<p>Grrr, it didn’t go through… Could you try resending it?</p>
<p>What exactly are you guys sending to each other? I got deferred as well.</p>
<p>Our “we still love you even though you deferred us” letters. I’d be happy to read yours if you want! :)</p>
<p>resent it nerve</p>
<p>Awesome, it worked this time</p>
<p>Reading about everyone else writing these letters is starting to make me think I should do the same… And I was just getting use to the fact that I was done with application stuff :(</p>
<p>lol there is time. i am planning on writing during late january.</p>
<p>I’m so glad you guys still have this going. I gave up for a while and got all discouraged but I can’t stop thinking about how much I want to go here! The Ivies don’t give me that sense that the people there are really there to explore ideas. I’m also having trouble with the letter. I thought it might be a good idea to go through the website and find specific programs and courses, even professors, that sound really interesting? Is anyone else doing something similar? </p>
<p>It’s not at all possible to still get an alumni interview is it?</p>
<p>@brm welcome back! i certainly think finding specific programs, if applicable to your interest, would help. dk about the interview, probably says on the website</p>
<p>I don’t know if this will help any deferees… but I feel for you because I was also deferred from Wharton before getting in UChicago EA 2018. </p>
<p>Out of the 5 or 6 kids from my private school that applied, I was pretty average (and the only asian). There were one or two other kids I thought would get in and not me. But it turned out that I was the only one from my school to get accepted. And this puzzled me at first, because I couldn’t put my finger on why I would be admitted and not the other seemingly more qualified applicants. The only possible reason I could think of were my essays. I really tried a unique, creative and humorous, but meaningful approach to my essays; sort of risky (I created my own prompt) but I guess it paid off in the end.</p>
<p>I’m not going to pretend to be an expert or anything, but I think moving forward deferees and RD applicants really should try and show UChicago a quirky, lighthearded personality but at the same time a love of learning and an appreciation of education. That’s my two cents. Good luck to all! 
PM me if you want to chat ;)</p>
<p>Thanks for the post, guccigirl! Congratulations on getting in, that’s awesome! I definitely agree with your assessment of what the essays should be, but I also want to point out that that doesn’t necessarily guarantee admission. I think there are a lot of people who got deferred (and I’m not saying this about myself, I mean deferrees in general) who did all those things in their essays and didn’t get in. I think you probably have more awesome things going for you than you realize–and that’s definitely something to be proud of! You got in for a reason. But at the same time, there are people who got deferred who were unique, creative, humorous and meaningful too. There just isn’t enough space for every Chicago-ey kid to go to Chicago. I’m glad you got a spot though!</p>
<p>agree with nerve, congrats gucci! i’m sure you have plenty of awesome things going for you. also i would like to note to any of my deferred homies or rd applicants that it’s ok not to be over-the-top goofy/quirky if that’s not your true personality. don’t just tell chicago what you think it wants. be yourself.</p>
<p>ironchariot, I feel the same way about the whole quirky thing. We can’t all be quirky and unique. Then we’d all be the same. Maybe I could have improved my chances if my essays had been quirky, but I had something serious I wanted to say! </p>
<p>I feel like my mistake was not demonstrating enough interest, ironic considering how badly I want to go. guccigirl, was that another factor that might have set you apart?</p>
<p>I was proud of my essays. I’ve always loved writing but have been too nervous to show people what I’ve written up until submitting that UChic essay. I’d rather believe it was something else that kept me from getting in, I can’t stand the thought that they just thought what I wrote wasn’t good enough.</p>
<p>@brm exactly, my essay was serious, and i’m proud of it. maybe it wasn’t good enough, but i’m still trying anyway.</p>
<p>I wrote the history one and took it literally. But it was about literature and writing and the Boston Bombings, all at once. I wrote it like a story, with dialogue and stuff. I thought it was insightful, I spent so long on it, weeks and weeks editing. I have so many drafts its crazy, I wish the admissions office could see the pile.</p>
<p>i wrote the history one too, not a story though</p>
<p>Thanks @EnoughNerve and @ironchariot
What you guys wrote is completely right, don’t pretend to be quirky/funny. But I also think if you have some sort of weird quality about you, don’t be afraid to show it!</p>
<p>@brm
It’s funny that you mention that. The interest factor actually might have played a part in an ironic way… I actually hated and didn’t want to apply to UChicago my junior year and summer leading into senior year because my friend was rejected (but he ended up at yale, goes to show how selective UChi is 
) So when the UChicago rep came to my school for an info session in October (which all the other applicants from my school attended), I didn’t even bother going. But when I visited later that month I fell in love <3 and immediately regretted not showing some interest when my rep was there. So I e-mailed him and told him how I suddenly fell in love with UChi and how I’m sorry that I missed his info session. And he gave me a really nice, awesome response. And this turned out to help! Because when I was accepted he actually told my counselor that he remembered me from that e-mail and was very excited to have my on campus. So although I showed the least “official” interest compared to my peers, I showed the most “unofficial” interest. If that makes any sense.</p>
<p>Edit: Also, I almost decided to not schedule an alumni interview, because I just didn’t really feel like it, but my mom made me. It turned out to be so-so, but I guess it was still a positive “interest” factor. Thanks mom!</p>
<p>@iron and @bm, your essays sound awesome! From what I’ve seen of you on here I bet you both have a lot to be proud of in those essays. I’m with you, honestly I think my UChicago extended essay is the best I’ve ever written. I spent nearly a month and a half on it–it’s my baby haha. I’m trying to convince myself that our essays were so good the viewers were just dying to read them again </p>
<p>@Guccigirl, that’s so weird, I had almost the exact same interaction with my counselor! I had decided I hated it on principle, did a bit more research (unfortunately I don’t have anywhere near enough money to visit right now and I live in New Mexico, so not exactly driving distance) and wham! fell in love, so I wrote my admissions counselor that I was really sorry I’d missed the info session and we had what I thought was a nice back and forth. I’m glad it worked for you! I love how down to earth the counselors are</p>
<p>@EnoughNerve that makes me feel a little better! You live in NM and there was an info session there?</p>
<p>I regret applying early. I feel like I didn’t understand what they were looking for as well as I do now. I didn’t do the favorite things essay because I had no clue what they wanted me to say, and now I’m regretting it. I also didn’t interview because I figured I’d get so nervous in person I would ramble and ruin my chances. I was trying not to ruin a good thing, I wasn’t thinking about “interest”. So dumb!</p>
<p>Is there a way I can go back and do that essay? Not sure it would mean much but…</p>
<p>I might ask my current english teacher for an extra recommendation. I wrote this one paper that she totally loved. But did that stuff already have to be in with the RD stuff?</p>
<p>The website says we can submit additional materials but doesn’t say how and by when!</p>
<p>@enoughnerve
I know right! the admissions counselors are great</p>
<p>@brm114341
I think you still can. In my opinion, it’s rare that a counselor will hate you if you send in extra stuff. In other words, I doubt it can really hurt. Whats the worst that can happen? They don’t read it? I submitted two music supplements and an awards update through the UChicago site. (I basically wrote a note to my counselor and just uploaded it)</p>