Generally speaking, applying EA to UChicago only makes sense if
you’re a sought-after hooked student;
you also applied to Caltech/MIT EA, and can demonstrate you prefer UChicago if your qualifications make you a likely admit to MIT/Caltech.
BTW, rejecting or deferring likely MIT/Caltech admits is not unique to UChicago. Fitzsimmons of Harvard has admitted in the Harvard trial that Harvard did that too.
Also, on the number of ED2 applications, the actual number is likely a lot higher than “reported”. All deferred EA applicants are likely to be “persuaded” to switch their applications to ED2.
@Vulcan at #478, the EA rate is probably around 4%. Out of 15k applicants, probably 8-9K applied EA and 350 accepted. ED1 would be 10%-12%; out of 6-7K applicants, 700 or so were chosen. That’s my best guess.
Best guess: They effectively had a 100% yield on about 1100 ED’s. The remaining 1037 admitted were non-binding and committed at about a 60% yield so 626 total. Could be off by 50 which would push up the non-binding to about 62%. These are my estimates.
Want to go back to @Vulcan’s earlier comment about the differential rate between UChicago EA and SCEA. Important fact: for the Class of 2020, which was the final year of offering 100% non-binding EA in the early round, UChicago had 12,000 appications and 1,200 or so acceptances. That’s a 10% admit rate - WELL below SCEA rates at the time. UChicago has always had a huge early pool, regardless of admission plan offered.
Not even sure what this means. Who would be “persuading” the applicant LOL? My D switched to ED2 when she was deferred and I have a pretty clear memory of the occasion.
These numbers do not suggest to me that EA is a lost cause - only that ED provides an edge, all things being equal. For those who want to keep options open at this early stage and who like UChicago sufficiently to consider it along with other schools, what is lost by making application to all contending schools? If such an applicant is a high-stats STEM-oriented type, however, something more than high stats will be needed. @1NJParent suggests a statement to the effect that “Although I am applying to several schools, UChicago is my preferred school”. However, I doubt that would do the trick if the other parts of the app - especially the essays - do not show the applicant to be the Chicago type. That is how @mamacookie described her daughter’s presentation in her successful EA application.
What is lost is the ability to apply early to HYPS, where SCEA offers large boost relative to RD, without committing to attend.
As for STEM applicants, it takes quite a bit more than “high stats” to be a competitive applicant at MIT and Caltech which can be applied to EA in parallel with UofC (with no boost in chances), so let’s dispell that notion.
If it’s true that an early applicant to HYPS cannot also apply early to other schools, then I stand corrected - to the extent that our hypothetical Chicago EA applicant was shooting also for one of those schools. I doubt there are many cases in which someone wishing to apply early to HYPS has been persuaded to give that up in order to apply EA to Chicago.
You’re not reading me very carefully, my old pal Vulcan: I didn’t suggest that only high stats were required for MIT and Caltech; I didn’t characterize at all what more those institutions might be looking for. Whatever it is, however, it is not likely to be a showing that the applicant is a “Chicago type”.
A few points: 1) for STEM kids applying early to MIT/CIT or ED to CMU, that opportunity is foregone anyway. 2) SCEA does NOT offer a large boost relative to RD if you are not a RA, QB, Development or Legacy. In other words, if you are unhooked. We went through these calculations for Yale last year and my son’s effective admit rate SCEA was about what it would be in the regular round. 3) Admit rates aren’t the same as actual odds. Your son was accepted both to MIT/CIT early. That means he was an unquestionable fit at both schools; he very likely had personal odds (whether inferred or based on actual distributions of profiles similar to his) that exceeded the early admit rate at either of these schools.
@mamacookie Congrats to your D! Do you think she will attend? My DD, now a second year, was accepted EA also with no hook or godlike accomplishments. She is white, upper middle class (but not full pay). Her essays were great - I thought - but mostly because they were witty, creative and genuine, not because of philosophical/academic intensity. Her recommender shared his LOR with her, which brought her to tears and was very UChicago-esque, so we know that must have been a plus. There is EA hope for unhooked applicants!
The current discussion on this thread happens in some form each year, it seems. With absolutely zero inside knowledge and no intense analysis or tea leaf reading, I tend to think while there is some eye to manipulating the yield and “full pay” numbers, UChicago really does strive to form an interesting class full of kids who will be a good “fit” for the University, enhance campus life for the whole student body, and be successful both academically and otherwise while at the University. They also turn away plenty of those type of kids, who understandably are disappointed and looking for a reason why.
I guess the bottom line to much of what was said in this discussion is that unlike HYPMS (and many other top 20 schools) UChicago officially considers demonstrated interest (like Duke and UPenn).
Not only do you have to demonstrate to them you are a great candidate, not only do you have to show that they would be a match for you, but you also have to convince them there’s nowhere else you’d rather be.
Applying ED is, of course, an easy way to do that. When applying EA it takes a lot more persuasion.
Would agree with this, @TheVulcan. Based on comments that Nondorf has made,
they think a good number of applicants have the academic chops to do well at UChicago. So then it becomes a question of figuring out who is the most excited about actually attending. That has to be a very subjective judgement even for the ED round but must be way more difficult when sorting among EA’s (and they are likely to be the larger pool).
Any international students applying for financial aid got in EA/ED? Can you please share where you’re applying from, what application plan you chose, the amount of financial aid you got and your stats?
Hi all, might be too late by missing the ED/EA deadline but does UChicago care about legacy status? I have seen/heard some very vague replies that they “consider” it, since this is an issue that has probably only arisen in last 7-10 years. If they do, do they want legacies to apply ED? Any insight, links etc. appreciated.
European, got in through ED and received full attedance. SATs 1500(710 reading-writing/790 Maths), subject tests Physics 790 Math II 800, pretty good ECs, IB student with 43/45 prediction.
