(Sorry about my previous “accidental” post–here are my actual results.)
Decision: Waitlisted
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 34 C
SAT II: 800 M2 770 Bio-M
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.33
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/106
AP (place score in parenthesis): Biology (5) Statistics (5) European History (4) English Language & Composition (4) United States History (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus AB, AP Spanish Language, AP English Literature & Composition, Honors Physics, Humanities (H), Independent Band, Independent Chamber Choir, Gym, Biotechnology (H)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Commended, Coca-Cola Semifinalist, AP Scholar with Distinction, Rotary & Elks Student of the Month, American Chemical Society Outstanding Chemistry Student (Aka nothing big…)
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): NHS (President), Class Officer (VP), Student Council (Treasurer), Varsity Tennis (County Qualifier), Boy Scouts (Life Scout), Marching/Pep Band (Student Leader), Newspaper (Co-Editor), Various Musical Ensembles, etc…
Job/Work Experience: Summer Playground Supervisor
Volunteer/Community service: Worked to improve the lives of Alzheimer’s and dementia patients at a local retirement community, Provide A Lunch (P.A.L.) Program at a local homeless shelter, Altar Server, etc.
Summer Activities: Keystone Boys State (City Manager, drafted bills, etc.), See “work experience”
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
-Common App: 9/10; I focused on how I found the confidence that I have today; it was edited and tweaked numerous times, and I am very proud of the end result
Why UChicago: 7/10; While not very deep or introspective, it definitely got the point across regarding why I could see myself at UChicago
-UChicago Extended Essay: 11/10; Super quirky and infinitely creative; I truly had fun writing this one
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: 11; AP English Language & Composition Teacher- Her rec was so amazing and it made me tear up
Teacher Rec #2: 10; AP Biology Teacher- Again, made me seem super unique and was very genuine
Counselor Rec: 7; Honestly I have no idea
Additional Rec: 10; Vocal Music Teacher- I’ve known her for 8 years and it was very personal
Interview: 10; We talked about Nate Silver and about how the creator of Cards Against Humanity attended UChicago. She cursed jokingly throughout the interview and we laughed a lot–definitely one for the books.
Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Statistics/Data Science
State (if domestic applicant): PA
Country (if international applicant): US
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: –
Gender: M
Income Bracket: –
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): N/A
Reflection
Strengths: Letters of recommendation, UChicago Extended Essay, Interview?, Test scores were on par
Weaknesses: ECs were all over the place (no regrets), No special national awards
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: UChicago RD was a bloodbath this year and I’m sure that there were many more deserving applicants than me.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Accepted: Yale (SCEA), Bowdoin (Faculty Scholar), Northeastern (Honors College w/ Honors Scholarship), Penn State University Park (Schreyer Honors College), The University of Pittsburgh (Honors College)
Waitlisted: Williams, Swarthmore, UChicago
Waiting: Lehigh, Case Western Reserve, Northwestern, Amherst, Duke, Cornell, UPenn, Brown, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford (I know–a boy can dream)
General Comments: Perhaps UChicago wasn’t a good fit for me–I couldn’t see myself going to the place where “fun goes to die,” anyways. I’m not going to lose any sleep over it. Congratulations to all of those who were accepted! PM me if you have any questions.