UNDERGRADUATE ADMISSIONS GUIDE
UChicago asks for two essays of its own, makes the SAT and ACT optional, and offers a short video in place of an interview. Start here to understand the Core, plan your application, and see what aid could mean for your family.
Fall 2027 entry
GET TO KNOW THE EDUCATION
Every College student completes the Core, a shared set of requirements across the arts, humanities, sciences, and social sciences, with choices inside each one. The College Catalog sets the deadline to declare a major at the end of your second year. Once you arrive, your adviser can confirm the timing for your major.
MOSTLY YEARS ONE AND TWO
Fifteen courses in the humanities, arts, civilization studies, social sciences, and natural and mathematical sciences, plus writing and a language.
FROM LATE IN YEAR ONE
Choose from more than 50. A major takes 9 to 19 courses, and some majors shape which Core courses you take.
ALONG THE WAY
Electives fill the rest of your 42 courses. About a quarter of students use them for a second major, and about half add a minor.
Autumn, winter, and spring quarters each run nine weeks, then end with a reading period and a week of finals. UChicago describes Core classes as small discussions of primary texts, capped at 19 students.
Humanities, arts, and civilization studies: Six courses: at least two each in the humanities and civilization studies, and one in the arts.
Natural and mathematical sciences: Six courses: at least two each in the physical and biological sciences, and one in the mathematical sciences.
Social sciences: A three-quarter sequence built around small seminars, close reading, and analytic writing.
Writing and language: A writing requirement, and competence in a language other than English equal to a year of college study.
Exam credit: Some AP, IB, and A-level results earn credit, even toward the Core, for up to 4 of your 42 courses.
UNDERSTAND WHAT UCHICAGO CONSIDERS
It says no single part of your application, from grades to test scores, decides on its own whether you’d be a good fit.
YOUR CLASSES
UChicago looks across all four years for challenging courses done well. It requires no specific courses, and says you’d never be disadvantaged for missing an opportunity your school didn’t offer.
Letrado’s adviceChoose demanding courses in the subjects you care about, not a list built to impress. If your school doesn’t offer something, you don’t need to pay for a substitute.
YOUR TIME
Your activities can include a part-time job or a family responsibility. UChicago says it has no preferred way for you to spend your time; it wants to see what’s meaningful to you.
Letrado’s adviceGive a job or a family role its real hours and responsibilities. What you handle every week can say more about you than a club title.
YOUR VOICE
UChicago says the best approach is to be yourself and write in your own voice. It suggests teachers who can speak about your contributions in class, your academic interest, and how you interact with classmates.
Letrado’s adviceAsk teachers who have seen you ask questions and work through ideas, not only the one who gave you your best grade. UChicago makes the same point.
WHAT UCHICAGO DESCRIBES
UChicago uses a score only if it helps your application, and it superscores the SAT and ACT.
Your application is reviewed without testing. If you sent scores earlier, you can ask for them to be set aside.
Self-reported scores are fine, and you’d send official reports only if you enroll. The latest tests UChicago accepts are the October ACT and November SAT for Early Action and Early Decision I; December tests for Early Decision II; and the January SAT and February ACT for Regular Decision.
WHAT UCHICAGO DESCRIBES
A two-minute introduction on any platform. It doesn’t need to be polished or edited.
Add it to your UChicago Account, ideally by November 6 for Early Action and Early Decision I, or January 10 for Early Decision II and Regular Decision.
UChicago doesn’t offer on-campus or alumni interviews. It accepts a Glimpse or InitialView interview instead of the video, and says students who don’t send a video aren’t penalized.
PLAN THE APPLICATION
UChicago gives every application the same review, whichever plan you choose. Only the two Early Decision plans are binding; the others let you compare offers and aid until May 1.
Early Decision I Next deadline
Nov 2, 2026Early Action Next deadline
Nov 2, 2026Early Decision II
Jan 4, 2027Regular Decision
Jan 4, 2027You can switch from Early Action to Early Decision I until December 1, or from Regular Decision or a deferred Early Action application to Early Decision II until January 15.
The Common App or Apply Coalition on Scoir, which UChicago treats equally, plus its two essays. The $90 fee is waived automatically if you apply for need-based aid.
Your counselor sends the Secondary School Report and transcript, then a midyear report by February 1. Self-submitted transcripts are fine until you enroll.
From teachers who taught you an academic subject. A counselor letter isn’t officially required, and one extra letter is optional.
Optional. Under UChicago’s No Harm policy, a score counts only when it helps your application.
A two-minute introduction in place of an interview, which UChicago doesn’t offer.
If you’re applying from outside the U.S.: The plans, deadlines, and materials are the same, and UChicago asks you not to convert your grades to a 4.0 scale.
English: UChicago admits only students with a superior level of English. Test scores are optional if your application already shows it, and there’s no ESL program.
If your school has no counselor: A teacher or school administrator can send the Secondary School Report. UChicago says independently hired educational consultants may not complete it.
QuestBridge: UChicago’s National College Match is binding. Finalists who ranked UChicago but didn’t match get an Early Action decision in mid-December.
WRITE IN YOUR OWN VOICE
No strict word limitUChicago suggests about 300 to 600 words for “Why UChicago?” and 500 to 700 for the extended essay, as rough guides, not requirements.
UChicago says its questions can be approached “with utter seriousness, complete fancy, or something in between,” and that your ideas matter more than your exact word count.
Letrado’s advicePick the prompt you’d happily argue about over dinner. Then write the way you talk: exact details, plain words, and your real reasoning, including the part you’re still unsure of.
UChicago asks how it satisfies your desire for a particular kind of learning, community, and future, and wants specifics about your own wishes. Real courses and conversations you want will say more than praise.
The 2026–27 prompts ask how thoughts eat; how an artistic practice could solve a problem; what a mixed metaphor you invent could mean; how to judge an Olympic event built on an everyday task; and the backstory of a mistaken acronym.
Every year, you can instead answer any past UChicago prompt or create your own. UChicago asks you to be original, take a little risk, and have fun.
UChicago calls this a good place to explain circumstances that affected your grades, and to add activity details that don’t fit the list.
MAKE ROOM FOR THE FINANCIAL QUESTION
UChicago meets 100% of demonstrated need with grants, not loans. From Autumn Quarter 2027, when you’d arrive, it adds new support based on family income, for families with typical assets.
FAMILY INCOME UNDER $125,000
covered by financial aid, for families with typical assets.
FAMILY INCOME UNDER $250,000
for families with typical assets, plus grants for any further demonstrated need.
INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS
for admitted students who applied for aid, with a loan-free package.
UChicago says 90% of U.S. households would qualify for free tuition, and it checks eligibility only at admission. Families above these incomes may still receive need-based aid.
UChicago’s new free-tuition policy (opens in a new tab)PUBLISHED 2026–27 COST · ON CAMPUS
$103,821Tuition is $75,960. The rest covers fees, food and housing, books, personal costs, and a travel allowance that depends on where you live. Health insurance is extra.
For fall 2027 entry, use the 2027–28 figures when UChicago publishes them. Students who started in 2026 also pay a $720 class fee in each of their first two years.
UChicago’s cost of attendance (opens in a new tab)Letrado’s adviceSend the aid forms with your application, even if you’re not sure you’ll qualify, because UChicago checks eligibility only at admission. If you’re an international applicant, ask the aid office whether the income thresholds apply to your family.
If you’d be the first in your family to attend college, UChicago awards a First Phoenix Scholarship of at least $20,000 across four years. Everyone who applies for need-based aid is also considered for the Odyssey Scholarship’s extra academic, social, and career support.
First Phoenix and Odyssey scholarships (opens in a new tab)ADMITTED TO UCHICAGO · T.R.
He was a first-generation applicant at a large public high school in Texas, with demanding classes, evening shifts, and limited counselor time. We helped him include his paid work and navigate financial aid with his family, one decision at a time.
Early drafts skipped the grocery job. His activity list then described that work and economics club at their actual scale.
A customer’s disagreement over a promotion whose terms were technically correct led him to the gap between disclosing a price and making a choice understandable.
Aid forms, verification documents, and scholarship applications were tracked apart from admissions tasks, and his family compared net prices only once official offers arrived.
UChicago’s own guidance (opens in a new tab) makes a similar point: any paid job you’ve held belongs on your application, and so do significant family responsibilities.
HIS UCHICAGO OUTCOME
Offered a place at the University of Chicago
HIS CHOICE: UCHICAGOUniversity of Chicago · Photo: Nicomachian / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped.
He had strong alternatives, including highly competitive aid elsewhere. His family compared actual net prices and travel costs from the official offers, and he weighed them alongside the curriculum and his conversations with students.
ALSO ADMITTED TO
WHEN YOU’D LIKE A HAND
Bring your questions to a free 45-minute introduction with your proposed mentor. Afterward, we’ll email a personalized plan with recommended next steps.
