<p>I applied early to UVA and was deferred, and am moving on to “Plan B.” I was really disappointed about how much emphasis was put on GPA and not the entire package, and came across the University of Chicago’s website. It seemed very inviting to me, and I consider myself a very strong writer. I know it is a pretty big reach for me. </p>
<p>White Male
from Northern Virginia
Largest Public School in the State (4000+)</p>
<p>IB Diploma
Toughest courseload possible
Total of 13 IB classes by graduation, along with AP govt in 10th grade (4)
Senior Classes
IB Physics II
IB English II
IB Math II
IB Spanish II
IB Topics of the 21st Century (History)
IB Business/Managment
Art I</p>
<p>3.7 W 3.6 UW (3.8 W 3.7 UW if not for B’s in 8th grade algebra/spanish)
Besides consistent B’s in Spanish, gotten mostly A’s with scattered B/B+'s
School does not rank</p>
<p>32 ACT (33 m 33s 31eng 30 rd 11 essay)
2080 SAT (710 m 700 v 670 w)</p>
<p>Decent EC’s
Heavy baseball, recruited to play DIII
President of Young Republicans
Coached Little League baseball for 2 seasons
Held job at Country Club since June
NHS, Spanish Honor Society
Numerous awards in science fair (both school and region level) during 10th/11th grades
100’s of volunteer hours (Part of IB diploma program)
Other smaller things</p>
<p>Read my recs, one is excellent, the other very good</p>
<p>My UVA essays were the strongest part of my application</p>
<p>With good essays you stand a decent chance. I would recommend visiting, if possible. 8th grade grades are not typically considered, so your GPA may be a little higher as well.</p>
<p>IB will help. U Chicago does sound like a great match for you. Do an interview and make a strong case for yourself. They like readers- talk about what you like to read. I am really surprised that you did not get into UVA ED, being a state resident and all. Hopefully, you will make it RD and have a choice. Maybe UVA receives too many applications from your school, and sort of sets a quota.</p>
<p>I also think you’ve got a shot at Chicago. I know that UVa gets more applications from Northern Virginia than other parts of the state, and that they try to even out the applicant pool, which means that some good students from northern Virginia get deferred. That’s the only reason I can think of for your deferral…</p>
<p>dude gggunit, ur in the EXACT same boat as me. deffered from UVA and now thinking about UofC. And we pretty much hv the same stats too, cept ur SAT is a tad bit higher. IB rules!!! IB ur boss one day</p>
<p>Two friends of mine were recruited by University of Chicago to play basketball for them. Both of their stats were slightly lower than yours and they both got in…</p>
<p>I think you have a decent shot, but start your essays like a month in advance. I thought I would be fine…but I ditched one because it sounded arrogant. Your GPA isn’t that bad…plus Chicago doesn’t put too much emphasis on grades. Your test scores are solid. I bet you could get in.</p>