<p>Um, cool it with the false modesty. It’s not attractive, and it makes other people feel like doo-doo. There are some magic words on your resume. You are going to be a strong candidate anywhere you apply, and you know it (or, if you don’t, you are somehow much dumber than you have any right to be). You will probably get rejected by some colleges, but only because lots of the ones you will be applying to reject tons of good candidates. </p>
<p>Your main challenges are: (1) Making your list of ECs seem believable, because right now it smells like a lot of bulls have been milling around it. I assume there’s lots of substance there, but everything you have on it can’t be real. (2) Finding a good safety. (3) Deciding whether to apply SCEA to Yale or Stanford, ED someplace (like Penn?), or EA to a bunch of the Usual EA Suspects plus Michigan (which is going EA next year, and is probably a great safety if you apply EA). (4) Not being a jerk.</p>
<p>Anyway, of course you should apply to Chicago, unless you have already gotten in someplace you prefer.</p>