How I Got Into UChicago
July 21, 2018
If I could describe this past year in a word it would be Vorfreude.
From just under a year ago when I was blogging about my college tour journeys all over the Midwest and East coast, to now, anticipating a fall in a different city, making new friends and being challenged to make my dreams and snatch them from thin air, vorfreude accurately sums up senior year. I’m excited to finally announce on this platform that I will be attending The University of Chicago this fall!
Although I’m having the time of my life in the weighless, stressless bubble of my four month long summer until college, I also clearly remember the stresses of last summer, the senior year prep, the college application prep, and the trying to figure out what to do with the rest of my life madness. With all of that in mind, here is how I got into the University of Chicago and all my tips for getting into college!
Disclaimer: I am not a professional on this in any sense of the word. This just what I know based on my experiences in the past year. I am very aware of many of the resources and privileges I have had through this process such as ACT tutors, college admissions counselors, and knowledgeable and supportive adult figures in my life that many not be available to all students, so, this is my way of hopefully paying it forward and sharing my two sense.
When most people want to know their chances of getting into a specific school the first place they look into are the stats. While I don’t think stats are the be all end all of an application, they are the easiest way to objectively guess where your chances lie and keep yourself out of the infamous yet unconfirmed auto-reject box. At the time of submitting college applications I had a 4.2 weighted GPA, a 34 superscored and 33 composite on the ACT, and a 1400 on the SAT. While I was comfortable with these numbers compared to my dream school’s, (UChicago has a 4.15 average GPA and a 34 average ACT) keeping the acceptance rate in mind was a very important stat to keep in mind especially among the ‘top schools’ I was applying to. Applying to college isn’t personal. Your ability, or inability to get into a certain school or program aren’t direct indications of your work, talent, competency, or future potential. In my case, I was essentially competing to be in a group of 8% of 31,000 UChicago applicants and even though I was objectively “smart enough” to get in, without a doubt every person in that pool would have had different aspects that they could’ve/would bring to the freshman class making it an extremely competitive process.
From early on in my academic career I set a standard for myself by taking the hardest classes I could in order to challenge myself. In junior high, this meant taking high school math and science classes. In the beginning of high school this meant taking AP classes and excelling on the AP tests. In later years of high school this meant taking college classes. Though these classes were challenging, throughout high school I received A’s in every class I took except some of my math classes. If you intend on applying to “top schools” AP or college classes are IMPORTANT. You can’t say you’re smart without having something to back it up, and these classes are the way to do it. By excelling in them you not only prove that you’re up to the academic rigor to excel at these schools, but it also is a quantitative way to see how you score against students nationally just like the ACT or SAT. Although both are ways of earning college credit, they are also very different and have pros and cons to either decision. For me, earning college credit directly through classes on campus, online, and at my high school worked best for how I learn. The best option for you may be different than mine depending on what your school offers or the resources available in your area.
My biggest advice when choosing classes is to make sure you balance yourself. Although the classes you take are important to get into college, they are also important because they make up a good portion of your NOW. I always made sure to have at least 2 periods a day of electives and these were classes I was really passionate about and really looked forward to in the day. These classes in the day were truly what kept me sane. They were mental breaks to have fun, hang out with my friends, and develop a skill or hobby. On the other end of the spectrum I also scheduled myself to take classes that I felt would be interesting or helpful for my intended career. For me, someone who wants to go into the health professions, this meant taking tons of sciences classes like a STEM sequence, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. For someone who wanted to be an accountant maybe this would mean taking all the Calculus 1, Calculus 2, or Statistics. Even if you have no idea what you want to go into this is an opportunity to explore in different subjects and see what sticks. Through mindfully selecting classes I was able to get opportunities like shadowing weekly at a hospital and representing my high school and an international medical leadership conference.
What you do in your time outside of classes is almost as important as what you do in them. Extracurriculars are a place for many students to learn real life skills and character and are a way for the admissions counselors to know more about you, what you’re passionate about and what makes you tick. So, make sure to be involved! Be involved in things that make you happy and excel in them. Win awards, make a difference, have fun, become a leader, and make friends. This should be the easiest part of high school (other than having to manage these time commitments). For me, my extracurriculars centered around three themes that are pretty reflective of my personality and character: STEM/Medicine, working with people/Kids, and Music/the Arts.
STEM/Medicine:
- Stem/Biomedical Innovations
- HOSA Club
- Leadership Intern with National Hall of Inventors
People/Kids:
- Diversity Council
- Yearbook
- Service Learning
- Theatre House Manager
- Outdoor Ed Counselor
Music/the Arts:
- Chorale
- Women’s Elite Chorus
- Symphonic Chorus
- Theatre
I have a whole lot to say about testing and strategy. I can talk about it another time if anyone wants to hear me, but here’s the short of my testing history. I took the ACT pretty early, in my sophomore year, because I wanted to get into a specific program and I studied for about 2-3 months with the help of a tutor and I received a 30 composite score. Over the course of high school I took the test a total of 6 times (way too many times) and ended with a highest comp score of 33 and a super score of 34. I took the SAT once, received a 1400, and didn’t send this score to any colleges. If I could go back I would definitely avoid over testing. Not only could these tests be detrimental from the POV of an admissions counselor, they were also stressful to prepare for and expensive. An issue I faced was a reluctance to properly study in the midst of a busy schedule and life. Take it from me:
-study your butt off,
-take practice tests (I think I took around 50 full length practice tests over the span of 2 years)
-have a full understanding of the test, strategies, and what it takes to receive the score you want ( ex: you have to aim for near perfect for a score of 34 or higher)
English: Review vocab and nit picky grammar rules you may have forgotten. Look for the most concise and proper way of saying something.
Math: Also review rules and just practice, practice, practice. Work fast and move on if you get stuck. The first 30 questions are pretty easy and the last 5 are considerably hard.
Reading: Read the questions first, then the passage.
Science: Read the questions and skim the article for the answer, don’t waste your time trying to read it fully. MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND THE GRAPHS.
Writing: I sucked at the writing section, try your best.
I explained most of my college admissions process in my video, but by far the hardest part of applying to college was the essays. I knew that the essays would be pivotal into turning me from a list of numbers and statistics into a full on person to root for in the admissions office, especially for the University of Chicago which is known for their crazy essay questions and even crazier responses. For me, getting the essays starting strong and ending stronger were the most important and stressful parts of writing, so here are the beginnings and endings of my submitted essays along with a brief summary.
Prompt: The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
Beginning: “ I had never run faster in my life than rocket day in physics. Eyes glued to the sky, I was a missile streaking across the fog-dipped soccer practice field, trained on the prize.”
Ending: “I failed and will undoubtedly fail again, but I can only hope I don’t have to literally launch myself like a defensive lineman next time.”
This essay was about the most embarrassing moment of my life which unfortunately took place in front of my entire physics class. I like it because it was a light hearted and maybe unexpected take on a potentially heavy question. Even though it was a smaller moment in my life it conveyed humor, a resilience in my character, and enough imagery to convey a good story.
Prompt: In French, there is no difference between "conscience" and "consciousness". In Japanese, there is a word that specifically refers to the splittable wooden chopsticks you get at restaurants. The German word “fremdschämen” encapsulates the feeling you get when you’re embarrassed on behalf of someone else. All of these require explanation in order to properly communicate their meaning, and are, to varying degrees, untranslatable. Choose a word, tell us what it means, and then explain why it cannot (or should not) be translated from its original language.
Beginning: “A year’s worth of hours in the choir room between rehearsals, performances, and simply spending time in a second home culminated in one song. This song wasn’t a part of our set. It wasn’t festive or merry. It wasn’t even one we felt particularly inclined to sing on key.”
Ending: “This year, I will welcome another season of music, dancing, and spreading of merriment, and will feel the heartache when it ends, but I will always have a fondness and an enthusiasm for what is still to come.”
The word I centered this essay around was the Portuguese word saudade. This essay, I felt, opened up the reader to another side of me while still portraying some of the same key aspects of my character displayed in my common app. It delved into my love of choir, performing, and music not only with the help of imagery and storytelling, but with the nerdy and linguistic guidance of explaining the word saudade to me. It displays the same resilience in me from my common app, but also as applied to my passions and humanity outside of the classroom.
How does the University of Chicago, as you know it now, satisfy your desire for a particular kind of learning, community, and future? Please address with some specificity your own wishes and how they relate to UChicago.
Beginning: “In the near-adult me that appears before you also exists the spirit of the inquisitive child. As a mentor described me once, I am a maximizer. When it comes to my passions and interests, I have never been one to choose or go without.”
Ending: “From researching under Professor Xin He on the genetics of psychiatric diseases to study breaks with my House discussing optimal sandwich geometry (squares or triangles), the University of Chicago is live with the discussion that accompanies worldly people in their element and I wish to be a part of the dialogue.”
This essay is pretty straightforward. It was a love letter to the school I wanted to see myself at for the next four years spilling with things that excited me about the school and details that showed a level of research and dedication. Not only did it show what I wanted to gain from an education there, it displayed what I wanted to gain outside of the classroom, and what I could give back to the university.
General Tips with college essays:
- Start early
- Brainstorm often ( your first ideas will most likely be crap)
- Get as much input as you can
- What can YOU say that only you can
- Bleed your passions ( if there’s anywhere to bare it all, this is it)
- Be painfully you, say what you need to say don’t say what you think “they” want you to say
- Cultivate your voice
- Be ready for painful criticism
- Proofread and Rewrite often
- This one hurts because it’s hard not to be one, but: DON’T BE A CLICHE
If you’ve stuck along to the end of this, both my extremely long video and blog post, thank you so much. I hope this was helpful to all the rising seniors out there and I hope this helped in ways I looked for just a year ago. Enjoy senior year and feel free to message me with further questions!
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