<p>People here may tell you that EA decreases your chances if you are not a stellar candidate but I dont believe that so much. Even if you get deffered EA, you are reconsidered again from the start in the RD round and then they see that you went out of your way to finish your application excessively early for UChicago and that shows interest.</p>
<p>My advice would be to Apply EA (and fill out and return every little “teaser” document they send you) and then make sure to do a campus visit in october with an interview. This will show a sincere interest in the school and even if you have less than stellar stats, you should be better off. </p>
<p>As a note, this is what I did (though I wasnt thinking this way when I did it) and I was accepted EA with stats that I dont think are THAT stellar. When I applied, I was barely grasping at top 10% (now that is gone forever I think because so many people dropped out) and had a 1400 SAT (old style…but my writing section would have been ok). My ACT was stronger and my GPA is pretty good, (and I had a special letter of recomendation…) but I really think that showing interest through the visit/ea/why chicago/etc. was a big help.</p>