Chicago, IL · Private · 7,569 undergraduates · urban
University of Chicago
Extremely selective
The University of Chicago is the school associated with fierce classroom argument, a substantial Core Curriculum, and the deliberately strange supplemental essay. Those features point to the same preference: students who enjoy pulling an idea apart in public. Hyde Park supplies a defined residential campus inside Chicago, so the experience feels more collegiate than the city address first suggests.
Institutional profile
Top tier Exceptional in academic standing, and exceptional in affordability.- Admission
- 4.8% admitted
- Price by income
- Varies across five income ranges
- Completion
- 96.2%
38,631 applicants in the reported year
Compare recent average annual costs by household income
$91,885 median earnings 10 years after enrollment
What sets UChicago apart
The Core supplies a common language
Students study foundational approaches across humanities, social sciences, mathematics, sciences, and the arts before the major fully narrows the work.
The supplement tests how a student thinks
Open-ended prompts give applicants room to turn curiosity and writing control into direct evidence.
Hyde Park keeps campus and city in balance
The neighborhood provides a residential center while Chicago remains available for work and culture.
The Chicago habit
A common curriculum built around argument
Chicago repeatedly asks students to examine the assumptions beneath an answer.
Enter a shared conversation
Common courses provide texts, methods, and questions that cross majors.
Apply the habit to a field
Departmental work adds technical command and sustained depth.
Test ideas beyond campus
Chicago institutions give research, policy, art, and service a living context.
Can I get in?
4.8% admitted
Academic strength is necessary, but Chicago’s writing gives applicants unusual room to demonstrate intellectual play and individual voice. A clever premise matters less than what the student does with it.
Recent applicant pool
38,631About 5 in every 100 applicants were admitted.
Academic range
Of admitted students, 46% submitted an SAT, and 30% submitted an ACT. Decide by comparing your score with the published range and the rest of your academic record.
With one-year access
Where your GPA sits in the entering class
The full entering-class GPA distribution for UChicago, in nine bands from 4.0 down, with your own record marked on it.
See where I landWith one-year access
What UChicago weighs when it reads a file
See how this college describes the role of grades, testing, essays, recommendations, activities, and demonstrated interest.
- Course rigor
- GPA
- Test scores
- Essay
- Recommendations
- Extracurriculars
- Demonstrated interest
What moves the application
The evidence that separates a strong file
Intellectual appetite
Show a student who enjoys difficult questions after the grade has been settled.
Control of language
Use the unusual essay to develop an argument or scene, not to perform eccentricity.
Readiness for the Core
The record should support demanding reading, writing, discussion, and quantitative work.
A life outside debate
Work, family, service, art, and community keep the file from becoming only an intellectual portrait.
How to apply
Rounds, route, and required materials
Chicago offers Early Action, Early Decision rounds, and Regular Decision. The application should show both academic readiness and a mind that can turn an odd prompt into a precise piece of writing.
Fee waiver: accepted
Can I afford it?
Compare annual cost by household income.
Need-based aid and merit scholarships can both affect the final price. Families should compare the actual offer and likely Chicago expenses rather than the published total.
College funding
Scholarships and financial aid
Review available aid, application requirements, and renewal terms.
University of Chicago publishes one merit award. No separate scholarship application is required; the college uses the admission application.
Open across the university · Merit · Competitive
With one-year access
This award, by name
What each one is called, what it pays, the grades and scores it asks for, and what to send.
- The name of each award
- What it pays
- The grades and scores it asks for
- How to be considered
- What to send, and where
With one-year access
Average annual cost by household income at UChicago
Compare recent average net prices across five federal income ranges and estimate a 4-year cost for yours.
- $0–30k
- $30–48k
- $48–75k
- $75–110k
- $110k+
Is it worth it?
Completion, debt, and earnings
Economics is famous here, but graduates also move into research, technology, public service, medicine, law, arts, and advanced study. The Core strengthens reading, writing, and analysis across those routes.
Degree completion across the reported entering cohort
First-year students who return for year two
And what that comes to against what they earn.
Reported 10 years after enrollment
Academic portfolio
Largest bachelor’s fields
How many students finish in each field, and median earnings four years after completing the program.
Economics
Mathematics
Computer Science
Biology, General
Political Science and Government
What is campus life like?
UChicago beyond the classroom
House communities organize undergraduate residence life in Hyde Park. Traditions, student organizations, and city access coexist with a campus culture that often makes conversation itself the activity.
The House system begins in residence
Residence halls contain House communities with shared events, traditions, and staff support.
Dining reinforces House life
Residential dining halls create recurring contact, while Hyde Park adds cafés and neighborhood restaurants.
Ideas spill into organized life
Publications, debate, theater, music, service, research, politics, and scavenger-hunt teams reward active participation.
Houses and organizations lead
Greek groups exist, but Houses, clubs, performances, and Chicago outings carry more of the social structure.
Chicago expands the academic week
Museums, employers, public agencies, hospitals, and neighborhoods create practical extensions of campus work.