<p>The bottom line is that the statistics speak for themselves. Obviously, someone with lower SATs or GPA has a statistically lower chance of being admitted to Chicago. My child had less than 1400 on her SATs and she and I were told by her on campus interviewer that this would hurt her and she was in fact deferred EA. After the deferral, she retook the SATs and got over 1400 and was admitted regular decision. So, I would have to say that to some extent, based on our experience, SATs did play a role. Her GPA was in the 3.5 range with some honors courses, but a serious EC which she has participated in at the U of C may have helped. Do I try to mislead people that they should not apply to more safeties or have false hope in gaining admission to that dream reach school? Absolutely not. We knew that U of C was a crapshoot, but obviously once in a while the dice role in your favor so give it a try to one or two of these type of schools. My child applied to two safeties(where she was admitted), two matches(where she was waitlisted and rejected) and two reaches ( where she was admitted and waitlisted). In her case she was admitted to one of her reachs(Chicago), it was her dream school, and she has thrived and excelled there.</p>