Anonymous
05/08/2026 10:34
Subject: UChicago plans to expand by 23% in its undergraduate enrollment
If Penn has 12k undergraduate students, why can’t Chicago?
Anonymous
05/08/2026 10:15
Subject: UChicago plans to expand by 23% in its undergraduate enrollment
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I think ED0 preys on teens insecurities
But I don't mind their need aware policy. Take the full pay kids first - makes sense if you're a business that needs cash.
UChicago is need blind for domestic students and need aware for international.
UChicago is need aware for all, except in RD rounds.
Anonymous
05/08/2026 10:12
Subject: UChicago plans to expand by 23% in its undergraduate enrollment
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I think ED0 preys on teens insecurities
But I don't mind their need aware policy. Take the full pay kids first - makes sense if you're a business that needs cash.
UChicago is need blind for domestic students and need aware for international.
UChicago very quietly and under the radar went need aware for everyone two years ago.
They are not need blind for anyone (only top 20 school in that position).
How do you know?
My kid has several friends (from weeklong enrichment program) who applied ED0 + financial aid. There is no pattern based on need that explains the outcomes.
Anonymous
05/08/2026 10:06
Subject: UChicago plans to expand by 23% in its undergraduate enrollment
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I think ED0 preys on teens insecurities
But I don't mind their need aware policy. Take the full pay kids first - makes sense if you're a business that needs cash.
UChicago is need blind for domestic students and need aware for international.
UChicago very quietly and under the radar went need aware for everyone two years ago.
They are not need blind for anyone (only top 20 school in that position).
Anonymous
05/08/2026 09:55
Subject: UChicago plans to expand by 23% in its undergraduate enrollment
Anonymous wrote:I think ED0 preys on teens insecurities
But I don't mind their need aware policy. Take the full pay kids first - makes sense if you're a business that needs cash.
UChicago is need blind for domestic students and need aware for international.
Anonymous
05/08/2026 09:53
Subject: UChicago plans to expand by 23% in its undergraduate enrollment
UC takes top full pay kids because they can do the work (and they have the money.) Most kids can't do the work. Those that can, and have financial need, are taken. Yes, their endowment is a fraction of Harvard's e.g. So what? They make it super rigorous and then they open it up to the full pay super smart kids who got bounced from the Ivies etc. because they didn't have magic rainbow powers or whatever they were looking for this year. It's probably five times harder than most schools. People hate on UC because (1) it's really hard and most kids don't get in, and, (2) because they accept full-pay smart kids. For parents who have prioritized their kids' educations over expensive vacations, cars, and houses, it's a great option.
Anonymous
05/08/2026 09:35
Subject: UChicago plans to expand by 23% in its undergraduate enrollment
I think ED0 preys on teens insecurities
But I don't mind their need aware policy. Take the full pay kids first - makes sense if you're a business that needs cash.
But I don't mind their need aware policy. Take the full pay kids first - makes sense if you're a business that needs cash.
Anonymous
05/08/2026 09:05
Subject: UChicago plans to expand by 23% in its undergraduate enrollment
Anonymous wrote:I'll never understand the disregard for/dislike of UChicago on this forum. It's a globally renowned university that attracts exceptional students, full pay or otherwise.
I'm not a fan of all the ED0/ED1/ED2 gamesmanship, but to quote Ice-T, "Don't hate the player, hate the game." They snag highly qualified kids early in the process. Like it or not, it's a very smart approach.
That's grooming behavior
Anonymous
05/08/2026 09:04
Subject: UChicago plans to expand by 23% in its undergraduate enrollment
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Here comes ED negative 1. Applicants apply in their junior year.
The correct terms for UChicago are:
ED0 is the summer before HS senior year
ED00 is fall of HS junior year
ED000 is fall of HS sophomore year
ED000 is fall of HS freshman year
The correct term for you is someone who couldn’t get in anyway.
did i hit a nerve?
Anonymous
05/08/2026 08:42
Subject: UChicago plans to expand by 23% in its undergraduate enrollment
Anonymous wrote:I'll never understand the disregard for/dislike of UChicago on this forum. It's a globally renowned university that attracts exceptional students, full pay or otherwise.
I'm not a fan of all the ED0/ED1/ED2 gamesmanship, but to quote Ice-T, "Don't hate the player, hate the game." They snag highly qualified kids early in the process. Like it or not, it's a very smart approach.
This. Although I am starting to become a fan of that game . . . turning the application process on its ear may not be a bad thing.
Anonymous
05/08/2026 08:39
Subject: UChicago plans to expand by 23% in its undergraduate enrollment
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:They've tripled the size of their college and staff in the last 25 years? To match the tripled enrollment? I know the dorms. But the libraries, classrooms, cafes, locker rooms? Triplex the sections of organic chem and behavioral Econ? Tripled the languages and healthcare appointments?
You're demanding a lot of information, so I had Gemini summarize it. Next time just do that first, but you can't seem to figure out how to reply to people on here, so I figure you're not good with tech.
Scaling Academic and Student Life
To prevent overcrowding and maintain its academic rigor, the university has undergone one of the most aggressive physical expansions in its history:
Instructional Spaces: The university has added roughly 16 million square feet of building space across 217 acres. Major academic hubs like the Gordon Center for Integrative Science and the William Eckhardt Research Center were built to handle the surge in STEM demand, including expanded lab space for Organic Chemistry and new research initiatives.
Libraries and Study Areas: The Joe and Rika Mansueto Library, completed in 2011, added high-capacity automated storage and a massive glass-domed reading room. Other facilities, like the John Crerar Library, have been fully renovated to include a cafe and the Center for Data and Computing to serve growing departments like Computer Science.
Student Services and Health: Healthcare capacity has expanded via the Student Wellness Center, which moved into a larger, consolidated facility in 2021 to provide more exam rooms and counseling space for the larger student body.
Athletics and Locker Rooms: Facilities like the Gerald Ratner Athletics Center (opened 2003) were specifically designed to provide modernized fitness, locker, and competition space that the older Henry Crown Field House could no longer sustain at higher enrollment levels.
Course Capacity Management
The university manages the "tripling" of demand for popular subjects like Economics and Behavioral Economics through a few key strategies:
Section Scaling: Rather than just making lectures bigger, the university maintains a 5:1 student-to-faculty ratio by hiring more lecturers and teaching fellows.
Curriculum Reform: In 1999, the university reduced the number of mandatory "Core" courses to give students more room in their schedules, which eased the "bottleneck" effect on the most popular introductory sections.
This is a perfect AI answer but the footprint of Chicago's campus hasn't changed. And they've torn down some buildings and rebuilt new ones roughly in place of the old ones. So they've added sq ft but also subtracted. The two big dorms built in the last 10 years are genuinely added sq footage though.
I can't imagine 9k undergrad but it's possible they'll reduce the size of some of their grad programs.
It's a great school. I don't really understand their financial situation but I wouldn't worry about Chicago being around in 20 years. Plus they're the only top 20 school with merit given to a big chunk of the class. Kohls cash, whatever, I'll take it
Anonymous
05/08/2026 08:29
Subject: UChicago plans to expand by 23% in its undergraduate enrollment
Growing pains is never a good thing. Unfortunately to ease this requires a significant amount of resources including investments in infrastructure like housing, dining, recreational facilities. I didnt even bring up hiring additional faculty. Getting into desired classes now are difficult I am sure so having to fight with another 2k-3k students will not be a good thing.
Anonymous
05/08/2026 08:03
Subject: Re:UChicago plans to expand by 23% in its undergraduate enrollment
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:No dog in this fight, but several schools have increased enrollment recently— Yale, Rice announced a similar move. Sky hasn’t fallen in New Haven as far as I can tell.
Yale increased class size by 100 kids per year, starting a couple years ago. Aim was to do it for 4 years, 400 total. After those 4 years, undergrad will be 6600 kids.
This isn't the first time they've added students. Last time was when they build two entirely new residential colleges. They increased by about 500 kids then. About 25 years ago, Yale enrolled 5500 kids. A couple years from now it will be 6600
I'm pretty sure UChicago enrollment size over the last 25 years doesn't resemble what Yale is doing ie building new infrastructure, hiring staff, adding 20%. Hasn't it tripled in size?
UChicago has built new infrastructure: North in 2016 and Woodlawn in 2020, which are 2 residential commons with respective dining halls attached. Together, they can accommodate 2,100 students.
UChicago has also increased its faculty size significantly: tenure-track faculty have grown by more than 20% over the past 10 years alone. This aggressive hiring is a partial contributor to their current debt and deficit.
So to say UChicago isn't growing isn't only misinformed, it's actually the complete opposite of what has happened: they have grown so large so quickly that their debt and deficits have skyrocketed.
This is why they have shifted to rely on ED and admit many elite private school kids, which many on this board seem to dislike. Here's why this is a smart move:
1. They know the elite private school graduates they deem a 'fit' with UChicago will come to campus prepared. There's little to no academic risk involved.
2. The elite private school graduates will bring their extensive networks with them to campus and will likely go on to have lucrative careers, boosting donation revenue.
3. Most families at elite private schools are full-pay, so UChicago can still have a need-blind admissions process but take reliable bets that the elite private school kids they admit will be full-pay.
4. Taking ~70% of their class through binding ED rounds means that they have a picture of their financials far earlier than other schools. This leaves little room for guesswork and more time to address gaps and ensure that their financial aid picture meets institutional goals.
Let me guess where your kids attend(ed)
Anonymous
05/08/2026 07:21
Subject: UChicago plans to expand by 23% in its undergraduate enrollment
I'll never understand the disregard for/dislike of UChicago on this forum. It's a globally renowned university that attracts exceptional students, full pay or otherwise.
I'm not a fan of all the ED0/ED1/ED2 gamesmanship, but to quote Ice-T, "Don't hate the player, hate the game." They snag highly qualified kids early in the process. Like it or not, it's a very smart approach.
I'm not a fan of all the ED0/ED1/ED2 gamesmanship, but to quote Ice-T, "Don't hate the player, hate the game." They snag highly qualified kids early in the process. Like it or not, it's a very smart approach.
Anonymous
05/08/2026 07:04
Subject: UChicago plans to expand by 23% in its undergraduate enrollment
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Here comes ED negative 1. Applicants apply in their junior year.
The correct terms for UChicago are:
ED0 is the summer before HS senior year
ED00 is fall of HS junior year
ED000 is fall of HS sophomore year
ED000 is fall of HS freshman year
The correct term for you is someone who couldn’t get in anyway.