Official Chicago Waitlist Acceptance Thread

Colleges & Universities University of Chicago
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<p>In an effort to consolidate all news and results, including acceptances, about Chicago’s waiting list for this fall’s entering class, please post that news here and only here. It’s important to include the location/person section!</p>

<p>[ size=+2][ color=green][ b]Decision: [ /b][ /color][ /size]</p>

<p>[ b]Stats:[ /b][ list]
[ *] SAT I (by section):
[ *] SAT IIs:
[ *] ACT:
[ *] APs:
[ *] IBs:
[ *] UM-GPA:
[ *] Rank:
[ *] Other stats:
[ /list][ b]Location/Person:[ /b][ list]
[ *] State or Country:
[ *] School Type, Average Stats of School (if available):
[ *] Ethnicity:
[ *] Gender:
[ /list][ b]General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations,etc:</p>

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<p>bump10char</p>

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<p>Anytime now.</p>

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<p>**Decision: Waitlisted then Admitted **</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 1270/1940 (630 Math 640 CR 670 Writing)
[</em>] SAT II : 750 US History, 700 Math II, 750 Chem
[<em>] ACT: 29
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): 14 to date. Art History (3), APUSH (5), Stats (4), Chem (4), Eng Lang (5). Will be taking the following in May: Calc BC, Physics C: Mechanics, Spanish Language, Biology, US Gov, Micro, Macro, Eng Lit, Psychology
[<em>] IBs: N/A. School doesn’t offer them
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.79
[<em>] Grades in AP/IB/honors classes (if applicable): Mostly A’s with a couple of B’s and B+'s in the mix
[</em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 11/443 (2.48%)
[<em>] Senior Year Course Load: All AP’s except 1 semester class: Calc BC (Full Year), Physics C (Full Year), Spanish Language (Full Year), Biology (Full Year), US Gov (Sem), Micro (Sem), Macro (Sem), Eng Lit (Full Year), Dual Credit Comp Programming (Sem), Psychology (Self Studying).
[</em>] Major Awards: AP Scholar w/ Honors, National Ventures Scholar, Nothing spectacular</p>

<p>[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership and number of years participated in a certain activity in parenthesis): Spanish Club (3 years), Wrestling (2 years, JV for 1 year and Varsity for the other), Academic Superbowl (3 years, Science Captain and Interdisciplinary Captain), International Club (2 years, co-Vice President of Marketing & Comm.), Literature Seminar (2 years), Quiz Bowl (2 years, Former JV captain), Student Government (1 year, Student Body Vice-President, President of the Senate, President of President’s Council)
[</em>] Job/Work Experience: Work for one summer at the same place I usually volunteer
[<em>] Volunteer/Community service: Volunteered
[</em>] EC short answer (subject and personal opinions on it): About the volunteering I do
[<em>] Common App Essay (subject and personal opinions on it): Getting hit by a bus while crossing the road in Nigeria and then having a stranger pick me up from the other side of the road, rush me to my house and then go the hospital. And how I developed my love for medicine and the natural sciences with this experience.
[</em>] Optional Favorite Things Essay (subject and personal opinions on it): This is actually funny. Well I procastinated and didn’t finish my app till pretty close to the deadline and I was applying to HYSP and UChicago I just used the Harvard optional essay about my most influential books as the optional essay for UChicago
[<em>] Why Chicago (details in the essay and personal opinions on it): Based on the chemical history and background of UChicago (tossed around Enrico Fermi in it)
[</em>] Extended Chicago Essay (subject - if you want, include essay prompt if you did #5 - and personal opinions on it):
[<em>] Teacher Recommendation (only if you saw it): Didn’t see it
[</em>] Counselor Rec (only if you saw it): Didn’t see it
[<em>] Additional Rec (only if you saw it): Didn’t see it
[</em>] Interview: My interview was excellent. I had a relatively young guy, about 25ish who I really could connect to and he was in the same boat as myself, he had just finished undergrad at UChicago and was applying to their grad school. We talked for over and hour and really connected. This is probably the reason why I wasn’t rejected at first</p>

<p>[/ul]Other:[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): Indiana
[</em>] Country (if international applicant):
[<em>] School Type, Average Stats of School (if available): Public, I had a really competitive class
[</em>] Ethnicity: Nigerian (African). Moved to the US in about 2004
[<em>] Gender: Male
[</em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): I could say my much diverse ethnicity of being from Africa could have been a hook. All of my family has been or is in college so just being Nigerian is the only one I can think of. </p>

<p>[/ul]Reflection[ul]</p>

<p>[<em>] Strengths: Academic rigor, balance of multitudes of activities with school, extracurriculars
[</em>] Weaknesses: Terrible freshman year, Trouble with SAT I and ACT (scores not Ivy League stereotype high or perfect)
[li] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I really was surprised to see that I was waitlisted and I was even more surprised to be accepted since I didn’t even send a letter or any supplementary info . I basically threw Hail Marys when I applied to HYSPUoC. My grades weren’t superb but I think the things that stopped me from being rejected are as follows: my scholastic rigor and change from freshman year to now. Freshman year (no AP or Honors). Soph (1 AP, 4 Honors, 2 regular) Junior, (4 AP, 2 Honors, 1 reg), Senior (7 AP, 0 Honors, 0 reg). Also my interview was fantastic and I think the growth in 4 years showed them I was ready for college but I guess not well enough. In addition I had an abundance of extracurricular activities. Way too many (Do not take my path, sleep is a good thing for your body. You need it to survive so try not to pull as many all-nighters as I did)</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]General Comments:
I wish all who are still on the waitlist luck. Hopefully you get off.</p>

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<p>Wow, congrats ifedayo! You definitely deserve it :smiley:
I’m hoping I can miraculously get off the list :c… I’d be ecstatic to meet everybody there!</p>

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<p>Thanks agpyn3w. Yes I do agree. I’ve been so busy the entire year and I can’t wait till I visit there sometime soon</p>

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<p>It’s interesting. I don’t know if this guy is international or not, but his ethnicity is Nigerian… Chicago seems like they are looking for URMs or ‘rare’ nationalities.</p>

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<p>LOL someone in my school who has a really rare nationality dropped the WL, anyways ifedayo - you didnt send anything at all? Did you communicate with the admissions office in any way after being waitlisted? When did you get called, and is your passport American or Nigerian?</p>

<p>Sorry for the questions lol thanks</p>

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<p>No, I planned to but then I got really busy studying for AP tests so I never sent anything in. and also I didn’t talk or contact the university in any way. My passport is Nigerian, I’m a permanent resident.</p>

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<p>Ayt Congrats man</p>

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<p>Hopefully u get in also, I’m still on the waitlist for Princeton and Yale and it’s understand how nervewracking it is.</p>

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<p>**Waitlist then Admitted(April 13th) **</p>

<p>** Stats: **
SAT I 2300 SAT (800 Math, 780 CR, 720 W)
SAT II: 800 Math II, 800 Physics, 790 Chemistry
Other: 5x AIME, 3xUSAMO, 1xUSChO, 1x USPhO</p>

<p>** Subjective **
Teacher Rec (Sciences): I really don’t know, we had a fairly substantial argument (about the best way to solve a perticular Linear Algerbra problem) the day after a asked him to write it…
Teacher Rec (Non-Sciences): Haven’t seen it, but I know it’s quite good.
Con Rec: Quite effusive…
Additional Rec (Music Teacher): Her letter touched my heart…</p>

<p>** Essays **
Common App: Used the UChicago prompt on games as retrospective of my time in high school. It made the headmaster well up but the more I think about it it has far less effect if the reader goes in without a basic knowledge of who I am.</p>

<p>Why UChicago: Standard, which means it’s probably quite poor by Chicago applicant pool standards (I’m a mathematician and musician not a writing/humanities type)</p>

<p>Music: I poured my soul into this essay, but as it is about certain piece of music (the opening of Mahler 9) if the reader has no familiarity with the music it is a lot less effective.</p>

<p>Uncommon Essay: Question 5 - “In this life, you can either shut yourself up in a country house and stare into the newt-tank, or you can be a dasher with the sex. But you can’t do both.” Using that quote as a starting point I argued that intellectuallism and fun are not mutually exclusive thus disproving the “where fun to die.”</p>

<p>** Ethnicity** </p>

<p>Race: White (Italian)
School Type: Large Private school, sends about 12 to HYPSC each year on top of 65 to Oxbridge.
Location: UK</p>

<p>** Awards and Positions **
ASCAP Mourton Gould Award (National music award)
5x Hall Cup for Composition Winner
Awarded “colours” (equivalent to a Varsity Letter) for rowing [actually coxing but…]
Awarded the Gowers prize for top Mathematician in the school
House Captain
House Music Captain
House Academic Captain</p>

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<p>^it seems everyone admitted was notified before May 1??! Uchicago told me they werent even sure they were gna use the WL (this was after may 1). did you send any supplements like a letter, grades, updated resume etc?</p>

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<p>this is scaring me too… i have a terrible feeling that I won’t be accepted =/</p>

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<p>ifedayo, you sound like a person who truly deserves this acceptance. Congrats, looking forward to meeting you in September.</p>

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<p>“The Yank In London” — Are you planning to attend UChicago?!</p>

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<p>^Lol what are his other acceptances</p>

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<p>Thanks HonorsCentuar. I do wish to go to Chicago also but I guess at the end it’ll ultimately be decided by the aid I receive and if I get off the waitlists for the Ivies. Oh and if you don’t mind me asking, what made UChicago your final choice?</p>

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<p>Yeah, no problem bro, it’ll be an honor and a humbling experience attending school with people like you next year.
UChicago’s financial aid is very generous, but I have not doubt you’ll get off any waitlist you choose.
I chose UChicago as my final choice because I got waitlisted at Wharton (former top choice, however even if they take me off the list now I’d still attend UChicago. Change of heart. Funny, eh?) Rejected from Harvard, Yale, and Cornell, waitlisted at Northwestern. Would’ve chose Yale or Harvard over it but would’ve chose UChicago over Cornell and NU.
Good luck, I look forward to hopefully meeting you in September.</p>

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<p>@WealthOfInfo</p>

<p>Yes I am planning to go to UChicago. Although that may well change if I get off of the waitlist at Harvard.</p>