Back from Thanksgiving

The office is back from our few short days of vacation, and we're reading reading reading and scanning scanning scanning. We have 3,041 early applications this year, up about 10 percent from last year. The Maroon did an article on the increase.

Most of the applications in the office are complete right now and being read. We are working to find documents for incomplete applications. At this point, please do not re-send any materials that you see marked as "not received" on the credentials checking site. We still have some things to sort through. We will email everyone whose application remains incomplete.

Fear not, your early action status is not in jeopardy if your application is still incomplete. We will do everything we can to complete your application and get it read for the early action cycle.

And remember, this year we will be emailing early action decisions as well as sending paper mail. I'm designing the decision emails right now. Any suggestions?

Also, the women's basketball team made it into the top 25, and women's cross country is ranked 19 -- check out the athletics website here.

Professor emeritus Milton Friedman dies at 94

Here's our note in the University of Chicago news site

A Taste of Chicago Science on November 18

For students in the area, the alumni club is having a day of science.

Get a taste of the science research and teaching going on at Chicago in this day-long series of lectures from four of the University’s most engaging and accessible scientists. Physicist Sidney Nagel will discuss several familiar phenomena that are so ubiquitous that we hardly realize they defy our normal intuition in “Physics at the Breakfast Table;” evolutionary biologist Michael Coates will explore the fossil record to present the monstrous precursors of the shark in “Jaws: The Early Years;” cosmologist Rocky Kolb will talk about the mysterious dark matter and dark energy that make up 95 percent of the universe in “The Dark Side of the Universe;” and marine biologist Michael LaBarbera will tell the strange and curious story of how blue-green algae evolved into chloroplasts that were subsequently traded and lost by various organisms in “How the World Became Green.”

The price is $35 and includes a yummy breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Click here for more information.

Redesigning the PSAC website

This winter, a committee of students and I will be working on redesigning the Prospective Students Advisory Committee's (PSAC) website. What should the new one have? What should it look like? What should be more prominently displayed? Any ideas for color schemes? Draperies? China patterns? We want your feedback.

Warning: if you click the link, you will see one of the worst websites ever.

Chicago alum wins senate seat

Guess which one? Could it be the... Socialist from Vermont? Of course it is! Bernie Sanders graduated from the College with a Bachelor's of Science in 1964. If you look at the votes database of the Washington Post, it sounds like he's had a pretty interesting life.

Chicago wins contract to manage Fermilab

Click here for the news article.

The University of Chicago is the only single university to manage two national laboratories, Argonne and Fermilab. The other is the University of California system. Fermilab is also looking like a good spot to put the International Linnear Collider, and its management is trying their hardest to bring the ILC to Illinois. Two of six quarks were discovered there, as well as one of the three neutrinos. Hooray for particle physics!

Update: An article in the Trib on both labs

Academic learnings for make benefit glorious institution of non-binding early action

Top administrators at Chicago actively choose to keep early action, but even though I've actually seen the data they are talking about, I still couldn't understand any of the quotes in that article. Here is my take on it: basically, a higher percentage of early action candidates apply for financial aid than regular notification candidates, meaning that early action candidates have more financial need than regular candidates in our pool. And they are getting the same packages as regular candidates, besides still having the opportunity to compare packages across institutions. We've done the research on our own pools of candidates, and we've decided that we can keep early action.

Time zone madness

I am sending my application in the UTC/GMT-11 hours time zone, or Pago Pago's time zone. Thank you for your patience and an inventive take on deadlines.
Sincerely,
Michelle

I am submitting my application on Pago Pago time, just in case. My current time zone (Stgo, Chile) is two hours later than Eastern Standard Time, even if it's technically in EST and until a few weeks ago I was on the same time.
Claudia, formerly of Christiansburg, Virginia

My name is Annie, and I'm a freshman applicant for UChicago under Early Action. I'm writing to tell you that I'm applying under a different time zone than the one I live in, which would be Eastern Standard Time (EST). I would like to apply under the UTC/GMT time zone, the one that includes the island of Pago Pago, located at 14 degrees, 16 minutes South, 170 degrees, 42 minutes West.

Hello,
I am going to submit my application under the time zone of Pago Pago, American Samoa, USA., which is GMT -11 hours.
Nyssa

My name is Pengbo and I applied through the Early Action plan. I am submitting my application from England because I am on an exchange trip so I just wanted to let you know that I want to apply through the Eastern Time (US and Canada) Zone (GMT -5:00). Thank you so much and have a nice day =).
-Pengbo

As it is slighty past midnight in my timezone, I would like to apply under the Chicago timezone.
Adrianna

I have just sent my application electronically. Because it is past midnight here in Northern Virginia, I will be using the Chicago timezone to comply with the Nov 1 deadline.
Thank you,
Justin

Hello! I wanted to let you know that in honor of the college's location, I am sending my application in Chicago time, making it about 11:25 p.m. when submitted. Thank you!
Mary Beth

I submitted my application to the University of Chicago past midnight from New York. However I would the application to be treted as one submitted under the U.S. Central Standard Time. Sincerely, Proshawn

I'm submitting my application under Mountain Standard Time. I was done much earlier but making revisions was just too tempting.
-Diana

I have submitted my application for admission at 12:10am, November 2, in my local time zone (central standard time). I wish to submit my application under the pacific standard time of !0:!0 pm, November 1.
Trisha

I am applying under west coast time. It is still November 1 on the west coast.
Beth

First of all, thank you so much for this amazing application policy! I truly appreciate the extra 20 some odd minutes that I required to finish up my essay questions.
I live in Nashville, TN (where it is now November 2nd) but I would like to turn in my Early Decision essay as if I were in...let's say Tijuana, Mexico where it is 10:21 Wednesday November 1st.
Again, thank you!
Veronica
Brentwood, TN

Hi Libby. I just submitted my application 15 minutes past midnight in my time zone. However it's only 8:15 P.M. in Honolulu so I'll submit under their time. Hope the admissions office let you sleep tomorrow after you're up all night making sure everything runs smoothly. Thanks a lot. Hope to see you in 11 months.
Will

I would like to submit my early application under the time zone of Mauna Kea, Hawaii, USA. This is especially signifigant to me because astronomy is a big part of my life and Mauna Kea is the greatest viewing site in the world and home to earth's
largest optical telescope. I attached my science research paper in case you get bored staying up all night. What I like to do at times like these is go outside for a sec and just look at the stars.
Hope its not too cloudy,
David

I just submitted my application electronically on Pago Page time(UTC/GMT -11 hours). This was arbitrarily decided.
Kate

I procrastinated, but I finally finished and submitted my application to UC under the Baker Island time zone.
Thanks,
Samuel

I am situated in the Pacific Time Zone, but I will be submitting in accordance to the Baker Island Time (BIT) zone
thanks,
Stuti

I applied to the University of Chicago under Honolulu time, which is GMT -10 hours.
I'm happy!
-Jenna
Tallahassee, FL

I live in Kansas. It is still Wednesday in Anchorage, AK. UTC-9 Time Zone.
My name is Hannah.

As instructed in the opening page to the application, I'm e-mailing to notify you that I've submitted my application after midnight in my local time zone here in upstate New York (UTC-5), but indeed well before the midnight deadline in Hawaii (UTC-10). Somehow, with a forecast of snow here overnight on the eastern end of Lake Ontario, the balmy night temperature of 75 ° in Honolulu seems like a much nicer alternative-- and besides, who am I to deny myself any extra time for editing and the like?
At any rate, thank you very much for the flexibility that the University of Chicago application provides, and of course for such interesting prompts. Good luck with the coming weeks' work! I must say, I'm quite happy that my part is done for now...
All the best,
Kelsey

I am a Texas applicant but am submitting my application under Hawaiian time.
Bryce

I hope you have lots of caffeine. I just sent in my application under UTC-12 Time Zone (Baker Island). I think everything is complete. I know I'm brain dead.
Thanks,
Ryan

I have applied to the University of Chicago on Pago Pago time (UTC/GMT).
thanks much,
Noah

I have finally submitted my online application! The essay was such a challenge! I am applying under GMT +8.00 (Singapore, Kuala Lumpur).
Regards
Darren
Singapore

We have ONE MORE HOUR, right? Baker's Island is UTC -12, which would leave us at 7:00 AM Eastern Standard Time, right? Nothing like waiting until the last minute!
Sincerely,
Andrew

I submitted my application on-line at 4:48am CST, but am submitting it using Alofi's time zone. That should get me in before midnight, their time. If for some reason I've misread World Clock- Time Zone list, I'm requesting that it be accepted using Baker Island Time Zone. Thanks!
Sincerely,
Marcella