2009-2010 University of Chicago (Pritzker) Application Thread

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so I know that Pritzker is one of those "fit" schools. So what do they specifically look for in each applicant to determine if him or her is a great "fit" for the school? thanks a lot!
 
robocop1998 said:
so I know that Pritzker is one of those "fit" schools. So what do they specifically look for in each applicant to determine if him or her is a great "fit" for the school? thanks a lot!
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Haha don't we all wish we really knew what the adcoms are looking for... 😛
 
mdeast said:
I'm thinking the hold status isn't probably terrible. I assume they give interviews to only the top candidates this early in the game...they said in the email they're waiting for a larger applicant pool. Let's just hope this a legitimate chance...maybe think about what you can do to update to them in the Fall to make them more interested in you. I'm doing 8 hours/week of clinical research in the ER starting in September through a graduate school program and I'm gonna send them a course description once I start.

If you were complete on the 20th and haven't heard maybe that's a good sign? Like you got an interview! Good luck.

It might be helpful if people posted stats as well with the decision.
On Hold (7/28) 36T, 3.7 cGpa, 3.8 sGPA
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Just got an interview.....completed 7/18.

MCAT: 30 GPA:3.4....there is hope!!!!
 
sfstd said:
Just got an interview.....completed 7/18.

MCAT: 30 GPA:3.4....there is hope!!!!
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you give me hope and happiness. Now if only i could just copy your essays and not have to write my own. hahaha
 
I'm new to this, but decided to hop right in with this thread....on hold, 37R, 3.85 cumulative, 3.93 science
 
austen123 said:
I'm new to this, but decided to hop right in with this thread....on hold, 37R, 3.85 cumulative, 3.93 science
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Sorry to hear that...you have fantastic stats! Tough. As others have said though, I'm sure Pritzker will hand out lots more interview invites to people on hold later once they have more applicants to compare everyone against.
 
uh I just submitted... where do we check our status? or how do we know when we're complete?
 
hold 3.8 science and cum, 37 MCAT

I must write really crappy essays because i have very good ecs as well.
 
straubest said:
hold 3.8 science and cum, 37 MCAT

I must write really crappy essays because i have very good ecs as well.
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I don't think hold is a bad thing. It means "hey we're interested but we want to wait and compare you to other people once we get more apps in". At least they're letting people know right away instead of just saying "in process" for the next 2 months while they do the exact same thing
 
red10 said:
I don't think hold is a bad thing. It means "hey we're interested but we want to wait and compare you to other people once we get more apps in". At least they're letting people know right away instead of just saying "in process" for the next 2 months while they do the exact same thing
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ehh i dont know. if i havent "wowed" them enough in the early stages of the process to grant me an interview, what are my chances going to be when they have 2000 more 3.8 and 37 mcaters to compare me with.

sure its better than a rejection but how much better, i am not sure. i dont think there are any stats on the amount of early-holds that get granted an interview.
 
hey everyone!

i'm a little behind all of you . . . just submitted about a week ago and got my secondary the other day and have not submitted it yet.

Im sorry people are getting rejected already 🙁 at least they dont drag it out, right? i'm glad to know i wont have to wait forever for a decision. ugh.
 
MaryLennox said:
hey everyone!

i'm a little behind all of you . . . just submitted about a week ago and got my secondary the other day and have not submitted it yet.

Im sorry people are getting rejected already 🙁 at least they dont drag it out, right? i'm glad to know i wont have to wait forever for a decision. ugh.
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I'm in the same boat as you, but I just got mine this morning. This school is a little out of my reach, but what the hell.
 
Andy71600 said:
I'm in the same boat as you, but I just got mine this morning. This school is a little out of my reach, but what the hell.
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the main reason i am applying is because I live in the area. people keep saying 'you live in chicago, you might as well apply to UC and NW. why not??'

well . . . i think UC is within my reach, but barely. NW i kind of think is too long of a shot, I didn't want to waste the $$$

Good luck 🙂
 
straubest said:
hold 3.8 science and cum, 37 MCAT

I must write really crappy essays because i have very good ecs as well.
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dude don't sweat it. i have a little bit higher stats and good ECs was put on hold too. we are going to get in to plenty of other places, so just relax. resist the urge to second guess your writing abilities, etc. keep trucking.
 
i hope so, but its discouraging, considering that there will be tons of new equally competitive applicants in the pool for the second review. fingers crossed.
 
Its been nearly a week since I submitted my secondary and paid, and they show my secondary received but not payment (or LORs even though theyre up and assigned on AMCAS). My primary was verified Friday and they showed it as received on Mon or Tues, so all I'm waiting for is pyament and LOR's. Should I wait longer, or email them about the payment?

Thanks
 
First rejection, 3.65 36R. Glad to have it out of the way, bummer it was this school though. Here's to hoping Northwestern will pull through for me. I love Chicago!
 
god, my stats are lower than all of you guys who got rejected and/ or put on hold . . . maybe i shouldnt bother with the secondary 🙁
 
MaryLennox said:
god, my stats are lower than all of you guys who got rejected and/ or put on hold . . . maybe i shouldnt bother with the secondary 🙁
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NEVER GIVE UP! NEVER SURRENDER!

Someone had a 30/ 3.4 and has an interview already. That means there is hope and that they really do look at what you write instead of numbers alone
 
red10 said:
NEVER GIVE UP! NEVER SURRENDER!

Someone had a 30/ 3.4 and has an interview already. That means there is hope and that they really do look at what you write instead of numbers alone
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👍 !!!!
 
Do you guys think it is ok to write about a high school dilemma for the second essay? I don't have a lot (or any) college dilemmas to work with..
 
I see no problem using a high school dilemma, as they don't specify it needs to be during college. Just make sure it's not some teeny-bopper drama (I was browsing last yr and some guy was going to write about some he-said/she-said gossipy drama as his dilemma - my jaw nearly hit the floor) and you should be fine!
 
Interview invite yesterday! Submitted 7/15, 37S/3.97.
 
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So I know that for certain med schools, prestige of the undergrad institution matters more than for others. Based on how people are faring with interviews, do you guys think UChicago cares about this?
 
WildcatS11 said:
Well I went to a small, Christian liberal arts school, and I'm put "on hold" at the moment. But I don't know if it was a factor, if it was I am guessing I would have been outright rejected. But really, undergrad isn't too big of a deal; friends of mine are attending Northwestern and WashU this fall for med school, and they came from the same school.
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your mcat score sucks. that might be why you're on hold
 
Rejected. 3.9 and 40+. I was disappointed but not too upset at first...I mean, this is why you apply to a ton of schools. Then, because I'm the child of two alumni (of the school overall but not the med school), they went to the trouble of sending me a hard copy rejection letter explaining that DESPITE my "very close ties" with Pritzker they couldn't offer me an interview. Um...way to rub it in. Now I'm a little bitter. Is everyone getting a follow-up snail mail rejection?
 
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tangerini said:
Rejected. 3.9 and 40+. I was disappointed but not too upset at first...I mean, this is why you apply to a ton of schools. Then, because I'm the child of two alumni (of the school overall but not the med school), they went to the trouble of sending me a hard copy rejection letter explaining that DESPITE my "very close ties" with Pritzker they couldn't offer me an interview. Um...way to rub it in. Now I'm a little bitter. Is everyone getting a follow-up snail mail rejection?
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You should be concerned that there is some huge red flag in your app, like a bad PS, because you should have gotten a "courtesy" interview here.

Seriously...
 
flip26 said:
You should be concerned that there is some huge red flag in your app, like a bad PS, because you should have gotten a "courtesy" interview here.

Seriously...
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"courtesy" interview for what? his parents didn't attend the med school. Besides, Pritzker is a "fit" school as we've all discussed. Plenty of applicants with ridiculous scores have already been rejected while people with lesser scores have gotten holds and interviews. Maybe tangerini just didn't "fit"
 
red10 said:
"courtesy" interview for what? his parents didn't attend the med school. Besides, Pritzker is a "fit" school as we've all discussed. Plenty of applicants with ridiculous scores have already been rejected while people with lesser scores have gotten holds and interviews. Maybe tangerini just didn't "fit"
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yeah, if he/she starts getting rejected from a bunch of schools though, then something is wrong, and it's definitely not the stats
 
LAman10 said:
yeah, if he/she starts getting rejected from a bunch of schools though, then something is wrong, and it's definitely not the stats
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What's so good about his/her stats? I'm not impressed the least. I would've rejected him/her too 😀
 
The first essay is so gut-wrenching! I'm really fond of this school, grew up in Naperville and all... would like to return back to my roots for a number of reasons.... I just feel like a good "fit", ya know?

I hope the adcom feels the same way.

From the small sampling of holds / invites / rejects seen on here, the essay seems to hold soooo much weight (I'd also like to believe that because my numbers aren't nearly as good as many applicants to Pritzker). Good luck to all you guys... Write some awesome essays and hope for the best!!!
 
ashunka said:
3.8X overall, 3.9X science. 31R. got rejection today. i worked their, and they, again, said exact same words "sorry... close ties"

But, like someone else said, thats why we apply to many.
Im working on northwestern secondary when i got the letter... so, gonna work hard on it!
Yah, rejection came in mail.
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Dang, they reject people on the weekends?!?! 😱 No day is safe, lol...

I'm still waiting, haven't heard anything one way or another, was complete 7/17. Anyone else still waiting? I guess no news is good news?
 
I am having the biggest mental block when it comes to starting this first essay. Ugh. Did you guys just talk about your experiences and how the tie in to the mission statement or did you focus on the kinds of programs Uchicago offers and why you like them, etc?
 
a little of both. but i'd focus more on you and why you fit, and not all just praising them, because i that doesn't tell them about you.
 
I'm having trouble with this one too. What does it mean to be a "fit" with Pritzker, anyways? From reading their website, it doesn't seem like they're that much different from any other med school.. They want diverse, humanistic students with good leadership skills...like everybody else.
 
daisy44 said:
I'm having trouble with this one too. What does it mean to be a "fit" with Pritzker, anyways? From reading their website, it doesn't seem like they're that much different from any other med school.. They want diverse, humanistic students with good leadership skills...like everybody else.
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Tell em your name is Rod and you like to party.
 
LAman10 said:
yeah, if he/she starts getting rejected from a bunch of schools though, then something is wrong, and it's definitely not the stats
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I have two interviews and a LOR request from Mayo so far, so I don't think there's anything fatal on my AMCAS, thankfully. I revealed something "risky" on my Pritzker secondary, because it relates to my desire to do research in an area in which U of Chicago is extremely strong...possibly that was the wrong call. I'm going to be leaving that out of my other secondaries. But who knows, maybe they just weren't into my application.

I definitely wasn't expecting a courtesy interview - if they gave those to every applicant with a parent who attended any part of U of Chicago, they wouldn't be able to interview anyone else.

ashunka: Yeah, you're right, I shouldn't look at it as their rubbing it in. I mean, they were clearly trying to be extra nice. I think I just suck at getting rejected. I'll probably be a lot better at it eight months from now!

Good luck to everyone who's still in the running here - great school!
 
Anyone get any mailings from UChicago? They sent something to my parents house in a large brown envelope yesterday (even though that's not my mailing address on my AMCAS, although it's listed as my official home address). I assume it's just a viewbook. But I was curious. Anyone else get it?
 
Put on hold...

complete 7/13,
38Q, 4.0 GPA, 2 years Research, 2 years clinical experience, major leadership..

uofc is cold....
 
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