Reply to Is UChicago now a target for big5 kids? Up there with HYPS?

Forum Index » College and University Discussion

Reply to "Is UChicago now a target for big5 kids? Up there with HYPS?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The kids attending UChicago now are a completely different cohort from UChicago kids of 15-20 years ago.  Chicago's acceptance rate this year is 7.2% behind HYPSM which range from 4.5-6.5% but harder to get into than the other Ivys and competitors like Duke.[/quote]

Heard UCLA acceptance rate this year is around 5%, lower than Chicago's.  Acceptance rate is not all there is.  That's more of a PR function.[/quote]

Exactly. UChicago's admissions practices have totally changed. They started taking the Common App. They started recruiting much more aggressively and much more broadly. Their high acceptance rate in past years was not an indication of low quality, but rather the school being under the radar for most people.

Two anecdotes to illustrate that:

- I applied in 2004 early and was accepted (I ultimately chose elsewhere, but it was a very tough choice). My friend, who went to the same rigorous prep school and who ultimately won a Rhodes Scholarship, was waitlisted.

- My sister was accepted in 2006. She was the only person accepted at UChicago for her year at her NYC prep school.

At the time, UChicago was looking for quirky, highly intellectual kids who appreciate things like learning Assyrian, not just kids with high test scores. It's sad that they're trying to mainstream the school. Those of us who are familiar with the pre-Common App UChicago think the school has lost its way. [/quote]

I'm sorry that you feel that way.  DC there now has high test score, appreciates friends into anything interesting (mainstream or esoteric) and is vey happy there.  Without the broadened recruitment, DC might not have found the college.  I like to think we are all better off when we're inclusive.[/quote]

They could have recruited more broadly without taking the Common App, which I despise. It drives admissions rates down by making it easy to apply to a huge number of schools, perpetuating the rat race.

They also are instituting a policy where they won't allow professors to offer classes that don't have at least a certain number of kids enrolled. Lots of UChicago profs are livid about this because they pride themselves on being, for example, virtually the only place in North America where Assyrian is offered to the few students who want to learn it.

In any case, though, I'm glad your DC is enjoying UChicago. Hopefully they'll learn to adopt a healthy balance between letting more people know about the school and keeping its character intact.  [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics