<p>*Second choice is probably Reed, with Macalester College after that.</p>
<p>My friend who is at UChicago now really wanted to go to Reed and St. Johns (MD). That's weird.*</p>
<p>Not at all. There is no one-size-fits-all best school, but there may be a few schools that are the best fit for a given student. Sometimes the students choose the best fit, and sometimes the schools do the choosing. The choices don't say anything about which students or schools are the best.</p>
<p>For a student who likes UChicago's core and its perspective on education, Reed and St. John's MD are consistent choices. Kids we know who went to St. John's looked at Reed, Chicago and Columbia. No inherent contradiction to me...</p>
<p>Reed seems like a perfectly logical second choice to UChicago, unless you're applying to UChicago for the name brand alone.</p>
<p>I was looking for a city, an quirky student body, and a solid undergrad program. Reed and Mac fit the bill perfectly. If someone is really after a liberal arts education with intimate class sizes, Reed and St. John's would be the cream of the crop.</p>
<p>Exactly, and UChicago seems like a perfectly logical second choice to Reed, unless you're applying to Reed for the name brand alone. It may also depend on your major; someone might choose UChicago due to excellence in social sciences, or choose Reed due to excellence in biology. At this level, the schools mentioned in this thread are all simply excellent.</p>
<p>I've mentioned before on these boards that reading about Reed made my heart flutter-- to me it seems a natural companion to UChicago. The reasons Reed didn't make it onto my list in the long run, while Chicago and others did, were for primarily logistical reasons: it was on the small side (for me) and on the wrong coast (for my parents).</p>
<p>While Reed and Chicago have a very significant overlap, it's not completely perfect. There are a lot of students who use perceived prestige as a primary decision-making factor, and will apply to Chicago in the same breath as Ivies, Duke, Stanford, Northwestern, etc. and probably won't consider Reed.</p>
<p>(This is not a knock to Reed-- I think that Reed is a better college than Chicago for those looking for the purest academic experience possible-- but rather a comment on the widespread importance of things like USNWR ranks).</p>
<p>I don't know about everyone else, but I really wouldn't be going around saying I had a good chance anywhere unless I had a pretty good idea.</p>
<p>for example, I always thought that I would probably get into BC. I did. I knew I wouldn't get into Chicago. I got deferred. I thought I had a chance at Mich, but I wasn't confident. I got deferred. I thought I was screwed for UNC. I got in.</p>
<p>I do think that people apply places with a general idea of what their chances are at a particular school. Some schools are reaches, some matches, and some safeties. However, if anyone thinks that they know with CONFIDENCE that they WILL get in somewhere, it's probable true (probably like myself and BC; although I wasn't a sureshot, there was a good chance that I'd get in).</p>
<p>How many stories have you heard of someone boasting that they would get in somewhere, and then getting rejected? That would be shameful and naive. CC kids are smart yo.</p>
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How many stories have you heard of someone boasting that they would get in somewhere, and then getting rejected? That would be shameful and naive. CC kids are smart yo.
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<p>real life+cc-combined?id say almost 50.</p>
<p>You may think you have a good shot at getting in to a particularly school, but for any top-notch school like Chicago and the Ivies, you never really be completely sure you will get in. There are so many other amazing applicants out there that even if you think you have an amazing application, there are probably hundreds and possibly thousands of kids out there just like you. Plus, no one quite knows what the selection criteria for a school really is because sometimes they are looking for one specific thing that you may or may not have, so I don't think that you KNOW you will get in. There are simply too many variables to account for.</p>
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You may think you have a good shot at getting in to a particularly school, but for any top-notch school like Chicago and the Ivies, you never really be completely sure you will get in.
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<p>Very true!</p>
<p>"How many stories have you heard of someone boasting that they would get in somewhere, and then getting rejected? That would be shameful and naive. CC kids are smart yo."</p>
<p>Quite a lot. Fortunately, many of them are honorable to post the rejections and deferrals - which gives those that come after a better feel for what the playing field is like. Of course, that can change. I think it was about three years ago that Brown's legacy bump was de-emphasized - people were shocked. And its very hard to be subjective about your applicant (or your child's).</p>
<p>Also, as made4uchicago points out, there are too many variables - including those pesky teacher and GC rec's that not everyone gets to see. </p>
<p>I don't think you can extactly trust any one selective school ... but you can have a fair amount of confidence in a good list.</p>
<p>UofC is my LIFE...do u understand me ITS MY LIFE DANG IT!!!!!!!! cough<em>... I mean ... cough</em> I'm calm.</p>
<p>I really really hope I can get in... if not, I'll probably end up at McGill or Emory</p>
<p>good luck CNI...I truly hope you get in.</p>
<p>Sciences Po de Paris ... I believe SP and UC are different schools.</p>
<p>haha thanks beefs. Grades were really good 1st sem. so I hope that pushes me through :)</p>
<p>Grades were really good 1st sem. so I hope that pushes me through </p>
<p>same here~!</p>
<p>I just hope UC likes foreign exchanges, heh. I know Harvard and Brown do but then again, they're hardly considered the norm.</p>
<p>I don't want to go yo U of I!</p>
<p>Umm, I have applied to 10 unis besides UChicago!!!
Northwestern, Emory, Stanford, NYU, UPenn
Vassar, Haverford, Wellesley, Swarthmore, Grinnell.
Well, Grinnell notified me just today that I got in with a HUGE scholarship. If I don't get into Uchicago (and survive the traumatic experience) I might go to NYU, Emory or wherever I am accepted.</p>
<p>It would be nice if I got into UC, since I qualify for the Argonne 1/2 tuition thing...</p>
<p>If not, as of now (hopefully I will have more choices later), it looks like either UIUC, UMICH, or Wellesley.</p>
<p>I'll probably be dead, face down in a drained pool somewhere.
(1 internet to anyone who gets the movie quote)</p>