ab2013

OK. I'm bored, and we're down to about a week until Chicago releases decisions (supposedly 3/19 last year), so it's time for the RD decision thread to go up as well.

As we're mature high school seniors, we all should know the drill by now. ALWAYS remove the space in the brackets.

Here's the template:

Please, please, please refrain from discussing or whining about waiting for or recieving your admissions decisions!!! It wastes specious space, and it makes finding the decisions on this thread tedious and difficult.

If you need to spill, do so here: The OFFICIAL University of Chicago RD Decisions "Discussion" Thread - Class of 2013


Good luck to you all, especially Ted O'Neill, who will be stepping down as Dean of Admissions this year. College admissions at Chicago will not be the same, and we at CC will miss you.

Note to mods: Please lock and sticky-note this thread until the day decisions are posted.

bulldoghopeful

Decision: WAITLISTED

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 800 M, 800 CR, 780 W (2380)
SAT II: Math 2 800, Chinese 800, US History 790, Chemistry 770
Unweighted GPA: 3.9
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Magnet School of 67, school doesn't rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): Nine 5's USH, Eng Lang, US Gov, Comp Gov, Micro, Macro, Psych, Calc AB, Calc BC. and one 4 Chem. Chem and the Calcs were in school, everything else self-studied (possible explanation for relatively low qpa)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Phys Mech, AP Phys E/M, AP Eng Lit, AP Bio, Multivariable Calc, Architecture (required class), and Comm Media(required class)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Scholar, National AP Scholar, Eagle Scout with Palm

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): City’s Recycling Advisory Committee (high school rep), City's Freecycling Grant Committee (chair), Fed Challenge (econ competition, president), Various Other Service Activities; 2-Time Varsity Basketball Letterman
Volunteer/Community service: Easily 750+, But I never really report them
Summer Activities: Internship at City Hall and in an architectural firm in Shanghai (pretty cool experience but i never really write about it)
Other:
State (if domestic applicant): NJ
School Type: Public Magnet
Ethnicity: Chinese represent!
Gender: M
Income Bracket: upper middle (not eligible for finaid)

Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): I’m really really big on sustainability, and colleges around the nation are catching on, I have some pretty good experience in terms of sustainability management.

Why you think you did/did not get in: I really dont know. Thoughts anyone?

demonsword55

Decision:REJECTED

Stats:

• SAT I (by section): 2200 (780 cr, 690 m, 730 w)
• SAT IIs: 790 ush, 690 lit, 710 math ii
• ACT:
• APs:
• IBs:
• GPA: 3.9 UW
• Rank: 8/330
• Other stats:

Subjective:

• ECs listed on app: pres of history club 10th, treasurer of beta club 11, founder of speech and debate 11, pres of debate 12, vp of young democrats 12
• Job/Work Experience:
• Essays (subject and responses): i thought they were pretty good
• Teacher Recs: good
• Counselor Rec: good
• Applied on:
• Hook (if any): QB

Location/Person:

• State or Country: LA
• School Type, Average Stats of School (if available): mediocre public
• Ethnicity: white
• Gender: m

General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations,etc: Congrats to everyone that got in! Chicago just wasnt meant to be i guess

silversuz1

Waitlisted. :&

btownmontana

Decision: ACCEPTED


Stats:

• SAT I (by section): 800CR/770M/800W (1570/2370)
• SAT IIs: 800 Math 2, 760 Lit, 710 US History
• ACT: 34
• APs: 5 APUSH
• IBs: N/A
• GPA: 3.95
• Rank: 8/364
• Other stats:

Subjective:

• ECs listed on app: Policy Debate, Academic Team (Quizbowl), Science Bowl, Downhill Skiing
• Job/Work Experience: None
• Essays (subject and responses): Good, not amazing
• Teacher Recs: incredible (including supplemental rec from a Harvard prof)
• Counselor Rec: said I was the most impressive student she'd seen
• Applied on: what does this mean?
• Hook (if any): Underrepresented state, living abroad

Location/Person:

• State or Country: Montana
• School Type, Average Stats of School (if available): Public, uncompetitive
• Ethnicity: White
• Gender: Male

General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations,etc: WHOOOOOO. Congrats to everyone who got in, good luck at other schools to everyone who didn't.

anissa

Decision: ACCEPTED

Stats:

• SAT I (by section): M:720 CR:760 W:750
• SAT IIs: French w/ Listening:800, US History:720, Literature:690
• ACT: n/a
• APs: US Gov & Politics 5, taking Calc AB, Statistics, French Lit (self study), French Language (self study), English Lit, and Comparative Gov & Politics (self study) this year
• IBs: n/a
• GPA: w: 4.9, uw: 3.8
• Rank: 2/~350
• Other stats: -

Subjective:

• ECs listed on app: year abroad in Orléans, France, Junior State officer and fundraiser / delegate leader to Washington conference, founder/president of Young Democrats, extensive political volunteering with leadership (turned down fulltime internship w/ Barack Obama campaign), tutoring, piano, French Club president, French Club quiz bowl winner, local math quiz bowl
• Job/Work Experience: customer service job at REI since fall 2008
• Essays (subject and responses): The Fermilab one. I wrote it about my imaginary particle accelerator in my brain. It was a lot of B.S., if you ask me, but apparently they liked it. The Common App essay was about a “significant experience” – my volunteering this fall with the campaign.
• Teacher Recs: one was phenomenal (from my government teacher who made me want to study political science; she let me read it and she got all teary-eyed… basically she says I’m the best student she’s ever had), not sure about other but it didn’t seem to hurt!
• Counselor Rec: unsure… but pretty decent I’m assuming. I don’t think she’s very intelligent and she’s been unsupportive of my reach schools, but I know she respects me a lot and wrote about my personal initiative and passion for learning, which is the most important thing.
• Applied on: …?
• Hook (if any): study abroad, lived a lot of places, bilingual, URM

Location/Person:

• State or Country: North Carolina
• School Type, Average Stats of School (if available): public, kind of average. most top kids go to the state flagship
• Ethnicity: URM
• Gender: female

General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations,etc: I’ve gotten into four schools now. Four more to go… My stats are far from perfect, and I’ve changed schools for every year of high school and I think it’s actually helped, not hurt, because my success has been entirely dependent on my own ambition and drive to learn. I don’t think I’ll be attending the U of C, but this comes as a pleasant surprise ☺ Congrats to everyone else who’s gotten in. And to everyone who didn’t – great things await you, I promise.

FB lalaland

OMGOMG ACCEPTED! FLAWLESS VICTORY!!!

Stats:

• SAT Reading: 680
• SAT Math: 780
• SAT Writing: 730
• SAT Total: 2190
• SAT II: Math IIC – 800, Chemistry – 710, Biology E – 760, Chinese with Listening - 800
• TOEFL (if applicable): 115/120 (29,29,27,30)
• ACT (if applicable): N/A
• AP/IB taken/scores: AP Calculus AB – 5, AP Biology – 5, AP Chinese Language and Culture – 5, AP Chemistry – 3 (@#$%^! had not covered “acid and base” and “redox” and “solubility” – got killed on the test)
• GPA weighted (if applicable): N/A Probably 4.68
• GPA unweighted: N/A Probably 3.89~3.96
• Rank or % estimate (if applicable): Top 3%
• Academic Awards: Subject awards, Math Contests, AP Scholar with Honor, Yada Yada Yada
• IB Predicted: 41/45 (English HL 7/7, Geography SL 7/7, Biology SL 6/7, Chemistry HL 6/7, Mandarin HL 7/7, Math HL 6/7, TOK 2/3)
  

Subjective:

• Essays:
• Teacher Rec #1: My former math teacher. One of her students got in Yale with her recommendation, so presumably excellent!
• Teacher Rec #2:
• Additional Rec: I asked my swim team sponsor teacher to write one. It was the best recommendation I have ever read in the world of the universe!
• Counselor Rec: For the mid-term report, he added a new paragraph about my passion for learning and genuine engagement in his TOK class.
• Hook (if any): None whatsoever. Provincial-level swimmer (?)
  

Location:

• State or Country: British Columbia, Canada
• School Type: Public
• Ethnicity: Taiwanese
• Gender: Male
• Legacy Yes/No: No
• Recruited Yes/No: No
• Important ECs:
  Swimming
  - Founder and Captain of varsity swim team, Tons of swimming awards, Provincial-level swimmer, More swimming awards
  Music
  - Co-founder of a non-profit music program, tons of music awards, RCM music certificates, more music awards
  Youth Leader
  - Youth leader at local public library
  - Work 6 hours a week at a private tutoring centre to help new immigrants with language acquisition
  

Other Factors: I was chewing my lucky candy when I checked my decision. Also, admission officers might be really high when they were reviewing my file.

Why do you think you were accepted/rejected/waitlisted/offered guaranteed transfer:
My CR score is definitely too low due to my ethnicity, but I feel that my TOEFL score definitely prevented me from an outright rejection. Before I submitted my application I knew that I would be rejected by many, many schools. Surprisingly, this admission season was way better than I thought! Got accepted to WUSTL, all of Canadian schools and some huge surprise!

General Comments/Congratulations/etc:
Congratulation to all students accepted! You guys really deserve acceptance for your conscientiousness. To those who are rejected, I say this over and over again – do not let this rejection define you as a person. There are millions rejected who move on to achieve fulfilling and often successful lives.
I have some advice for prospective students. Definitely spend some time preparing for interviews, if applicable. I am just naturally quite talkative and persuasive. Definitely do a lot of research on the schools you love and really ask yourself why do you want to attend these schools. After this admission process, I now do not advise students to apply under Early Decision (ED), which is a binding commitment. I applied for Cornell ED, and I got deferred. Now I think of it, I am really glad that I did not get accepted because now I know its atmosphere is not really what I am looking for when it comes to college experience (not as intellectual as I would like it to be). I however, would strongly advise students to apply under EA to a safety school, so you have a back-up plan.
Finally, do not undermine the power of stats. Stats (grades, SAT, APs) are really, really important. I think that my CR score (680) definitely prevented me from being accepted by some top-notch colleges.

Sorry guys. I use past tense in this post because I wrote this up a long time ago and planned to post it after April 1st. (I also made a "rejected" version, but I haven't used it hehe.)

ozzie6

Decision: ACCEPTED


Stats:

• SAT I (by section): M: 760 CR: 720 W: 720
• SAT IIs: Math 2: 800 Spanish: 770 Physics: 800
• ACT: 35
• APs: 5 on Euro, U.S. History, Physics B, and Spanish, and I'm taking 7 more tests in May
• IBs:
• GPA: 4.00 UW 4.667 W
• Rank: 2/500
• Other stats: National Merit Finalist, AP Scholar, Semifinalist for U.S. Physics Team

Subjective:

• ECs listed on app: Cross Country, Track, Choir, Tutoring, NHS, Environment Club
• Job/Work Experience: Lifeguard/Swim Instructor
• Essays (subject and responses): My common app was about my third grade teacher and how she was the first person to force me to challenge myself. For the Chicago essay, I used the particle accelerator topic and smashed my sister and I together. I'm not the best writer, so my essays weren't fantastic, but I worked really hard on them so I think they came out well.
• Teacher Recs: I think they were good, but I didn't read them
• Counselor Rec: she's new and doesn't know me well, but I'm sure she wrote something nice
• Applied on: late December
• Hook (if any): none

Location/Person:

• State or Country: IL
• School Type, Average Stats of School (if available): large public, its one of the best public schools in my state
• Ethnicity: white
• Gender: female

General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations,etc: I really love University of Chicago and I am so happy I got in! Congrats to everyone else who got in!

LaVieEnChocolat

My D waitlisted

French/american citizen/ speak fluent Spanish, learning chinese
act 31
sat;2000
saII :800(french) 680(math) 680 (literature)
tons of leadership and club and sport!!
ok we are waiting for other results!!

gbpackersfan24

Decision: ACCEPTED

Stats:

• SAT I (by section):
• SAT IIs:
• ACT: 32
• APs: School doesn't offer APs or IBs
• IBs:
• GPA: 95/100
• Rank: 7/106 (may have changed since i last looked)
• Other stats:

Subjective:

• ECs listed on app: Varsity Soccer 11th and 12th, Varsity Indoor/Outdoor Track all four years, MasterMinds team captain, JV Soccer 9th and 10th, NHS, Boys' State, probably a few more that I can't remember
• Job/Work Experience: Soccer referee during the summer between my sophomore and junior years
• Essays (subject and responses): I picked the one about the street, and everyone who read it thought it was great
• Teacher Recs: Good enough to get me in lol
• Counselor Rec: Should have been great. I'm in her office a lot just to chat.
• Applied on: Like 12/30? Idk what to put here
• Hook (if any): Track coach put in a letter for me

Location/Person:

• State or Country: NY
• School Type, Average Stats of School (if available): I don't know where you find stats, but it's not a very good school
• Ethnicity: White
• Gender: Male

General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations,etc: I was suprised. I'm 8/8 on acceptances so far, though. I hope I get decent aid. Congratulations to the accepted students! To the people who didn't get in, keep your heads up. There are a ton of other great schools out there, and good luck to all of you.

brendanww

Decision: ACCEPTED

Stats:

• SAT I (by section): 2190 M:750 R: 730 W: 710
• SAT IIs:
• ACT:
• APs: 5's on the Physics C, BC Calculus, AB Calculus, Euro History, US History exams and a 3 on the chemistry exam
• IBs:
• GPA: no idea
• Rank: I think they marked top 10%; we do not rank
• Other stats:

General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations,etc:
I wasn't expecting the decision so soon! I was already admitted to Stanford, so it looks like I am having quite a bit of good luck :-) Congrats to everyone else

ab2013

Decision: DEFERRED EA --> WAITLISTED

Majors: Econ and Applied Math

Stats:

• SAT I (by section): CX 2260 M 800 CR 750 W 710 E 10
• SAT IIs: Math 2 800, Chem 780, Bio M 760, Lit 680
• ACT: CX 34 M 36 CR 33 EN 33 S 33 or something like that subscore wise
• APs: Chem 5, Bio 5, Macroecon 4, Microecon 5, Eng Lang 5, Eng Lit, Physics C, Calc BC, Stats
• IBs: School does not offer
• GPA: 3.85 UW
• Rank: School does not rank
• Other stats: AMC 12 105, AIME Qualifier, AIME 3

Subjective:

• ECs listed on app: Orchestra + principal (3 years), Latin Club + secretary (3 years), NHS + webmaster (2 years), and a few others (forgot)
• Job/Work Experience: Unemployed like 8% of the USA
• Essays (subject and responses): (1) Compared Vitamin Water flavors with the Common Core (2) the Flying Spaghetti Monster (3) Favorite music artists
• Teacher Recs: 1 from AP English, 1 from AP Chem (didn't know my Econ teacher well enough)
• Counselor Rec: Saw her alot, but never read it
• Applied on: (Mailed) October 26, 2008 for EA
• Hook (if any): None

Location/Person:

• State or Country: Cursed to be stuck in Michigan
• School Type, Average Stats of School (if available): Top Public
• Ethnicity: ORM
• Gender: Perfectly rhymes with mail (or I failed my poetry test this week)

General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations,etc:

Now Playing: "You Keep Me Hangin' On" by the Supremes

KMad

Decision: ACCEPTED!


Stats:

• SAT I (by section): 1340 / 2030
• SAT IIs: 720 US History, 700 Literature, 590 W. History
• ACT: 33
• APs: English Comp 5, US History 5 (Took 7 more APs this year)
• IBs: -
• GPA: 4.0 uw / 4.3 w
• Rank: 5 / 360
• Other stats: -

Subjective:

• ECs listed on app: Band (Jazz, Concert, Percussion), Student Council, Literati (book club), others
• Job/Work Experience: None, but lots of community service at the Ft. Worth Zoo
• Essays (subject and responses): Topic 3, wrote a narrative about three different streets and the American Dream, my Why Chicago sounded like I wanted to marry the school, not attend it, and my optional one was about how I hate Kindles.
• Teacher Recs: One good, one amazing!
• Counselor Rec: Probably good
• Applied on: 1/1/09
• Hook (if any): PASSION!

Location/Person:

• State or Country: Texas (Howdy, ya'll)
• School Type, Average Stats of School (if available): Public and lame, hardly any go to top schools
• Ethnicity: White as the driven snow
• Gender: Female

General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations,etc: Oh my gosh. If they don't give me enough financial aid I'll cry. DREEEEAM SCHOOL! <3

Temay

Decision: ACCEPTED


Stats:

• SAT I (by section): N/A
• SAT Iis: Na
• ACT: 28
• Aps: School doesn't offer
• IBs:^^^
• GPA: 4.0 unweighted
• Rank: 1/27
• Other stats: A ton of awards

[ b]Subjective:[/b][ list][*] ECs listed on app: President of several club including NHS, SCIENCE CLUB... [*] Job/Work Experience: work 25 hours a week as a Pizza Hut manager[*] Essays (subject and responses):[*] Teacher Recs: Perfect[*] Counselor Rec: Good[*] Applied on: January 1st[*] Hook (if any): NONE[/list]Location/Person:

• State or Country: USA
• School Type, Average Stats of School (if available): Public, only two students have got into big time schools in recent history
• Ethnicity: White
• Gender: Male

[ b]General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations,etc:[/b] Very, very, very happy... THANK YOU... God Bless

einstein1203

Decision: ACCEPTED

Stats:

• SAT I (by section): M: 700 CR: 800 W: 740 (2240)
• SAT IIs: Literature: 730 Chem: 730 Math II: 750
• ACT: 35
• APs: 5's on US History, Government, European History, Chemistry, 4 on BC Calc
• GPA: 5.4 weighted, 3.7 unweighted
• Rank: 14/560

Subjective:

• ECs listed on app: Editor in Chief of Newspaper, Scholastic Bowl, Key Club, Writing Club
• Job/Work Experience: Student Judge for Election
• Essays (subject and responses): For Common App, I wrote about my interests in writing and science. For UChicago, I wrote about my street.
• Teacher Recs: 1 excellent (very specific) and one that I assume was very good
• Counselor Rec: Great - we talk a lot
• Applied on: 12/30/08
• Hook (if any): First in my family to attend a 4-year university

Location/Person:

• State or Country: Illinois
• School Type, Average Stats of School (if available): Public, decent
• Ethnicity: White
• Gender: Male

General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations,etc: I'm super excited to be admitted, but I'll be on the fence until financial aid comes out. Congrats to all of you who got in, and good luck to those who didn't.