<p>Menloparkmom - To echo what Counting down said, the Common App was just introduced last year, and it induced a modest increase in applications (about 9% overall). The year before that was the “boom” app cycle for chicago. </p>
<p>See here for more info on the boom year BEFORE the common app was introduced: </p>
<p><a href=“https://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/admissions/classprofile.shtml[/url]”>https://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/admissions/classprofile.shtml</a></p>
<p>So yes, the common app seems to have increased apps a bit, but not by the significant amount you imply in your post. </p>
<p>On another note, I’m sorry to hear your son didn’t enjoy his experience at the U of C. What in particular did he not like about it? </p>
<p>Again, while I’m sorry he didn’t like the school, I can assure you that the Chicago in 2007 or 2008 looks quite different then when I graduated in 2000. You’re right, maybe some of this is just clever “enrollment management” on the part of the administration. At the same time, the 20% drop out rate (in comparison to 2% now) gave the school a very different vibe. The statistics certainly played their way out amongst my group of friends - a bunch of my friends withdrew or transferred, and a bunch more thought of leaving. </p>
<p>I do alum interviews a lot for Chicago, and from what I can see, in the past 6-7 years of doing interviews, the composition of the students has changed. First, the sheer volume of interview requests have increased, and I see fewer “weaker” candidates gain acceptance just to fill seats in the class. At my time at the U of C, it was apparent that certain people were there just to fill seats. </p>
<p>The changes thus far seem too significant to overlook. A minimal dropout rate, a significant increase in diversity (I think the % of minority students at Chicago has literally doubled since my time at the U of C), higher scores, higher yield… Sure, maybe some of it is clever enrollment management, but the fact is no other school has seen such significant numerical change in such a short span of time. Most of this occurred, by the way, without the introduction of the common app.</p>
<p>While all this has happened, Chicago’s improved its finances significantly, created outreach programs, etc etc. On aggregate, I highly doubt that all these changes actually had a minimal impact on the feel of the school.</p>
<p>With all this in mind, why do you think the Chicago of today still bears a strong similarity to the Chicago of the not-so-distant past? I graduated in 2000, and whenever I go back to the U of C now, I’m struck by just how much has changed.</p>