Students attending schools outside the United States who will be completing standardized or national leaving exams as part of their curriculum and graduation requirements should have their schools send us official predicted or final leaving exam scores as well. Examples include A-Levels, Abitur, Bagrut, CAPE, French Baccalaureate, IB Diploma or Certificate, Matura, WASSCE, just to name a few.

Transcripts written in a language other than English should be accompanied by a certified translation and a grading scale.

*Students who will graduate from a high school outside the U.S., as well as transfer applicants, will be required to submit an official transcript at the time of application.

The University of Chicago only admits students who have demonstrated a superior level of English language competence. Students are invited to submit scores from any English proficiency examination they believe represents their English language ability. If you feel as though mastery of the English language is already represented throughout your application, you are not required to submit formal exam scores.

Students who choose to submit English proficiency scores may share either official or self-reported scores. Students sharing self-reported scores will not be required to submit official score reports unless they are admitted and choose to enroll.

UChicago does not offer an ESL program for admitted students

Remark: While the SAT, AP, IB or A-Level exams are administered in English, those exams are not designed to test one’s ability to use English as a foreign language, and cannot be used in lieu of an English proficiency exam score..

Your personal statement is your chance to present yourself and your ideas in your own words. Through the Common or Coalition Application, your personal statement will be sent to all of the schools you are applying to. As a result, it should not be specific to any one school.

Your personal statement should be appropriate for a wide array of audiences and should put your best foot forward. Be sure to proofread and edit your essay, and have someone you trust like a friend, family member, or counselor read it over before submitting it.

The University of Chicago Supplement requires one extended essay of your choice from our list of several prompts and one short essay on why you would like to attend the University of Chicago.

In your list of extracurricular activities, you should include whatever it is that you spend your time doing outside of class. This could be an official club, team, or competition; a hobby you pursue on your own; a part-time job; a family responsibility; or anything else you do with your time outside of class. Colleges ask for this information not because they have any specific expectation or preference for how you spend your time, but to see what's meaningful, worthwhile, or interesting to you.

We do not require certificates proving participation in activities. If the space provided on the Coalition or Common Application to list all extracurricular and work experiences is not sufficient, you may share further details in the Additional Information section of the application.

We require two recommendations from teachers who have taught you in an academic subject: high school teachers for first-year applicants and college instructors for transfer applicants. Academic subjects, as defined for the purposes of letters of recommendation, include mathematics, social studies, history, science, English or literature, foreign language, and other courses in which you are doing substantial amounts of reading, writing, or class discussion.

If you feel that we won't be able to get a full picture of who you are without a third letter of recommendation from another teacher, an employer, role model, youth leader, or friend, you may submit one additional letter.

Your transcript shows your academic record in the context of your school, but, since one school can be very different from another, it is useful to see evidence of academic achievement that exists outside of the context of your school. This is why some colleges ask applicants to submit an SAT or ACT score. For many applicants, an SAT or ACT score can reflect their academic preparedness in this broader context. 

Some applicants may feel that an SAT or ACT score does not fully reflect their academic preparedness or potential. If this is the case for you, you may select UChicago’s test-optional method of application and not supply SAT or ACT scores with your application. We welcome any student regardless of testing plan to submit additional materials (detailed in the Supplements section) that they feel best highlights their skills, talents, and potential contributions to UChicago.

Students may submit supplemental material representing a significant talent, passion, or achievement by self-upload through their UChicago Account. These materials include, but are not limited to, creative writing projects, highlights from music/dance/visual art/theater performance, school capstone projects such as AP Capstone or the equivalent, research projects, business plans, or other work of note.