UChicago / QuestBridge questions and concerns

suluclacdna
Wed, 17 Oct 2012 16:58:31 +0000

Hi All,

I’m applying to UChicago, my #1 choice, through QuestBridge’s National College Match program (for those who don’t know, it’s basically binding ED to up to 8 of 33 top-tier schools that gives a free ride if accepted). I’m also considering liberal arts schools or LA-esque schools (Yale, Wesleyan, Oberlin, Reed (non-QB), etc.).

My concerns are as follows:

1) I may not get into UChicago in the “early” round;
2) If I rank more than UChicago (and Yale, whose QB ED is non-binding), I may get into one of my “lesser” choices;
3) If I rank only UChicago and Yale early, and then get into several of my “lesser” schools (and / or even UChic) RD, I may not get a full ride / an almost-full ride with no loans (I need one of these things to happen);
4) I may not get into UChicago at all, and if I make poor rankings / application decisions, I may end up at a school I’m not 100% comfortable with, and I may not get the financial aid I need.

From what I have read, I am well qualified, but I know that admissions are tough and have only been getting tougher. Here are my stats:


97.5 / 100 GPA (weighted; no unweighted provided; no rank; class size 123, I estimate I’m 2/123, but again, no rank, percentile, etc. provided)
3 APs in both my Junior and Senior years, where for almost all students, the max is 2 per year (and we can only take APs starting Junior year). Only student to do so in my grade, and I’m the only student taking AP Calc BC in my grade.
2340 (770 M, 770 CR, 800 W) SAT I; 750 Chem, 800 MII, 750 USH SAT IIs (2300 SAT IIs). Average SAT I at my school is about an 1800, I think.
~200 hours of regularly performed community service throughout high school; fairly involved in school community; somewhat of a leader in community (founder and president of a club, have made several grade-wide presentations, working with faculty and other students on several aspects of our school’s program, etc.)
~$33,000 annual income; both parents unemployed
first generation student
creative, polished essays and good recommendations from what I can tell (I have waived my rights to read the recs)


With this in mind, I have a main question:

How should I rank my schools? That is, should I list only UChic and Yale, effectively taking a gamble? I am not 100% confident about my chances at either, but I feel I have much better chances at Wesleyan and Oberlin, for instance (Oberlin has a ~60% acceptance rate ED). The problem is that I’m somewhat ambivalent about such schools – not sure I’d be comfortable at any for 4 years, mainly because of the social atmospheres and the slight lack of intellectual energy (relative to UC), though I like many aspects of them.

Another concern: If I rank only UC and Yale and don’t get into either ED, then my chances of getting into the other schools RD are lowered, simply because it’s RD.

Please advise. I know I am in a somewhat specific situation, but hopefully you will be able to address (some of) my concern(s).

Thank you for reading,
suluclacdna