<p>"for those with lower stats...."</p>
<p>A 3.4 UW we know, but with very good SAT's, was rejected this last round, & it was definitely her "style" of U. Wasn't even W/listed, so it certainly wasn't a safety for her, was it?</p>
<p>But the more imp. point (speaking of the mention of <em>staying</em> in such an environment) is that someone with a "lower" GPA might have difficulty keeping up with the workload at Chicago, if that h.s.GPA was similarly the result of having to manage both volume & level simultaneously. (Student was from a h.s. with a very challenging curriculum & quite high standards.) Thus, unlike the OP, I would actually not recommend that a mid-level student apply to Chicago with the expectation that it would be safety for admission OR safety for enrollment.</p>