One of the most confusing applications of the coveted top-tier schools is the University of Chicago. If you tackled their application, you’ve experienced this already. They expect a combination of academic excellence and quirky creativity that can feel intimidating to many applicants, and simply confounding to others.

It’s tough news. You put your heart into your UChicago ED application, hit submit, and waited with hope. But now you’re stuck in that frustrating in-between: deferred. It’s not the outcome you wanted, but it’s also not the end of the road. A deferral is a pause, not a rejection. So take a breath. You’ve still got options, and you’ve still got agency in this process.

The University of Chicago is an outstanding Ivy-caliber institution in, unsurprisingly, Chicago, Illinois. The university truly is comparable to Harvard in caliber of education, but there are a few things about the culture of the school that make it stand out. UChicago is truly unique, and it doesn’t use the idea of being ‘quirky’ simply as a marketing gimmick. As you will see when we break down the supplement questions below, they challenge students to think outside of the box from day one. Being cookie cutter does not work for UChicago. The acceptance rate is only 4.5%.