Chance Me Please

Colleges & Universities University of Chicago
1

<p>Hello all,</p>

<p>I know my odds of getting in are abysmal, but I figured I’d give it a shot.</p>

<p>Male, White
Pennsylvania
Class of 2017
Junior
Intended Major: Philosophy</p>

<p>SATs: 2020 (720 CR, 670 M, 630 W) Didn’t study, confident in my ability to get a 2150+, maybe even a 2200 in October</p>

<p>Unweighted GPA: Probably like a 3.95, weighted is like a 4.6-7
Class rank: Top 1% Might end up Valedictorian, but schools wouldn’t know that because it wouldn’t be figured out until the end of the year</p>

<p>AP Classes Taken:</p>

<p>World History
US History
English Lang and Comp
Art History
Calc BC
Physics B</p>

<p>AP Classes Next Year:</p>

<p>Econ
Gov
Lit and Comp
Music Theory
Biology
Stats</p>

<p>EC:</p>

<p>Debate Team (Maybe Co-captain)
Scholastic Scrimmage Team (Captain)
Science Olympiad Team
Envirothon team
NHS
CTY
Volunteers in Motion
Volunteered a bit outside of school with a Jewish Youth Group</p>

<p>If it helps, I’m going to try to present myself as a self-taught future philosophy professor type. I read a lot in the field, know a decent amount for someone my age, attended graduate seminars at the best Philosophy university in the world, and took a philosophy class at a local school and got an A. The real goal is to go get a PhD and teach, so that’s what I plan on saying.</p>

<p>Also, my school is notoriously bad, which has been presented to me as both a good thing and a bad thing. On the bad side, grade inflation is rampant. On the upside, people still manage to get into good schools. A peer got into Columbia with a 1960. Princeton with a 2100. Dartmouth with a 2200…so, who knows…</p>

<p>I know my chances are bad, but I was wondering just how bad.</p>

<p>Others schools I’m considering:</p>

<p>Columbia (My first choice, but my odds are awful.)
Reed (My second choice. I think I’ll get in, but I want to keep my options open)
NYU
Brown
Brandeis
Pitt (My safety, I think)</p>

<p>Thanks in advance</p>

2

<p>First of all:
<a href=“http://m.urbandictionary.com/#define?term=College%20Confidential[/url]”>http://m.urbandictionary.com/#define?term=College%20Confidential&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Stop being a CC stereotype. Nobody with a 1% class rank and 2000+ sat has “abyssmal” chances at any school. </p>

<p>Second of all, yes, I believe you’re on the right track and I do think you should retake the sats if you think you’ll do that much better.</p>

<p>Sent from my DROID RAZR using CC</p>

3

<p>1) A philosophy major should have a better math SAT. For example, mathematical logic is considered part math and part philosophy. Retake the SAT.</p>

<p>2) I’ve read where studying Strunk & White - The Elements of Style can improve writing test scores. However, I don’t think UChicago uses the writing score but instead pays very close attention to its uncommon essays. See score ranges at
<a href=“https://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/apply/classprofile.shtml[/url]”>https://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/apply/classprofile.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>3) Your grades are strong. However, your writing score of 630 is low at Reed where 670 m 720 cr is average. Try something less popular than Brown in the East like Wesleyan as an option to Reed. Pitt is a great safety as it’s well known in philosophy.</p>

4

<p>Thank you. I know my math score is very low. It’s a shame really considering I’d like to think I’m actually very good at math. Always get As, and I took Calc this year and got As. It’s just something about the test that scares me. When I take the test “for real” in October. I really do think I can get a 750+.</p>

5

<p>Actually, your chances are much stronger than you think. You have a very solid profile and are clearly very interested in a particular subject, which is hard to find among most 17 year olds. Your SATs aren’t even that low. The critical reading is fine. The math is decent-if you can improve it, great, if not, it won’t kill you. Improve your writing a bit. Honestly, I know plenty of people at UChicago with similar or lower scores than you who do just fine here. </p>

<p>Just make sure you rock your essays. Mine were definitely why I got in with an average applicant profile (average by UChicago standards, not by regular standards!). Good luck my friend!</p>

6

<p>And this is why college admissions is like a black hole of nothingness. I get a whole lot of "probably not"s and a whole lot of "yeah, I can totally see it happening"s. It truly seems like it is a crap-shoot, but for my own personal sanity, I’m going to go with the comment above this one. Just to make me feel a little better on the inside. Heh.</p>

<p>But thanks for the reply. It really means a lot.</p>

7

<p>Definitley get your SAT scores up. Im pretty sure your fine for the other colleges. Just remember to start the UChicago essay very early!</p>

8

<p>That’s actually something I wanted to know how to do. Could I sign up on the common app website and actually see the UChicago supplement now and start working on it for January, or do I have to wait for some special moment where I can then start working. I guess that goes for all the other schools I’m interested in as well…</p>

9

<p>Yeah I’d be careful about this whole “self taught philosopher” thing, it may end up sounding extremely pretentious. You might have a chance for Chicago, but honestly only if you apply ED or something. Also I would definitely work on that list of yours, there is no common thread between any of these schools (Columbia and Brown, really?)</p>

10

<p>Common thread?</p>

11

<p>Re Columbia/Brown: Very strict core vs no requirements whatsoever, that’s usually one of the main reasons why people would apply to one but not the other. If you’re a fan of the Core, you can recreate such a curriculum at Brown, but the experience will definitely not be the same seeing as there is a very slim to zero chance that your peers will take the exact same classes, one of the reasons some people like the concept of a universal core so much (Chicago is much closer to Columbia in this regard, but you’re given choices of sequences within the requirements instead of a standard set of classes that absolutely everybody must take).</p>

<p>Anyway, I was admitted with a score of 650 on the Math section of the SAT, so that 670 will not be the death of you (single factors rarely are, unless it’s something like getting arrested). Considering that I put Economics as my second-choice major, this just shows that the university does not place a huge amount of weight on your intended major. What are you planning on doing this summer? Unless you would honestly enjoy writing those college essays, I recommend you take at least a few weeks off to relax and destress. That is in general, though, because as usual the U Chicago essays seem quite enjoyable in themselves and could provide for some entertainment :).</p>

12

<p>Just weighing in as one whose S applied to Chicago, Brown, and Columbia. There are many other factors to weigh other than core vs. no core. The three schools have a similar undergraduate size and similar settings, with each one having a distinct (and beautiful, imo) campus in an urban setting. The open curriculum certainly puts Brown in its own fairly unique academic category, and not just compared to the other two. But for an intellectually curious student, all three schools provide the opportunity to explore a broad spectrum of subjects (albeit with more mindfulness when choosing courses at Brown in light of none being required). The 3 didn’t seem all that contradictory to my S, especially when those other non-academic factors are considered.</p>

13

<p>To me, it seems as though all three schools are very undergraduate focused. For someone who plans on spending 10 years in college and going to grad school, I’ve heard that I need, first and foremost, an “undergraduate university,” so I can foster my creative and intellectual ability before I head to the netherworld that is grad school.</p>

14

<p>Brown’s campus was beautiful? The general dinginess of the place was one of the reasons I crossed it off my list! But as to curriculum, I agree - the “take whatever” policy was enticing; particularly because I could easily build my own core.</p>

15

<p>^^ As ever, YMMV.</p>