<p>I'd say apply EA if you actually care about UChicago, because the essays are interesting, to say the least.</p>
<p>The topics for this year are pretty awesome, though I think I thought a great deal about the Taoist philosophy one last year (even though I chose to answer the langston hughes prompt. hmmm.).</p>
<p>Out of all the apps I did, I learnt the most about myself through this one (and I spent the most time working on it too heh). But remember, you've got to be strong and go into something like this knowing fully well that if you apply EA to a school that you REALLY want to go to, you can get deffered and then possibly waitlisted and then possibly rejected. Hopefully you'll be able to get in EA (if you really want to go), but just be mentally prepared for the application and decision season and realize that a college decision does not determine (or establish for that matter) your worth.</p>
<p>I wasn't prepared for an 'end' after almost a year. Boy what a crazy run that was, but remember, regardless of what happens, that 'carpe diem' should be your motto and you should learn something about yourself in the process. That's the only thing that makes the entire process worth it.</p>
<p>Take a risk and do something without worrying about your 'chances'. Heck if you've worked hard on an application, what have you got to lose but time (and a little bit of money if you're a stickler). I mean, it's a small risk in comparison to some that you'll take in the future. Besides, it's not your job to decide whether you'll get in or not, and you can't possibly fathom the fervor with which all the crazy discussion takes place within the confines of the 'deciding room'. Let the Adcom do it's job and decide and stop worrying about it. Isn't that right Ms. Pearson?</p>
<p>Sorry if that came out sounding like a load of jibberish, I blame jetlag. :-P</p>
<p>I agree with that, ridethecliche. If Chicago is your top choice, apply early. You'll know before christmas and it could make the rest of your senior year that much better.</p>
<p>Upon rereading, I misread the numbers a little. The EA rate without the deferred and later accepted was about 38%, which would make the RD rate about 34.5% or so, with an expected EA "yield" of 40%. Still an edge to EA, but not quite as great (and still not counting those later admitted RD in the EA pool).</p>
<p>cavalier302, that's true, it's more like a 0.03 % chance.</p>
<p>But since you realize that merit scholarships, like admissions decisions, are not given randomly, why is everyone always asking what their "chances" are?</p>
<p>As it has been said, writers are their own worst critics. It's the same with 'highly motivated' students sometimes.
Speaking from experience, no one really wants to see the rejection letter come through, especially if you have to do an application that takes a good chunk of time (nothing in the grand scale of things, but you know how we teenagers can be eh?). So one has to have a slightly high feeling of self worth before one embarks on something so delightfully 'uncommon'.</p>
<p>Here is a totally random and unrelated question that I thought I'd ask here rather than annoying anyone with a new thread. Is it true that UChicago will combine ACT subscore? I've heard this here, but never from official source or the website. Sorry for the hijacking attempt.</p>
<p>As for the EA or not, just do it if UChicago is your top choice. Even if it's not, it gives you the flexibility of doing open EA at other places, too, or even EA at Chicago with a somewhat flexible ED school. And it does increase your chances at least somewhat, because even if the acceptance rates were the same, you basically get TWO chances to get it right. If you are deferred EA, you can try to figure out what went wrong and fix it, or improve your app in other ways. That is priceless to me.</p>
<p>"But since you realize that merit scholarships, like admissions decisions, are not given randomly, why is everyone always asking what their "chances" are?"</p>
<p>I don't think it would be unreasonable to tell a valedictorian with a 1600 who had a book of poetry published that sold 85,000 copies and who qualified for the USAMO exam that he has a good shot at getting merit money (relative to the rest of the applicant pool), the same way it wouldn't be unreasonable to tell a kid with a 3.1/1120 that he has no chance in hell of even getting in. Behind closed doors I have no doubt that it is a goal of the admissions staff to use merit money as a tool to steal away HYP admits.</p>
<p>If you really believe what you posted, you probably don't understand the relationship between "merit" money and financial yield management.</p>
<p>We could develop a better understanding of this by asking Libby who makes the merit award decisions and whether they make them financial need blind or aware. </p>
<p>But I won't ask, as I don't want to put her on the spot.</p>
<p>Just speculating, but if I had to guess there is probably some flexibility in that they could provide a merit award to someone who they want who does not quite get enough from FA, or to offset the loan work–study portion of the package, as well as simply on the basis of merit. My S has a friend who has a mixture of merit and FA, including work–study and some loans, that provide for the full cost of attending.</p>
<p>Go check out the Atlantic Monthly from last fall, what they call their college issue. It had a good article on the subject of merit aid.</p>
<p>"merit aid" is one of the many euphemisms used in higher ed. In most cases, it is not about merit as much as getting good students to enroll and pay most of their way. Think of it this way: With UofC costs over 40,000 per year, is the college better off offering one award of 40,000 or four awards of 10,000 each to students who would otherwise not attend because of affordability (which is not the same as fin aid formula defined need)?</p>
<p>Separate from financial aid, merit awards can be a good way to lure good students who might otherwise go elsewhere. If, for example a 10K award allows UofC to steal a prospective Harvard student, one who has stats above the UofC average hopefully, then it could be money well spent. Note in cases like this that the ones "bribed" need not be the best students. In cases like this, being too eager may work against one. </p>
<p>What does UofC do? I have no idea. And I can guarantee you they will not tell us. But I suspect UofC is doing one or both of the above. Why? Because my D's classmates who received "merit" awards are not "setting the curve" in their class.</p>
<p>No, but it does net you a decent number of top students, who likely would go to other schools. Admitting top applicants is not all about raising stats - it's also about getting better students who will succeed at a high level and carry on in top graduate schools as U of C alumni.</p>