University of Chicago Overview

・Established in 1890
・Located in Chicago, Illinois (Hyde Park)
・Known for rigorous academic programs
・Undergraduate enrollment: approximately 7,500 students
・International students: about 15%

Program

・Start date: September (Fall Quarter)
・Tuition (2023-24):
- Tuition: ~$63,801
- Room & Board: ~$18,468
- Total cost including fees: ~$86,218/year
・Financial Aid:
- Need-blind admission process
- Meets 100% of demonstrated financial need
- No loans for families earning less than $125,000
- Full tuition coverage for families earning less than $85,000

Main Schools (Undergraduate):
①The College
・Over 50 majors across:
- Biological Sciences
- Physical Sciences
- Social Sciences
- Humanities
- Interdisciplinary Studies
・Famous for "Core Curriculum"

Application Requirements

○Required Documents
・Common Application or Coalition Application
・Secondary School Report
・Teacher Recommendations (2)
・Counselor Recommendation
・School Profile
・Transcript
・Mid-year Report
・TOEFL/IELTS/Duolingo (for international students)
- TOEFL iBT: Minimum 100
- IELTS: Minimum 7.0
- Duolingo: Minimum 120
・SAT/ACT (Test-Optional through Class of 2025)
・Optional: Arts Supplement, Research Abstract

Essays

1) Common Application/Coalition Application Essay

2) UChicago Supplemental Essays:
Question 1 (Required)
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.

Question 2: Extended Essay (Required; Choose one)
Essay Option 1
We’re all familiar with green-eyed envy or feeling blue, but what about being “caught purple-handed”? Or “tickled orange”? Give an old color-infused expression a new hue and tell us what it represents.
– Inspired by Ramsey Bottorff, Class of 2026

Essay Option 2
"Ah, but I was so much older then / I'm younger than that now” – Bob Dylan. In what ways do we become younger as we get older?
– Inspired by Joshua Harris, Class of 2016

Essay Option 3
Pluto, the demoted planet. Ophiuchus, the thirteenth Zodiac. Andy Murray, the fourth to tennis's Big Three. Every grouping has something that doesn’t quite fit in. Tell us about a group and its unofficial member, why (or why not) should it be excluded?
– Inspired by Veronica Chang, Class of 2022

Essay Option 4
"Daddy-o", "Far Out", "Gnarly": the list of slang terms goes on and on. Sadly, most of these aren’t so "fly" anymore – “as if!” Name an outdated slang from any decade or language that you'd bring back and explain why you totally “dig it.”
– Inspired by Napat Sakdibhornssup, Class of 2028

Essay Option 5
How many piano tuners are there in Chicago? What is the total length of chalk used by UChicago professors in a year? How many pages of books are in the Regenstein Library? These questions are among a class of estimation problems named after University of Chicago physicist Enrico Fermi. Create your own Fermi estimation problem, give it your best answer, and show us how you got there.
– Inspired by Malhar Manek, Class of 2028

Essay Option 6
And, as always… the classic choose your own adventure option! In the spirit of adventurous inquiry, choose one of our past prompts (or create a question of your own). Be original, creative, thought provoking. Draw on your best qualities as a writer, thinker, visionary, social critic, sage, citizen of the world, or future citizen of the University of Chicago; take a little risk, and have fun!

Deadlines

Early Decision I:
・Deadline: November 1

Early Decision II:
・Deadline: January 6

Notable Features

・Known for "The Life of the Mind"
・Quarter system (not semester)
・Core curriculum emphasis
・Known for quirky, intellectual culture
・Strong emphasis on critical thinking
・Famous economics department
・Nobel laureates among faculty
・Career outcomes:
- Strong placement in academia
- Top graduate schools
- Consulting and finance sectors
- Research institutions

Campus Life

・Housing guarantee for 4 years
・House system with traditions
・400+ student organizations
・19 varsity NCAA Division III teams
・Gothic architecture campus
・proximity to downtown Chicago
・Strong academic support services
・Research opportunities from first year
・Famous Regenstein Library
・"Scav Hunt" tradition
・Doc Films (student film society)