Hi everyone, I’m an international student joining a US university for the class of 2020. I intern for an NGO that offers advisory services to students applying to universities in the US.
As the question states, I would like to get insight from you guys about what it takes to get into Uchicago.
From the data I collected, it seems to be the most elusive university I know of…(7 of my friends got into Stanford, 6 others got into Harvard, and many others I know got into top schools like MIT, Columbia, 10 got into UC Berkeley on a very competitive scholarship, 10 others into Cornell, Upenn, Georgetown, etc… )But only 1 got into Uchicago, and many of these friends I’m talking about were rejected(I included. lol)
Which led me to wonder, what do admission officers in Uchicago look for? Do applicants have to write VERY unique essays(as I’ve seen with most people who have been accepted) or do they have to be uniquely talented?
Simply what does it take?
For the international Uchicago alums reading this, or students who are currently there, what do you think got you in?
I know it’s very competitive for international students to get into US universities, but any insights would be highly appreciated.
Thank you
Assuming top scores, grades, rec letters, and extra-curriculars, UChi is one of the most essay-prioritizing schools I know and perhaps the school that is most “targetable” in the supplement essays. PM me if you want to know more about this–it’s a weird sort of “specialty” of mine.
@MurphyBrown They were quite a number, but some were getting into multiple schools, explaining the numbers.
Most of them had high stats in the standardized tests as well as high GPAs (averagely around 3.9~ unweighted), which is why I wanted to know what the X-factor is in students accepted to Uchicago
@marvin100 , for sure, right on it!
@MurphyBrown so would you conclude that a unique essay is the it factor for applicants with otherwise well rounded great stats?
And apart from essays, what else would you emphasize on?
My understanding is that UC is highly intellectual. So I guess if an applicant comes across as that, it would be in their favor. I am thinking that some ECs whihc demonstrate intellectualism would be helpful. Not being an intellectual myself, I can only guess what those might be, haha! Chess anyone?
@Lindagaf I noticed that most essays I read written by accepted Uchicago students demonstrated a whole new level of intellectual vitality… I guess that’s a major key
The sense of intellectualism is why my kid didn’t apply there, though she seriously considered it. She LOVED the essay prompts, but everything else she read about the school sounded not like her. Perhaps a student needs to understand the legendary “where fun goes to die” mystique, even if it isn’t true.
This is really no different from its peer institutions.
Re the essays. I think intellectually playful is part of what they’re looking for (typically in the context of an application where there are lots of other indicators that the applicant is also intellectually serious ). That may be why a recurrent story about kids who got in to U of C is how much they loved the prompts.
Often, high stats HS students haven’t been encouraged or had much of a chance or many models of what it means to be intellectually playful. So those who are tend to stand out if you ask the right questions…
Essays, essays, essays. I don’t know if I agree with everything that’s been said about test scores. I mean, certainly high test scores are a plus, but I got in with average test scores, and I’m unhooked (not international). I’m guessing by your profile picture you’re going to Berkeley. Go there. Enjoy it. It’s a phenomenal school.
I’ve had a couple of friends go to U of C, and I think that the term “playfully intellectual” describes them–that discussion and research are a joy for them, all the time. They have also been very down-to-earth without agendas or extreme political correctness. One of them was also an incredible cross-country runner.
@exacademic makes a great point–if you see their wacky prompts and think, “that looks like fun!” then you may be a pretty good fit. If you see them and think, “this is inane, what do they want from me?” then you may not be.