Lets be real about this: i have a weighted gpa of 4.05, a final sat score of 1760, and a pretty not-bad extracurricular profile, but not eye-poppingly outstanding. Yet the University of Chicago keeps sending me pamphlets and letters that actually, really, truly is directed to ME! (dear dana, yada yada…)
WHY is this darn crazy-azz top-notch college even bothering to send me ANYTHING when everyone in their right mind knows that I’m not gonna be accepted with a profile like mine?
is it to increase the amount of people that apply there so they could maintain their high rank? (not quite sure if the system works that way, but i read up something about this…)
because if thats the case…woo…i’m a tool…<sob>.</sob>
BECAUSE THEY WANT YOU TO SUFFER. jkjk.
Honestly, roopoo. I’m receiving the same amount of mail and emails, etc etc. And I have the same question as you do. I believe their recruiting style is a grassroots type, where they send out mass pamphlets.
And honestly, if you want to apply to Uchic, apply! What do you have to lose?
You nailed it - the more applicants they reject, the higher their USNWR rank, and the better they look to those misguided enough to pay attention to USNWR rankings.
They cast a wide net. They buy a list from College Board of people who scored within a certain band, perhaps on the PSAT. The personalization is done by a computer program, so it doesn’t mean anything.
Essentially, it’s the job of the admission officers to go around the country, tell all kids that they have a chance, whip them up into a frenzy to apply … and then reject most of them. This not only gets them some more money from application fees, but it also gets their name out there. For every hundred kids they reach, x kids will be a great fit. It really widens the pool, so they can make sure they get the best kids out there.
Also, this means that they will have a lower acceptance rate, which makes them more prestigious, and gets them a higher rank in top college lists. Surprisingly, the US news college ranking are a driving factor, they want to get as high on the list as possible, since its very widely distributed.
I highly recommend you read Crazy U. It’s really funny and explains the hypocrisy behind all this stuff
seriously can they just stop? D: i get at least a postcard a week from them and my stats are way bellow thier standards, and my dad thinks i have a good chance at this top school -.-
UChicago seems to be crazy about recruiting. I get giant pamphlets, booklets, and over the top stuff that I don’t get from any other school from them, almost weekly. It’s actually one of my top picks, so I don’t mind, but it seemed a little odd, I figured something was up xD thought I was special
my cousin does alumni interviews for them and she told me the exact same thing about some kid who she interviewed that she thought wasn’t qualified at all but had received a personalized t-shirt or something from them. she definitely thinks that it’s just a ploy to make them more competitive.
I don’t know about U. of Chicago, but similar colleges that have courted my daughter (knowing her SAT which is great, but not great enough to be in the mid admit range) charge a pretty heafty application fee ($65…$75…). Just think, if you had a business (and that is exactly what it is) , would you want as many applications (and those fees) as you could get every fall? Definately!
So, my advise is, save your money and turn THEM down.
I agree. They send more than all other colleges combined. At least 1 email a day. I feel left out - I’ve never gotten any t-shirts.
Some other college - Rutgers I think - sent a letter to my house that said “We are interested because you have a GPA of X and an SAT between Y and Z based on your Collegeboard testing.” Came right out and said it!
I think Chicago is especially aggressive because they’re at Ivy level but don’t quite have as much name recognition as HYP, so they want to move up fast.
Chicago and WashU both send several pieces of mail per week with no prodding or interest shown - note in the early applications thread on College Admissions Forum that early apps for Chicago are up 25%. I imagine that quite a few kids and/or parents get seduced by the mail thinking that while their stats might make ivies too big a reach Chicago could be a legitimate option.
To a school trying to increase its selectivity rankings by rejecting lots of candidates – think about “The Perfect Applicant” – he obediently plops down a fat application fee, his stats are low enough that you can reject him after spending only about two minutes reviewing his application, and he plumps up your rejection rate! It is a WIN!
Yes, it’s hard to fathom a school with the Rep of Chicago, exhibiting the boneheadedness of their Admittance dept! They sent my son @ $100s worth of mail, even though he let colleges know on his PSAT’s and ACT that he wants to be an engineer.
U of Chicago has no Engineering Dept.
If it weren’t such an expensive joke it would be funny to see what he would write on his application.
We had the same experience! DS wrote on his psat’s & sat’s that he wanted engineering and Chicago is littering us with junk mail that says Dear “ds”. Poor dh thought they really wanted him, I had to let him know the truth.
We even got phone calls from Case about applying! My email is overflowing with scholarship offers from schools I’ve never heard of and after looking into are small lib arts with yet again… no engineering.
Well, I felt really good about receiving them. My SATs aren’t amazing, but they’re good (2090/2400, 1420/1600 on CR+M) and am a good writer (I think).
I actually didn’t know about UChicago before (I’m Canadian) and had never considered applying until they sent all of these packages. Do I even have a shot? Because I’m starting to love it
