Should I take some extra tests?

Colleges & Universities University of Chicago
1

<p>Chicago is my dream school. Ever since the first mailing I received from them I was hooked. Once I signed up for the post card series and received the Coffee themed post card and found out they had a “fundamentals- great books” major I knew that Chicago was where I wanted to be! I mean the life of the mind… how cool is that! but here is the catch: I am a junior at a very small, provincial public high school (200ish kids per class). We have very limited honors programs (only an honors English class that I’m in) and no APs. We do however have college classes through the local community college, all of which (with the exception of college calc and Spanish) I have/am/will taken/taking/take. I <em>try</em> to challenge myself as much as possible and have taken 9 classes a 9 period day (no lunch :stuck_out_tongue: ) my entire highschool career. My GPA is a ~3.95 unweighted and probably about a 4.5 weighted. My SAT is mid 1300s (planning on retaking) . I am in the top decile probably around 3rd or 4th out of 200. I am very involved in ECs, so they are not an issue. Will UofC hold it against me that my college music theory, Am. History, Psychology, Anthropology, English, Biology and Pre-Calculus are not A.P.? Or will they realize that I have taken advantage of all of the upper level courses my school has to offer and have a very full schedule? Our school is pretty behind the 8 ball on this whole having advanced courses for the ppls who dont want to go to the community college thing (yay No Child Left Behind). Should I consider taking some AP tests in Am. hist. and possibly english? Should I at least take some SATIIs (our school dosent even offer them!) If I buy a review book is it possible to do an independent study? Are my other specs up to UofC snuff? Should I just give up on UofC? jk i could never do that!</p>

<p>Ps Im confident i could write a very good essay!</p>

<p>Thanks for any help!</p>

2

<p>You won’t be at a disadvantage because of what your school offers (or doesn’t). Don’t worry about it.</p>

3

<p>corranged is correct. You are in good shape. Do a good job on the essays and you have an excellent shot. Forget the SAT IIs for Chicago.</p>

4

<p>Be confident in your own abilities. Contrary to popular belief, people who get into good colleges didn’t have to take 12 APs to get there. Intellectual spirit is what matters.</p>

5

<p>Your school will send some sort of school report with your transcript that lists what is available there, etc, and how you compare to other students there.</p>

6

<p>Don’t worry, I got in EA with only 1 AP (two more on the way). </p>

<p>With all of your college coursework- Chicago will really see how much you want to learn.</p>

7

<p>Thanks so much for the input guys. Can you think of anything else I should do to boost my stats? Is a summer program worth it? The more I research UofC the more I love it.</p>

<p>PS- Are they seriously talking about going to the common app? I think that would be awful (not so serious students applying, ect.)</p>

8

<p>Obtain a copy of the profile that your school sends to colleges. What you are looking for is where they specify the types of courses offered - specifically, their one AP. The Chicago admissions officers will see this, and realize the reason for your college courses. If your hs profile does not include this information, it needs to go into your GC recommendation. </p>

<p>Retaking the SAT is probably not a bad idea, but not to the exclusion of other important activities such as reading, thinking, and participating in EC’s. If you find a summer program that you would enjoy and benefit from, by all means do it if its in the cards financially. Jobs are also fine.</p>