The University of Chicago is a formidable school in Chicago, Illinois with an additional seven international campuses and centers. The university is often thought of as on par with the Ivy League — and is just as hard to get into. For those wondering why it isn’t in the Ivy League if it really is as good as we all think it is, one reason why is that the Ivy League is a geographically-focused athletic league created in the 20th century, not an exclusive club they simply don’t let other schools into out of spite…most of the time.
UChicago, or UChi, has about 7,600 students and offers more than 50 undergraduate majors. They have nearly as many minors, all framed around a liberal arts core curriculum that emphasizes interdisciplinary connections. The college also operates on a quarter system, rather than the trimester or semester systems more commonly seen at colleges and universities in the US. That means courses are more condensed and intense, but you also take fewer at a time, allowing you to focus. The quarter system also opens up time for applying what you learn to the real world. UChicago is very focused on experiential learning, or learning by doing, and students take part in 4,500 paid internships annually.
On the sports side of things because, of course, that’s why you are here, UChicago is a NCAA Division III school in the University Athletic Association (UAA) conference alongside schools like Brandeis, Carnegie Mellon, and New York University. Football and baseball are associate members of the Midwest Conference, and women’s lacrosse is an associate member of the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin. UChicago doesn’t only compete against schools in their conferences, but those are the schools they are vying against for things like conference championships.
Being Division III doesn’t mean that the athletes are any better or worse than athletes at Division I or Division II schools. Division III really speaks to the focus of the university. As we’ll get into below, Division III schools can’t, by regulation, offer some of the enticements that DI or DII schools can. This keeps the focus of the university on athletics, but doesn’t impact the level of play. Top-tier students-athletes often pick DIII schools because they know they’ll get the full educational experience, instead of being limited academically in the ways that can happen at DI and DII schools (such a have limited choices of major).
Athletes at the University of Chicago are regularly at the top of their class academically while simultaneously performing at the top of their sport. The university has won 28 NCAA Division III championships, and 7 NCAA DIII National Player of the Year selections. They’re just as impressive when it comes to acceptance rates. UChicago doesn’t don’t advertise their acceptance rate, but it’s believed to currently be around 4% based on statements made by admissions officers at events for recently admitted students.
If you’re considering going down the athletic path at UChicago, send us an email. We help match exceptional young people with equally outstanding colleges.
What is Chicago looking for in Student Athletes?
UChicago has a tight-knit community of about 500 varsity athletes across 20 teams. They expect varsity student-athletes to be students first, and athletes a close second. The university provides the academic and community support needed to keep this in-balance, especially when your sport is in season and you may be traveling frequently between competitions, training sessions, and normal school commitments. Because of their membership in the UAA, which has members hours away on the east coast, Chicago athletes have to have the stamina to travel regularly for competitions. The term the athletics programs comes back to over and over when describing their mission is “competitive excellence” in all facets of life, and especially for student athletes — so that is precisely what they are looking for in you.
Recruited Athletes
As a DIII school, UChicago can’t tempt high school recruits with athletic-based scholarships, but they do offer merit scholarships (something the Ivies don’t do) and have impressive grant-based aid packages. Coaches help recruits access the support they need to attend, but Chicago really does make it easy. If your family earns less than $125k per year, your tuition is free. If your family income is less than $60k, you get a full free ride including housing, etc.
Because UChicago is DIII, you don’t need to register with the NCAA Eligibility Center, but we still recommend reading up on DIII rules and regulations so that you can protect your eligibility to play. And this page can tell you more about what DIII means. Namely, DIII schools are always academics first.
If you’re interested in going down the recruitment path, you’ll need to reach out to the team you are interested in joining to get your name on their radar. The best way to do that is to go to the individual team page on the athletics website and then look at the sub-navigation. It will have something like “prospective athletes” in that navigation, possibly under the “More+” heading. Once you click on that, you’ll be taken to a page like this one for Men’s Track + Field, or this one for Women’s Lacrosse.
If there is a Recruit Questionnaire listed on that page, fill it out first. It’s there for a reason, so use it. Not doing it first is basically a big red flag that you don’t know how to take a cue or follow directions.
Next, you can send an email to the head coach letting them know that you have filled out the questionnaire and expressing your interest in playing for them. The contact information for coaches is available through the same ‘prospective athletes’ page as the questionnaire. It’s important to approach this like a job interview, so give them a little information about yourself as a student and athlete. This should be less than 200 words. You’ll also want to have an ‘athletic resume’ tailored to the team, and a copy of your most current transcript to show that you are up to par for UChicago academically. Finally, we recommend prospective athletes put together a short highlights reel of them at ‘work’ on the field, in the pool, on the court, or wherever else their sport is played. This reel can be a private link on YouTube.
Depending on when you reach out, coaches may not be able to immediately answer. Don’t freak out if that is the case, but if you are in the fall of your junior year of high school or later it may be appropriate to follow-up after two weeks if you haven’t received a response depending on your sport.
If the coaches are interested in recruiting you, they can help support your application through admissions. This may mean speaking with admissions, having them look at your application early, or other ways of streamlining your application experience for UChicago. And, if they are interested in you as an athlete but aren’t sure about recruiting you, they may suggest that you join the team as a walk-on.
Walk-Ons
What is a walk-on? A walk-on is someone who joins the team separate from the recruiting process, often through a try-out or trial period. In general, walk-ons get less playing time off the bat, and no support through admissions. It’s been written that most of the student-athletes on varsity teams at the University of Chicago are recruited, but there are spaces for walk-ons willing to try for them. Students often go the walk-on route because they aren’t sure whether they want to play in college, and so don’t want to make the commitment in advance of arriving on campus. Athletes can even start a sport that is new to them as a walk-on, especially a sport that may build on skills they’ve developed in another arena.
What’s most important, though, is that, at a DIII schools, you’re just as much part of the team as anyone else once you’re on — as your teammates don’t have special scholarships or perks anyway. So, follow the protocol. Do the questionnaire, contact the coaches, be respectful, and ask for a shot.
Club Sports
If varsity sports sound too intense, but you want to keep playing, the Chicago has an impressive club sport program, along with intramurals that emphasize fun and community-building over competition.
In the club sports arena, they have dozens of teams and groups, including many martial arts groups, most of the sports they also have varsity teams for, and things like archery and triathlon — plus a whole lot more. A Prom Dress Rugby Match is an annual tradition for the women’s rugby team.
Most students at UChicago also end up getting involved with an intramural program, even if they don’t consider themselves athletic. Leagues include multiple versions of basketball, flag football, innertube water polo (fun!) and something called wallyball we’ve never heard of.
If you’re considering pursuing a sport at the University of Chicago, you’ll need to do more than excel on the leader board. The most important factor in your admissions process will be your grades, so remember to not get so fixated on your sport that you lose sight of your scores.
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