Chicago's new Provisional Acceptance program

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chicago openly games admissions. What exactly are people arguing about here? That Duke and Penn employ similar tactics?

Maybe what comes next? ED0, ED1, ED2, ED3 (waitlist), the ole EA to ED2 bait and switch, and now provisional acceptances. No school offers all of these.

How about junior year pre-reads like are given for athletes, but for academic admits? ED admits in spring of junior year? What other ideas are percolating in the lovely south side of Chicago? Surely other ideas are being tossed around…

What advice would you give to Chicago AOs? Maybe a ED0 transfer for freshman? February program? Chicago London first year?

DP. The classic admissions approach get a good GPA/SAT/EC and apply to 100 colleges. If this kid got accepted by all 100 then 99 would have a lower yield rate. The top 25 schools hate the spray and pray types this would cause a higher acceptance rate.

ED was the first game - Lie to kids that you have a better shot getting in and you can accept those that have a realistic shot. Acceptance rate still low or what the school wants it to be.

ED2 second game - you know you are a good college and invite kids that didn't make it into ED. This college gets lots more applicants then ED alone. They win - still low acceptance rate. still exclusive.

ED0 third game - make money. still keep the acceptance low.

Provisional - keep acceptance rate low and still attract top talent. This is not new. USC has been doing this for sometime.

The game is to get the lowest acceptance rate, reject those that aren't serious or over qualified they wont come anyways

Advice to the AOs - good job. Advice to DCUM - we need better tactics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not new. Last year, a top stats kid from
DC’s school was offered this option. The student ended up going to UPenn.

Started last year. Great yield protection means.
No brainer they'd chose Penn (or any ivy) over Chicago, if they had a choice.

Just the opposite really

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Duke has ED and RD.
Princeton has single-choice early action and RD.

Chicago has SSEN or ED0, ED1, EA, ED2, RD and now provisional acceptance. Is it all just a game to them?

Yes, it's game theory, don't hate the players, hate the game (admissions process). For the home of Economics, this is what they do, I admire it, super smart to match university/student. This is an intellectual approach of matching, from one of the most intellectual places. For those that don't know, game theory is the mathematical study of strategic interactions between rational decision-makers. This is what every college should be doing. They are just outsmarting you lol

You don't know what game theory is, do you?

The problem is that Chicago is not transparent, esp. re EA (which has an acceptance rate near 0% and is merely a mechanism to get more applications/ try to get those students to switch to ED 2.

It's the lack of transparency that people (ok, me) resent.

PP isn't entirely wrong. UChicago is just playing the hand it was dealt with; they would lose kids to top Ivys if competing for them without these tactics. They have to use gamesmanship to get as many full pay, smart kids through the door as possible, which they appear to be doing successfully. And none of this detracts from the fact that the school is truly a great research university. If anything, their strategy will likely pay dividend with a robust alumni base in the future. Also, having a school where the admissions outcome for a bright, high stat kid is more predictable than some isn't a bad thing. With so much criticism lobbed at UChicago, perhaps its worth scrutinizing others as well.

I fully agree with you. Always surprised how the same people who dump on UChicago have no issues with Princeton and Brown accepting athletes with 1200 SAT scores (yes, you can see that on Scoir!).

There is a vast difference between accepting a few athletic recruits with low test scores and U Chicago accepting so many students ED that they have the highest yield in the USA. Do you really think that U Chicago attracts more fervent admirers than HYPS or is U Chicago just taking advantage of nervous students who want to get in “somewhere good” and are willing to give up their choices for a large admissions preference from Chicago

Well that’s cute that you believe it’s just a few athletes with low test scores. Many of the top schools fill more than 3/4 of the class with their priority candidates - VIPs, athletes, legacies, etc. As for taking advantage of kids? Stop with the victim mentality. These are mostly well off kids with high stats and with the ability to decide how to play the game. You can’t whine just because one school thinks the applicants shouldn’t hold all the cards. What Chicago clearly wants is a match - they want you to want them and vice versa. Medical residency programs for example also do a variation of this. And lastly, Chicago is not just “somewhere good” - it’s somewhere great. All the belly aching about one school using a different strategy for admissions is ridiculous. Move on. Or go complain about Yale admissions with its love for field hockey and lacrosse recruits or Duke with it legacy ones. Spread the whine elsewhere.

THIS. There is someone obsessed with UChicago on this forum, maybe their child was rejected? I have no idea why someone would be so invested in being negative about one school.

Why would you think it’s only one person? Do you feel like you have some magic ability to see who is posting? I never posted about U Chicago before but I posted about this. I think their ED focus is disturbing and I have family who went there.

I have family who went there not recently, but I felt awful for this generation of Chicago kids. They have to defend their ED decision throughout their lives. Seeing UChicago people so worked up on this board. Sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chicago openly games admissions. What exactly are people arguing about here? That Duke and Penn employ similar tactics?

Maybe what comes next? ED0, ED1, ED2, ED3 (waitlist), the ole EA to ED2 bait and switch, and now provisional acceptances. No school offers all of these.

How about junior year pre-reads like are given for athletes, but for academic admits? ED admits in spring of junior year? What other ideas are percolating in the lovely south side of Chicago? Surely other ideas are being tossed around…

What advice would you give to Chicago AOs? Maybe a ED0 transfer for freshman? February program? Chicago London first year?

DP. The classic admissions approach get a good GPA/SAT/EC and apply to 100 colleges. If this kid got accepted by all 100 then 99 would have a lower yield rate. The top 25 schools hate the spray and pray types this would cause a higher acceptance rate.

ED was the first game - Lie to kids that you have a better shot getting in and you can accept those that have a realistic shot. Acceptance rate still low or what the school wants it to be.

ED2 second game - you know you are a good college and invite kids that didn't make it into ED. This college gets lots more applicants then ED alone. They win - still low acceptance rate. still exclusive.

ED0 third game - make money. still keep the acceptance low.

Provisional - keep acceptance rate low and still attract top talent. This is not new. USC has been doing this for sometime.

The game is to get the lowest acceptance rate, reject those that aren't serious or over qualified they wont come anyways

Advice to the AOs - good job. Advice to DCUM - we need better tactics.

Except the ED acceptance rate at Chicago is indeed very high…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Duke has ED and RD.
Princeton has single-choice early action and RD.

Chicago has SSEN or ED0, ED1, EA, ED2, RD and now provisional acceptance. Is it all just a game to them?

Yes, it's game theory, don't hate the players, hate the game (admissions process). For the home of Economics, this is what they do, I admire it, super smart to match university/student. This is an intellectual approach of matching, from one of the most intellectual places. For those that don't know, game theory is the mathematical study of strategic interactions between rational decision-makers. This is what every college should be doing. They are just outsmarting you lol

You don't know what game theory is, do you?

The problem is that Chicago is not transparent, esp. re EA (which has an acceptance rate near 0% and is merely a mechanism to get more applications/ try to get those students to switch to ED 2.

It's the lack of transparency that people (ok, me) resent.

PP isn't entirely wrong. UChicago is just playing the hand it was dealt with; they would lose kids to top Ivys if competing for them without these tactics. They have to use gamesmanship to get as many full pay, smart kids through the door as possible, which they appear to be doing successfully. And none of this detracts from the fact that the school is truly a great research university. If anything, their strategy will likely pay dividend with a robust alumni base in the future. Also, having a school where the admissions outcome for a bright, high stat kid is more predictable than some isn't a bad thing. With so much criticism lobbed at UChicago, perhaps its worth scrutinizing others as well.

I fully agree with you. Always surprised how the same people who dump on UChicago have no issues with Princeton and Brown accepting athletes with 1200 SAT scores (yes, you can see that on Scoir!).

There is a vast difference between accepting a few athletic recruits with low test scores and U Chicago accepting so many students ED that they have the highest yield in the USA. Do you really think that U Chicago attracts more fervent admirers than HYPS or is U Chicago just taking advantage of nervous students who want to get in “somewhere good” and are willing to give up their choices for a large admissions preference from Chicago

Well that’s cute that you believe it’s just a few athletes with low test scores. Many of the top schools fill more than 3/4 of the class with their priority candidates - VIPs, athletes, legacies, etc. As for taking advantage of kids? Stop with the victim mentality. These are mostly well off kids with high stats and with the ability to decide how to play the game. You can’t whine just because one school thinks the applicants shouldn’t hold all the cards. What Chicago clearly wants is a match - they want you to want them and vice versa. Medical residency programs for example also do a variation of this. And lastly, Chicago is not just “somewhere good” - it’s somewhere great. All the belly aching about one school using a different strategy for admissions is ridiculous. Move on. Or go complain about Yale admissions with its love for field hockey and lacrosse recruits or Duke with it legacy ones. Spread the whine elsewhere.

THIS. There is someone obsessed with UChicago on this forum, maybe their child was rejected? I have no idea why someone would be so invested in being negative about one school.

Why would you think it’s only one person? Do you feel like you have some magic ability to see who is posting? I never posted about U Chicago before but I posted about this. I think their ED focus is disturbing and I have family who went there.

I have family who went there not recently, but I felt awful for this generation of Chicago kids. They have to defend their ED decision throughout their lives. Seeing UChicago people so worked up on this board. Sad.

You must be deranged to think that this generation of UChicago kids gives a fig what you think about their choices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Duke has ED and RD.
Princeton has single-choice early action and RD.

Chicago has SSEN or ED0, ED1, EA, ED2, RD and now provisional acceptance. Is it all just a game to them?

Yes, it's game theory, don't hate the players, hate the game (admissions process). For the home of Economics, this is what they do, I admire it, super smart to match university/student. This is an intellectual approach of matching, from one of the most intellectual places. For those that don't know, game theory is the mathematical study of strategic interactions between rational decision-makers. This is what every college should be doing. They are just outsmarting you lol

You don't know what game theory is, do you?

The problem is that Chicago is not transparent, esp. re EA (which has an acceptance rate near 0% and is merely a mechanism to get more applications/ try to get those students to switch to ED 2.

It's the lack of transparency that people (ok, me) resent.

PP isn't entirely wrong. UChicago is just playing the hand it was dealt with; they would lose kids to top Ivys if competing for them without these tactics. They have to use gamesmanship to get as many full pay, smart kids through the door as possible, which they appear to be doing successfully. And none of this detracts from the fact that the school is truly a great research university. If anything, their strategy will likely pay dividend with a robust alumni base in the future. Also, having a school where the admissions outcome for a bright, high stat kid is more predictable than some isn't a bad thing. With so much criticism lobbed at UChicago, perhaps its worth scrutinizing others as well.

I fully agree with you. Always surprised how the same people who dump on UChicago have no issues with Princeton and Brown accepting athletes with 1200 SAT scores (yes, you can see that on Scoir!).

There is a vast difference between accepting a few athletic recruits with low test scores and U Chicago accepting so many students ED that they have the highest yield in the USA. Do you really think that U Chicago attracts more fervent admirers than HYPS or is U Chicago just taking advantage of nervous students who want to get in “somewhere good” and are willing to give up their choices for a large admissions preference from Chicago

Well that’s cute that you believe it’s just a few athletes with low test scores. Many of the top schools fill more than 3/4 of the class with their priority candidates - VIPs, athletes, legacies, etc. As for taking advantage of kids? Stop with the victim mentality. These are mostly well off kids with high stats and with the ability to decide how to play the game. You can’t whine just because one school thinks the applicants shouldn’t hold all the cards. What Chicago clearly wants is a match - they want you to want them and vice versa. Medical residency programs for example also do a variation of this. And lastly, Chicago is not just “somewhere good” - it’s somewhere great. All the belly aching about one school using a different strategy for admissions is ridiculous. Move on. Or go complain about Yale admissions with its love for field hockey and lacrosse recruits or Duke with it legacy ones. Spread the whine elsewhere.

THIS. There is someone obsessed with UChicago on this forum, maybe their child was rejected? I have no idea why someone would be so invested in being negative about one school.

Why would you think it’s only one person? Do you feel like you have some magic ability to see who is posting? I never posted about U Chicago before but I posted about this. I think their ED focus is disturbing and I have family who went there.

I have family who went there not recently, but I felt awful for this generation of Chicago kids. They have to defend their ED decision throughout their lives. Seeing UChicago people so worked up on this board. Sad.

You must be deranged to think that this generation of UChicago kids gives a fig what you think about their choices.

They do not care what a bunch of old ladies on a forum think. They are enjoying the classes, the career options, and their peers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Duke has ED and RD.
Princeton has single-choice early action and RD.

Chicago has SSEN or ED0, ED1, EA, ED2, RD and now provisional acceptance. Is it all just a game to them?

Yes, it's game theory, don't hate the players, hate the game (admissions process). For the home of Economics, this is what they do, I admire it, super smart to match university/student. This is an intellectual approach of matching, from one of the most intellectual places. For those that don't know, game theory is the mathematical study of strategic interactions between rational decision-makers. This is what every college should be doing. They are just outsmarting you lol

You don't know what game theory is, do you?

The problem is that Chicago is not transparent, esp. re EA (which has an acceptance rate near 0% and is merely a mechanism to get more applications/ try to get those students to switch to ED 2.

It's the lack of transparency that people (ok, me) resent.

PP isn't entirely wrong. UChicago is just playing the hand it was dealt with; they would lose kids to top Ivys if competing for them without these tactics. They have to use gamesmanship to get as many full pay, smart kids through the door as possible, which they appear to be doing successfully. And none of this detracts from the fact that the school is truly a great research university. If anything, their strategy will likely pay dividend with a robust alumni base in the future. Also, having a school where the admissions outcome for a bright, high stat kid is more predictable than some isn't a bad thing. With so much criticism lobbed at UChicago, perhaps its worth scrutinizing others as well.

I fully agree with you. Always surprised how the same people who dump on UChicago have no issues with Princeton and Brown accepting athletes with 1200 SAT scores (yes, you can see that on Scoir!).

There is a vast difference between accepting a few athletic recruits with low test scores and U Chicago accepting so many students ED that they have the highest yield in the USA. Do you really think that U Chicago attracts more fervent admirers than HYPS or is U Chicago just taking advantage of nervous students who want to get in “somewhere good” and are willing to give up their choices for a large admissions preference from Chicago

Well that’s cute that you believe it’s just a few athletes with low test scores. Many of the top schools fill more than 3/4 of the class with their priority candidates - VIPs, athletes, legacies, etc. As for taking advantage of kids? Stop with the victim mentality. These are mostly well off kids with high stats and with the ability to decide how to play the game. You can’t whine just because one school thinks the applicants shouldn’t hold all the cards. What Chicago clearly wants is a match - they want you to want them and vice versa. Medical residency programs for example also do a variation of this. And lastly, Chicago is not just “somewhere good” - it’s somewhere great. All the belly aching about one school using a different strategy for admissions is ridiculous. Move on. Or go complain about Yale admissions with its love for field hockey and lacrosse recruits or Duke with it legacy ones. Spread the whine elsewhere.

THIS. There is someone obsessed with UChicago on this forum, maybe their child was rejected? I have no idea why someone would be so invested in being negative about one school.

Why would you think it’s only one person? Do you feel like you have some magic ability to see who is posting? I never posted about U Chicago before but I posted about this. I think their ED focus is disturbing and I have family who went there.

I have family who went there not recently, but I felt awful for this generation of Chicago kids. They have to defend their ED decision throughout their lives. Seeing UChicago people so worked up on this board. Sad.

You must be deranged to think that this generation of UChicago kids gives a fig what you think about their choices.

Depends. What is said fig worth? It is not a life of the mind school for intellectual kids any more: almost 1/3 are econ majors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Duke has ED and RD.
Princeton has single-choice early action and RD.

Chicago has SSEN or ED0, ED1, EA, ED2, RD and now provisional acceptance. Is it all just a game to them?

Yes, it's game theory, don't hate the players, hate the game (admissions process). For the home of Economics, this is what they do, I admire it, super smart to match university/student. This is an intellectual approach of matching, from one of the most intellectual places. For those that don't know, game theory is the mathematical study of strategic interactions between rational decision-makers. This is what every college should be doing. They are just outsmarting you lol

You don't know what game theory is, do you?

The problem is that Chicago is not transparent, esp. re EA (which has an acceptance rate near 0% and is merely a mechanism to get more applications/ try to get those students to switch to ED 2.

It's the lack of transparency that people (ok, me) resent.

PP isn't entirely wrong. UChicago is just playing the hand it was dealt with; they would lose kids to top Ivys if competing for them without these tactics. They have to use gamesmanship to get as many full pay, smart kids through the door as possible, which they appear to be doing successfully. And none of this detracts from the fact that the school is truly a great research university. If anything, their strategy will likely pay dividend with a robust alumni base in the future. Also, having a school where the admissions outcome for a bright, high stat kid is more predictable than some isn't a bad thing. With so much criticism lobbed at UChicago, perhaps its worth scrutinizing others as well.

I fully agree with you. Always surprised how the same people who dump on UChicago have no issues with Princeton and Brown accepting athletes with 1200 SAT scores (yes, you can see that on Scoir!).

There is a vast difference between accepting a few athletic recruits with low test scores and U Chicago accepting so many students ED that they have the highest yield in the USA. Do you really think that U Chicago attracts more fervent admirers than HYPS or is U Chicago just taking advantage of nervous students who want to get in “somewhere good” and are willing to give up their choices for a large admissions preference from Chicago

Well that’s cute that you believe it’s just a few athletes with low test scores. Many of the top schools fill more than 3/4 of the class with their priority candidates - VIPs, athletes, legacies, etc. As for taking advantage of kids? Stop with the victim mentality. These are mostly well off kids with high stats and with the ability to decide how to play the game. You can’t whine just because one school thinks the applicants shouldn’t hold all the cards. What Chicago clearly wants is a match - they want you to want them and vice versa. Medical residency programs for example also do a variation of this. And lastly, Chicago is not just “somewhere good” - it’s somewhere great. All the belly aching about one school using a different strategy for admissions is ridiculous. Move on. Or go complain about Yale admissions with its love for field hockey and lacrosse recruits or Duke with it legacy ones. Spread the whine elsewhere.

THIS. There is someone obsessed with UChicago on this forum, maybe their child was rejected? I have no idea why someone would be so invested in being negative about one school.

Why would you think it’s only one person? Do you feel like you have some magic ability to see who is posting? I never posted about U Chicago before but I posted about this. I think their ED focus is disturbing and I have family who went there.

I have family who went there not recently, but I felt awful for this generation of Chicago kids. They have to defend their ED decision throughout their lives. Seeing UChicago people so worked up on this board. Sad.

You must be deranged to think that this generation of UChicago kids gives a fig what you think about their choices.

Depends. What is said fig worth? It is not a life of the mind school for intellectual kids any more: almost 1/3 are econ majors.

Okay. So send your kid to Reed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Duke has ED and RD.
Princeton has single-choice early action and RD.

Chicago has SSEN or ED0, ED1, EA, ED2, RD and now provisional acceptance. Is it all just a game to them?

Yes, it's game theory, don't hate the players, hate the game (admissions process). For the home of Economics, this is what they do, I admire it, super smart to match university/student. This is an intellectual approach of matching, from one of the most intellectual places. For those that don't know, game theory is the mathematical study of strategic interactions between rational decision-makers. This is what every college should be doing. They are just outsmarting you lol

You don't know what game theory is, do you?

The problem is that Chicago is not transparent, esp. re EA (which has an acceptance rate near 0% and is merely a mechanism to get more applications/ try to get those students to switch to ED 2.

It's the lack of transparency that people (ok, me) resent.

PP isn't entirely wrong. UChicago is just playing the hand it was dealt with; they would lose kids to top Ivys if competing for them without these tactics. They have to use gamesmanship to get as many full pay, smart kids through the door as possible, which they appear to be doing successfully. And none of this detracts from the fact that the school is truly a great research university. If anything, their strategy will likely pay dividend with a robust alumni base in the future. Also, having a school where the admissions outcome for a bright, high stat kid is more predictable than some isn't a bad thing. With so much criticism lobbed at UChicago, perhaps its worth scrutinizing others as well.

I fully agree with you. Always surprised how the same people who dump on UChicago have no issues with Princeton and Brown accepting athletes with 1200 SAT scores (yes, you can see that on Scoir!).

There is a vast difference between accepting a few athletic recruits with low test scores and U Chicago accepting so many students ED that they have the highest yield in the USA. Do you really think that U Chicago attracts more fervent admirers than HYPS or is U Chicago just taking advantage of nervous students who want to get in “somewhere good” and are willing to give up their choices for a large admissions preference from Chicago

Well that’s cute that you believe it’s just a few athletes with low test scores. Many of the top schools fill more than 3/4 of the class with their priority candidates - VIPs, athletes, legacies, etc. As for taking advantage of kids? Stop with the victim mentality. These are mostly well off kids with high stats and with the ability to decide how to play the game. You can’t whine just because one school thinks the applicants shouldn’t hold all the cards. What Chicago clearly wants is a match - they want you to want them and vice versa. Medical residency programs for example also do a variation of this. And lastly, Chicago is not just “somewhere good” - it’s somewhere great. All the belly aching about one school using a different strategy for admissions is ridiculous. Move on. Or go complain about Yale admissions with its love for field hockey and lacrosse recruits or Duke with it legacy ones. Spread the whine elsewhere.

THIS. There is someone obsessed with UChicago on this forum, maybe their child was rejected? I have no idea why someone would be so invested in being negative about one school.

Why would you think it’s only one person? Do you feel like you have some magic ability to see who is posting? I never posted about U Chicago before but I posted about this. I think their ED focus is disturbing and I have family who went there.

I have family who went there not recently, but I felt awful for this generation of Chicago kids. They have to defend their ED decision throughout their lives. Seeing UChicago people so worked up on this board. Sad.

You must be deranged to think that this generation of UChicago kids gives a fig what you think about their choices.

Depends. What is said fig worth? It is not a life of the mind school for intellectual kids any more: almost 1/3 are econ majors.

Do you seriously think that "life of the mind" exists at the Ivies that you so covet?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Duke has ED and RD.
Princeton has single-choice early action and RD.

Chicago has SSEN or ED0, ED1, EA, ED2, RD and now provisional acceptance. Is it all just a game to them?

Yes, it's game theory, don't hate the players, hate the game (admissions process). For the home of Economics, this is what they do, I admire it, super smart to match university/student. This is an intellectual approach of matching, from one of the most intellectual places. For those that don't know, game theory is the mathematical study of strategic interactions between rational decision-makers. This is what every college should be doing. They are just outsmarting you lol

You don't know what game theory is, do you?

The problem is that Chicago is not transparent, esp. re EA (which has an acceptance rate near 0% and is merely a mechanism to get more applications/ try to get those students to switch to ED 2.

It's the lack of transparency that people (ok, me) resent.

PP isn't entirely wrong. UChicago is just playing the hand it was dealt with; they would lose kids to top Ivys if competing for them without these tactics. They have to use gamesmanship to get as many full pay, smart kids through the door as possible, which they appear to be doing successfully. And none of this detracts from the fact that the school is truly a great research university. If anything, their strategy will likely pay dividend with a robust alumni base in the future. Also, having a school where the admissions outcome for a bright, high stat kid is more predictable than some isn't a bad thing. With so much criticism lobbed at UChicago, perhaps its worth scrutinizing others as well.

I fully agree with you. Always surprised how the same people who dump on UChicago have no issues with Princeton and Brown accepting athletes with 1200 SAT scores (yes, you can see that on Scoir!).

There is a vast difference between accepting a few athletic recruits with low test scores and U Chicago accepting so many students ED that they have the highest yield in the USA. Do you really think that U Chicago attracts more fervent admirers than HYPS or is U Chicago just taking advantage of nervous students who want to get in “somewhere good” and are willing to give up their choices for a large admissions preference from Chicago

Well that’s cute that you believe it’s just a few athletes with low test scores. Many of the top schools fill more than 3/4 of the class with their priority candidates - VIPs, athletes, legacies, etc. As for taking advantage of kids? Stop with the victim mentality. These are mostly well off kids with high stats and with the ability to decide how to play the game. You can’t whine just because one school thinks the applicants shouldn’t hold all the cards. What Chicago clearly wants is a match - they want you to want them and vice versa. Medical residency programs for example also do a variation of this. And lastly, Chicago is not just “somewhere good” - it’s somewhere great. All the belly aching about one school using a different strategy for admissions is ridiculous. Move on. Or go complain about Yale admissions with its love for field hockey and lacrosse recruits or Duke with it legacy ones. Spread the whine elsewhere.

Yes, they want well-off kids. So they provide add’l avenues to acceptance for those with money.

I agree with the PP: it’s a very good school that plays games with admissions to maximize yield of wealthy students while talking all about how much they care about mental and emotional well-being.

As far as well-off kids are concerned, the UChicago demographics is not any different than Duke’s. (Take a look at their respective common datasets).

And yet Duke can achieve the same without the admissions games. Why is that?

First off: ALL colleges need high-income, full-pay students. Many are need-aware for this reason (Emory, Colgate). HYPS has a never ending pipeline of extraordinarily wealthy, sometimes famous, parents who are happy to write checks, curry favors with board members, etc. They also have enormous sports programs and recruit hundreds high-income kids for obscure sports (looking at private school commit Instagrams, you could be forgiven for thinking that Stanford is nothing but a giant rowing team). Duke has sports + fantastic weather + a rabid alumni base. Chicago doesn't have any of this, and they also want to make sure the kids they admit can handle serious academic rigor. IMO their admissions shenanigans are less about the USNWR and more about survival. I look down on them for it, but no more than I look down on Ivies and Ivy+ for kissing celebrity ass, or admitting droves of less-qualified kids who play ridiculous sports, or all the various other forms of admissions shenanigans out there.

+1

The fixation with UChicago is strange, bordering on the obsessive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chicago openly games admissions. What exactly are people arguing about here? That Duke and Penn employ similar tactics?

Maybe what comes next? ED0, ED1, ED2, ED3 (waitlist), the ole EA to ED2 bait and switch, and now provisional acceptances. No school offers all of these.

How about junior year pre-reads like are given for athletes, but for academic admits? ED admits in spring of junior year? What other ideas are percolating in the lovely south side of Chicago? Surely other ideas are being tossed around…

What advice would you give to Chicago AOs? Maybe a ED0 transfer for freshman? February program? Chicago London first year?

DP. The classic admissions approach get a good GPA/SAT/EC and apply to 100 colleges. If this kid got accepted by all 100 then 99 would have a lower yield rate. The top 25 schools hate the spray and pray types this would cause a higher acceptance rate.

ED was the first game - Lie to kids that you have a better shot getting in and you can accept those that have a realistic shot. Acceptance rate still low or what the school wants it to be.

ED2 second game - you know you are a good college and invite kids that didn't make it into ED. This college gets lots more applicants then ED alone. They win - still low acceptance rate. still exclusive.

ED0 third game - make money. still keep the acceptance low.

Provisional - keep acceptance rate low and still attract top talent. This is not new. USC has been doing this for sometime.

The game is to get the lowest acceptance rate, reject those that aren't serious or over qualified they wont come anyways

Advice to the AOs - good job. Advice to DCUM - we need better tactics.

Except the ED acceptance rate at Chicago is indeed very high…

They don't publish the rate; the Ivies hardly break 13%

[Anonymous]

Why are people crazy about this schools for an undergraduate education? Half the TAs can’t speak English? The weather sucks? Block D is not far off campus? Many of the students don’t have basic hygiene skills? Many can’t tie their own shoes? Milton Freedman is dead? Whatever they are selling seems to drive people nuts and why do people care so much?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are people crazy about this schools for an undergraduate education? Half the TAs can’t speak English? The weather sucks? Block D is not far off campus? Many of the students don’t have basic hygiene skills? Many can’t tie their own shoes? Milton Freedman is dead? Whatever they are selling seems to drive people nuts and why do people care so much?

Exhibit A that crazy ppl have invaded DCUM tonight

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are people crazy about this schools for an undergraduate education? Half the TAs can’t speak English? The weather sucks? Block D is not far off campus? Many of the students don’t have basic hygiene skills? Many can’t tie their own shoes? Milton Freedman is dead? Whatever they are selling seems to drive people nuts and why do people care so much?

For many kids, this may be their only realistic chance at a T20.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are people crazy about this schools for an undergraduate education? Half the TAs can’t speak English? The weather sucks? Block D is not far off campus? Many of the students don’t have basic hygiene skills? Many can’t tie their own shoes? Milton Freedman is dead? Whatever they are selling seems to drive people nuts and why do people care so much?

For many kids, this may be their only realistic chance at a T20.

Pp—do you have a kid at UChicago or are you an alum? There is so much hate from people who do not have any actual affiliation with the school it’s crazy. Please just drop the rope and move on.

DC is a current student and was high stats from small DMV private that is not at all a feeder school. This was their top choice and it’s proven to be a great fit and they are getting an outstanding education.