So because I worked in IR for another institution I was naturally curious. I looked back at IPEDS for the entering classes of 2016, 2017, 2018. which would be the reporting years of 2012, 2013, 2014 - The number of enrolled Asian students were 17%, 18%, 17% respectively. This is very different from the profile of each year. Very different.
So this means that either the report from the class profile or the IPEDS report is wrong. As a former pro in this field I would guess that two different departments are doing the reporting and one is doing it wrong. I would also venture to guess that either they are using a different database system or they are looking at applicants and not at those they admitted and they used the wrong numbers for the profile.
IPEDS is typically collected in Nov. This means that the data was probably pulled from an up to data student data system after a census was taken. I do not know when the class profiles come out but someone really should either ask, U Chicago or ask the Department of Education because someone’s numbers are wrong.