If you stay with us, and eventually fill out the Common Application, and then our Chicago Supplement, we will be in each other’s presence for a good while. We call what is beginning here a conversation, because ideally we will in effect, or in actuality, be talking to each other. We need to hear you, and hear about your interests and needs, your triumphs in the past and your hopes for the future. We will tell you about the University, and about how to apply and what we look for in applicants. In other words, we expect to spend a lot of time with you in the next months, and then, perhaps, for years.

Did I say the University of Chicago is a great place? How do I justify that? Of course, much of our story will be told in the ongoing pages of this website. To summarize quickly, I will say that Chicago has been both revolutionary in the way university research has been conducted and conveyed to the world, and in the way undergraduate students are educated (e.g., see anything about the “Common Core” on these pages). 81 Nobel Prize winners haven’t come from the University of Chicago only because we have brought up famous professors – our culture nourishes teachers and students, and the revolutionary part of us makes discovery more likely and more exciting. The students live amazing lives of energetic study and friendship, balancing their exuberant young energy with a responsibility for the demands of education and community building.

So, enjoy these pages, and keep coming back for more. Ask us questions, participate in the discussions, help us to understand you and what you require.

I look forward to our spending this time together.

Ted O'Neill
Dean of Admissions

How We Evaluate & Who We’re Looking For

A college application is an imperfect way of communicating your qualifications, talents, and special interests. Still, you should find plenty of room for creativity in the Common Application and the Chicago supplement as you describe yourself and your accomplishments.

The admissions committee has no rigid formula for the successful applicant and considers a candidate’s entire application—academic and extracurricular records, essays, letters of recommendation, and SAT or ACT scores.

Our goal in the admissions office is to extend our knowledge of a student well beyond a test score or GPA and understand, as much as possible, that student’s personal and academic qualities. To that end, each application is read first by a regional counselor, who should understand more about the student’s high school and its environment. Then, each application is read at least once more (and perhaps three or four times in all). The final decision is made by an admissions committee, admissions associate, or the dean.

Above all we look for the intense curiosity that makes University of Chicago students such exciting young scholars in our intense academic community, and such lively members of campus, neighborhood, and city. This quality does not manifest itself in high test scores, but in writing that is willing to take chances, in recommendations that speak to a love of learning and active engagement in the classroom, and in the selection of a strong curriculum. Though no specific secondary school courses are prescribed, a standard college preparatory program is ideal: 4 years of English; 3–4 years of math; 3–4 years of laboratory sciences; 3 or more years of social sciences; and study of a foreign language.

Of the 1,300 students in the Class of 2012, 86 percent of those ranked graduated in the top 10 percent of their high school classes. The middle 50 percent of admitted students had either a combined score between 1310 and 1540 on the SAT or a cumulative score of between 28 and 33 on the ACT. View detailed statistics on the current incoming class.

Ted O'Neill, Dean of Admissions