Hey there! I was waitlisted RD to UChicago class of 2027. What can I do to best help get off the waitlist?
@hprobala, for some background to everybody: UChicago has 4 rounds. We have Early Action (non-binding, early Nov deadline), Early Decision I (binding, early Nov), Early Decision II (binding, early Jan), and Regular Decision (non-binding, early Jan).
The benefits of applying in Early Action is that you get a response from us sooner as well as show us that UChicago is at least a little bit towards the top of your list. In general, EA applications tend to show greater depth of research and understanding than RD, but we get thousands of really terrific applications in each round. In Early Action, we also haven’t filled up any of our class yet, and so there may be some more flexibility. We view admissions additively, in that we’re looking to add students who are that great fit for us and help create a well-rounded class rather than viewing it as “why not X Y or Z student”. When it comes to building that well-rounded class, we obviously have more flexibility in EA. This is also why we may defer students from EA, because we may need to see the full applicant pool before making the final decision on where any given individual plugs into that broad campus community.
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Good insight - thanks
Hello, @BLB! Checking the fall 2024 box on the waitlist reply form will not impact the final decision that we make for 2023. We include them as separate options because we know that some students are not interested in taking a gap year at all, while others may be excited about the prospect. Simply put, if a student is a good fit for us in 2024, they’re probably a good fit for us in 2023, so the “how do we decide which one” question generally just comes down to space.
The video profile is often very useful for us, but it’s not the be-all end-all. This is why we say it is “recommended” - we want to encourage more students to take advantage of that opportunity because it has been impactful in the past, but frankly we get SO much information in the other parts of the application as well and there are certainly valid reasons a student might not want to do one. For waitlisted students, it’s not necessary but if they feel it will give us a deeper impression of who they are, they are welcome to submit a video. To do so, they should follow the instructions in their UChicago account and follow up with their regional admissions counselor via email (which, that follow up is important for all waitlisted students, not just those who choose to submit an additional video).
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Can you talk about how the new CZ Biohub in Chicago will expand research and or internship possibilities for undergraduates and how soon that might happen?
@Wendy_L, there are lots of resources for our Jewish community through various channels on campus, first and foremost. Between organizations run directly by UChicago or in partnership with the College (the Greenberg Center for Jewish Studies - https://ccjs.uchicago.edu/ - is the academic interdisciplinary home, Hillel is very visible - Jewish Life at UChicago | College Admissions - as well as Chabad - https://www.chabaduchicago.org/), or totally student-run organizations (one example is Maroons for Israel - - Blueprint), there’s deep investment in the Jewish community here.
This is also balanced with our commitments to rigorous inquiry and free expression. We value student voices as a driver of improvement in our community, and that includes in topics like this. There are groups that - peacefully - make their voices heard in both directions and the University maintains that academic neutrality as an institution is important. As for how we support students facing discrimination like anti-Semitism, probably the biggest impact on the day-to-day life of Jewish students here is the elevation of Jewish culture through the groups I mentioned at the top. We do not tolerate harassment of any of our students and any such instances would flow through the Equal Opportunity Programs office. You can find additional information about their resources on discrimination here: https://equalopportunityprograms.uchicago.edu/
@JustinAdmUChicago, I’m interested in behavioral economics and as I’m planning my senior year schedule I’d appreciate some advice. I’d like to take AP Psych but it’s considered an easy AP. Shld I instead take AP Physics C ? I have already taken AP Bio and Chem.
@cnmannin, I think I covered some of this in other posts, but what I think really sets UChicago apart from an undergraduate perspective is our approach to our Core Curriculum. Allowing students to break out from their current interests in a meaningful way as well as encouraging them to find things they’re passionate about in each individual class creates a really colorful academic environment outside of the classroom. UChicago is the kind of place that you’ll find students carrying on their discussions outside of class simply because they’re excited about the topic, and this extends beyond simply their major. This is a part of what we describe as “Life of the Mind”, and I encourage you to check out our youtube video on that subject. It gives really great insight into that piece of campus culture.
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@Cfedholt712, well the easy answer is that students should take advanced classes and get A’s 
But as a serious answer, there isn’t a strict yes or no here because each student is different. Is it going to mean a student gets all B’s? Is there other information in the application that might help us be confident in their academic abilities i.e. is the B in math but then we see a 5 on the AP exam and a really strong SAT or ACT math score?
We do not expect students to take every single advanced course available to them, nor do we expect every student to get all A’s. We’re looking for students who are going to be successful here, and academically speaking, the majority of our applicants could be in that boat. That’s the reason that holistic admissions is important.
We’re also looking for trends. We definitely want to see some advanced classes when they’re available to the student. We also want to see that they’re demonstrating growth (be it through improved grades or extra rigor), and we want to see them take classes that are interesting to them. And finally, when it comes to course selection, we encourage students to speak directly with the HS counselors about the right path for them. “Success” doesn’t have a uniform appearance.
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@camsauve, the best thing you can do is to send a letter of continued interest to your regional admissions counselor! Upload your letter to your account, and give us a little bit of an update on what’s been going on the last few months. These letters really do help!
We do not need additional letters of recommendation, essays, or anything like that. We’ve already got tons of info, and a WL decision doesn’t mean you did anything wrong. In fact, it means we think you’re great, we just aren’t sure if we’re going to have space at the moment.
I know that UChicago is test optional, but will applicants who provide test scores have more of an advantage than those applicants who do not?
@Lawsonsh, given that the Chan Zuckerberg biohub was somewhat recently announced, it will take a year or two to really get off the ground, but there’s already interesting projects getting accelerated there. The project’s timeline is on the scale of around 10-15 years, so there should be lasting effects on the expansion of interdisciplinary and cooperative projects through the mid-2030s and beyond.
This project complements a lot of the work that we already do in our Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, but obviously incorporates colleagues at other institutions in a more direct way. I definitely encourage checking out some of the research opportunities at Pritzker for more information on projects that are in-progress. For the CZ Biohub, their site is here - Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Chicago - and you’ll probably find more meaningful information there in the coming months as the project really gets off the ground. But yes, there will definitely be opportunities for our undergrads to get involved there.
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@Judy_Lee, nope! We are truly optional and we want to see you put your best foot forward. If you are proud of your scores, send them. If not, don’t. If you choose not to share scores, all that means is that our academic evaluation has that one fewer data point, but there is still plenty of information there to make the same kinds of evaluation on whether you’re likely to be successful.
Okay, thank you! Hoping my daughter will be able to follow in Dad’s footsteps and become a Maroon!!!
@vivekasinha3, I’d definitely encourage speaking with your school counselor about this if you haven’t already. They’ll have better insight into what your transcript currently looks like and what that means in context of your school.
We defer to their expertise.
In general, we encourage you to take courses that you’re excited about! If you like phys, great, if you like psych, great! The difference between a single class isn’t going to make or break an application. Remember that our academic evaluation is about finding students who are going to be successful on our campus, and I think you can probably show that in either class.
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Hey everyone! Thanks for coming by! I’ve got to sign off now, but I wanted to say that I appreciate you all for your thoughtful questions. I hope I was able to help you out, and again please feel free to get in touch with our office if you have further questions that I’m not able to answer here.
And thanks again, Sorin and the rest of the CC team!
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Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions, @JustinAdmUChicago! It’s been a pleasure!
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Thank you. The amount of research available to undergraduates really is amazing. Hard to imagine there could be even more. My daughter and I were both blown away on our tour.
Yes, thank you Justin for your time! Good night from NJ!