2009-2010 University of Chicago (Pritzker) Application Thread

[BBender716]

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You'll be fine just as long as you take a train. Whatever you do, take a train. Walk to the train station if you have to just don't drive anywhere at that time.

...don't wait until it gets dark either, lol

 

[WW2010]

Just send in secondary today, working full time in summer, hope it is not too late, MSTP.

Congradulation for all those having interviews.....!

 

[marie78]

I have a travel question too. Would it be possible to catch a flight that leaves at 7:00pm from the midway airport if my interview lasts til 5. According to the bus schedule it looks like it would take maybe 30 minutes to get to midway from campus. Would I be cutting it way too close here? Also I have no checked bags so I could probably get through the airport quickly.

 

[BBender716]

I have a travel question too. Would it be possible to catch a flight that leaves at 7:00pm from the midway airport if my interview lasts til 5. According to the bus schedule it looks like it would take maybe 30 minutes to get to midway from campus. Would I be cutting it way too close here? Also I have no checked bags so I could probably get through the airport quickly.

Midway, I'd say you have a very good chance. Midway is a ton less busy and much closer to UChicago than O'hare. Be ready to haul, but you should be good. Make sure you take the train. No matter what, take the train. 5:00PM drive out to midway from UChicago is suicide because it's in the direction of traffic and it's 5:00. Get to a train ASAP after figuring out the train schedule (it's online). Plan accordingly. Hope this helps!

 

[MaryLennox]

sigh . . . rejected.

DAMMIT! i was really holding out a lot of hope for this one too. oh well 🙁🙁

 

[itsalovestory]

sigh . . . rejected.

DAMMIT! i was really holding out a lot of hope for this one too. oh well 🙁🙁

Aww, I'm sorry! Good luck on your other schools!

 

[ItalianGuy13]

FIRST INTERVIEW INVITE!

Complete 8/18, II 8/28. MD-only (I believe) since I'm applying MSTP.

Good luck to everyone still being reviewed/on hold. Sorry to anyone who got rejected so far 🙁.

 

[Mary Jane]

sigh . . . rejected.

DAMMIT! i was really holding out a lot of hope for this one too. oh well 🙁🙁

I am sorry, hope you get positive news from the rest of your schools. Seems like I have two more weeks to wait before I find out.

 

[Mary Jane]

FIRST INTERVIEW INVITE!

Complete 8/18, II 8/28. MD-only (I believe) since I'm applying MSTP.

Good luck to everyone still being reviewed/on hold. Sorry to anyone who got rejected so far 🙁.

Congrats ItalianGuy! What are the earliest dates you get to choose for the interview?

 

[CielloStelatto]

congrats IG! and sorry lennox, i was rooting for you.

guess it's not too surprising i haven't heard anything since they didn't mark me complete until this wednesday.

 

[FSAP]

FIRST INTERVIEW INVITE!

Complete 8/18, II 8/28. MD-only (I believe) since I'm applying MSTP.

Good luck to everyone still being reviewed/on hold. Sorry to anyone who got rejected so far 🙁.

Congrats!

My first interview too. Scheduled it on October 1st. Applied MSTP as well. Secondary complete about two weeks ago. MSTP doesn't start reviewing till December though. Hopefully, we'll get to do two interviews.

 

[LAman10]

How long after you were marked complete did it take them to put you on hold or reject you? And was it via status update or email? thx

 

[ItalianGuy13]

Congrats ItalianGuy! What are the earliest dates you get to choose for the interview?

Basically almost the whole month of October was open right now.

Congrats!

My first interview too. Scheduled it on October 1st. Applied MSTP as well. Secondary complete about two weeks ago. MSTP doesn't start reviewing till December though. Hopefully, we'll get to do two interviews.

Congrats! Yeah...hopefully we'll get the second interview. I won't see you though since I'll probably go in mid-October...I don't start school until September 29th!

 

[PinkIvy08]

Congrats to all those who've received interview invites!!!

(I'm still crossing my fingers to get out of "hold" purgatory)

 

[red10]

rejected 8/28.

good luck everyone

 

[longhorn09]

I just received an email from this school which put me on hold.... I assume this means rejection....

First rejection ever... ...🙁

 

[mdeast]

I just received an email from this school which put me on hold.... I assume this means rejection....

First rejection ever... ...🙁

Nope. They put between 200-250 students on hold every year. Interview about 10% of them. So not a rejection yet. Same position here. Good luck!

 

[mirrorpair]

I put Chicago on my primary but didn't fill out the secondary because I worried that I wasn't a good fit--I originally thought Chicago was a great research school then I read Chicago wanted students to dedicate themselves to poverty stricken areas (like the south side). I could be wrong on this, though.

Anyway, I've been reconsidering sending a secondary because part of me thinks they really respect the research end of things and that I was mistaken about their indifference.

Is it too late and should I not waste my time with a secondary? Does Chicago give a lot of credence to people who want to do academic medicine?

 

[FuSoYa]

I put Chicago on my primary but didn't fill out the secondary because I worried that I wasn't a good fit--I originally thought Chicago was a great research school then I read Chicago wanted students to dedicate themselves to poverty stricken areas (like the south side). I could be wrong on this, though.

Anyway, I've been reconsidering sending a secondary because part of me thinks they really respect the research end of things and that I was mistaken about their indifference.

Is it too late and should I not waste my time with a secondary? Does Chicago give a lot of credence to people who want to do academic medicine?

You're definitely not late, go ahead and fill it out. Every school has a particular strength/interest, but that doesn't mean they're going to fill all the seats with similar people, they do want some diversity. From the posts, several of us just submitted this app in the last week, and I think we're still pretty early in the game.

 

[amph119]

I put Chicago on my primary but didn't fill out the secondary because I worried that I wasn't a good fit--I originally thought Chicago was a great research school then I read Chicago wanted students to dedicate themselves to poverty stricken areas (like the south side). I could be wrong on this, though.

Anyway, I've been reconsidering sending a secondary because part of me thinks they really respect the research end of things and that I was mistaken about their indifference.

Is it too late and should I not waste my time with a secondary? Does Chicago give a lot of credence to people who want to do academic medicine?

The University of Chicago loves to see its students go into academic medicine. Also, starting with my class, some sort of scholarly work (be it research or other) is required to graduate. You should definitely send it in because the opportunities for research here are limitless. Pritzker is DEFINITELY a research school.

 

[MaryLennox]

I put Chicago on my primary but didn't fill out the secondary because I worried that I wasn't a good fit--I originally thought Chicago was a great research school then I read Chicago wanted students to dedicate themselves to poverty stricken areas (like the south side). I could be wrong on this, though.

Anyway, I've been reconsidering sending a secondary because part of me thinks they really respect the research end of things and that I was mistaken about their indifference.

Is it too late and should I not waste my time with a secondary? Does Chicago give a lot of credence to people who want to do academic medicine?

I discussed my interest in this, including my experience volunteering in underserved areas of chicago, and got a rejection. then again my GPA is low so take that for what it's worth.

 

[SteinUmStein]

Does anyone know if there are student hosts available?? If not, where is everybody staying?

 

[daisy44]

With a 3.74 cGPA/3.61 sGPA (including 1 C in a prereq)/35R/excellent ECs, do you guys think it's worth it for me to bother applying here? It looks like a lot of people with much better stats than me have been getting the ax. I have outstanding ECs (not just bragging), but Idk if that makes up for numbers.

I don't really want to waste my money if I'm in for an automatic rejection; I think that money would be better spent on a school with stats closer to my own. Would really appreciate your opinions.

 

[ItalianGuy13]

Does anyone know if there are student hosts available?? If not, where is everybody staying?

Yeah there are. On the interview scheduler website there's a link and a form to fill out. Under "Learn More" and then "Hosting/Accommodations" you'll see it. Good luck!

 

[FuSoYa]

With a 3.74 cGPA/3.61 sGPA (including 1 C in a prereq)/35R/excellent ECs, do you guys think it's worth it for me to bother applying here? It looks like a lot of people with much better stats than me have been getting the ax. I have outstanding ECs (not just bragging), but Idk if that makes up for numbers.

I don't really want to waste my money if I'm in for an automatic rejection; I think that money would be better spent on a school with stats closer to my own. Would really appreciate your opinions.

Well I applied with almost the exact same stats as you. I only submitted last week so I don't know if it's good enough yet. People in the thread have said that Chicago really looks for a good "fit" in their candidates (i.e. the secondary essay), so take a look at the prompt and see if you can write a convincing enough essay. btw, Chicago is research heavy.

 

[FSAP]

With a 3.74 cGPA/3.61 sGPA (including 1 C in a prereq)/35R/excellent ECs, do you guys think it's worth it for me to bother applying here? It looks like a lot of people with much better stats than me have been getting the ax. I have outstanding ECs (not just bragging), but Idk if that makes up for numbers.

I don't really want to waste my money if I'm in for an automatic rejection; I think that money would be better spent on a school with stats closer to my own. Would really appreciate your opinions.

Apply. Your case is fine.

 

[Zaynecarrick]

Sigh, first rejection of the year is always the hardest. And I thought my reasons for being a Pritzker fit were pretty good. 🙁

Anyone planning on taking up that offer to talk with one of the Directors of Admissions for that discussion?

 

[Food]

With a 3.74 cGPA/3.61 sGPA (including 1 C in a prereq)/35R/excellent ECs, do you guys think it's worth it for me to bother applying here? It looks like a lot of people with much better stats than me have been getting the ax. I have outstanding ECs (not just bragging), but Idk if that makes up for numbers.

I don't really want to waste my money if I'm in for an automatic rejection; I think that money would be better spent on a school with stats closer to my own. Would really appreciate your opinions.

I don't have your outstanding ECs, and a lower GPA. I decided not to submit my secondary either, considering they actually reduced their class size and were auto-rejecting some pretty nice applicants. By all means apply; unfortunately there is no way to know whether money spent applying to one school would be better spent at another - I wish we could make those kinds of determinations to optimize our chances based on fixed budgets...

 

[Zaynecarrick]

With a 3.74 cGPA/3.61 sGPA (including 1 C in a prereq)/35R/excellent ECs, do you guys think it's worth it for me to bother applying here? It looks like a lot of people with much better stats than me have been getting the ax. I have outstanding ECs (not just bragging), but Idk if that makes up for numbers.

I don't really want to waste my money if I'm in for an automatic rejection; I think that money would be better spent on a school with stats closer to my own. Would really appreciate your opinions.

You never know. Application success seems less predictable than lotteries. I've had better luck picking the numbers in last week's results (3 out of 5 and mega number, not bad, pays for the money "wasted" on Pritzker) than which schools I think I'd get an interview invite (Yale/Baylor over Pritzker).

 

[tulli]

This is my top choice school and it really makes me nervous to see the posts here. I wish I'd hear from them sooner rather than later. 😱

 

[longhorn09]

I just received an email from this school which put me on hold.... I assume this means rejection....

First rejection ever... ...🙁

I don''t understand why they put me on hold for an interview....I got 4.0/40 combo and all the usual EC stuffs...🙁They cant be freaking serious...

 

[CielloStelatto]

that does stink longhorn. must be because they're a "fit" school (see above). guess you just can't expect an interview from every single school. i'm sure you'll do great this season though!

 

[tulli]

I don''t understand why they put me on hold for an interview....I got 4.0/40 combo and all the usual EC stuffs...🙁They cant be freaking serious...

You have wonderful stats, you will do well! And it's just a hold, not a rejection!

 

[GodisGood12]

I don''t understand why they put me on hold for an interview....I got 4.0/40 combo and all the usual EC stuffs...🙁They cant be freaking serious...

Im in the same boat, but you cant have them all, plus its a good humbling experience...specific personal characteristics can take you far.



Also if UofC says no im sure somewhere else just as good will say yes to you.

 

[LAman10]

I don''t understand why they put me on hold for an interview....I got 4.0/40 combo and all the usual EC stuffs...🙁They cant be freaking serious...

you prob should've retaken your mcat. nothing much you can do now...

^ok sorry if that was heartless lol, but I guess it's pretty evident why everyone says this process is so "random", not just for the run-of-the-mill applicants, but for EVERYONE^

 

[itsalovestory]

I've been complete since August 20th... has waiting longer at Pritzker been a good or bad thing recently?

 

[docdocgooose]

rejected today. complete 8/19. my 2nd one. kind of expected but still a let down.

 

[Atlantis07]

.

 

[Andy71600]

Rejected. Sucks... This was my first one 🙁

 

[LAman10]

Rejected 🙁

I guess I kinda expected it.. my essay wasn't mindblowing or anything. I was hoping for at least a hold though. good luck to the rest of you!

 

[mdeast]

Bah. Just got placed on hold. This was my first submitted secondary and I spent ages on it since I thought it would be a great fit. 🙁 This sucks. Does anyone know if, in the past, people who have been put on hold have later gotten in?

They talk about it in an podcast...about 200-250 people are put on hold every year and between 15-30 eventually get interviews.

 

[longhorn09]

They talk about it in an podcast...about 200-250 people are put on hold every year and between 15-30 eventually get interviews.

So who's fking care anymore 😳

 

[CielloStelatto]

sorry to hear people are getting bad news. I'm sure you'll all find some other school that you'll love! still no news for me yet.

 

[MBHockey]

How have you guys been receiving your news? Email? Regular mail? Phone call?

 

[Atlantis07]

.

 

[LAman10]

Email for the hold. They cut straight to it (Subject: "Pritzker - Hold")

Mine beat around the bush ("Pritzker's Admissions Decision"). It was obvious, though, from the lack of "interview" in the subject head.

 

[MCATBear]

Put on hold 37O, 3.91sgpa 3.97cgpa. First bad news for me and it made me pretty sad because this was a top choice. Looks like all bad news today? Or did I miss someone. Oh, well I have 24 other baskets to put my eggs into! plus it looks like they interview about 10% of the hold list, so if they accept 20% of the people they interview, I still have a solid 2% chance 😳!

 

[MBHockey]

Put on hold 37O, 3.91sgpa 3.97cgpa. First bad news for me and it made me pretty sad because this was a top choice. Looks like all bad news today? Or did I miss someone. Oh, well I have 24 other baskets to put my eggs into! plus it looks like they interview about 10% of the hold list, so if they accept 20% of the people they interview, I still have a solid 2% chance 😳!

wow, i can't/don't want to believe that. Doesn't bode well for my 35R/3.7 🙂

 

[longhorn09]

Conclusion: It's impossible to know what's in the adcoms' heads.

 

[mirrorpair]

I'm patiently waiting for my rejection--thought I think I'd be a good fit for the school. I basically said in my secondary "I like research. You like research. Maybe we can hold hands and make out in the back of my '76 Camaro."