What does U Chicago want?

[Anonymous]

My son wants to go to UChicago and, with ED, he's on the brink. The 3.8 private school kid you read about a lot here.

He has two summers to impress. He has his plans (incl a job), but he's wondering if anyone has any intel in what UChicago likes or doesn't care about.

I think they like their essays, for example, and aren't as concerned with volunteer work as some others -- but I'm guessing! Anyone have any intel?

[Anonymous]

He should be completely fine with a 3.8 as long as he applies ED. I've seen recent Scoir/Naviance data from two different Big3 schools.

[Anonymous]

He will definitely get in ED with 3.8, especially if he is full pay. The question is does he really want to go there?

[Anonymous]

UChicago is pretty obvious with its admissions process. It wants two things: enough low income kids from Questbridge that dont break the bank too much…and then Ed prep school kids with a lot of rigor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He will definitely get in ED with 3.8, especially if he is full pay. The question is does he really want to go there?

He does. I think we should revisit in winter though. UChicago in May is really, really beautiful.

[Anonymous]

Apply ED.

The area is dangerous however.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son wants to go to UChicago and, with ED, he's on the brink. The 3.8 private school kid you read about a lot here.

He has two summers to impress. He has his plans (incl a job), but he's wondering if anyone has any intel in what UChicago likes or doesn't care about.

I think they like their essays, for example, and aren't as concerned with volunteer work as some others -- but I'm guessing! Anyone have any intel?

UChicago does lot of webinars and also comes to DC area for information sessions. Attend either or both.

I have attended several of these from various schools and they all say it is a Holistic admission process. There is not a single thing they are looking for from all the students. They look at the entire cohort....it is just like puzzle pieces to complete the puzzle. That is what they call Holistic admission. So there is no guarantee a student with GPA 4 or SAT 1600 gets in or a person with GPA 3.5 does not get admitted. They look at Grades, rigor, SAT, ECs (Leadership, community service, sports, research etc), Essays, Recommedations, other applications and what they bring to the school to make decisions

[Anonymous]

I agree they dont seem as community-minded, not that I care. They seem to have a rather traditional view that college is about education so rigor, rigor, rigor .. even if you got a b+. Dont' really care about your activism, etc. Not sure they care about your PT job either.

Hire someone to help keep up with those prompts. They take a lot of time.

[Anonymous]

I think my kid got in because of his essays and recommendation letters. I mean his grades and SAT were nothing to scoff at either but I’m sure everyone else applying also had 4.0s and 1600s.

[Anonymous]

He also applied EA

[Anonymous]

They want you to apply ED

[Anonymous]

Show intellectual curiosity. They want kids that can succeed with the core curriculum. Demonstrate that you have the academic chops and can carry on a conversation that doesn't involve lacrosse.
And being seriously under-resourced or full-pay helps. A lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Apply ED.

The area is dangerous however.

Is the area really more dangerous than, say, the area around JHU? This is not the OP, but on paper, this U.Chicago sounds perfect for my kid's personality and interests. But as a parent, the safety of the campus and surrounding area is really important.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Apply ED.

The area is dangerous however.

Is the area really more dangerous than, say, the area around JHU? This is not the OP, but on paper, this U.Chicago sounds perfect for my kid's personality and interests. But as a parent, the safety of the campus and surrounding area is really important.

JHU is worse by far than the area around UChicago

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think my kid got in because of his essays and recommendation letters. I mean his grades and SAT were nothing to scoff at either but I’m sure everyone else applying also had 4.0s and 1600s.

Not even close.