10/10
I have a lot of friends there, and last year helped them during Scav Weekend! (Woodward House rules.) I wrote about how that was an incredible experience for me and really helped me understand where I wanted to end up. Every single word of it was heartfelt and completely true.

[ *] Other:[/list][ *] Teacher Recommendation #1:
Math Teacher I’ve had for 2 years, and still have. He is an absolutely brilliant person, and considers me as one of his best students. He’s actually going to Georgetown University this summer to teach classes!
10/10
[ *] Teacher Recommendation #2:
Psychology Teacher from last year. I chose him because I was the best student in his class, and he really appreciated the discussions I brought to the classroom. Plus, he knew a lot about my disability, and I knew he’d make sure in his recommendation that the admissions committee understood how great I was.
10/10
[ *] Counselor Rec:
Never talked to the counselor in my life.
5/10
[ *] Additional Rec:
None.
[ ] Interview: DID NOT INTERVIEW!
[ ] Art Supplement:[/list] [ b]Other[ list] NOTHING.
[ *] Date Submitted App: October 15th. Got it done early!
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): MD
[ *] Country (if international applicant): United States of America
[ *] School Type: Public
[ *] Ethnicity: White
[ *] Gender: Male
[ ] Income Bracket: >200k
[ ] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):[/list]
Disability? Not much else.
[ b]Reflection[ list]
[ *] Strengths: Disabled, good essays and recommendations, stellar SAT score. Also, I go to a school where most students think they’ll be successful just because their parents were, so of the 25 kids that applied to the University of Chicago, I’d say no more than 5-6 actually had a chance.
[ *] Weaknesses:
Didn’t Interview
Didn’t submit a decent Optional Essay
Didn’t contact the University after I sent in my application
Didn’t send any IB/AP Scores
Didn’t have any major EC’s or awards
Didn’t have any job experience
Only submitted two SAT II’s
Low-ish GPA for a hook-less white male.

[ *] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:

Somebody messed up and put my application in the wrong pile, and I couldn’t be happier.

[Jellybae]

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2100+
[] SAT I superscore (breakdown): 2150, CR<700, M> 700, W=700
[] ACT (breakdown): didn’t send
[] ACT superscore (breakdown):
[] SAT II: didn’t send
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): on CB’s scale, it’s a 3.99
[] Weighted GPA: 4.3
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 2% of ~600 kids
[] AP (place score in parentheses): 5s in 2 APs
[] IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: 7 APs, one elective
[] Number of other applicants in your school: more than 3 for sure
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): nothing big. Just national ap scholar, a few school and journalism uil awards[/ul] [/li]
Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Newspaper, Beta club, Mu Alpha Theta, NHS, other honors societies, other service clubs (left out leadership for privacy)
[] Job/Work Experience: At local university, I have been observing and aiding students and professors with their diabetes research for 4 years
[li] Volunteer/Community service: tutor kids in sciences/math, volunteer at local hospital (really selective), lots of school and communal service through beta club (over 100 hours) [/ul] [/li]
Writing (Write a brief description and Rate Quality on 1-10 Scale; 10 as Best):[ul]
[] Essays (Include Subjects):[list]
[li] Common App Main: 10/10. Did the challenge prompt and wrote about standing up to my mom about wearing my natural hair. It was really personal and moved everyone I let read it. I was really proud of it[/li][] EC Short Answer: i dont think this was an essay
[] Extended essay(which topic): 8/10 I answered the why am I here prompt. I managed to write it a few hours before the deadline. It was still good, but could have been more creative. I talked about my several "here"s (I’ve moved around from country to country and from city to city my whole life), how they soon became my "there"s and how they make me actively seek out and enjoy whatever “here” I’m in presently.
[] Optional Essay: 9/10 Instead of an essay, I did a short answer-like thing and used a paragraph to share two of my favorite books, another to talk about my favorite author, and two paragraphs for my favorite song and favorite artists. It really conveyed my overly-excited-all-the-time personality. I was a bit too excited when I was writing it though because I had two or three glaring typos.
[] Why Chicago: 10/10 I had soo much fun with this essay lol. I talked about how one of my favorite classes was the oddball in my class schedule and how it reminded me of uchicago. This is arguably my most challenging class, we have all sorts of traditions and everyone’s really passionate, hilarious and diverse so I drew many parallels between it and uchicago. I basically said I didn’t want to be limited to this experience during one class period a day, and wanted to have it all the time, which uchicago could give me. I loved writing it because it made me realize why I actually loved uchicago
[] Other:[/ul]
[] Teacher Recommendation #1: 9/10 The greatest Physics teacher in the world. Did not read, but I’m assuming it was good because I got in and because he said he’d make sure it wasn’t generic
[] Teacher Recommendation #2: 9/10 History teacher. I did read and it was great
[] Counselor Rec: 11/10 It was absolutely amazing. She knew more about me than I knew about me lol
[] Additional Rec: nope
[] Interview: Awful. It was a phone interview and my first interview ever. It was awkward, I stumbled a lot and I think I even offended the guy. After that interview I completely gave up on uchicago, but thankfully, it didn’t carry much weight
[] Art Supplement:nope [/list]

Other[ul]
[] Date Submitted App: 1/5/15, like 3 hours before the deadline too lol. I procrastinated a lot
[] State (if domestic applicant): TX
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Really large public
[] Ethnicity: Black (lots of black heritages)
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket: 60-75k
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM[/ul]

Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: test scores, transcript, essays, recommendations, ECs, skipped a grade or two
[] Weaknesses: ECs. My ECs are service/academic related and pretty standard. My service is great, but I didn’t really get to dive in academically with competitions or pursue my passions in gymnastics and music because I had no knowledge of them/ or how to pursue them since my family was new to America and I didn’t figure everything out until this year-- when its too late. Kinda depressing
[] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: My stats were good, like thousands of other applicants, but my essays really defined me. I answered them genuinely, and had fun with the uncommon app. They probably really liked my essays, and after that, it depended on if the whole committee liked me enough to accept me. I guess they did
[] What would you have done differently?: Find CC and tumblr my freshman year. These websites really helped me understand how high school and college worked since my parents were clueless. Also, like I said before, I’d also pursue my passions freshman year too [/ul]
Other Factors:

General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations, etc: The interview truly does not have that much weight. After I bombed this one, I thought it’d be over, but it wasn’t. Focus on making yourself personable. Colleges already have your stats. Don’t let your essays simply rehash them. Make sure your app really showcases who you are as a person and what makes you, you. And if you still get rejected after that, know that the school wasn’t meant for you and that you deserve better. To those accepted, congrats! To those waitlisted, hang on but also explore your options. To those rejected, it’s ok to be hurt and vent, but know that a year from now, when you’re at the place you were meant to be, you won’t even give UChicago a second thought

I kept this entry kind of vague for privacy reasons but if anyone wants more details, just pm me

[MaggiMee]

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2280, 750CR, 800M, 730W
ACT (breakdown): N/A
ACT superscore (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: 800Math II, 770 Physics
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): N/A
Weighted GPA: N/A
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A (School does not rank)
AP (place score in parentheses): N/A
IB Diploma - 45 PREDICT (7 HL Math, 7 HL Physics, 7 HL Economics, 7 SL Chem, 7 SL English Lit, 7 SL Spanish B ab initio) TOK predict- A, Extended Essay Econ Predict - A
Senior Year Course Load: HL Math, HL Physics, HL Economics, SL Chem, SL English Lit, SL Spanish B ab initio, Theory of Knowledge, Extended Essay (Economics)
Number of other RD applicants in your school: 3
Major Awards: 4 years UK Math Olympiad Gold Medallist

Subjective
Extracurriculars: Swimming (Former Malaysian champion and current school record holder, varsity),Water Polo (Varsity Captain, Malaysian state player), School Economic Society (Head/President) Senior School Prefect, Violin (former orchestra member, grade 8 when I was 12, current leisure player), Boarding House Chairman.
Job/Work Experience: Summer Internship at Malaysian Investment Bank, 2 weeks
Volunteer/Community service:[/list] Project with Myanmar refugee children in Malaysia, 6 years running, used to be tied with my old school but I continue it independently whenever I go back to Malaysia during the holidays

Writing
Common App Main: Swimming- Even though I never became world-class, I wrote about how it shaped me into the person I was and affected my other endeavours. 9/10
Extended essay: Groups of 3- wrote about the 3 racial groups in Malaysia in forming a unique cultural identity and complemented my international education. 8or9/10
Optional Essay: Didn’t do it as an essay, simply listed favourite books and movies, as well as favourite economists and areas of theory since I declared heavily favoured towards Econ concentration.
Why Chicago: Not bad, nothing too quirky, but I did it UCAS (UK app) style with plenty of uni-specific stuff and focused mostly on its amazing Econ program and why I felt it was compatible with me 7or8/10

Other
Teacher Recommendation #1: My Econ teacher - ran the society with me, talked about how I was far more talented than most of the other students and achieved a great balance by leading discussions without shutting out other people. Didn’t read
Teacher Recommendation #2: My Physics teacher - no idea what she wrote, probably about my confidence and grit. She and I get along extremely well, where we crack jokes to the point that its almost unprofessional ‘banter’ on her part. Didn’t read
Counselor Rec: I read it and it was fantastic. 'Nuff Said
Additional Rec: Teacher from my old school - watched me develop and mature from a restless 12 year old to a driven 16 year old. Didn’t read
Interview: Didn’t interview
Art Supplement: N/A

Other
Date Submitted App: 2 days before deadline
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): United Kingdom, England, but Malaysian citizen
School Type: Private, Boarding
Ethnicity: Oriental Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 200,000+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none in particular, relied on holistic achievement and strong personality

Reflection
Strengths: Academic and holistic extra curricular strength (music, service and sport). Very vibrant personality- confident, driven, ambitious and witty
Weaknesses: lack of truly outstanding hook, Most of my greatest EC achievements were ‘back in the day’, which is why I felt the need to elaborate and write most of my essays on them.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Malaysian (idk I’m guessing/hoping thats rare) Academic strength and showed flair and knowledge of Economics. I wrote about different theories and how captivated I was by them and basically said- I’m here for your legendary Economics program, nothing else matters.
What would you have done differently?: Write shorter essays. I didn’t see the small print in the Common App about word limits on the essays so instead I went a little haywire and wrote about 1 and a half pages per essay. I also didn’t interview.
General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations, etc: To be honest, this came as a rather huge and pleasant surprise. I thought their decision date was March 31st and so when I found out it was yesterday I ended up checking the portal over dinner with my mates on one of their phones. When I realised that I didn’t schedule an interview and went over the word limits by almost 50%, I thought I had done myself in and screwed the pooch. But, I guess I got lucky

Cheers and congrats to everyone else who got in, and best of luck to those waitlisted or awaiting other college decisions.

[suspiciouscloud]

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I:2370 (800R 790M 780W 8E)
[] ACT:36
[] SAT II: Lit 800, Bio 790, Math I 770
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): no ranking
[] AP scores: US History 5, Lang 5, French 5, AB Calc 5, Microeconomics 5
[] IB scores: n/a
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Bio, Hon World Lit, AP Stats, Multivariable Calc (graded as AP), Hon Art I, Hon French Independent Study, Modern Dance (PE)
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NMF, Presidential Volunteer Service Award Bronze
[] Essays (Include Subjects):[ list]
[] Extracurriculars: Science Olympiad team founder/competitor, Academic Decathlon captain 9th-11th grade, 7 years of ballet, NHS, FHS, Mu Alpha Theta, 3D fabrication training program, Knitting Club founder/president, writing for HS lit mag
[] Job/Work Experience: Assistant in cancer research lab at high-ranked university (comparable to WUSTL), 9th-10th grade
[] Volunteer/Community service: over 150 hrs as educational volunteer at nationally-known science museum, assorted NHS service projects
[] Common App Main: 8/10, funny essay about my love of school as a “tragic condition”
[] EC Short Answer: field museum volunteering
[] Extended essay(which topic): “Why are you here and not somewhere else?” about the Chagall windows at the Art Institute/religious and personal connections; I honestly can’t rank it bc while it was probably a decent essay I completely hated it by the time I was done w it
[] Optional Essay: tbh I don’t remember my other essays anymore
[] Why Chicago:
[] Other:
[] Teacher Recommendation #1: 10/10, glowing, from a teacher I’ve had for two dramatically different subjects who totally loves me
[] Teacher Recommendation #2: 8/10, from teacher in my intended field, generally good
[] Counselor Rec: 8/10, extremely positive but not intensely personal
[] Additional Rec: 9/10 from scienctist whose lab I worked in
[] Interview: none
[] Art Supplement: none[/ul]
Other[ul]
[] Date Submitted App: 01/02/15
[] State (if domestic applicant): Illinois
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: selective enrollment public, #1 in state
[] Ethnicity: white
[] Gender: F
[] Income Bracket: middle
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none
[/ul] Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: grades, test scores, rec letter
[] Weaknesses: no national awards or competitions, no big research work
[] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: grades/test scores/wide range of interests and extracurriculars/quirky common app essay
[li] What would you have done differently?:I guess nothing![/li][/ul]Other Factors:
General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations, etc: My dream school for years! I am in shock! They are giving me enough financial aid that I will actually be able to go there! I think my head is about to explode!

[dreamingbig48]

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 710-800-740
ACT (breakdown): 36-33-36-36
SAT II: math 2 780 bio 710
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): N/A
Weighted GPA: 4.59
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parentheses): Calc AB (5), English Lan (5), French (5) Bio (4) Euro (4)
Senior Year Course Load: Calc BC, AP Psych, AP Physics C, AP Lit, Electives
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): N/A

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): speech (captain), lots of community service
Job/Work Experience: tutoring
Volunteer/Community service: A lot of distinct community service; won’t go into it for privacy

Writing (Write a brief description and Rate Quality on 1-10 Scale; 10 as Best):

Essays
Common App Main: it was very very personal
EC Short Answer: Was there a short answer EC question? I don’t even remember doing this.
Extended essay(which topic): So. many. math. puns. I wrote about the odd number prompt, and I used a lot of play on words to basically say that being odd was normal, and oddness should be embraced, etc etc.
Optional Essay: I loved writing this essay. I talked about a couple of things I liked, and just really had fun with it.
Why Chicago: It was alright. It showed that I understood UChicago.
Other: I don’t know how to evaluate my own writing…

Teacher Recommendations: I didn’t see any of my recs. I think they were decent.
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: Didn’t interview

Art Supplement: N/A

Other
Date Submitted App: 12/30
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: private
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: F
Income Bracket: -

Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): N/A

Reflection
Strengths: essays
Weaknesses: not much demonstrated interest. I thought I was pretty average in e.c. and test scores and stuff.
Why you think you were accepted: I have no clue. I really wasn’t expecting an acceptance, and I am still in shock. Because I wasn’t expecting anything, I really just had fun with my essays and they were true to who I was; being more open in my essays worked in my favor I guess. I am so grateful to have gotten in.
What would you have done differently?:
Other Factors: none
Other colleges accepted/rejected: It was the first school I hear back from!

[rpp216]

Decision: Waitlisted

Objective:[ list]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2050
[] SAT I superscore (breakdown): 620 M (i know i know) 700 CR 730 W
[] ACT (breakdown): didn’t send
[] ACT superscore (breakdown):
[] SAT II: didn’t send
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9/4.0 depending on how uchicago calculates
[] Weighted GPA: N/A
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
[] AP (place score in parentheses): AP Calc AB (my school only has 2 APs: calc ab and art)
[] Senior Year Course Load: all honors classes except for AP Calc, 1 Dual Enrollment (english), 1 College Psych 2 class
[] Number of other EA applicants in your school: at least 1?? not sure
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):[/list] Subjective:[ list] National Hispanic Recognition Scholar

[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): a TON of dance (team captain), photography, debate club, lit magazine (editor), newspaper, volunteer club at school
[] Job/Work Experience: internship at radio station
[] Volunteer/Community service:[/list] Writing not TOO much but a fair amount:[ul]
[] Essays (Include Subjects):[list] honestly i thought they were pretty good/creative/uchicago-esque
[] Common App Main: wrote about my love for airplanes lol probably a 7 or 8/10
[] EC Short Answer: eh not sure how that one was maybe a 7 or 8 again
[] Extended essay(which topic): “write your own question” and i wrote about a time i was extremely embarrassed/why it was actually a good thing i’d say 9/10
[] Optional Essay: idk it wasn’t an essay i just made a list
[li] Why Chicago: 8/10 or 9/10 i don’t remember what i wrote[/li]
[] Other:[/ul][li] Teacher Recommendation #1: no idea but my teacher loves me[/li][] Teacher Recommendation #2: same as the first one
[] Counselor Rec: pretty good/nice but not amazing
[] Additional Rec: AMAZING my dance teacher wrote it and it was seriously beautiful
[] Interview: i thought it went really well and my interviewer and i both had an awesome time
[] Art Supplement:[/list] Other[ul] N/A
[] Date Submitted App: like 20 minutes before it was due
[] State (if domestic applicant): NJ
[] Country (if international applicant): N/A
[] School Type: small magnet
[] Ethnicity: hispanic (white)
[] Gender: female
[] Income Bracket: $200k+
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM
Reflection**[list]
[] Strengths: essays (they definitely appealed to uchicago and i think they demonstrated how much i love the school), transcript
[] Weaknesses: test scores they’re pretty average/mediocre for uchicago
[] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: im so happy i wasn’t rejected because it IS my #1 school but kind of disappointed i was waitlisted
[] What would you have done differently?:[/ul][/list]Other Factors: test scores ha
General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations, etc: just a little fyi for the waitlisters, last year only 15% of applicants were waitlisted so that just proves that we really still are competitive applicants for top schools, but we just didn’t quite make the cut for uchicago! good luck to everyone regardless of your uchicago decision

[alissaanne23]

Decision: Waitlisted

Objective:[ list]
[] SAT I (breakdown): N/A
[] SAT I superscore (breakdown): N/A
[] ACT (breakdown): Composite-34, English-35, Math-30, Science-34, Reading-35, Writing-8
[] ACT superscore (breakdown): only taken once
[] SAT II: didn’t send (regretting it…)
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Weighted GPA: N/A
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 10%
[] AP (place score in parentheses): World History (3), US History (4), Literature (4), Chemistry (5), Psychology (5)
[] IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc AB, AP US Gov, AP Bio, AP Environmental, Latin, Media Literacy, Basic Theater, Phys Ed
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Honor Society, National Spanish Honor Society, AP Scholar, Girls State citizen[/list]
Subjective:[ list]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): yearbook 2 yrs (editor), Odyssey of the Mind 9 yrs, Key Club 2 yrs, language studies 3 yrs-Spanish, Latin, Korean, and Japanese
[] Job/Work Experience: server at a nursing home 2 yrs
[] Volunteer/Community service: tutoring through NHS and on my own[/list]
Writing (Write a brief description and Rate Quality on 1-10 Scale; 10 as Best):[ul]
[] Essays (Include Subjects):[list]
[] Common App Main: written about my experience with Odyssey of the Mind from 4th grade to 12th grade, about going to World Finals in 7th grade and meeting people from all over the world, about the importance of creativity, etc.; I’d give it a 7 or 8 out of 10
[] EC Short Answer:
[] Extended essay(which topic): pH question: I called myself a 7 and proceeded to refute the claims that being neutral is a bad thing (I explain how I really enjoy science and math but also love English and writing, stuff like that, and give examples of dichotomies that need each other to exist such as yin & yang and honne & tatemae); I’d give it maybe a, 8 or 9 out of 10
[] Optional Essay:
[] Why Chicago: desire to learn everything, the resources, etc; not a very creative response but detailed and decently written; 6.5/10
[] Other:[/ul]
[] Teacher Recommendation #1: my chemistry teacher of 2 years, very strong
[] Teacher Recommendation #2: my Latin teacher, decent
[] Counselor Rec: very strong (my counselor and I are very close and she thinks very highly of me)
[] Additional Rec: my English teacher from 9th grade and current yearbook club advisor, strong
[] Interview: didn’t request because I didn’t get my online activation code until it was too late to request them
[] Art Supplement: N/A[/list]
Other[ list]
[] Date Submitted App: 1/15
[] State (if domestic applicant): NY
[] School Type: public, ranked 153rd in NY
[] Ethnicity: white
[] Gender: female
[] Income Bracket: ~75k
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none[/list]
Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: essays, recommendations
[] Weaknesses: no interview, math score on ACT
[] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: low math score, just simply being on the edge of being one of those Ivy-League-worthy kids
[li] What would you have done differently?: I really wish I had emailed the admissions counselor and tried to get an interview, and I wish I had submitted my SAT II scores. My math 2 score would’ve made up for my lower math ACT score[/ul][/list]Other Factors:[/li]General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations, etc: No complaints! I was honestly expecting to just be rejected, so this I better than I thought. I’m not expecting to get accepted from the waiting list, but it gives me a little hope for the other schools I applied to!

[Brodiem]

Decision: Decision: Waitlisted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2020 - 760 CR 560 M 700 W
ACT - Didn’t send
SAT II: 720 US History 720 English Literature
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.95
Weighted GPA: School doesn’t weight
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): No ranking system at school, although I am probably first in my class
AP: AP Psychology (5)
Senior Year Course Load: AP US History, AP Biology, Precalculus, AP English Language, Theory of Knowledge (IB), Woodcarving
Number of other RD applicants in your school: Don’t think there were any
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nope

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses):
-Swim team.

• Arabic immersion, studied a little Chinese.
• Worked at the state capital as an assistant to one of the senators
  -JSA Summer school
  -Managed my own investment fund

Job/Work Experience: Worked during the summer for NOAA and the BLM, doing interesting field research and learning mapping software. Also, worked at the office of my local chamber of commerce. Interned at a law firm focusing on environmental litigation.

Volunteer/Community service: I worked on the campaign for a local politician.

Common App Main: Definitely very good. I wrote about my experience spending a year travelling to 40+ countries, and the lessons I learned about myself during this experience.
EC Short Answer: Don’t remember
Extended essay(which topic): Chose question about writing an essay about an untranslatable word.
Optional Essay: Wrote about all the wacky tastes in music, dance and my compulsive habit of watching foreign language movies that I never get and my experience of having read 9 different religious texts
Why Chicago: Honestly, I pretty much copy and pasted the essay I wrote for another school, and made some modifications to address specific strengths about UChicago.
Other:
Teacher Recommendations: Very good. I go to a small school, so my teachers all know me very well.
Counselor Rec: Very good, I think.
Additional Rec:
Interview: Was not invited to one.
Art Supplement: None

Other
State (if domestic applicant): WA
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None that I can think of.
What would you have done differently?: Wrote more about what I’d do at Chicago rather than making that essay really literary.
General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations, etc: This was the first school I heard from, so I’m not sure how to interpret my wait list status. I am a little disappointed I didn’t get accepted, but I would be pretty rattled if I got a rejection. Be interested to see what anyone else thinks of my situation.

[andrewluckcolts]

Decision: Waitlisted

Major: Economics

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2310 - 760CR / 770M / 780W

SAT II: 800 Math II 700 Chemistry

Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.65 (extremely difficult and competitive school; top 20 in California)

Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): does not rank

AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 Chemistry; 4 Psychology; 4 US History

Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus AB; Honors Physics; AP Literature; AP Spanish; AP Government

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): CSF; AP Scholar

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Tennis (Captain); Football; FBLA; Green Club; Computer Science Club (Publicity)

Job/Work Experience: Sheraton Gateway Los Angeles Hotel; Mellow World Designer Bags

Volunteer/Community service: The Huntington Library & Botanical Gardens; Crowell Public Library

Essays: Common App (10/10); CAS (10/10); CALS (10/10)

Teacher Recommendation: APUSH (10/10); English (9/10); I am the favorite student of both teachers

Counselor Rec: idk 7/10

Additional Rec: very influential Cornell alumni who mentored me for my entire life (10/10); employer (9/10)

Interview: very cordial and jovial for about 90 minutes

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: no

Intended Major: Economics

State (if domestic applicant): California

School Type: Small Public; top 20 in state; highly competitive

Ethnicity: Asian (born in China)

Gender: Male

Income Bracket: $200,000+

Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): idk none

Reflection:

Strengths: essays, SAT’s, and recommendations

What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: my intellectual curiosity

Weaknesses: GPA and AP’s (very difficult school with limited options and class enrollment)

Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: West Coast / Asian / GPA / Counselor Rec / EC’s

Other factors - the most unique thing in your application: I have had to adapt and live in several different places under several different circumstances; across 3 different continents with either or both parents;

[Sup3rm4n]

Decision: Waitlisted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2300 (790 CR, 790 W, 720 M)
[] ACT (breakdown): 34
[] SAT II: 800 Biology M, 790 Math II
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0/4/0
[] Weighted GPA: 4.71/4.00
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 10th, no ranking
[] AP (place score in parentheses): World (5), Bio (5), Chem (5), Euro (5), Psych (5), Stat (5), Lang (5), Lit (5), AB Calc (5), Latin (4)
[] Senior Year Course Load: Orgo 1 & 2 (Dual Enrollment), Diff Eq (Dual Enrollment), Calc 3 (Dual Enrollment), AP Gov, AP Macroeconomic, AP US History, Acting
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Student Body President, Math tutor at local company, paid staff of election campaign, cross country, track, hospital volunteering
Writing (Write a brief description and Rate Quality on 1-10 Scale; 10 as Best):[list]
[] Essays (Include Subjects):[list]
[] Common App Main: 8/10
[] EC Short Answer: 8/10
[] Extended essay(which topic): own topic, 9/10
[] Why Chicago: 5/10 (honestly kind of dropped the ball on this one, pretty generic copy and paste stuff)
[] Other:[/ul]
[li] Teacher Recommendation #1: 10[/li][] Teacher Recommendation #2: 10
[] Counselor Rec: 10
[] Interview: 10
[] Date Submitted App: 01/05/15
[] State (if domestic applicant): FL
[] School Type: small, private
[] Ethnicity: Pakistani
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: Super high
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none?
[/list] Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Decent test scores, extracurriculars were good, my interview was really really good, but I don’t think they really even take them into account
[] Weaknesses: essays could have been a little better, maybe I could have submitted it before the deadline date haha
[] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Cause UChicago is a hard school to get into!
[li] What would you have done differently?:[/ul][/list]Other Factors: not really sure[/li]General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations, etc:
Congratulations to those accepted! Chin up to those who were waitlisted or denied, we’ll figure it out!

[adalayde]

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): Didn’t submit
[] ACT (breakdown): 33 (E 34, M 28, R 36, S 36, Essay 10) single sitting.
[] SAT II: N/A
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Weighted GPA: 4.32
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1
[] AP (place score in parentheses): Euro and English Lang (5), US History and Enviro Sci (4), currently taking US Gov and English Lit
[] IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: Semester 1- AP US Gov, AP English Lit, Econ, Multimedia Production, and Soc110 at community college. Semester 2 (all community college classes)- French 101, Gender Studies, and History of Racism + Sexism
[] Number of other RD applicants in your school: Lol, none.
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Uhhh National Merit Commended I guess.[/ul] [/li]
Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): GSA 1yr (Co-founder + prez), ASB 2yrs (Prom Committee Head), Yearbook 2 yrs (Copy editor, Section Editor), Upward Bound 4 yrs, Filipino Club 1yr
[] Job/Work Experience: One paid blogging and graphic design internship.
[li] Volunteer/Community service: An unpaid internship with the Uni of San Diego, work with disabled students in Circle of Friends, a ton of beach cleanups, uhhh I’m sure I’m missing stuff but I’m too lazy to check[/ul] [/li]
Writing (Write a brief description and Rate Quality on 1-10 Scale; 10 as Best):[ul]
[] Essays (Include Subjects):[list]
[li] Common App Main: It was about trying to change gender segregating/ trans-exclusive policies at my school. I’d say a solid 8.[/li][] EC Short Answer: ??
[] Extended essay(which topic): I wrote my own prompt. It was about puns. I posted it in the post your essay thread. I thought it was pretty decent. 7.
[] Optional Essay: A bulleted list. Also posted in the thread. It wasn’t even an essay but I felt like it was the most “me” of them all.
[li] Why Chicago: Not so hot. 4 or 5.[/li]
[] Other:[/ul][li] Teacher Recommendation #1: English teacher. I read it and it was really good.[/li][] Teacher Recommendation #2: Previous history teacher, now the vice principal. Didn’t read it, but he likes me.
[] Counselor Rec: Not a clue. She likes me a lot, though.
[] Additional Rec: N/A
[] Interview: N/A
Other[ul]
[] Date Submitted App: Haha, literally five minutes before midnight on Jan 5th.
[] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: mid-sized public school. Really, really, really un-competitive.
[] Ethnicity: Filipino and white.
[] Gender: “F” but in add’l comments I ID’d as genderqueer.
[] Income Bracket: 100k-ish.
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Hispanic. (I was hesitant to consider Filipino Hispanic, but digging into my family tree I found out that my grandma is from Spain. Go figure.) [/ul] Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: GPA, a couple of my essays
[] Weaknesses: Why UChicago essay, Senior yr workload, lack of school competitiveness
[] Why you think you were accepted: Maybe I hit all of their diversity checkpoints.
[li] What would you have done differently?: Not started writing my supplement essays at 9 PM the night it was due, haha.[/ul][/list]Other Factors: None, really.[/li]General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations, etc: Really didn’t think I was going to get in. Still kind of waiting on the “Oops, sorry, we made a mistake” letter.

[Kubuniu]

Decision: Waitlisted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1800 (550 CR, 650 M, 600 W)
SAT II: 610 Math 1, 590 WH
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): didn’t rank

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Varsity Basketball Team, Handball Club for 6 years, editor-in-chief of school newspaper, Students’ Council, European Youth Parliament sessions, Law Club, Model European Union, Europeant Parliament of Young (best deputy)

Job/Work Experience: none

Volunteer/Community service:Volunteering in the office of Eurodeputy

Writing:
Essays (Include Subjects):

Common App Main: Essay on how I want to change mentality of people in Poland based on my American experience

EC Short Answer: Don’t remember

Extended essay(which topic): I wrote an essay about an untranslatable word in Polish

Why Chicago: All in all, I just copied and pasted my NYU supplement.

Other:
Teacher Recommendation #1: My geo teacher who knows me well. Beautiful recommendation

Teacher Recommendation #2: My SAT tutor who doesn’t know me that well but has an amazing experience in writing recs

Counselor Rec: Didn’t read

Interview: Didn’t have one

Other
Country (if international applicant): Poland

School Type: Public, one of the top three HS in Poland

Ethnicity: White

Gender: Male

Income Bracket: 70 000 $

Reflection
Strengths: Essay, ECs, Recommendations

Weaknesses: SAT exams (obviously), lack of community service, everything else

Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Honestly, I do not have any idea why I am waitlisted. Maybe my essay was good and lofty? Maybe they lack people from Poland? (but please, that’s Chicago)

General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations, etc: I don’t think I have even small chance of being accepted but since I am still waiting for decision from 10 more colleges, it looks like a good start. For all of you applying next year - take a look at my SAT scores!

[InkMouse]

[ size=+2][ color=green][ b]Decision: Accepted**[/color][/size]

[ b]Objective:[ list]
[ *] SAT I (breakdown): CR670 MA800 WR600
[ *] SAT I superscore (breakdown): CR670 MA800 WR640
[ *] ACT (breakdown): NA
[ *] ACT superscore (breakdown):NA
[ *] SAT II: (Did Not Send) MA2 730 USH690 BIO680
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): ~94 (we used 100-scale my guidance never tole me my)
[ *] Weighted GPA: ~98
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): NA
[ *] AP (place score in parentheses): BIO(4), PHYSICS B(4) USH(5)
[ *] IB (place score in parentheses):
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: AP CHEM, AP MICRO, AP LANG, AP STAT, Advanced Chorus
[ *] Number of other EA applicants in your school: Stanford & UVA (both rejected)
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):[/list] [ b]Subjective:[ list] None
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses):
Model UN, Choir, Student Council and Middle-states Committee, School Musical, Track(Basically very general EC, no major leadership no major projects)
[ *] Job/Work Experience: None
[ *] Volunteer/Community service:[/list] [ b]Writing (Write a brief description and Rate Quality on 1-10 Scale; 10 as Best):**[ list] 7 just general services at local churches)
[ *] Essays (Include Subjects):[ list]
[ *] Common App Main: Why and how I moved from China to America, basically discussing the my interpretation on the difference of two education.
[ *] EC Short Answer:
[ *] Extended essay(which topic):
[ *] Optional Essay: the one about translation. Based on my prior knowledge on linguistics and history of Chinese and China, I discussed how the role of teacher and the emphasis education was involving and changing throughout the history of China, that’s why "teacher"in Chinese should not be translated directly into English.
[ *] Why Chicago:How I liked the core curriculum and the international atmosphere and my experience there over the summer
[ *] Other:[/list][ *] Teacher Recommendation #1: My AP LANG teacher who I know is very responsible and helpful. I think it’s good.
[ *] Teacher Recommendation #2: My AP USH teacher. we used to talk a lot about China and America, and he was also my XCountry coach. I believed his recommendation is really good.
[ *] Counselor Rec: probably very generic
[ *] Additional Rec: I had one of the professor at Chicago writing me a recommendation, really helpful as well.
[ ] Interview: Had an interview with a philosophy major student, was asked some very generic questions.
[ ] Art Supplement:[/list] [ b]Other[ list]
[ *] Date Submitted App: just before ddl
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): NY (as an international student)
[ *] Country (if international applicant): studying in US but Chinese citizen
[ *] School Type: Catholic
[ *] Ethnicity: Asian
[ *] Gender: Male
[ ] Income Bracket:
[ ] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):[/list] [ b]Reflection[ list] Chinese background and my anger toward Chinese education
[ ] Strengths: I believe my essay are the deciding factors. They all build up my love for history and my unique understanding on education as well as my passion for seeking more.
[ ] Weaknesses: no major awards and leadership
[ ] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I think I am way too lucky.
[ ] What would you have done differently?:[/list][/list][ b]Other Factors: Nothing
[ b]General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations, etc: After I got rejected from Stanford and UVA, I though I had 0 chance of getting in UChicago. Moreover, after I got accepted into UIUC last month, I was settled to go there until this Friday afternoon when I received the notification. My advice is just be yourself and say what you really want. I really believe through the process of application I really grew a lot.

[dinofs]

Decision: Waitlisted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2350, 800 CR, 800 W, 750 M. Only took once.
SAT II: 800 World History, 780 Literature, 780 American History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.6
Weighted GPA: N/A
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn’t rank.
AP (place score in parentheses): N/A
IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Pretty intense – no AP’s though, my school doesn’t offer any.
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):[/list] [ b]Subjective:**[ list] National Merit Finalist, #2 in Illinois AATG
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Theater (Director/Writer), Track, Guitar
Job/Work Experience: Wrote for local video game company
Volunteer/Community service: Habitat for Humanity (took trip to Mississippi, somewhat involved in fundraising), Naturfreunde Deutschland (Environmental work in Germany, 3 weeks.)

Writing (Write a brief description and Rate Quality on 1-10 Scale; 10 as Best):
Essays (Include Subjects):[ list]
Common App Main: I wrote about my relationship with German, which I’ve learned in school, and how it helped me understand that I can have a hand in creating my own identity. 7
EC Short Answer: Wrote about my brother getting sick and how it affected my GPA. Possibly not a good idea. 4
Extended essay(which topic): Wrote about how my love of history affects my own memory, using running as a device to move from early childhood to now. Probably a 9.
Optional Essay: Nah.
Why Chicago: Did a dating show type thing. Not sure it worked. 6
Teacher Recommendation #1: English teacher who I have a very good relationship with. Probably a 9.
Teacher Recommendation #2: Extremely enthusiastic history teacher, also pretty close with outside of class. I’m guessing 9 or 10.
Counselor Rec: Don’t know my counselors too well, maybe a 6.
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: Didn’t do one.

Other:
Date Submitted App: 1/5
State (if domestic applicant): IL
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Magnet-ish
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Upper-middle class
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):From downstate Illinois? Not much else.

Reflection:
Strengths: Good essay, good recommendations. Clear interest in my major.
Weaknesses: Bad GPA, and
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I’m not sure I really showed much interest in U Chicago. It’s not my first choice and so I never bothered to drive the 2 hours to interview there, which probably hurt my chances. On the other hand I do have the SATs and (probably) recommendations to be over the main hurdles.
What would you have done differently?:[/list][/list] Interviewed, and payed more attention to the school in general.

General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations, etc: I’m not really sure whether to be pleased or disappointed. I need significant financial aid, so being waitlisted probably means the same as rejection, but it’s at least nice to see that this caliber of school isn’t totally outside my range. I feel a little better about the other places I applied now.

[tundragirl12]

Decision: Waitlisted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): didn’t send
[] ACT (breakdown): 35 (35/36/33/35/10)
[] SAT II: Math II 800, US History 790
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.92
[] Weighted GPA: 4.89
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 10 in class
[] IB (place score in parentheses): didn’t send (5 Math IB HL, 5 Spanish IB SL)
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP macro, AP gov, IB HL Spanish 6, ap physics c, orchestra, dual enrollment English, and then I took multivariable calculus and linear algebra at Macalester college
[li] Number of other RD applicants in your school: probably around 10?[/li]
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc): National History Day, AP scholar w distinction, presidential scholar
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): varsity soccer (captain, all-conference), club soccer (Olympic development team, captain), violin (all-state, orchestra officer, co-concert master, concerto contest winner, section contest perfect scorer, minnesota youth symphony top orchestra), book club (co-president), NHS, varsity alpine skiing (captain, all-conference), summer tennis team
[] Job/Work Experience: Internship at Minnesota History Center, book reviewer for local Korean newspaper, soccer referee
[] Volunteer/Community service: basically none lol (sorry community)

Writing (Write a brief description and Rate Quality on 1-10 Scale; 10 as Best):[list]
[] Essays (Include Subjects):[list]
[li] Common App Main: 9/10 it was very me and funny but it might have been a hit or miss with uchicago just because it wasn’t very serious. about an instance when I accidentally dumped a pot of boiling water on my head and how I grew from that[/li] [] Extended essay(which topic): choose your own 8/10 pretty good but Im not sure it was “quirky” enough for uchicago
[] Optional Essay: 7/10 basically just listed my favorites, nothing extraordinary
[] Why Chicago:4/10 I had a huge typo and it was very generic

[] Other:[/ul]
[li] Teacher Recommendation #1: 10/10, amazing written by my English teacher/high school soccer coach, he showed it to me and almost made me cry[/li] [] Teacher Recommendation #2: 9/10, written by apush teacher, I didn’t read but we had a pretty good relationship
[] Counselor Rec: 8/10, counselor was also coincidentally my childhood best friend’s mom so she knew me pretty well but I go to a pretty big school so I don’t think she had a lot of time
[] Additional Rec: n/a
[] Interview: 9/10, one of my best interviews
[] Art Supplement: n/a but I might send in a violin recording at this point

Other[ul]
[] Date Submitted App: two hours before deadline lol
[] State (if domestic applicant): MN
[] Country (if international applicant): USA
[] School Type: public, ~2000 (usually sends 1 or 2 to ivies every year)
[] Ethnicity: Asian (Korean)
[] Gender: F
[] Income Bracket: ~200k
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc: NONE

[/ul]Reflection[list]
[] Strengths: extracurriculars, test scores
[] Weaknesses: 100% my essays, they were written in one day because I decided to apply to uchicago the day the app was due because of the application extension, super rushed
[] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: why uchicago essay was too generic
[] What would you have done differently?: decided to apply to uchicago before the day it was due haha
General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations, etc: good luck to all, honestly in the game of college you either win or you go to another great school

[FoucaultTheKants]

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 800 M; 800 CR; 770 W (8 Essay)
[] SAT I superscore (breakdown): 2370
[] ACT (breakdown): 36 English; 36 Science; 35 Math; 35 Reading; 8 Essay
[] SAT II: 800 Math II, 800 Literature
[li] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0[/li]
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): ~1/420
[] AP (place score in parentheses): 5 Calc BC, 5 Gov, 5 Lit, 5 World
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Chem, AP Physics II, AP Bio, AP Stats, AP Psych, Debate, Orchestra
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Debate (National Quarterfinalist and Co-Captain); Model UN (various awards); Orchestra (school and local); Improv Comedy; Jazz Band
[] Job/Work Experience: Math Tutor
[] Volunteer/Community service: Negligible [/ul]
Writing (Write a brief description and Rate Quality on 1-10 Scale; 10 as Best):[ul]
[] Essays (Include Subjects):[list]
[li] Common App Main: 10. I wrote on the “time I experienced failure” prompt about improv comedy.[/li][] Extended essay(which topic): 8. “Why are you here and not somewhere else?” Good essay, but not very “out there” as I expect most UChicago essays are. I wrote about orchestra and how it’s fulfilling even though it’s a lot of work.
[] Why Chicago: Pretty good, talked about how I loved their robotic library. [/ul]
[li] Teacher Recommendation #1: Didn’t read; English teacher who is a good writer and likes me.[/li][] Teacher Recommendation #2: Didn’t read; Chemistry teacher who likes me.
[] Counselor Rec: Probably fine.
[] Additional Rec: Debate coach who took me to nationals.
[] Interview: Went great, the lady was very nice and we had a lot in common.
[] Art Supplement: Sent in violin and piano. I’m okay but I doubt it had too much of an impact. [/list] Other[ul]
[] Date Submitted App: Sometime in December?
[] State (if domestic applicant): Missouri
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: >180,000
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None to speak of [/ul] Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Essays, test scores, extracurriculars, interview
[] Weaknesses: Community service
[] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Probably just test scores and essays.
[li] What would you have done differently?: Probably started working on essays earlier. [/ul][/li]**Congratulations to everyone! **

[orwellians]

Decision: Deferred --> Accepted

Objective:[ul]

[]SAT I (breakdown): 2240 (M/W/CR) 700/750/800
[]ACT (breakdown): C:34 E:36 M:34 R:36 S:31
[]SAT II: 740 Math II, 790 Chinese, 690 Bio M
[]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.87/4.0
[]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Probably just below the 25th percentile
[]AP (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[]IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[]Senior Year Course Load: All IB classes
[li]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Finalist, Scholastic Arts & Writing Gold and Silver Keys, a few state-level poetry/essay awards, 5th place at Nationals of an economics/forensics competition, published in a major national magazine[/ul][/li]
Subjective:[ul]

[]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Newspaper (3 years, Editor-in-Chief), Literary Magazine (4 years, Editor-in-Chief), Model UN (4 years, Board Member), Economics Club (3 years, Board Member), National Honor Society (2 years), Peer Corps (2 years), Piano (competitive, played for 12 years)
[]Job/Work Experience: Unpaid summer internship as a reporter/writer at a business publication
[li]Volunteer/Community service: Volunteer at Saturday language school, NHS/Peer Corps is all mostly volunteer work, Math Lab tutor (don’t think I put this on the app though)[/ul][/li]
Essays:[ul]

[]Common App Main: 8/10. My lifelong love of writing and how journalism helped me become less of an introvert.
[]Extended Essay: 7.5/10 I chose the “Why are you here?” prompt. Talked about my experience with piano competitions and how I essentially suck at them, but do it anyway to face my fears and develop resilience.
[]Optional Essay: 8/10 My love for George Orwell (if you can’t already tell by my username!)
[]Why Chicago: 10/10 Again, I focused on talking about my lifelong love of writing. Split the essay pretty 50/50 between talking about myself and UChicago.
[]Teacher Recommendation #1: English teacher. Didn’t read, but I assume it was good.
[]Teacher Recommendation #2: Economics teacher. Ditto above.
[]Counselor Rec: Didn’t know me at all, probably average
[]Interview: Decent. I’ve heard lots of people talk about how they connected on a soul-to-soul level with their interviewers and had so much fun, but my interview was just a normal interview. It went smoothly, and at the end he said he would write positively of me.
[li]Art Supplement: Sent in a few pages of my creative writing. Had to awkwardly cut one story short because of the page limit, but I tried to condense it well. [/ul][/li]
Other:[ul]

[]Date Submitted App: I cannot recall exactly, but probably one day before or on the day of the EA deadline
[]State (if domestic applicant): MI
[]School Type: Public
[]Ethnicity: Asian
[]Gender: Female
[]Income Bracket: Upper-middle
[li]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None[/ul][/li]
Reflection:[ul]

[]Strengths: Extracurricular leadership, awards, heavy demonstrated interest in a specific area (journalism/writing)
[]Weaknesses: GPA, percentile rank, SAT II, ethnicity
[]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I honestly think UChicago genuinely values passion for a specific subject over your stats. If you can show them you really, truly love what you do (and are good at it) then you have a real fighting chance.
[]What would you have done differently?: I probably would have not taken HL Math. I was mistaken in thinking I had to excel in every single arena in school–I see now that I should have recognized my limits. My GPA needlessly suffered for it. Would have started entering writing competitions sooner (freshman year instead of like junior year lol). Also, I would have started writing my essays as early as possible.[/ul]

General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations, etc:

This acceptance was probably the biggest shock I ever had in my life, especially after an EA deferral.

I am posting this with the full knowledge that people who know me in real life will probably find this and judge me, but I’m doing it anyway because I want all the worried future applicants to see that college decisions are CRAZY. I don’t want to call admissions random, but if you think you have it figured out, don’t. I was once that anxious junior stalking CC threads, convinced I had no chance because I was a hookless Asian with a bad GPA. I don’t care who you are–you never know if you have a chance or not. Just apply, because you literally. Never. Know.

Also, remember to take everything you read on CC with a grain of salt. It’s a very, very skewed representation of reality. I just hope my post will show you that you don’t have to be perfect to get into a prestigious college. Keep your heads up, and good luck!