<p>I don’t see where privilege comes into the picture though. Don’t financially needy students get the same amount of assistance when they apply ED as they do in the regular round?</p>
<p>Kenyanpride, It is not even a secret that ED applicants who indicate NO in applying financial aid checkbox get a SIGNIFICANT boost in admission chance. Nothing wrong with it. Ultimately, colleges, including the nation’s most exclusive ones, are businesses. Colleges themselves don’t even deny it, so there is no need for u to defend. :)</p>
<p>^Actually not really. If a college says its need-blind, it really is need-blind.</p>
<p>Agreed with JHS here. UChicago should never move to ED.</p>
<p>The smartest kids are the ones who understand their own uncertainty and refuse to apply ED anyway. That’s partly why Chicago has higher SATs than any ED school in the country.</p>
<p>Bannedhero, I said “ED applicants who indicate NO in applying financial aid checkbox get a significant boost in admission chance” , I was not saying the ED colleges are not need blind.
Similarly, I can say an applicant whose family made major gifts to a college get an major boost in admission chance, that does not make the college not need blind.</p>
<p>I agree I hope I didn’t insinuate that I thought they SHOULD move to ED. I love how they are the only school in the top 10 rankings that doesn’t have ed or single-choice… And I want it to stay that way. I think that switching would increase yield dramatically however over time as the acceptance rate creeps to about 7/8%, the yield will also increase I believe. So they don’t have to go ED to make that happen, it just won’t happen as quickly. I think EA is the way to go! Otherwise I know I wouldn’t have applied…</p>
<p>And another thing I commend Chicago for is their financial aid… They accepted me and estimated a 42k grant next year. I know all top colleges are need-blind, but you would have to be sort of naive to believe that this is COMPLETELY the case, in my opinion.</p>
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<p>I am kind of surprised by Chicago’s financial aid in recent years as well. Usually there are quite a lot of complaints on this board after EA and RD decisions are released, but I have only seen one this year thus far.</p>
<p>Getting back to the parent packages… my ex-H and I (living in separate households) each got a package today. But we chatted, and decided not to deploy the “bling” at this time. It feels like U of Chicago is essentially trying to get us to advertise to our kid. And we want her to make her choice on other factors than whether her parents (who do have great influence on her, honestly) are wearing t-shirts around for a specific college.</p>
<p>I am sure I will wear it after her decision is made, whether she decides to attend or not. It is a nice t-shirt, and Chicago is a great school. But we decided not to participate in the marketing campaign at this time.</p>
<p>That’s a very politically correct answer haha… In my case, I love my parents, but I’m paying for the majority of my education (what I don’t get in merit/financial aid) so they don’t presume to have a say in what college I choose to attend. They are just happy about getting some presents!</p>
<p>Not trying to be politically correct. Just genuinely unsure that U of C is the best choice for my D. It very well may be… but she should choose on other qualities besides swag sent by the college.</p>
<p>intparent, how many college bound kids you have? You are a member of CC since 2007 , with 3,003 posts. Just curious. UChicago is one of the best universities of the world, I don not think they need to send swag to get top students. Welcome parents of the 2017 class!</p>
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Exactly. It sounds like she liked the university (at least before they sent in the swag [sic])
The “swag” should not affect her decision, neither in the positive nor in the negative. and was never intended to do so.
Is this a product of receiving the parents package?</p>
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If you don’t think that it is the college for her, I agree, do not wear the t-shirts. If you do think that the college is for her, I hope you don’t have to don shirts for her to realize that.</p>
<p>I got this package as well.</p>
<p>I got the package too! My younger son is wearing the hat and I’m wearing the t-shirt!</p>
<p>Realeducation, I have two kids, one already a college graduate (Phi Beta Kappa at her chosen college, with a well paying job and benefits in a tough job market). I recognize that U of C is highly ranked and has many fine qualities. That does not make it the best choice for every student, however. Like every college, there are strengths and weaknesses, advantages and disadvantages to the school. Even though my kid was accepted, it is not a done deal at all that she will attend. Maybe… maybe not. We will see how the other acceptances fall, what the financial aid looks like, and what her final preferences are. I happen to have been a marketing major in college (at another fine research university), so maybe am more tuned in than others to marketing attempts by all the colleges my kids have applied to. And am careful to make sure we are making decision on the basis of as many facts as we can gather, not the number of t-shirts or mailings we receive. Believe me, I cast an equally jaundiced eye on some mailings and marketing we have received from other colleges.</p>
<p>Anyone who doesn’t think college is a “big business” and is run as such from the college side is mistaken. Anyone who doesn’t treat this as a consumer transaction (and a darned big one) with that in mind is at risk of making a choice that is not right for them.</p>
<p>This is mostly for current high school students. Free swag should have very little, if any, influence on which college you choose. It is neither positive nor negative, and basing any decisions on the amount of free stuff a college sends you (whether you think it’s too little or too much) is the wrong approach. If you believe that the enormous amount of marketing and free items outweighs the amazing education, copious opportunities and location near one of the most amazing cities in the US, then by all means, choose another school that was more conservative in sending out brochures and t-shirts.</p>
<p>Not to get argumentative on a U of C thread (when my kid might go there), but there are MANY other reasons people might choose another school. Small class sizes, better results at admission to certain types of graduate programs, lower cost, a preference for more courses taught by professors vs. TAs & adjuncts, a desire to attend a college where one does not compete with grad students for research resources/professor time/etc., weather, a preference for less time spent on core/required classes, and a preference for not going to college in a city might be examples of factors that could make a student consider another choice.</p>
<p>So PMCM18, hopefully it is not the marketing that makes a student choose for or against any school. Although it requires a lot of digging to get through it sometimes to the real pros (and any cons) of a given college. Just saying that I would hope a student would not be swayed toward U of C by the free swag for themselves or their parents.</p>
<p>PMCM never suggested that there aren’t valid reasons to pick other schools (that would be ludicrous)
PMCM is saying pretty much the same thing. As was I.</p>
<p>PS:
I agree that these are valid points, put I don’t think Chicago fares particularly badly in “class sizes” and “TA vs Professors”. I’m sure certain schools do fare better (Caltech comes to mind for the prior point at least) so the point still holds, but still…</p>
<p>Love the parent package! It is like a guy bringing a girl flowers, a nice gesture but doesn’t really influence the girl either way. There is nothing wrong with making the kids feel wanted, marketing ploy or not! I agree with PMC.</p>